General Assembly Raised Bill No. 436
February Session, 2010 LCO No. 2048
*02048_______FIN*
Referred to Committee on Finance, Revenue and Bonding
Introduced by:
(FIN)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 436
February Session, 2010
LCO No. 2048
*02048_______FIN*
Referred to Committee on Finance, Revenue and Bonding
Introduced by:
(FIN)
AN ACT CONCERNING MUNICIPAL REVENUE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2010) (a) As used in this section, "municipality" means any town, city, borough, consolidated town and city or consolidated town and borough.
(b) Any municipality may, upon approval by its legislative body, or, in any town in which the legislative body is a town meeting, by the board of selectmen, establish by ordinance any type of tax, including, but not limited to, a retail sales tax, a tax on food and beverages, an amusements tax, a hotel tax, payroll taxes or hospital bed taxes.
(c) The municipality shall conduct an annual review of any tax imposed pursuant to this section, commencing one year after the date of its original imposition. Such municipality's legislative body, or, in any town in which the legislative body is a town meeting, the board of selectmen, shall conduct such review and such legislative body or board of selectmen shall thereafter amend or approve such tax in the same manner as provided in subsection (b) of this section. If a tax is not so amended or approved, it shall expire at the end of the current calendar quarter or thirty days after the annual review required pursuant to this subsection, whichever is later.
(d) Any municipal tax imposed pursuant to this section shall be in addition to any state tax imposed on the same activity.
(e) (1) Any tax imposed by a municipality under the provisions of this section shall be collected and administered by the Department of Revenue Services, in the same manner as such taxes are currently paid, and in accordance with the laws governing such taxes. The department shall segregate the amount paid that is attributable to any municipal tax and, commencing on the first day of the calendar quarter next succeeding the institution of such municipal tax, remit to the municipality such amount. Thereafter, the department shall remit quarterly to the municipality any amounts received attributable to a municipal tax.
(2) For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2011, and June 30, 2012, the department may deduct from the amounts received attributable to municipal taxes any costs directly associated with the administration and collection of such taxes by the department.
(f) A municipality may use the revenue generated by any tax enacted under the provisions of this section for the general fund of the municipality, capital expenditures or any regular or special purpose as provided in the budget enacted each year by the municipality.
Sec. 2. Subdivision (2) of subsection (c) of section 7-148 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2010):
(2) (A) Establish and maintain a budget system;
(B) Assess, levy and collect taxes for general or special purposes on all property, subjects or objects which may be lawfully taxed, and regulate the mode of assessment and collection of taxes and assessments not otherwise provided for, including establishment of a procedure for the withholding of approval of building application when taxes or water or sewer rates, charges or assessments imposed by the municipality are delinquent for the property for which an application was made;
(C) Make appropriations for the support of the municipality and pay its debts;
(D) Make appropriations for the purpose of meeting a public emergency threatening the lives, health or property of citizens, provided such appropriations shall require a favorable vote of at least two-thirds of the entire membership of the legislative body or, when the legislative body is the town meeting, at least two-thirds of those present and voting;
(E) Make appropriations to military organizations, hospitals, health care facilities, public health nursing organizations, nonprofit museums and libraries, organizations providing drug abuse and dependency programs and any other private organization performing a public function;
(F) Provide for the manner in which contracts involving unusual expenditures shall be made;
(G) When not specifically prescribed by general statute or by charter, prescribe the form of proceedings and mode of assessing benefits and appraising damages in taking land for public use, or in making public improvements to be paid for, in whole or in part, by special assessments, and prescribe the manner in which all benefits assessed shall be collected;
(H) Provide for the bonding of municipal officials or employees by requiring the furnishing of such bond, conditioned upon honesty or faithful performance of duty and determine the amount, form, and sufficiency of the sureties thereof;
(I) Regulate the method of borrowing money for any purpose for which taxes may be levied and borrow on the faith and credit of the municipality for such general or special purposes and to such extent as is authorized by general statute;
(J) Provide for the temporary borrowing of money;
(K) Create a sinking fund or funds or a trust fund or funds or other special funds, including funds which do not lapse at the end of the municipal fiscal year;
(L) Provide for the assignment of municipal tax liens on real property to the extent authorized by general statute;
(M) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, impose a surcharge on any fee established pursuant to the general statutes for a municipal service, which surcharge shall not exceed the costs to the municipality to provide the service for which the fee is assessed, including, but not limited to, the costs of (i) reviewing and acting on applications and petitions, (ii) certified mailings, (iii) publications of notices and decisions, (iv) monitoring compliance with permit conditions, and (v) the salary attributable to employees engaged in providing the service.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2010 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2010 7-148(c)(2)
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
July 1, 2010
New section
Sec. 2
July 1, 2010
7-148(c)(2)
Statement of Purpose:
To increase sources of municipal revenue by giving municipalities local option taxing authority and allowing them to unilaterally increase fees otherwise set or limited by statute.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]