HCS/SCS/SB's 165, 164, 248 & 168 - This act modifies provisions of law regarding political subdivisions. SECTION 66.430, 66.431, 66.433, 66.434, 66.435 Allows the governing bodies of charter counties to create parks, trails and greenway districts, and impose a sales tax to fund the support of parks, trails, and greenways in such district. The act provides for the membership, duties and powers of board of directors of such directors. SECTION 67.456 Currently, assessed costs on property divided into parcels within a neighborhood improvement district are recalculated and reassessed proportionally to each of the divided parcels. The bill allows the city or county that formed the district sixty days after the recordation of proof of parcel division to reallocate the costs according to the method of assessment established in the ballot question or petition forming the district, otherwise the proportional assessment method must be utilized. SECTION 67.585 Authorizes Jefferson County, upon voter approval, to impose by order or resolution a retail sales tax of up to one-half of one percent for funding the public health and safety projects and programs of the county public health center. The tax can only be imposed in conjunction with a property tax reduction for each year in which the sales tax is imposed. The sales tax revenue must be deposited into the newly created County Public Health Center Improvement Sales Tax Fund to be used solely for the specified purposes, except that one percent of such revenue will be deposited into the General Revenue Fund for the cost of collection. SECTION 67.1000 Current law allows any county, city which is the county seat of any county, and various other cities to impose a tax, not to exceed five percent per room per night, on charges for sleeping rooms paid by guests of hotels and motels. This act increases the maximum levy from five percent to seven percent. Such increase will become effective only upon voter approval. This provision is similar to Senate Bill 900 (2008). SECTION 67.1080 Authorizes counties to seek voter approval for the extension of certain taxes which, by law, are set to terminate after a term of years and provides ballot language for the submission of such question to voters. SECTION 67.1360 Authorizes Montgomery County and the cities of Ashland, Centralia, Excelsior Springs and Sugar Creek to seek voter approval to impose a transient guest tax upon charges for all sleeping rooms paid by guests of hotels, motels, bed and breakfast inns and campgrounds for the purpose of promoting tourism. The tax must be at least two percent, but may not exceed five percent per occupied room per night. SECTIONS 67.1401, 67.1421, 67.1451, 67.1461, 67.1521, 67.1545, 67.1551 Change the basis of the determination of ownership of property within the community improvement district to the real estate records of the recorder of deeds where the district is located. Currently, for various purposes under the community improvement district law, the determination is made from the tax records maintained by the county clerk. A district board is allowed to include up to five legally authorized representatives of any business operating within the district if there are fewer than five real property owners within a district. Currently, every district is governed by a board with five to thirty directors, who are either owners of real property or of a business operating within the district. The act specifies the manner in which a director's term will be determined when all directors receive the same number of votes regarding their term limits. The powers that the district can exercise outside the district's boundaries are expanded to include acquiring real and personal property; abating public nuisances; constructing, maintaining, or operating a variety of public improvements, including transportation; and permissively regulating municipal traffic. Districts located in a blighted area are authorized to contract with any private property owner to acquire property owned or to be owned by a private property owner. Approval of a district sales tax may be obtained by an election within the district or, if no registered voters live within the district, by a unanimous petition of one hundred percent of the district's property owners verified by the board of directors. A district may conduct an election pursuant to the Comprehensive Election Act of 1977 under Sections 115.005 - 115.646, RSMo, or with mail-in ballots pursuant to Sections 115.650 - 115.660. Section 115.005 will not apply to these provisions. SECTION 67.2000 The act allows real property owners in Caldwell, Clinton, Davies, and DeKalb counties to seek voter approval for the creation of exhibition center and recreational facility districts. If such a district is created, it may seek voter approval for the imposition of a one-quarter of one percent sales tax, for a period not to exceed twenty-five years, to fund the district. SECTION 94.271 Authorizes the City of Grandview to impose, upon voter approval, a transient guest tax of up to five percent per occupied room, per night for the promotion of tourism. SECTION 94.400 Currently, constitutional charter cities with between ten thousand and three hundred thousand inhabitants are authorized to levy property taxes for certain municipal purposes. This bill expands this authorization to include any city with a population of not less than five thousand inhabitants. SECTIONS 94.510, 94.550, 94.557, AND 94.900 Currently, under the general city sales tax law, cities may impose a city sales tax, upon voter approval, at a rate of one-half of one percent, seven-eighths of one percent, or one percent, and the City of St. Louis may impose the tax at a rate not to exceed one and three-eighths percent, for the benefit of the city. This act specifies that the combined rate of sales taxes adopted under the city sales tax law cannot exceed two percent. This change is not to be construed as a new tax or an increase in the current levy of an existing tax for the purpose of Section 22, Article X, of the Missouri Constitution, commonly known as the Hancock Amendment, which requires voter approval; and cities that have already imposed and collected taxes under the city sales tax law can continue to do so without voter approval as a continuation of a tax previously approved by the voters of the city. Currently, under the capital improvements city sales tax law, cities not in St. Louis County may impose a sales tax, upon voter approval, at a rate of one-eighth, one-fourth, three-eighths, or one-half of one percent for the purpose of funding, operating, and maintaining capital improvements. Municipalities in charter counties are authorized to impose a capital improvements tax under Section 94.890, RSMo. This act specifies that the combined rate of sales taxes adopted under the capital improvement city sales tax law cannot exceed one percent. This change is not to be construed as a new tax or an increase in the current levy of an existing tax for the purpose of the Hancock Amendment which requires voter approval; and cities that have already imposed and collected taxes under the city sales tax law can continue to do so without voter approval as a continuation of a tax previously approved by the voters of the city. The act also authorizes the City of Peculiar and any city in Jefferson County to impose, upon voter approval, a sales tax of up to one-half of one percent for the operation of public safety departments including compensation, pension programs, health care, and additional equipment and facilities. SECTION 94.902 Allows the City of Grandview to seek voter approval to levy a sales tax of up to one-half percent to fund public safety improvements for the city. Such improvements may include expenditures on equipment, city employee salaries and benefits, and facilities for police, fire, and emergency medical providers. SECTION 94.903 Authorizes the City of St. Ann to impose, upon voter approval, a sales tax of one percent for the purpose of public safety improvements including equipment expenditures, compensation for city employees, and facilities for police, fire, and emergency medical providers. SECTION 94.1011 Authorizes the City of Waynesville to impose, upon voter approval, a transient guest tax of up to three percent on all occupied hotel and motel rooms. The tax must be used to fund the construction, maintenance, and repair of a multipurpose conference and convention center. SECTION 115.350 Prohibits an individual who has been found guilty of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to a felony in Missouri, to any crime committed in any other jurisdiction that would be a felony if committed in Missouri, or to any federal felony or misdemeanor from qualifying as a candidate for elective public office including any elective public office of any political subdivision. Crimes involving misconduct in public office or dishonesty whether classified as misdemeanors or felonies will also disqualify an individual. SECTION 137.1040 The governing body of any city, town, village or county is authorized to submit a proposal to the voters of such city, town village or county allowing the municipality to impose a property tax to fund cemetery maintenance. The tax authorized under this act shall not exceed one fourth of one cent per one hundred dollars assessed valuation and shall not become effective until approved by the voters of the city, town village or county. SECTION 141.160 Provides that the collectors in St. Louis County and Jackson County must collect an additional five percent fee for the collection of delinquent and back taxes to be paid into the county's general fund. SECTION 144.030 Exempts sporting clays, wobble, skeet, and trap sold to any shooting range or other place of amusement for ultimate use and consumption by patrons of such range or place of amusement from state and local sales and use tax. SECTION 182.802 Authorizes public library districts to seek voter approval for a sales tax of not more than one half of one cent to fund the operation, and maintenance of libraries within the boundaries of such library district. Public library districts are defined as any city library district, county library district, city-county library district, municipal library district, consolidated library district or urban library district. SECTION 204.569 Authorizes sewer subdistricts that are part of a common sewer district located in the counties of Cass and Jackson to issue bonds for undertaking certain activities in the subdistrict. SECTION 206.165 Authorizes hospital districts in certain counties, including Ripley County, upon voter approval, to abolish the hospital district property tax and impose a retail sales tax of up to one percent for the purpose of funding the hospital district. Moneys collected from the tax will be deposited into the newly created Hospital District Sales Tax Fund with one percent of such revenues retained and deposited into general revenue by the Director of the Department of Revenue for the cost of collection. SECTION 231.444 Allows Chariton and Carroll Counties to impose a tax of one dollar per acre of agricultural and horticultural property to fund the purchase of road rock for use in the county. SECTIONS 238.202, 238.208, 238.216, 238.220, 238.235, 238.257, AND 238.275 Defines "owner" as used in the transportation development district law. An alternative method by which property may be added to a district by the unanimous petition of the qualified voters within the area to be added, followed by public notice and a public hearing by the district board is authorized. If a written objection signed by at least ten percent of the qualified voters within the district is filed within seven days after the public hearing, the issue must be submitted to the qualified voters within the proposed limits of the district. Currently, property may be added to a district by the unanimous petition of the owners of the property to be added and the unanimous approval of the property owners within the district. The act specifies the method by which the vote of a non-individual in a director election will be cast if no mechanism for that determination is specified in its organizational or operating documents. The requirement that directors be residents of the district is repealed. The effective date of any sales tax authorized in the transportation development district law is changed to the first day of the month designated by the board. Currently, the tax becomes effective on the first day of the month following its adoption. A decrease in the number of projects a board is authorized to complete upon a majority vote of the board is permitted. Currently, if a board wants to decrease the number of projects, it must submit the issue to the voters of the district. The act authorizes a district to begin district dissolution election proceedings after it has provided for the completion and funding of its project and has transferred ownership and control of the project to the Highways and Transportation Commission or a local transportation authority. A district is also authorized to begin district dissolution proceedings by petition to a circuit court after it has completed a project or provided for the completion and funding of its project and has transferred ownership and control of the project to the commission or a local transportation authority. SECTION 321.227 Allows any fire protection district in St. Louis County which has property contained within its boundaries that is subject to tax abatement or a redistribution of tax revenues to impose, upon voter approval, a sales tax of up to one percent on all retail sales within the fire protection district. Revenues collected from the sales tax will be deposited into the newly created Fire Protection District Sales Tax Fund. Ninety percent of the revenue will be distributed to the fire protection district from which the sales tax was collected, and ten percent will be distributed to the fire protection districts per capita based upon the population of each distressed fire protection district. Any fire protection district imposing the sales tax must reduce the district's property tax rate by an amount sufficient to decrease property tax revenues by fifty of the previous year's revenue received from the fund. SECTION 429.110 Requires lien notices to be recorded rather than filed and imposes a fee for recording such notices. SECTIONS 488.012 AND 488.075 Add an additional three dollar fee to all cases to be deposited into the circuit clerk's preservation fund. Two dollars is to be retained by the clerk and used for record storage and public access to records, and one dollar will be forwarded to the Secretary of State for additional record preservation. SECTIONS 650.396 AND 650.399 Under current law, any county which has established an emergency communications system commission may, upon voter approval, levy and collect a property tax to fund the establishment, operation, and maintenance of an emergency communications system. This act would give such counties the option to seek voter approval to impose the property tax or a sales tax not to exceed one-tenth of one percent to fund the establishment, operation, and maintenance of an emergency communications system. The Department of Revenue will collect the sales tax revenues and deposit them into the newly created county emergency communications fund for distribution to the counties from which they were collected. This act also repeals section 115.348 which prohibited any person, who had been found guilty of or pled guilty to a felony or misdemeanor under the federal laws of the United States of America, from qualifying as a candidate for elective public office in the state. This act contains an emergency clause for the enactment of sections 204.569 and 206.165 of the act. JASON ZAMKUS