Bill Text: MO HB1170 | 2012 | Regular Session | Amended

Missouri House Bill 1170 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Allows any county collector to add and collect a special property tax assessment to the property's annual real estate tax bill

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-05-17 - House Submits Conference Committee Report (H) [HB1170 Detail]

Download: Missouri-2012-HB1170-Amended.html

4990S.06F

SENATE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

HOUSE BILL NO. 1170

AN ACT

To repeal sections 37.850, 67.463, 67.469, 67.1018, 67.1521, 67.2500, 67.2510, 92.338, 99.845, 135.215, 135.963, 137.016, 137.076, 177.011, 231.444, 321.460, and 610.021, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof nineteen new sections relating to local taxation, with an emergency clause for a certain section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS:

Section A. Sections 37.850, 67.463, 67.469, 67.1018, 67.1521, 67.2500, 67.2510, 92.338, 99.845, 135.215, 135.963, 137.016, 137.076, 177.011, 231.444, 321.460, and 610.021, RSMo, are repealed and nineteen new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 37.850, 67.463, 67.469, 67.1018, 67.1521, 67.2500, 67.2510, 92.338, 99.845, 135.215, 135.963, 137.016, 137.076, 144.758, 177.011, 231.444, 321.228, 321.460, and 610.021, to read as follows:

37.850. 1. The commissioner of administration shall maintain the Missouri accountability portal established in executive order 07-24 as a free, Internet-based tool allowing citizens to demand fiscal discipline and responsibility.

2. The Missouri accountability portal shall consist of an easy-to-search database of financial transactions related to the purchase of goods and services and the distribution of funds for state programs; all bonds issued by any public institution of higher education or political subdivision of this state or its designated authority, all obligations issued or incurred pursuant to section 99.820 by any political subdivision of this state or its designated authority, and the revenue stream pledged to repay such bonds or obligations; and all debt incurred by any public charter school.

3. The Missouri accountability portal shall be updated each state business day and maintained as the primary source of information about the activity of Missouri's government.

4. Upon the conducting of a withholding or a release of funds, the governor shall submit a report stating all amounts withheld from the state's operating budget for the current fiscal year, as authorized by article IV, section 27 of the Missouri Constitution which shall be:

(1) Conspicuously posted on the accountability portal website;

(2) Searchable by the amounts withheld or released from each individual fund; and

(3) Searchable by the total amount withheld or released from the operating budget.

5. Every political subdivision of the state, including public institutions of higher education but excluding school districts, shall supply all information described in subsection 2 of this section to the office of administration within seven days of issuing or incurring such corresponding bond or obligation. For all such bonds or obligations issued or incurred prior to August 28, 2012, every such political subdivision and public institution of higher education shall have ninety days to supply such information to the office of administration.

6. Every school district and public charter school shall supply all information described in subsection 2 of this section to the department of elementary and secondary education within seven days of issuing such bond, or incurring such debt. The department of elementary and secondary education shall have forty-eight hours to deliver such information to the office of administration. For all such bonds issued or debt incurred prior to August 28, 2012, every school district and public charter school shall have ninety days to supply such information to the department of elementary and secondary education. The department of elementary and secondary education shall have forty-eight hours to deliver such information to the office of administration.

67.463. 1. At the hearing to consider the proposed improvements and assessments, the governing body shall hear and pass upon all objections to the proposed improvements and proposed assessments, if any, and may amend the proposed improvements, and the plans and specifications therefor, or assessments as to any property, and thereupon by ordinance or resolution the governing body of the city or county shall order that the improvement be made and direct that financing for the cost thereof be obtained as provided in sections 67.453 to 67.475.

2. After construction of the improvement has been completed in accordance with the plans and specifications therefor, the governing body shall compute the final costs of the improvement and apportion the costs among the property benefitted by such improvement in such equitable manner as the governing body shall determine, charging each parcel of property with its proportionate share of the costs, and by resolution or ordinance, assess the final cost of the improvement or the amount of general obligation bonds issued or to be issued therefor as special assessments against the property described in the assessment roll.

3. After the passage or adoption of the ordinance or resolution assessing the special assessments, the city clerk or county clerk shall mail a notice to each property owner within the district which sets forth a description of each parcel of real property to be assessed which is owned by such owner, the special assessment assigned to such property, and a statement that the property owner may pay such assessment in full, together with interest accrued thereon from the effective date of such ordinance or resolution, on or before a specified date determined by the effective date of the ordinance or resolution, or may pay such assessment in annual installments as provided in subsection 4 of this section.

4. The special assessments shall be assessed upon the property included therein concurrent with general property taxes, and shall be payable in substantially equal annual installments for a duration stated in the ballot measure prescribed in subsection 2 of section 67.457 or in the petition prescribed in subsection 3 of section 67.457, and, if authorized, an assessment in each year thereafter levied and collected in the same manner with the proceeds thereof used solely for maintenance of the improvement, taking into account such assessments and interest thereon, as the governing body determines. The first installment shall be payable after the first collection of general property taxes following the adoption of the assessment ordinance or resolution unless such ordinance or resolution was adopted and certified too late to permit its collection at such time. All assessments shall bear interest at such rate as the governing body determines, not to exceed the rate permitted for bonds by section 108.170. Interest on the assessment between the effective date of the ordinance or resolution assessing the assessment and the date the first installment is payable shall be added to the first installment. The interest for one year on all unpaid installments shall be added to each subsequent installment until paid. In the case of a special assessment by a city, all of the installments, together with the interest accrued or to accrue thereon, may be certified by the city clerk to the county clerk in one instrument at the same time. Such certification shall be good for all of the installments, and the interest thereon payable as special assessments.

5. Special assessments shall be collected and paid over to the city treasurer or county treasurer in the same manner as taxes of the city or county are collected and paid. In any county [of the first classification with more than one hundred thirty-five thousand four hundred but fewer than one hundred thirty-five thousand five hundred inhabitants], the county collector may collect a fee as prescribed by section 52.260 for collection of assessments under this section.

67.469. A special assessment authorized under the provisions of sections 67.453 to 67.475 shall be a lien, from the date of the assessment, on the property against which it is assessed on behalf of the city or county assessing the same to the same extent as a tax upon real property. The lien may be foreclosed in the same manner as a tax upon real property by land tax sale pursuant to chapter 140 or [by judicial foreclosure proceeding], if applicable to that county, chapter 141, or at the option of the governing body, by judicial foreclosure proceeding. Upon the foreclosure of any such lien, whether by land tax sale or by judicial foreclosure proceeding, the entire remaining assessment may become due and payable and may be recoverable in such foreclosure proceeding at the option of the governing body.

67.1018. 1. The governing body of any county of the third classification without a township form of government and with more than five thousand nine hundred but fewer than six thousand inhabitants may impose a tax on the charges for all sleeping rooms, RV sites, and campsites paid by the transient guests of hotels [or], motels, lodges, bed and breakfasts, cabins, RV parks, and campgrounds situated in the county or a portion thereof, which shall not be less than two percent nor more than five percent per occupied room, RV site, or campsite per night, except that such tax shall not become effective unless the governing body of the county submits to the voters of the county at a state general or primary election a proposal to authorize the governing body of the county to impose a tax under this section. The tax authorized in this section shall be in addition to the charge for the sleeping room, RV site, or campsite and all other taxes imposed by law, and [fifty percent of] the proceeds of such tax shall be used [by the county to fund law enforcement with the remaining fifty percent of such proceeds to be used] to fund the promotion, operation, and development of tourism. Such tax shall be stated separately from all other charges and taxes.

2. The ballot of submission for the tax authorized in this section shall be in substantially the following form:

Shall ........... (insert the name of the county) impose a tax on the charges for all sleeping rooms, RV sites, and campsites paid by the transient guests of hotels [and], motels, lodges, bed and breakfasts, cabins, RV parks, and campgrounds situated in ........... (name of county) at a rate of ..... (insert rate of percent) percent for the [benefit of the county] promotion, operation, and development of tourism?

□ YES □ NO

If a majority of the votes cast on the question by the qualified voters voting thereon are in favor of the question, then the tax shall become effective on the first day of the second calendar quarter following the calendar quarter in which the election was held. If a majority of the votes cast on the question by the qualified voters voting thereon are opposed to the question, then the tax authorized by this section shall not become effective unless and until the question is resubmitted under this section to the qualified voters of the county and such question is approved by a majority of the qualified voters of the county voting on the question.

67.1521. 1. A district may levy by resolution one or more special assessments against real property within its boundaries, upon receipt of and in accordance with a petition signed by:

(1) Owners of real property collectively owning more than fifty percent by assessed value of real property within the boundaries of the district; and

(2) More than fifty percent per capita of the owners of all real property within the boundaries of the district.

2. The special assessment petition shall be in substantially the following form:

The ........................... (insert name of district) Community Improvement District ("District") shall be authorized to levy special assessments against real property benefitted within the District for the purpose of providing revenue for ................. (insert general description of specific service and/or projects) in the district, such special assessments to be levied against each tract, lot or parcel of real property listed below within the district which receives special benefit as a result of such service and/or projects, the cost of which shall be allocated among this property by ........................ (insert method of allocation, e.g., per square foot of property, per square foot on each square foot of improvement, or by abutting foot of property abutting streets, roads, highways, parks or other improvements, or any other reasonable method) in an amount not to exceed ............. dollars per (insert unit of measure). Such authorization to levy the special assessment shall expire on ................. (insert date). The tracts of land located in the district which will receive special benefit from this service and/or projects are: ................. (list of properties by common addresses and legal descriptions).

3. The method for allocating such special assessments set forth in the petition may be any reasonable method which results in imposing assessments upon real property benefitted in relation to the benefit conferred upon each respective tract, lot or parcel of real property and the cost to provide such benefit.

4. By resolution of the board, the district may levy a special assessment rate lower than the rate ceiling set forth in the petition authorizing the special assessment and may increase such lowered special assessment rate to a level not exceeding the special assessment rate ceiling set forth in the petition without further approval of the real property owners; provided that a district imposing a special assessment pursuant to this section may not repeal or amend such special assessment or lower the rate of such special assessment if such repeal, amendment or lower rate will impair the district's ability to pay any liabilities that it has incurred, money that it has borrowed or obligations that it has issued.

5. Each special assessment which is due and owing shall constitute a perpetual lien against each tract, lot or parcel of property from which it is derived. Such lien may be foreclosed in the same manner as any other special assessment lien as provided in section 88.861. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection and section 67.1541 to the contrary, [in any county of the first classification with more than one hundred thirty-five thousand four hundred but fewer than one hundred thirty-five thousand five hundred inhabitants,] the county collector may, upon certification by the district for collection, add each special assessment to the annual real estate tax bill for the property and collect the assessment in the same manner the collector uses for real estate taxes. [In said counties, each] Any special assessment remaining unpaid on the first day of January annually is delinquent and enforcement of collection of the delinquent bill by the county collector shall be governed by the laws concerning delinquent and back taxes. The lien may be foreclosed in the same manner as a tax upon real property by land tax sale under chapter 140 or, if applicable to that county, chapter 141.

6. A separate fund or account shall be created by the district for each special assessment levied and each fund or account shall be identifiable by a suitable title. The proceeds of such assessments shall be credited to such fund or account. Such fund or account shall be used solely to pay the costs incurred in undertaking the specified service or project.

7. Upon completion of the specified service or project or both, the balance remaining in the fund or account established for such specified service or project or both shall be returned or credited against the amount of the original assessment of each parcel of property pro rata based on the method of assessment of such special assessment.

8. Any funds in a fund or account created pursuant to this section which are not needed for current expenditures may be invested by the board in accordance with applicable laws relating to the investment of funds of the city in which the district is located.

9. The authority of the district to levy special assessments shall be independent of the limitations and authorities of the municipality in which it is located; specifically, the provisions of section 88.812 shall not apply to any district.

67.2500. 1. A theater, cultural arts, and entertainment district may be established in the manner provided in section 67.2505 by the governing body of any county, city, town, or village that has adopted transect-based zoning under chapter 89, any county described in this subsection, or any city, town, or village that is within such counties:

(1) Any county with a charter form of government and with more than two hundred fifty thousand but less than three hundred fifty thousand inhabitants;

(2) Any county of the first classification with more than ninety-three thousand eight hundred but fewer than ninety-three thousand nine hundred inhabitants;

(3) Any county of the first classification with more than one hundred eighty-four thousand but fewer than one hundred eighty-eight thousand inhabitants;

(4) Any county with a charter form of government and with more than six hundred thousand but fewer than seven hundred thousand inhabitants;

(5) Any county of the first classification with more than one hundred thirty-five thousand four hundred but fewer than one hundred thirty-five thousand five hundred inhabitants;

(6) Any county of the first classification with more than one hundred four thousand six hundred but fewer than one hundred four thousand seven hundred inhabitants;

(7) Any county of the first classification with more than eighty-three thousand but fewer than ninety-two thousand inhabitants and with a home rule city with more than seventy-six thousand but fewer than ninety-one thousand inhabitants as the county seat.

2. Sections 67.2500 to 67.2530 shall be known as the "Theater, Cultural Arts, and Entertainment District Act".

3. As used in sections 67.2500 to 67.2530, the following terms mean:

(1) "District", a theater, cultural arts, and entertainment district organized under this section;

(2) "Qualified electors", "qualified voters", or "voters", registered voters residing within the district or subdistrict, or proposed district or subdistrict, who have registered to vote pursuant to chapter 115 or, if there are no persons eligible to be registered voters residing in the district or subdistrict, proposed district or subdistrict, property owners, including corporations and other entities, that are owners of real property;

(3) "Registered voters", persons qualified and registered to vote pursuant to chapter 115; and

(4) "Subdistrict", a subdivision of a district, but not a separate political subdivision, created for the purposes specified in subsection 5 of section 67.2505.

67.2510. As a complete alternative to the procedure establishing a district set forth in section 67.2505, a theater, cultural arts, and entertainment district may be established in the manner provided in section 67.2515 by a circuit court with jurisdiction over any county, city, town, or village that has adopted transect-based zoning under chapter 89, any county described in this section, or any city, town, or village that is within such counties:

(1) Any county with a charter form of government and with more than two hundred fifty thousand but less than three hundred fifty thousand inhabitants;

(2) Any county of the first classification with more than ninety-three thousand eight hundred but fewer than ninety-three thousand nine hundred inhabitants;

(3) Any county of the first classification with more than one hundred eighty-four thousand but fewer than one hundred eighty-eight thousand inhabitants;

(4) Any county with a charter form of government and with more than six hundred thousand but fewer than seven hundred thousand inhabitants;

(5) Any county of the first classification with more than one hundred thirty-five thousand four hundred but fewer than one hundred thirty-five thousand five hundred inhabitants;

(6) Any county of the first classification with more than one hundred four thousand six hundred but fewer than one hundred four thousand seven hundred inhabitants;

92.338. 1. All applicable provisions contained in sections 144.010 to 144.510 governing the state sales tax and section 32.057, the uniform confidentiality provision, shall apply to the collection of the tax imposed by sections 92.325 to 92.340, except as modified in sections 92.325 to 92.340.

2. All exemptions granted to agencies of government, organizations, persons and to the sale of certain articles and items of tangible personal property and taxable services under the provisions of sections 144.010 to 144.510 are hereby made applicable to the imposition and collection of the tax imposed by sections 92.325 to 92.340. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, the governing body of any city that imposes a convention and tourism tax pursuant to sections 92.325 to 92.340 may pass an ordinance and seek voter approval to collect the tax from certain transient guests who are otherwise exempt under this subsection. Such proposition shall be submitted to the voters at a citywide general or primary election or at a special election called for that purpose. It shall be submitted in a form set by the governing body.

3. Except as provided in subsection 2 of this section, the same sales tax permit, exemption certificate and retail certificate required by sections 144.010 to 144.510 for the administration and collection of the state sales tax shall satisfy the requirements of sections 92.325 to 92.340, and no additional permit or exemption certificate or retail certificate shall be required; except that the director of revenue may prescribe a form of exemption certificate for an exemption from the tax imposed by sections 92.325 to 92.340.

4. The person, firm or corporation subject to any tax imposed pursuant to sections 92.325 to 92.340 shall collect the tax from the transient guests and patrons of the food establishment and each such transient guest and patron of the food establishment shall pay the amount of the tax due to the person, firm or corporation required to collect the tax. The city shall permit the person required to remit the tax to deduct and retain an amount equal to two percent of the taxes collected. The city governing body may either require the license collector of the city to collect the tax imposed by sections 92.325 to 92.340 or may enter into an agreement with the director of revenue to have the director collect such tax on behalf of the city. In the event such an agreement is entered into, the director of revenue shall perform all functions incident to the collection, enforcement and operation of such tax, and the director shall collect the tax on behalf of the city and shall transfer the funds collected to the city license collector, except for an amount not less than one percent nor more than three percent, which shall be retained by the director for costs of collection. If the director of revenue is to collect such tax, the tax shall be collected and reported upon such forms and under such administrative rules and regulations as the director may prescribe. All refunds and penalties as provided in sections 144.010 to 144.525 are hereby made applicable to violations of sections 92.325 to 92.340.

99.845. 1. A municipality, either at the time a redevelopment project is approved or, in the event a municipality has undertaken acts establishing a redevelopment plan and redevelopment project and has designated a redevelopment area after the passage and approval of sections 99.800 to 99.865 but prior to August 13, 1982, which acts are in conformance with the procedures of sections 99.800 to 99.865, may adopt tax increment allocation financing by passing an ordinance providing that after the total equalized assessed valuation of the taxable real property in a redevelopment project exceeds the certified total initial equalized assessed valuation of the taxable real property in the redevelopment project, the ad valorem taxes, and payments in lieu of taxes, if any, arising from the levies upon taxable real property in such redevelopment project by taxing districts and tax rates determined in the manner provided in subsection 2 of section 99.855 each year after the effective date of the ordinance until redevelopment costs have been paid shall be divided as follows:

(1) That portion of taxes, penalties and interest levied upon each taxable lot, block, tract, or parcel of real property which is attributable to the initial equalized assessed value of each such taxable lot, block, tract, or parcel of real property in the area selected for the redevelopment project shall be allocated to and, when collected, shall be paid by the county collector to the respective affected taxing districts in the manner required by law in the absence of the adoption of tax increment allocation financing;

(2) (a) Payments in lieu of taxes attributable to the increase in the current equalized assessed valuation of each taxable lot, block, tract, or parcel of real property in the area selected for the redevelopment project and any applicable penalty and interest over and above the initial equalized assessed value of each such unit of property in the area selected for the redevelopment project shall be allocated to and, when collected, shall be paid to the municipal treasurer who shall deposit such payment in lieu of taxes into a special fund called the "Special Allocation Fund" of the municipality for the purpose of paying redevelopment costs and obligations incurred in the payment thereof. Payments in lieu of taxes which are due and owing shall constitute a lien against the real estate of the redevelopment project from which they are derived and shall be collected in the same manner as the real property tax, including the assessment of penalties and interest where applicable. The municipality may, in the ordinance, pledge the funds in the special allocation fund for the payment of such costs and obligations and provide for the collection of payments in lieu of taxes, the lien of which may be foreclosed in the same manner as a special assessment lien as provided in section 88.861. No part of the current equalized assessed valuation of each lot, block, tract, or parcel of property in the area selected for the redevelopment project attributable to any increase above the total initial equalized assessed value of such properties shall be used in calculating the general state school aid formula provided for in section 163.031 until such time as all redevelopment costs have been paid as provided for in this section and section 99.850;

(b) Notwithstanding any provisions of this section to the contrary, for purposes of determining the limitation on indebtedness of local government pursuant to article VI, section 26(b) of the Missouri Constitution, the current equalized assessed value of the property in an area selected for redevelopment attributable to the increase above the total initial equalized assessed valuation shall be included in the value of taxable tangible property as shown on the last completed assessment for state or county purposes;

(c) The county assessor shall include the current assessed value of all property within the taxing district in the aggregate valuation of assessed property entered upon the assessor's book and verified pursuant to section 137.245, and such value shall be utilized for the purpose of the debt limitation on local government pursuant to article VI, section 26(b) of the Missouri Constitution;

(3) For purposes of this section, "levies upon taxable real property in such redevelopment project by taxing districts" shall not include the blind pension fund tax levied under the authority of article III, section 38(b) of the Missouri Constitution, or the merchants' and manufacturers' inventory replacement tax levied under the authority of subsection 2 of section 6 of article X of the Missouri Constitution, except in redevelopment project areas in which tax increment financing has been adopted by ordinance pursuant to a plan approved by vote of the governing body of the municipality taken after August 13, 1982, and before January 1, 1998.

2. In addition to the payments in lieu of taxes described in subdivision (2) of subsection 1 of this section, for redevelopment plans and projects adopted or redevelopment projects approved by ordinance after July 12, 1990, and prior to August 31, 1991, fifty percent of the total additional revenue from taxes, penalties and interest imposed by the municipality, or other taxing districts, which are generated by economic activities within the area of the redevelopment project over the amount of such taxes generated by economic activities within the area of the redevelopment project in the calendar year prior to the adoption of the redevelopment project by ordinance, while tax increment financing remains in effect, but excluding taxes imposed on sales or charges for sleeping rooms paid by transient guests of hotels and motels, taxes levied pursuant to section 70.500, licenses, fees or special assessments other than payments in lieu of taxes and any penalty and interest thereon, or, effective January 1, 1998, taxes levied pursuant to section 94.660, for the purpose of public transportation, shall be allocated to, and paid by the local political subdivision collecting officer to the treasurer or other designated financial officer of the municipality, who shall deposit such funds in a separate segregated account within the special allocation fund. Any provision of an agreement, contract or covenant entered into prior to July 12, 1990, between a municipality and any other political subdivision which provides for an appropriation of other municipal revenues to the special allocation fund shall be and remain enforceable.

3. In addition to the payments in lieu of taxes described in subdivision (2) of subsection 1 of this section, for redevelopment plans and projects adopted or redevelopment projects approved by ordinance after August 31, 1991, fifty percent of the total additional revenue from taxes, penalties and interest which are imposed by the municipality or other taxing districts, and which are generated by economic activities within the area of the redevelopment project over the amount of such taxes generated by economic activities within the area of the redevelopment project in the calendar year prior to the adoption of the redevelopment project by ordinance, while tax increment financing remains in effect, but excluding personal property taxes, taxes imposed on sales or charges for sleeping rooms paid by transient guests of hotels and motels, taxes levied pursuant to section 70.500, taxes levied for the purpose of public transportation pursuant to section 94.660, taxes imposed on sales pursuant to section 650.399 for the purpose of emergency communication systems, licenses, fees or special assessments other than payments in lieu of taxes and penalties and interest thereon, or any sales tax imposed by a county with a charter form of government and with more than six hundred thousand but fewer than seven hundred thousand inhabitants, for the purpose of sports stadium improvement or levied by such county under section 238.410 for the purpose of the county transit authority operating transportation facilities, shall be allocated to, and paid by the local political subdivision collecting officer to the treasurer or other designated financial officer of the municipality, who shall deposit such funds in a separate segregated account within the special allocation fund.

4. Beginning January 1, 1998, for redevelopment plans and projects adopted or redevelopment projects approved by ordinance and which have complied with subsections 4 to 12 of this section, in addition to the payments in lieu of taxes and economic activity taxes described in subsections 1, 2 and 3 of this section, up to fifty percent of the new state revenues, as defined in subsection 8 of this section, estimated for the businesses within the project area and identified by the municipality in the application required by subsection 10 of this section, over and above the amount of such taxes reported by businesses within the project area as identified by the municipality in their application prior to the approval of the redevelopment project by ordinance, while tax increment financing remains in effect, may be available for appropriation by the general assembly as provided in subsection 10 of this section to the department of economic development supplemental tax increment financing fund, from the general revenue fund, for distribution to the treasurer or other designated financial officer of the municipality with approved plans or projects.

5. The treasurer or other designated financial officer of the municipality with approved plans or projects shall deposit such funds in a separate segregated account within the special allocation fund established pursuant to section 99.805.

6. No transfer from the general revenue fund to the Missouri supplemental tax increment financing fund shall be made unless an appropriation is made from the general revenue fund for that purpose. No municipality shall commit any state revenues prior to an appropriation being made for that project. For all redevelopment plans or projects adopted or approved after December 23, 1997, appropriations from the new state revenues shall not be distributed from the Missouri supplemental tax increment financing fund into the special allocation fund unless the municipality's redevelopment plan ensures that one hundred percent of payments in lieu of taxes and fifty percent of economic activity taxes generated by the project shall be used for eligible redevelopment project costs while tax increment financing remains in effect. This account shall be separate from the account into which payments in lieu of taxes are deposited, and separate from the account into which economic activity taxes are deposited.

7. In order for the redevelopment plan or project to be eligible to receive the revenue described in subsection 4 of this section, the municipality shall comply with the requirements of subsection 10 of this section prior to the time the project or plan is adopted or approved by ordinance. The director of the department of economic development and the commissioner of the office of administration may waive the requirement that the municipality's application be submitted prior to the redevelopment plan's or project's adoption or the redevelopment plan's or project's approval by ordinance.

8. For purposes of this section, "new state revenues" means:

(1) The incremental increase in the general revenue portion of state sales tax revenues received pursuant to section 144.020, excluding sales taxes that are constitutionally dedicated, taxes deposited to the school district trust fund in accordance with section 144.701, sales and use taxes on motor vehicles, trailers, boats and outboard motors and future sales taxes earmarked by law. In no event shall the incremental increase include any amounts attributable to retail sales unless the municipality or authority has proven to the Missouri development finance board and the department of economic development and such entities have made a finding that the sales tax increment attributable to retail sales is from new sources which did not exist in the state during the baseline year. The incremental increase in the general revenue portion of state sales tax revenues for an existing or relocated facility shall be the amount that current state sales tax revenue exceeds the state sales tax revenue in the base year as stated in the redevelopment plan as provided in subsection 10 of this section; or

(2) The state income tax withheld on behalf of new employees by the employer pursuant to section 143.221 at the business located within the project as identified by the municipality. The state income tax withholding allowed by this section shall be the municipality's estimate of the amount of state income tax withheld by the employer within the redevelopment area for new employees who fill new jobs directly created by the tax increment financing project.

9. Subsection 4 of this section shall apply only to blighted areas located in enterprise zones, pursuant to sections 135.200 to 135.256, blighted areas located in federal empowerment zones, or to blighted areas located in central business districts or urban core areas of cities which districts or urban core areas at the time of approval of the project by ordinance, provided that the enterprise zones, federal empowerment zones or blighted areas contained one or more buildings at least fifty years old; and

(1) Suffered from generally declining population or property taxes over the twenty-year period immediately preceding the area's designation as a project area by ordinance; or

(2) Was a historic hotel located in a county of the first classification without a charter form of government with a population according to the most recent federal decennial census in excess of one hundred fifty thousand and containing a portion of a city with a population according to the most recent federal decennial census in excess of three hundred fifty thousand.

10. The initial appropriation of up to fifty percent of the new state revenues authorized pursuant to subsections 4 and 5 of this section shall not be made to or distributed by the department of economic development to a municipality until all of the following conditions have been satisfied:

(1) The director of the department of economic development or his or her designee and the commissioner of the office of administration or his or her designee have approved a tax increment financing application made by the municipality for the appropriation of the new state revenues. The municipality shall include in the application the following items in addition to the items in section 99.810:

(a) The tax increment financing district or redevelopment area, including the businesses identified within the redevelopment area;

(b) The base year of state sales tax revenues or the base year of state income tax withheld on behalf of existing employees, reported by existing businesses within the project area prior to approval of the redevelopment project;

(c) The estimate of the incremental increase in the general revenue portion of state sales tax revenue or the estimate for the state income tax withheld by the employer on behalf of new employees expected to fill new jobs created within the redevelopment area after redevelopment;

(d) The official statement of any bond issue pursuant to this subsection after December 23, 1997;

(e) An affidavit that is signed by the developer or developers attesting that the provisions of subdivision (1) of subsection 1 of section 99.810 have been met and specifying that the redevelopment area would not be reasonably anticipated to be developed without the appropriation of the new state revenues;

(f) The cost-benefit analysis required by section 99.810 includes a study of the fiscal impact on the state of Missouri; and

(g) The statement of election between the use of the incremental increase of the general revenue portion of the state sales tax revenues or the state income tax withheld by employers on behalf of new employees who fill new jobs created in the redevelopment area;

(h) The name, street and mailing address, and phone number of the mayor or chief executive officer of the municipality;

(i) The street address of the development site;

(j) The three-digit North American Industry Classification System number or numbers characterizing the development project;

(k) The estimated development project costs;

(l) The anticipated sources of funds to pay such development project costs;

(m) Evidence of the commitments to finance such development project costs;

(n) The anticipated type and term of the sources of funds to pay such development project costs;

(o) The anticipated type and terms of the obligations to be issued;

(p) The most recent equalized assessed valuation of the property within the development project area;

(q) An estimate as to the equalized assessed valuation after the development project area is developed in accordance with a development plan;

(r) The general land uses to apply in the development area;

(s) The total number of individuals employed in the development area, broken down by full-time, part-time, and temporary positions;

(t) The total number of full-time equivalent positions in the development area;

(u) The current gross wages, state income tax withholdings, and federal income tax withholdings for individuals employed in the development area;

(v) The total number of individuals employed in this state by the corporate parent of any business benefitting from public expenditures in the development area, and all subsidiaries thereof, as of December thirty-first of the prior fiscal year, broken down by full-time, part-time, and temporary positions;

(w) The number of new jobs to be created by any business benefitting from public expenditures in the development area, broken down by full-time, part-time, and temporary positions;

(x) The average hourly wage to be paid to all current and new employees at the project site, broken down by full-time, part-time, and temporary positions;

(y) For project sites located in a metropolitan statistical area, as defined by the federal Office of Management and Budget, the average hourly wage paid to nonmanagerial employees in this state for the industries involved at the project, as established by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics;

(z) For project sites located outside of metropolitan statistical areas, the average weekly wage paid to nonmanagerial employees in the county for industries involved at the project, as established by the United States Department of Commerce;

(aa) A list of other community and economic benefits to result from the project;

(bb) A list of all development subsidies that any business benefitting from public expenditures in the development area has previously received for the project, and the name of any other granting body from which such subsidies are sought;

(cc) A list of all other public investments made or to be made by this state or units of local government to support infrastructure or other needs generated by the project for which the funding pursuant to this section is being sought;

(dd) A statement as to whether the development project may reduce employment at any other site, within or without the state, resulting from automation, merger, acquisition, corporate restructuring, relocation, or other business activity;

(ee) A statement as to whether or not the project involves the relocation of work from another address and if so, the number of jobs to be relocated and the address from which they are to be relocated;

(ff) A list of competing businesses in the county containing the development area and in each contiguous county;

(gg) A market study for the development area;

(hh) A certification by the chief officer of the applicant as to the accuracy of the development plan;

(2) The methodologies used in the application for determining the base year and determining the estimate of the incremental increase in the general revenue portion of the state sales tax revenues or the state income tax withheld by employers on behalf of new employees who fill new jobs created in the redevelopment area shall be approved by the director of the department of economic development or his or her designee and the commissioner of the office of administration or his or her designee. Upon approval of the application, the director of the department of economic development or his or her designee and the commissioner of the office of administration or his or her designee shall issue a certificate of approval. The department of economic development may request the appropriation following application approval;

(3) The appropriation shall be either a portion of the estimate of the incremental increase in the general revenue portion of state sales tax revenues in the redevelopment area or a portion of the estimate of the state income tax withheld by the employer on behalf of new employees who fill new jobs created in the redevelopment area as indicated in the municipality's application, approved by the director of the department of economic development or his or her designee and the commissioner of the office of administration or his or her designee. At no time shall the annual amount of the new state revenues approved for disbursements from the Missouri supplemental tax increment financing fund exceed thirty-two million dollars;

(4) Redevelopment plans and projects receiving new state revenues shall have a duration of up to fifteen years, unless prior approval for a longer term is given by the director of the department of economic development or his or her designee and the commissioner of the office of administration or his or her designee; except that, in no case shall the duration exceed twenty-three years.

11. In addition to the areas authorized in subsection 9 of this section, the funding authorized pursuant to subsection 4 of this section shall also be available in a federally approved levee district, where construction of a levee begins after December 23, 1997, and which is contained within a county of the first classification without a charter form of government with a population between fifty thousand and one hundred thousand inhabitants which contains all or part of a city with a population in excess of four hundred thousand or more inhabitants.

12. There is hereby established within the state treasury a special fund to be known as the "Missouri Supplemental Tax Increment Financing Fund", to be administered by the department of economic development. The department shall annually distribute from the Missouri supplemental tax increment financing fund the amount of the new state revenues as appropriated as provided in the provisions of subsections 4 and 5 of this section if and only if the conditions of subsection 10 of this section are met. The fund shall also consist of any gifts, contributions, grants or bequests received from federal, private or other sources. Moneys in the Missouri supplemental tax increment financing fund shall be disbursed per project pursuant to state appropriations.

13. Redevelopment project costs may include, at the prerogative of the state, the portion of salaries and expenses of the department of economic development and the department of revenue reasonably allocable to each redevelopment project approved for disbursements from the Missouri supplemental tax increment financing fund for the ongoing administrative functions associated with such redevelopment project. Such amounts shall be recovered from new state revenues deposited into the Missouri supplemental tax increment financing fund created under this section.

14. For redevelopment plans or projects approved by ordinance that result in net new jobs from the relocation of a national headquarters from another state to the area of the redevelopment project, the economic activity taxes and new state tax revenues shall not be based on a calculation of the incremental increase in taxes as compared to the base year or prior calendar year for such redevelopment project, rather the incremental increase shall be the amount of total taxes generated from the net new jobs brought in by the national headquarters from another state. In no event shall this subsection be construed to allow a redevelopment project to receive an appropriation in excess of up to fifty percent of the new state revenues.

135.215. 1. Improvements made to "real property" as such term is defined in section 137.010, which are made in an enterprise zone subsequent to the date such zone or expansion thereto was designated, may upon approval of an authorizing resolution by the governing authority having jurisdiction of the area in which the improvements are made, be exempt, in whole or in part, from assessment and payment of ad valorem taxes of one or more affected political subdivisions, provided that, except as to the exemption allowed under subsection 3 of this section, at least fifty new jobs that provide an average of at least thirty-five hours of employment per week per job are created and maintained at the new or expanded facility. Such authorizing resolution shall specify the percent of the exemption to be granted, the duration of the exemption to be granted, and the political subdivisions to which such exemption is to apply and any other terms, conditions or stipulations otherwise required. A copy of the resolution shall be provided the director within thirty calendar days following adoption of the resolution by the governing authority.

2. No exemption shall be granted until the governing authority holds a public hearing for the purpose of obtaining the opinions and suggestions of residents of political subdivisions to be affected by the exemption from property taxes. The governing authority shall send, by certified mail, a notice of such hearing to each political subdivision in the area to be affected and shall publish notice of such hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the area to be affected by the exemption at least twenty days prior to the hearing but not more than thirty days prior to the hearing. Such notice shall state the time, location, date and purpose of the hearing.

3. Notwithstanding subsection 1 of this section, at least one-half of the ad valorem taxes otherwise imposed on subsequent improvements to real property located in an enterprise zone shall become and remain exempt from assessment and payment of ad valorem taxes of any political subdivision of this state or municipality thereof, if said political subdivision or municipality levies ad valorem taxes, for a period of not less than ten years following the date such improvements were assessed, provided the improved properties are used for assembling, fabricating, processing, manufacturing, mining, warehousing or distributing properties.

4. No exemption shall be granted for a period more than twenty-five years following the date on which the original enterprise zone was designated by the department except for any enterprise zone within any home rule city with more than one hundred fifty-one thousand five hundred but less than one hundred fifty-one thousand six hundred inhabitants provided in any instance the exemption shall not be granted for a period longer than twenty-five years from the date on which the exemption was granted.

5. The provisions of subsection 1 of this section shall not apply to improvements made to real property which have been started prior to August 28, 1991.

6. The mandatory abatement referred to in this section shall not relieve the assessor or other responsible official from ascertaining the amount of the equalized assessed value of all taxable property annually as required by section 99.855 and shall not have the effect of reducing the payments in lieu of taxes referred to in subdivision (2) of section 99.845 unless such reduction is set forth in the plan approved by the governing body of the municipality pursuant to subdivision (1) of section 99.820.

7. Effective August 28, 2004, any abatement or exemption provided for in this section on an individual parcel of real property shall cease after a period of thirty days of business closure, work stoppage, major reduction in force, or a significant change in the type of business conducted at that location. For the purposes of this subsection, "work stoppage" shall not include strike or lockout or time necessary to retool a plant, and "major reduction in force" is defined as a seventy-five percent or greater reduction.

Any owner or new owner may reapply, but cannot receive the abatement or exemption for any period of time beyond the original life of the enterprise zone.

135.963. 1. Improvements made to real property as such term is defined in section 137.010 which are made in an enhanced enterprise zone subsequent to the date such zone or expansion thereto was designated, may, upon approval of an authorizing resolution or ordinance by the governing authority having jurisdiction of the area in which the improvements are made, be exempt, in whole or in part, from assessment and payment of ad valorem taxes of one or more affected political subdivisions. Improvements made to real property, as such term is defined in section 137.010, which are locally assessed and in a renewable energy generation zone designated as an enhanced enterprise zone, subsequent to the date such enhanced enterprise zone or expansion thereto was designated, may, upon approval of an authorizing resolution or ordinance by the governing authority having jurisdiction of the area in which the improvements are made, be exempt, in whole or in part, from assessment and payment of ad valorem taxes of one or more affected political subdivisions. In addition to enhanced business enterprises, a speculative industrial or warehouse building constructed by a public entity or a private entity if the land is leased by a public entity may be subject to such exemption.

2. Such authorizing resolution shall specify the percent of the exemption to be granted, the duration of the exemption to be granted, and the political subdivisions to which such exemption is to apply and any other terms, conditions, or stipulations otherwise required. A copy of the resolution shall be provided to the director within thirty calendar days following adoption of the resolution by the governing authority.

3. No exemption shall be granted until the governing authority holds a public hearing for the purpose of obtaining the opinions and suggestions of residents of political subdivisions to be affected by the exemption from property taxes. The governing authority shall send, by certified mail, a notice of such hearing to each political subdivision in the area to be affected and shall publish notice of such hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the area to be affected by the exemption at least twenty days prior to the hearing but not more than thirty days prior to the hearing. Such notice shall state the time, location, date, and purpose of the hearing.

4. Notwithstanding subsection 1 of this section, at least one-half of the ad valorem taxes otherwise imposed on subsequent improvements to real property located in an enhanced enterprise zone of enhanced business enterprises or speculative industrial or warehouse buildings as indicated in subsection 1 of this section shall become and remain exempt from assessment and payment of ad valorem taxes of any political subdivision of this state or municipality thereof, if said political subdivision or municipality levies ad valorem taxes, for a period of not less than ten years following the date such improvements were assessed, provided the improved properties are used for enhanced business enterprises. The exemption for speculative buildings is subject to the approval of the governing authority for a period not to exceed two years if the building is owned by a private entity and five years if the building is owned or ground leased by a public entity. This shall not preclude the building receiving an exemption for the remaining time period established by the governing authority if it was occupied by an enhanced business enterprise. The two- and five-year time periods indicated for speculative buildings shall not be an addition to the local abatement time period for such facility.

5. No exemption shall be granted for a period more than twenty-five years following the date on which the original enhanced enterprise zone was designated by the department.

6. The provisions of subsection 1 of this section shall not apply to improvements made to real property begun prior to August 28, 2004.

7. The abatement referred to in this section shall not relieve the assessor or other responsible official from ascertaining the amount of the equalized assessed value of all taxable property annually as required by section 99.855, 99.957, or 99.1042 and shall not have the effect of reducing the payments in lieu of taxes referred to in subdivision (2) of subsection 1 of section 99.845, subdivision (2) of subsection 3 of section 99.957, or subdivision (2) of subsection 3 of section 99.1042 unless such reduction is set forth in the plan approved by the governing body of the municipality pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection 1 of section 99.820, section 99.942, or section 99.1027.

137.016. 1. As used in section 4(b) of article X of the Missouri Constitution, the following terms mean:

(1) "Residential property", all real property improved by a structure which is used or intended to be used for residential living by human occupants, vacant land in connection with an airport, land used as a golf course, [and] manufactured home parks, and time-share units as defined in section 407.600, except to the extent such units are actually rented and subject to sales tax under subdivision (6) of subsection 1 of section 144.020, but residential property shall not include other similar facilities used primarily for transient housing. For the purposes of this section, "transient housing" means all rooms available for rent or lease for which the receipts from the rent or lease of such rooms are subject to state sales tax pursuant to subdivision (6) of subsection 1 of section 144.020;

(2) "Agricultural and horticultural property", all real property used for agricultural purposes and devoted primarily to the raising and harvesting of crops; to the feeding, breeding and management of livestock which shall include breeding, showing, and boarding of horses; to dairying, or to any other combination thereof; and buildings and structures customarily associated with farming, agricultural, and horticultural uses. Agricultural and horticultural property shall also include land devoted to and qualifying for payments or other compensation under a soil conservation or agricultural assistance program under an agreement with an agency of the federal government. Agricultural and horticultural property shall further include land and improvements, exclusive of structures, on privately owned airports that qualify as reliever airports under the National Plan of Integrated Airports System, to receive federal airport improvement project funds through the Federal Aviation Administration. Real property classified as forest croplands shall not be agricultural or horticultural property so long as it is classified as forest croplands and shall be taxed in accordance with the laws enacted to implement section 7 of article X of the Missouri Constitution. Agricultural and horticultural property shall also include any sawmill or planing mill defined in the U.S. Department of Labor's Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual under Industry Group 242 with the SIC number 2421;

(3) "Utility, industrial, commercial, railroad and other real property", all real property used directly or indirectly, for any commercial, mining, industrial, manufacturing, trade, professional, business, or similar purpose, including all property centrally assessed by the state tax commission but shall not include floating docks, portions of which are separately owned and the remainder of which is designated for common ownership and in which no one person or business entity owns more than five individual units. All other real property not included in the property listed in subclasses (1) and (2) of section 4(b) of article X of the Missouri Constitution, as such property is defined in this section, shall be deemed to be included in the term "utility, industrial, commercial, railroad and other real property".

2. Pursuant to article X of the state constitution, any taxing district may adjust its operating levy to recoup any loss of property tax revenue, except revenues from the surtax imposed pursuant to article X, subsection 2 of section 6 of the constitution, as the result of changing the classification of structures intended to be used for residential living by human occupants which contain five or more dwelling units if such adjustment of the levy does not exceed the highest tax rate in effect subsequent to the 1980 tax year. For purposes of this section, loss in revenue shall include the difference between the revenue that would have been collected on such property under its classification prior to enactment of this section and the amount to be collected under its classification under this section. The county assessor of each county or city not within a county shall provide information to each taxing district within its boundaries regarding the difference in assessed valuation of such property as the result of such change in classification.

3. All reclassification of property as the result of changing the classification of structures intended to be used for residential living by human occupants which contain five or more dwelling units shall apply to assessments made after December 31, 1994.

4. Where real property is used or held for use for more than one purpose and such uses result in different classifications, the county assessor shall allocate to each classification the percentage of the true value in money of the property devoted to each use; except that, where agricultural and horticultural property, as defined in this section, also contains a dwelling unit or units, the farm dwelling, appurtenant residential-related structures and up to five acres immediately surrounding such farm dwelling shall be residential property, as defined in this section.

5. All real property which is vacant, unused, or held for future use; which is used for a private club, a not-for-profit or other nonexempt lodge, club, business, trade, service organization, or similar entity; or for which a determination as to its classification cannot be made under the definitions set out in subsection 1 of this section, shall be classified according to its immediate most suitable economic use, which use shall be determined after consideration of:

(1) Immediate prior use, if any, of such property;

(2) Location of such property;

(3) Zoning classification of such property; except that, such zoning classification shall not be considered conclusive if, upon consideration of all factors, it is determined that such zoning classification does not reflect the immediate most suitable economic use of the property;

(4) Other legal restrictions on the use of such property;

(5) Availability of water, electricity, gas, sewers, street lighting, and other public services for such property;

(6) Size of such property;

(7) Access of such property to public thoroughfares; and

(8) Any other factors relevant to a determination of the immediate most suitable economic use of such property.

6. All lands classified as forest croplands shall not, for taxation purposes, be classified as subclass (1), subclass (2), or subclass (3) real property, as such classes are prescribed in section 4(b) of article X of the Missouri Constitution and defined in this section, but shall be taxed in accordance with the laws enacted to implement section 7 of article X of the Missouri Constitution.

137.076. In establishing the value of a parcel of real property the county assessor shall consider current market conditions and previous decisions of the county board of equalization, the state tax commission or a court of competent jurisdiction that affected the value of such parcel. For purposes of this section, the term "current market conditions", shall include the impact upon the housing market of foreclosures and bank sales.

144.758. (1) Provided that a local use tax is not imposed under section 144.757, a county or municipality, by a majority vote of its governing body, may impose a local use tax on new and used motor vehicles, trailers, boats, and outboard motors, if a local sales tax is imposed as defined in section 32.085, at a rate equal to the rate of the local sales tax in effect in such county or municipality; provided, however, that no ordinance or order enacted pursuant to this section shall be effective unless the governing body of the county or municipality submits to the voters thereof at a municipal, county or state general, primary, or special election a proposal to authorize the governing body of the county or municipality to impose a local use tax pursuant to this section.

(2) The ballot submission shall contain substantially the following language:

Shall the ............ (county or municipality's name) impose a local use tax on new and used motor vehicles, trailers, boats, and outboard motors at the same rate as the total local sales tax rate, currently ...... (insert percent), provided that if the local sales tax rate is reduced or raised by voter approval, the local use tax rate shall also be reduced or raised by the same action?

□ YES □ NO

If you are in favor of the question, place an "X" in the box opposition "YES". If you are opposed to the question, place an "X" in the box opposite "NO".

(3) If a majority of the votes cast on the proposal by the qualified voters voting thereon are in favor of the proposal, then the ordinance or order and any amendments thereto shall be in effect on the first day of the calendar quarter which begins at least forty-five days after the director of revenue receives notice of adoption of the local use tax. If a majority of the votes cast by the qualified voters voting are opposed to the proposal, then the governing body of the county or municipality shall have no power to impose the local use tax as herein authorized unless and until the governing body of the county or municipality shall again have submitted another proposal to authorize the governing body of the county or municipality to impose the local use tax and such proposal is approved by a majority of the qualified voters voting thereon.

(4) The local use tax under this section may be imposed at the same rate as the local sales tax then currently in effect in the county or municipality upon all new and used motor vehicles, trailers, boats, and outboard motors within the county or municipality adopting such tax that are subject to the state tax imposed under this section; provided, however, that if any local sales tax is repealed or the rate thereof is reduced or raised by voter approval, the local use tax rate shall also be deemed to be repealed, reduced, or raised by the same action repealing, reducing, or raising the local sales tax.

(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the director shall distribute the tax imposed, less one percent for the cost of collection as provided in section 144.759, under this section in the same manner as though the motor vehicle, trailer, boat, or outboard motor had been sold at retail within the state.

177.011. 1. The title of all schoolhouse sites and other school property is vested in the district in which the property is located, or if the directors of both school districts involved agree, a school district may own property outside of the boundaries of the district and operate upon such property for school purposes; provided that, such property may only be used for school purposes for students residing in the school district owning such property or students who are enrolled in such school district as part of a court-ordered desegregation plan. All property leased or rented for school purposes shall be wholly under the control of the school board during such time. No board shall lease or rent any building for school purposes while the district schoolhouse is unoccupied, and no schoolhouse or school site shall be abandoned or sold until another site and house are provided for the school district.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 178.770, the provisions of this section shall not apply to community college districts. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to impair the duty and authority of the coordinating board for higher education to approve academic programs under section 173.005.

231.444. 1. In addition to other levies authorized by law, the governing body of any county of the third classification without a township form of government having a population of less than six thousand inhabitants, any county of the third classification without a township form of government and with more than eight thousand but fewer than nine thousand inhabitants and with a city of the fourth classification with more than one thousand two hundred but fewer than one thousand three hundred fifty inhabitants as the county seat, and any county of the third classification without a township form of government and with more than six thousand but fewer than seven thousand inhabitants and with a city of the fourth classification with more than five hundred fifty but fewer than six hundred fifty inhabitants as the county seat according to the most recent decennial census may by ordinance levy and impose a tax pursuant to this section which shall not exceed the rate of one dollar on each acre of real property in the county which is classified as agricultural and horticultural property pursuant to section 137.016.

2. The proceeds of the tax authorized pursuant to this section shall be collected by the county collector and remitted to the county treasurer who shall deposit such proceeds in a special fund to be known as the "Special Road Rock Fund". All moneys in the special road rock fund shall be appropriated by the county governing body for the sole purpose of purchasing road rock to be placed on county roads within the boundaries of the county.

3. The ordinance levying and imposing a tax pursuant to subsection 1 of this section shall not be effective unless the county governing body submits to the qualified voters of the county a proposal to authorize the county governing body to levy and impose the tax at an election permitted pursuant to section 115.123. The ballot of submission proposing the tax shall be in substantially the following form:

Shall the county of .......... (county's name) be authorized to levy and impose a tax on all real property in the county which is classified as agricultural or horticultural property at a rate not to exceed .......... (rate of tax) cents per acre with all the proceeds of the tax to be placed in the "Special Road Rock Fund" and used solely for the purpose of purchasing road rock to be placed on county roads within the boundaries of the county?

□ YES □ NO

4. If a majority of the qualified voters of the county voting on the proposal vote "YES", then the governing body of the county may by ordinance levy and impose the tax authorized by this section in an amount not to exceed the rate proposed in the ballot of submission. If a majority of the qualified voters of the county voting on the proposal vote "NO", then the governing body of the county shall not levy and impose such tax. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a rejected proposal from being resubmitted to the qualified voters of the county at an election permitted pursuant to section 115.123.

321.228. 1. As used in this section, the following terms shall mean:

(1) "Residential construction", new construction and erection of detached single-family or two-family dwellings or the development of land to be used for detached single-family or two-family dwellings;

(2) "Residential construction regulatory system", any bylaw, ordinance, order, rule, or regulation adopted, implemented, or enforced by any city, town, village, or county that pertains to residential construction, to any permitting system, or program relating to residential construction, including but not limited to the use or occupancy by the initial occupant thereof, or to any system or program for the inspection of residential construction. Residential construction regulatory system also includes the whole or any part of a nationally recognized model code, with or without amendments specific to such city, town, village, or county.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary, if a city, town, village, or county adopts or has adopted, implements, and enforces a residential construction regulatory system applicable to residential construction within its jurisdiction, any fire protection districts wholly or partly located within such city, town, village, or county shall be without power, authority, or privilege to enforce or implement a residential construction regulatory system purporting to be applicable to any residential construction within such city, town, village, or county. Any such residential construction regulatory system adopted by a fire protection district or its board shall be treated as advisory only and shall not be enforced by such fire protection district or its board.

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary, fire protection districts:

(1) Shall have final regulatory authority regarding the location and specifications of fire hydrants, fire hydrant flow rates, and fire lanes, all as it relates to residential construction. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to require the political subdivision supplying water to incur any costs to modify its water supply infrastructure; and

(2) May inspect the alteration, enlargement, replacement or repair of a detached single-family or two-family dwelling; and

(3) Shall not collect a fee for the services described in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection.

321.460. 1. Two or more fire protection districts may consolidate with each other in the manner hereinafter provided, and only if the districts have one or more common boundaries, in whole or in part, or are located within the same county, in whole or in part, as to any respective two of the districts which are so consolidating.

2. By a majority vote of each board of directors of each fire protection district included within the proposed consolidation, a consolidation plan may be adopted. The consolidation plan shall include the name of the proposed consolidated district, the legal description of the boundaries of each district to be consolidated, and a legal description of the boundaries of the consolidated district, the amount of outstanding bonds, if any, of each district proposed to be consolidated, a listing of the firehouses within each district, and the names of the districts to be consolidated.

3. Each board of the districts approving the plan for proposed consolidation shall duly certify and file in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the district is located a copy of the plan of consolidation, bearing the signatures of those directors who vote in favor thereof, together with a petition for consolidation. The petition may be made jointly by all of the districts within the respective plan of consolidation. A filing fee of fifty dollars shall be deposited with the clerk, on the filing of the petition, against the costs of court.

4. The circuit court sitting in and for any county to which the petition is presented is hereby vested with jurisdiction, power and authority to hear the same, and to approve the consolidation and order such districts consolidated, after holding an election, as hereinafter provided.

5. If the circuit court finds the plan for consolidation to have been duly approved by the respective boards of directors of the fire protection districts proposed to be consolidated, then the circuit court shall enter its order of record, directing the submission of the question.

6. The order shall direct publication of notice of election, and shall fix the date thereof. The order shall direct that the elections shall be held to vote on the proposition of consolidating the districts and to elect three persons, having the qualifications declared in section 321.130 and being among the then directors of the districts proposed to be consolidated, to become directors of the consolidated district.

7. The question shall be submitted in substantially the following form:

Shall the ..... Fire Protection Districts and the ..... Fire Protection District be consolidated into one fire protection district to be known as the ..... Fire Protection District, with tax levies not in excess of the following amounts: maintenance fund ..... cents per one hundred dollars assessed valuation; ambulance service ..... cents per one hundred dollars assessed valuation; pension fund ..... cents per one hundred dollars assessed valuation; and dispatching fund ..... cents per one hundred dollars assessed valuation?

8. If, upon the canvass and declaration, it is found and determined that a majority of the voters of the districts voting on the proposition or propositions have voted in favor of the proposition to incorporate the consolidated district, then the court shall then further, in its order, designate the first board of directors of the consolidated district, who have been elected by the voters voting thereon, the one receiving the third highest number of votes to hold office until the first Tuesday in April which is more than one year after the date of election, the one receiving the second highest number of votes to hold office until two years after the first Tuesday aforesaid, and the one receiving the highest number of votes until four years after the first Tuesday in April as aforesaid. If any other propositions are also submitted at the election, the court, in its order, shall also declare the results of the votes thereon. If the court shall find and determine, upon the canvass and declaration, that a majority of the voters of the consolidated district have not voted in favor of the proposition to incorporate the consolidated district, then the court shall enter its order declaring the proceedings void and of no effect, and shall dismiss the same at the cost of petitioners.

610.021. Except to the extent disclosure is otherwise required by law, a public governmental body is authorized to close meetings, records and votes, to the extent they relate to the following:

(1) Legal actions, causes of action or litigation involving a public governmental body and any confidential or privileged communications between a public governmental body or its representatives and its attorneys. However, any minutes, vote or settlement agreement relating to legal actions, causes of action or litigation involving a public governmental body or any agent or entity representing its interests or acting on its behalf or with its authority, including any insurance company acting on behalf of a public government body as its insured, shall be made public upon final disposition of the matter voted upon or upon the signing by the parties of the settlement agreement, unless, prior to final disposition, the settlement agreement is ordered closed by a court after a written finding that the adverse impact to a plaintiff or plaintiffs to the action clearly outweighs the public policy considerations of section 610.011, however, the amount of any moneys paid by, or on behalf of, the public governmental body shall be disclosed; provided, however, in matters involving the exercise of the power of eminent domain, the vote shall be announced or become public immediately following the action on the motion to authorize institution of such a legal action. Legal work product shall be considered a closed record;

(2) Leasing, purchase or sale of real estate by a public governmental body where public knowledge of the transaction might adversely affect the legal consideration therefor. However, any minutes, vote or public record approving a contract relating to the leasing, purchase or sale of real estate by a public governmental body shall be made public upon execution of the lease, purchase or sale of the real estate;

(3) Hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting of particular employees by a public governmental body when personal information about the employee is discussed or recorded. However, any vote on a final decision, when taken by a public governmental body, to hire, fire, promote or discipline an employee of a public governmental body shall be made available with a record of how each member voted to the public within seventy-two hours of the close of the meeting where such action occurs; provided, however, that any employee so affected shall be entitled to prompt notice of such decision during the seventy-two-hour period before such decision is made available to the public.

As used in this subdivision, the term "personal information" means information relating to the performance or merit of individual employees;

(4) The state militia or national guard or any part thereof;

(5) Nonjudicial mental or physical health proceedings involving identifiable persons, including medical, psychiatric, psychological, or alcoholism or drug dependency diagnosis or treatment;

(6) Scholastic probation, expulsion, or graduation of identifiable individuals, including records of individual test or examination scores; however, personally identifiable student records maintained by public educational institutions shall be open for inspection by the parents, guardian or other custodian of students under the age of eighteen years and by the parents, guardian or other custodian and the student if the student is over the age of eighteen years;

(7) Testing and examination materials, before the test or examination is given or, if it is to be given again, before so given again;

(8) Welfare cases of identifiable individuals;

(9) Preparation, including any discussions or work product, on behalf of a public governmental body or its representatives for negotiations with employee groups;

(10) Software codes for electronic data processing and documentation thereof;

(11) Specifications for competitive bidding, until either the specifications are officially approved by the public governmental body or the specifications are published for bid;

(12) Sealed bids and related documents, until the bids are opened; and sealed proposals and related documents or any documents related to a negotiated contract until a contract is executed, or all proposals are rejected;

(13) Individually identifiable personnel records, performance ratings or records pertaining to employees or applicants for employment, except that this exemption shall not apply to the names, positions, salaries and lengths of service of officers and employees of public agencies once they are employed as such, and the names of private sources donating or contributing money to the salary of a chancellor or president at all public colleges and universities in the state of Missouri and the amount of money contributed by the source;

(14) Records which are protected from disclosure by law;

(15) Meetings and public records relating to scientific and technological innovations in which the owner has a proprietary interest;

(16) Records relating to municipal hotlines established for the reporting of abuse and wrongdoing;

(17) Confidential or privileged communications between a public governmental body and its auditor, including all auditor work product; however, all final audit reports issued by the auditor are to be considered open records pursuant to this chapter;

(18) Operational guidelines and policies developed, adopted, or maintained by any public agency responsible for law enforcement, public safety, first response, or public health for use in responding to or preventing any critical incident which is or appears to be terrorist in nature and which has the potential to endanger individual or public safety or health. Nothing in this exception shall be deemed to close information regarding expenditures, purchases, or contracts made by an agency in implementing these guidelines or policies. When seeking to close information pursuant to this exception, the agency shall affirmatively state in writing that disclosure would impair its ability to protect the safety or health of persons, and shall in the same writing state that the public interest in nondisclosure outweighs the public interest in disclosure of the records. This exception shall sunset on December 31, [2012] 2016;

(19) Existing or proposed security systems and structural plans of real property owned or leased by a public governmental body, and information that is voluntarily submitted by a nonpublic entity owning or operating an infrastructure to any public governmental body for use by that body to devise plans for protection of that infrastructure, the public disclosure of which would threaten public safety:

(a) Records related to the procurement of or expenditures relating to security systems purchased with public funds shall be open;

(b) When seeking to close information pursuant to this exception, the public governmental body shall affirmatively state in writing that disclosure would impair the public governmental body's ability to protect the security or safety of persons or real property, and shall in the same writing state that the public interest in nondisclosure outweighs the public interest in disclosure of the records;

(c) Records that are voluntarily submitted by a nonpublic entity shall be reviewed by the receiving agency within ninety days of submission to determine if retention of the document is necessary in furtherance of a state security interest. If retention is not necessary, the documents shall be returned to the nonpublic governmental body or destroyed;

(d) This exception shall sunset on December 31, [2012] 2016;

(20) Records that identify the configuration of components or the operation of a computer, computer system, computer network, or telecommunications network, and would allow unauthorized access to or unlawful disruption of a computer, computer system, computer network, or telecommunications network of a public governmental body. This exception shall not be used to limit or deny access to otherwise public records in a file, document, data file or database containing public records. Records related to the procurement of or expenditures relating to such computer, computer system, computer network, or telecommunications network, including the amount of moneys paid by, or on behalf of, a public governmental body for such computer, computer system, computer network, or telecommunications network shall be open;

(21) Credit card numbers, personal identification numbers, digital certificates, physical and virtual keys, access codes or authorization codes that are used to protect the security of electronic transactions between a public governmental body and a person or entity doing business with a public governmental body. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to close the record of a person or entity using a credit card held in the name of a public governmental body or any record of a transaction made by a person using a credit card or other method of payment for which reimbursement is made by a public governmental body; and

(22) Records submitted by an individual, corporation, or other business entity to a public institution of higher education in connection with a proposal to license intellectual property or perform sponsored research and which contains sales projections or other business plan information the disclosure of which may endanger the competitiveness of a business.

Section B. Because of the need of local governments to raise revenue to meet their public needs, the enactment of section 144.758 of this act is deemed necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health, welfare, peace and safety, and is hereby declared to be an emergency act within the meaning of the constitution, and the enactment of section 144.758 of this act shall be in full force and effect upon its passage and approval.