74th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2007 Regular Session
NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .
LC 945-1
Senate Bill 80
Printed pursuant to Senate Interim Rule 213.28 by order of the
President of the Senate in conformance with presession filing
rules, indicating neither advocacy nor opposition on the part
of the President (at the request of Secretary of State Bill
Bradbury)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
Deletes references to double majority voter participation
requirement for tax measures. Deletes legal challenges to tax
measures approved by less than double majority of voters.
Takes effect on passage of amendment to Oregon Constitution
proposed by Senate Joint Resolution 10 (2007).
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to elections on tax measures; amending ORS 190.083,
198.815, 221.050, 222.050, 250.031, 258.006, 258.016, 258.046,
258.075, 258.290, 267.530, 280.060, 280.070, 310.140 and
341.085; repealing ORS 250.036 and 310.190; and prescribing an
effective date.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. ORS 190.083 is amended to read:
190.083. (1) Before a county enters into an intergovernmental
agreement creating an intergovernmental entity to operate,
maintain, repair and modernize transportation facilities, the
county shall obtain approval of the terms and conditions of the
agreement from the governing bodies of a majority of the cities
within the county.
(2) Subject to the provisions of this section, an
intergovernmental entity created to operate, maintain, repair and
modernize transportation facilities may issue general obligation
bonds and assess, levy and collect taxes in support of the
purposes of the entity.
(3)(a) To carry out the purposes of an intergovernmental
agreement under this section, and when authorized at an election
described in paragraph (b) of this subsection, an
intergovernmental entity created to operate, maintain, repair and
modernize transportation facilities may borrow moneys and sell
and dispose of general obligation bonds. Approval requires an
affirmative vote of a majority of the electors within the
intergovernmental entity voting in the election.
(b) If the bonds are not subject to the limitations under
section 11 or 11b, Article XI of the Oregon Constitution:
(A) The proposition submitted to the electors shall provide
that the intergovernmental entity shall assess, levy and collect
taxes each year on the assessed value of all taxable property
within the intergovernmental entity for the purposes of paying
the principal and interest on the general obligation bonds; { +
and + }
{ - (B) The election must comply with the voter participation
requirements of section 11 (8), Article XI of the Oregon
Constitution; and - }
{ - (C) - } { + (B) + } Outstanding bonds may never exceed
in the aggregate two percent of the real market value of all
taxable property within the entity.
(4) The governing body of an intergovernmental entity created
to operate, maintain, repair and modernize transportation
facilities shall issue the bonds from time to time as authorized
by the electors of the entity. The governing body shall issue the
bonds according to the applicable provisions of ORS chapters 287
and 288.
(5) The electors of an intergovernmental entity created to
operate, maintain, repair and modernize transportation facilities
may establish a permanent rate limit for ad valorem property
taxes for the entity pursuant to section 11 (3)(c), Article XI of
the Oregon Constitution.
(6) An intergovernmental entity created to operate, maintain,
repair and modernize transportation facilities may exercise the
powers necessary to carry out the purposes of the
intergovernmental agreement, including but not limited to the
authority to enter into agreements and to expend tax proceeds and
other revenues the entity receives.
(7) An intergovernmental entity created to operate, maintain,
repair and modernize transportation facilities is not a district
as defined in ORS 198.010 and is not subject to the provisions of
ORS chapter 451.
(8) An intergovernmental entity described in this section is
subject to ORS 294.305 to 294.565 for each fiscal year or budget
period in which the entity proposes to impose or imposes ad
valorem property taxes.
SECTION 2. ORS 198.815 is amended to read:
198.815. (1) If the required number of written requests for an
election are filed with the county board on or before the date of
the final hearing or if the petition for formation includes a
permanent rate limit for operating taxes for the proposed
district, the board shall provide by order for the holding of an
election to submit to the electors the question of forming the
district. The board shall cause notice of the election to be
published by two insertions. If requests for an election are
filed by less than the required number of persons and no
permanent rate limit for operating taxes is included in the
petition, the county board shall dismiss the requests and enter
an order creating the district.
(2) The order calling an election shall fix the date of the
election on the next available election date in ORS 255.345 for
which the filing deadline can be met. However, when the proposal
for formation includes a permanent rate limit for operating taxes
for the proposed district, the election shall be held on the date
of the next primary election or general election for which the
filing deadline can be met. The order shall also state that at
such election members of the district board will be voted for.
Candidates to be voted for as members of the first board of a
district shall be nominated as provided by ORS chapter 255 and
the principal Act of a district.
(3) The order calling the election shall require the county
official in charge of elections to include with the ballot for
the election a map or other description of the boundaries of the
proposed district using streets and other generally recognized
features and a statement of the permanent rate, if any, proposed
for the district in the petition for formation under ORS 198.750
(1)(g). Such statement shall comply with the requirements of ORS
250.035. The map or other description and statement required by
this subsection shall be supplied by the county board.
(4) { - (a) - } When the proposal for formation includes a
permanent rate limit for operating taxes for the proposed
district, the ballot title shall clearly indicate that a single
question is being proposed which is:
{ - (A) - } { + (a) + } Whether the proposed district shall
be formed; and
{ - (B) - } { + (b) + } Whether the permanent rate limit
specified in the ballot title shall be adopted as the maximum
rate of operating taxes for that district.
{ - (b) The ballot title for the election shall be in
compliance with ORS 250.036. - }
{ - (5) When the proposal for formation includes a permanent
rate limit for the proposed district, the district shall be
authorized to impose operating taxes not in excess of the
permanent rate limit if the proposal is approved by a majority of
the votes cast and: - }
{ - (a) At least 50 percent of registered electors eligible
to vote in the election cast a ballot; or - }
{ - (b) The election is a general election in an
even-numbered year. - }
{ - (6) - } { + (5) + } If a proposed county service
district is subject to dissolution unless a determination of
public need for continued existence is made, the ballot title
shall include the fiscal year in which dissolution will occur and
statement that the district will dissolve unless the board of
directors determines that there is a public need for continued
existence.
SECTION 3. ORS 221.050 is amended to read:
221.050. (1) The county court shall submit the proposition for
incorporation determined as provided in ORS 221.040 to the
electors registered in the area proposed to be incorporated. At
the same election, five city council members for the proposed
city shall be elected.
(2) ORS chapters 246 to 260 govern the conduct of an election
under this section, including the nomination and election of the
first city council, except as follows:
(a) A nominating or primary election for the purpose of
nominating candidates for the city council shall not be held.
(b) Notwithstanding ORS 249.037, a nominating petition or
declaration of candidacy must be filed with the county clerk not
sooner than the 100th day and not later than the 70th day before
the date of the election.
(c) At the time of filing a declaration of candidacy, a
candidate for the first city council shall pay to the officer
with whom the declaration is filed a fee of $25.
(d) A nominating petition shall contain at least 25 signatures
of electors in the area proposed to be incorporated or a number
of signatures of electors equal to at least 10 percent of the
number of electors in the area proposed to be incorporated as of
the date the election is ordered under ORS 221.040, whichever is
less.
{ - (3) The proposed ballot title for an election under this
section shall be in compliance with ORS 250.036. - }
{ - (4) - } { + (3) + } Not later than the 30th day after
an election called under ORS 221.040 the county court calling the
election shall proclaim whether the results of the election favor
incorporation. The county court also shall proclaim which
candidates for city council are elected, if the results of the
election favor incorporation. The results of the election favor
incorporation if a majority of the votes cast on the proposition
favors incorporation and:
(a) At least 50 percent of registered electors eligible to vote
in the election cast a ballot; or
(b) The election is a general election in an even-numbered
year.
{ - (5) - } { + (4) + } If the results of the election
favor incorporation:
(a) The area described in the notice of election is
incorporated as a city from the date of the election;
(b) The proposed rate limit for operating taxes submitted to
and approved by the electors at the election shall be the
permanent rate limit for operating taxes for the new city; and
(c) The five council members elected under subsection (2) of
this section shall take office not later than the 10th day next
following the proclamation on the proposition and council
election.
SECTION 4. ORS 222.050 is amended to read:
222.050. (1) This section applies if a consolidation or merger
proposes to consolidate or merge two or more cities and at least
one of the cities has not previously imposed ad valorem property
taxes.
(2) The question of the consolidation or merger that is
submitted to the electors of the city that has not previously
imposed ad valorem property taxes may also propose a permanent
rate limit on operating taxes as described in section 11 (3)(c),
Article XI of the Oregon Constitution.
(3) The permanent rate limit proposed under subsection (2) of
this section shall be taken into account in determining the
permanent rate limit for the city following consolidation or
merger as provided in section 11 (3)(d), Article XI of the Oregon
Constitution.
(4) The question of the consolidation or merger that is
submitted to the electors of the city that has not previously
approved operating taxes shall be considered approved by such
electors if a majority of the votes cast are in favor of the
consolidation or merger { + . + } { - and: - }
{ - (a) At least 50 percent of registered voters eligible to
vote in the election cast a ballot; or - }
{ - (b) The election is a general election in an
even-numbered year. - }
{ - (5) ORS 250.036 applies to a ballot title for an election
described in this section. - }
{ - (6) Notwithstanding that a majority of all electors
voting on the question of consolidation or merger approve the
consolidation or merger, the consolidation or merger shall not be
considered approved if the voting participation requirements in
subsection (4) of this section have not been met in the city to
which this section applies. - }
{ - (7) - } { + (5) + } If the city to which
{ + subsection (4) of + } this section applies approves the
consolidation or merger but the consolidation or merger is not
approved by the other electors voting on the question or for some
other reason does not occur, no permanent rate limit for
operating taxes shall be established for the city as a result of
the election.
SECTION 5. ORS 250.031 is amended to read:
250.031. The Secretary of State shall adopt administrative
rules for the conduct of elections under section 11, Article XI
of the Oregon Constitution, that include but are not limited to
provisions that { - : - }
{ - (1) - } set forth { - the - } requirements { - for
an election to which section 11 (8), Article XI of the Oregon
Constitution, is applicable - } that are consistent with the
voter registration requirements of ORS chapter 247 and with the
federal National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-31)
{ - ; - }
{ - (2) Provide directions to election officers for
calculating whether the required number of registered voters
eligible to vote voted in the election; and - }
{ - (3) Interpret the words 'cast a ballot' in section 11
(8), Article XI of the Oregon Constitution, as meaning that a
ballot was lawfully cast, whether or not the vote of that ballot
may lawfully be counted for reasons other than the eligibility of
the voter to vote - } .
SECTION 6. ORS 258.006 is amended to read:
258.006. As used in this chapter:
(1) 'Candidate' means a candidate for nomination or election to
any elective office.
(2) 'Contestant' means any person who files a petition of
contest under ORS 258.036.
(3) 'Contestee' means:
(a) In a contest of the nomination of a person for an office or
the election of a person to an office, all candidates for the
nomination or office, other than a candidate who is a contestant.
(b) In a contest of the approval or rejection of a measure
proposed by initiative petition, the chief petitioner of the
petition, unless the chief petitioner is a contestant, and any
other person involved in the cause of the contest.
(c) If the cause of the contest is ORS 258.016 (6) { - or
(7) - } , the county clerk.
(4) 'County clerk' means the county clerk or the county
official in charge of elections.
(5) 'Elector' means an individual qualified to vote under
section 2, Article II, Oregon Constitution.
(6) 'Full recount' means a recount of all the precincts in
which votes were cast for the nomination or office for which a
candidate received a vote or on any measure that appeared on the
ballot.
(7) 'Measure' includes any of the following submitted to the
people for their approval or rejection at an election:
(a) A proposed law.
(b) An Act or part of an Act of the Legislative Assembly.
(c) A revision of or amendment to the Oregon Constitution.
(d) Local, special or municipal legislation.
(e) A proposition or question.
(8) 'Partial recount' means a recount conducted in a number of
precincts equal to the greater of:
(a) Five percent of the precincts in which votes were cast for
the nomination or office for which a candidate received a vote or
on any measure that appeared on the ballot; or
(b) Three specified precincts in which votes were cast for the
nomination or office for which a candidate received a vote or on
any measure that appeared on the ballot.
SECTION 7. ORS 258.016 is amended to read:
258.016. The nomination or election of any person or the
decision on any measure may be contested by any elector entitled
to vote for the person or measure, by any person who was a
candidate at the election for the same nomination or office, by
the Secretary of State if the contest involves a state measure or
a candidate for whom the Secretary of State is the filing
officer, or by the county clerk who conducted the election only
for the following causes:
(1) Deliberate and material violation of any provision of the
election laws in connection with the nomination, election,
approval or rejection.
(2) Ineligibility of the person elected to the office to hold
the office at the time of the election.
(3) Illegal votes.
(4) Mistake or fraud in the canvass of votes.
(5) Fraud in the count of votes.
(6) Nondeliberate and material error in the distribution of the
official ballots by a local elections official, as that term is
defined in ORS 246.012, or a county clerk.
{ - (7) A challenge to the determination of the number of
electors who were eligible to participate in an election on a
measure conducted under section 11 (8), Article XI of the Oregon
Constitution. - }
SECTION 8. ORS 258.046 is amended to read:
258.046. { - (1) - } The prevailing party in the contest
proceeding shall recover costs, disbursements and reasonable
attorney fees at trial and on appeal against the losing party.
However, if the cause of the contest is a mistake in the canvass
of votes and the contestant prevails, the cost of any recanvass
of votes shall be paid by:
{ - (a) - } { + (1) + } The county for a contest of a state
or county nomination, office or measure;
{ - (b) - } { + (2) + } The city for a contest of a city
nomination, office or measure; or
{ - (c) - } { + (3) + } Any other political subdivision or
public corporation for a contest of such a subdivision or
corporation nomination, office or measure.
{ - (2) In a contest under ORS 258.016 (7), costs,
disbursements and attorney fees shall not be assessed against the
county clerk unless the court makes a specific finding of fault
against the county clerk. - }
SECTION 9. ORS 258.075 is amended to read:
258.075. (1) { - Except as provided in subsection (4) of this
section, - } After the contest hearing, the circuit court shall
render a judgment affirming or setting aside the approval or
rejection of the measure.
(2) If the judgment sets aside the approval or rejection of a
measure, the circuit court shall direct the measure to be
resubmitted at a special election held on one of the dates
specified in this subsection, as set by the court. In setting the
election date, the court shall provide sufficient time for
adequate notice to be given. The special election may be held on
any of the following dates:
(a) The second Tuesday in March;
(b) The third Tuesday in May;
(c) The third Tuesday in September; or
(d) The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
(3) The county of the county clerk or the local elections
official who committed the error in the distribution of the
official ballots shall bear the cost of the special election.
{ - (4) In a contest under ORS 258.016 (7), the court shall
determine whether the challenge to the determination of the
number of electors who were eligible on election day to
participate in the election on a measure conducted under section
11 (8), Article XI of the Oregon Constitution, is valid. In
making the determination, the court shall rely on the provisions
of ORS chapter 247 and shall receive testimony from the county
clerk regarding the clerk's administration of ORS chapter 247.
If, after a contest hearing, the court determines that the
challenge to the determination of the number of electors who were
eligible to participate is valid and that the change in the
number of electors eligible to participate is sufficient to
change the outcome of the election on the measure, the court
shall order the county clerk to make a new determination of the
number of eligible electors and to certify the results of the
election based on the new determination. - }
SECTION 10. ORS 258.290 is amended to read:
258.290. (1) If the official canvass of votes of an election
reveals that the difference in the number of votes cast for or
against any measure is not more than one-fifth of one percent of
the total votes cast for and against the measure, the Secretary
of State, in the case of a measure for which the Secretary of
State is the filing officer, and the county clerk who conducted
the election in the case of any other measure shall order a full
recount of all votes cast for the measure.
(2) The cost of a full recount conducted under this section
shall be paid by the state, county, city or special district for
which the measure was proposed.
{ - (3) This section does not apply if the election on the
measure is an election at which at least 50 percent of registered
voters eligible to vote in the election must cast a ballot under
section 11, Article XI, Oregon Constitution, and less than 50
percent of registered voters eligible to vote in the election
cast ballots. - }
SECTION 11. ORS 267.530 is amended to read:
267.530. If a district is to impose operating taxes, a
permanent rate limit on operating taxes within the meaning of
section 11 (3), Article XI of the Oregon Constitution, shall be
established for a district at the same election at which the
district is established. If the petition or resolution for
initiating proceedings to establish the district contains a
proposed permanent rate limit, the county governing body that
calls the election shall confer about the rate limit with the
governing bodies of all counties and cities having territory in
the proposed district and shall then determine the rate limit to
be proposed for the district. The proposition submitted to the
electors of the district for the purpose of establishing the
district shall propose the rate limit specified by the county
governing body. The rate limit so proposed shall be the permanent
rate limit for operating taxes for the district within the
meaning of section 11 (3), Article XI of the Oregon Constitution,
if the district is established in an election that is in
compliance with
{ - section 11 (8), Article XI of - } the Oregon Constitution.
SECTION 12. ORS 280.060 is amended to read:
280.060. (1) Upon approval of a majority of the electors of a
subdivision { - in a manner that qualifies under section 11
(8), Article XI of the Oregon Constitution - } , a subdivision
may levy local option taxes outside the limitation imposed by
section 11 (3), Article XI, Oregon Constitution, over the period
of time that is authorized by the electors. The amount levied
each year shall be:
(a) Uniform, or substantially so, throughout the period during
which the taxes are levied; or
(b) Computed annually at the same dollar rate per thousand
dollars assessed value in the subdivision, such rate to be
declared in and made a part of the ballot measure to be submitted
to the electorate.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, a
subdivision may certify for extension on the assessment and tax
roll under ORS 310.060 a lesser amount of local option tax or a
lesser rate of local option tax if the subdivision decides to
collect less than the entire local option tax authorized by
electors. The subdivision shall certify the lesser amount or rate
in the written notice required to be made under ORS 310.060.
(3)(a) The period of time authorized by the electors shall not
exceed five years or, if the local option tax is for capital
projects, the lesser of:
(A) The expected useful life of the capital projects to be
financed by the tax; or
(B) Ten years.
(b) A local option tax for capital projects does not exceed the
expected useful life of the capital projects financed by the tax
if the estimated weighted average life of the tax does not exceed
the estimated dollar weighted average of the capital assets
comprising the capital projects that are to be financed by the
tax. The estimated dollar weighted average life of capital
projects shall be calculated under rules of the Department of
Revenue that ensure that a local option tax for capital projects
is levied for no more than 10 years and no more than the useful
life of the component of the capital projects financed by the tax
that has the longest useful life.
(4)(a) All local option taxes authorized by ORS 280.040 to
280.145 that are for capital projects and that have a term of
more than five years shall be submitted to electors separately
from local option taxes with a term of five years or less.
(b) For purposes of this subsection, 'capital project ' means
the acquisition of land upon which to construct an improvement,
the acquisition of a building, the acquisition or construction of
improvements, the acquisition of an addition to a building which
increases the square footage of the building, the construction of
a building, the construction of an addition to an existing
building which increases the square footage of the building or
the acquisition of and installation of machinery and equipment
which will become an integral part of a building or an addition
to a building, the purchase of furnishings, equipment or other
tangible property with an expected useful life of more than one
year or a combination of those items.
(5) If a ballot measure authorizing a local option tax states
that the taxing district may issue bonds that are payable from
that tax, voter approval of the tax shall constitute voter
approval of the bonds, except that the approval shall not entitle
the taxing district to collect a greater amount of tax than the
taxing district would have been entitled to collect if the ballot
measure only authorized local option taxes and did not authorize
bonds. If the local option tax is approved by voters { - in a
manner that qualifies under section 11 (8), Article XI of the
Oregon Constitution - } , then the taxing body may issue the
bonds in a principal amount that, together with the estimated
interest to be paid on the bonds while the bonds are outstanding,
does not exceed the revenues estimated to be received from the
local option tax levy. A taxing district may pledge the revenues
received from the local option tax and the taxing district's full
faith and credit to pay bonds authorized under this subsection.
SECTION 13. ORS 280.070 is amended to read:
280.070. (1) An election within a county for the purpose of
approving a tax levy or tax rate under ORS 280.060 shall be
called by the county court or board of county commissioners and
shall be held on a date specified in ORS 203.085.
(2) An election within a city for the purpose of approving a
tax levy or tax rate under ORS 280.060 or under section 11
(3)(c), Article XI of the Oregon Constitution, shall be called by
the governing body of the city and held on a date specified in
ORS 221.230.
(3) An election within a political subdivision other than a
county or city for the purpose of approving a tax levy or tax
rate under ORS 280.060 or under section 11 (3)(c), Article XI of
the Oregon Constitution, shall be called by the governing body of
the subdivision and held on a date specified in ORS 255.345.
(4)(a) The ballot title for a measure authorizing the
imposition of local option taxes shall contain the following
additional statement:
_________________________________________________________________
This measure may cause property taxes to increase more than
three percent.
_________________________________________________________________
(b) The statements required by this subsection shall not be
considered for purposes of the word count limitations under ORS
250.035.
(c) The statements required by this subsection shall be placed
after the question on the ballot title.
(5) As part of the question, the ballot title for a measure
authorizing the imposition of local option taxes shall state:
(a) The length in years of the period during which the proposed
local option tax will be imposed.
(b) The first fiscal year in which the proposed local option
tax will be imposed.
(6) As part of the question, the ballot title for a measure
authorizing the establishment of a permanent rate limitation
shall contain the following information:
(a) The tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value of the proposed
permanent rate limitation.
(b) The first fiscal year in which the proposed permanent rate
limitation will be imposed.
{ - (7) The ballot title for a measure authorizing the
imposition of local option taxes or a permanent rate limitation
shall be in compliance with ORS 250.036. - }
SECTION 14. ORS 310.140 is amended to read:
310.140. The Legislative Assembly finds that section 11b,
Article XI of the Oregon Constitution, was drafted by citizens
and placed before the voters of the State of Oregon by initiative
petition. Section 11b, Article XI of the Oregon Constitution,
uses terms that do not have established legal meanings and
require definition by the Legislative Assembly. Section 11b,
Article XI of the Oregon Constitution, was amended by section 11
(11), Article XI of the Oregon Constitution. This section is
intended to interpret the terms of section 11b, Article XI of the
Oregon Constitution, as originally adopted and as amended by
section 11 (11), Article XI of the Oregon Constitution,
consistent with the intent of the people in adopting these
provisions, so that the provisions of section 11b, Article XI of
the Oregon Constitution, may be given effect uniformly throughout
the State of Oregon, with minimal confusion and misunderstanding
by citizens and affected units of government. As used in the
revenue and tax laws of this state, and for purposes of section
11b, Article XI of the Oregon Constitution:
(1) 'Actual cost' means all direct or indirect costs incurred
by a government unit in order to deliver goods or services or to
undertake a capital construction project. The ' actual cost' of
providing goods or services to a property or property owner
includes the average cost or an allocated portion of the total
amount of the actual cost of making a good or service available
to the property or property owner, whether stated as a minimum,
fixed or variable amount. 'Actual cost' includes, but is not
limited to, the costs of labor, materials, supplies, equipment
rental, property acquisition, permits, engineering, financing,
reasonable program delinquencies, return on investment, required
fees, insurance, administration, accounting, depreciation,
amortization, operation, maintenance, repair or replacement and
debt service, including debt service payments or payments into
reserve accounts for debt service and payment of amounts
necessary to meet debt service coverage requirements.
(2) 'Assessment for local improvement' means any tax, fee,
charge or assessment that does not exceed the actual cost
incurred by a unit of government for design, construction and
financing of a local improvement.
(3) 'Bonded indebtedness' means any formally executed written
agreement representing a promise by a unit of government to pay
to another a specified sum of money, at a specified date or dates
at least one year in the future.
(4) 'Capital construction':
(a) For bonded indebtedness issued prior to December 5, 1996,
and for the proceeds of any bonded indebtedness approved by
electors prior to December 5, 1996, that were spent or
contractually obligated to be spent prior to June 20, 1997, means
the construction, modification, replacement, repair, remodeling
or renovation of a structure, or addition to a structure, that is
expected to have a useful life of more than one year, and
includes, but is not limited to:
(A) Acquisition of land, or a legal interest in land, in
conjunction with the capital construction of a structure.
(B) Acquisition, installation of machinery or equipment,
furnishings or materials that will become an integral part of a
structure.
(C) Activities related to the capital construction, including
planning, design, authorizing, issuing, carrying or repaying
interim or permanent financing, research, land use and
environmental impact studies, acquisition of permits or licenses
or other services connected with the construction.
(D) Acquisition of existing structures, or legal interests in
structures, in conjunction with the capital construction.
(b) For bonded indebtedness issued on or after December 5,
1996, except for the proceeds of any bonded indebtedness approved
by electors prior to December 5, 1996, that were spent or
contractually obligated to be spent before June 20, 1997, has the
meaning given that term in paragraph (a) of this subsection,
except that 'capital construction':
(A) Includes public safety and law enforcement vehicles with a
projected useful life of five years or more; and
(B) Does not include:
(i) Maintenance and repairs, the need for which could be
reasonably anticipated;
(ii) Supplies and equipment that are not intrinsic to the
structure; or
(iii) Furnishings, unless the furnishings are acquired in
connection with the acquisition, construction, remodeling or
renovation of a structure, or the repair of a structure that is
required because of damage or destruction of the structure.
(5) 'Capital improvements':
(a) For bonded indebtedness issued prior to December 5, 1996,
and for the proceeds of any bonded indebtedness approved by
electors before December 5, 1996, that were spent or
contractually obligated to be spent before June 20, 1997, means
land, structures, facilities, as that term is defined in ORS
288.805, machinery, equipment or furnishings having a useful life
longer than one year.
(b) For bonded indebtedness issued on or after December 5,
1996, except for the proceeds of any bonded indebtedness approved
by electors prior to December 5, 1996, that were spent or
contractually obligated to be spent before June 20, 1997, has the
meaning given that term in paragraph (a) of this subsection,
except that 'capital improvements':
(A) Includes public safety and law enforcement vehicles with a
projected useful life of five years or more; and
(B) Does not include:
(i) Maintenance and repairs, the need for which could be
reasonably anticipated;
(ii) Supplies and equipment that are not intrinsic to the
structure; or
(iii) Furnishings, unless the furnishings are acquired in
connection with the acquisition, construction, remodeling or
renovation of a structure, or the repair of a structure that is
required because of damage or destruction of the structure.
(6) 'Direct consequence of ownership' means that the obligation
of the owner of property to pay a tax arises solely because that
person is the owner of the property, and the obligation to pay
the tax arises as an immediate and necessary result of that
ownership without respect to any other intervening transaction,
condition or event.
(7)(a) 'Exempt bonded indebtedness' means:
(A) Bonded indebtedness authorized by a specific provision of
the Oregon Constitution;
(B) Bonded indebtedness incurred or to be incurred for capital
construction or capital improvements that was issued as a general
obligation of the issuing governmental unit on or before November
6, 1990;
(C) Bonded indebtedness incurred or to be incurred for capital
construction or capital improvements that was issued as a general
obligation of the issuing governmental unit after November 6,
1990, with the approval of the electors of the issuing
governmental unit; or
(D) Bonded indebtedness incurred or to be incurred for capital
construction or capital improvements, if the issuance of the
bonds is approved by voters on or after December 5, 1996, in an
election that is in compliance with { - the voter participation
requirements of section 11 (8), Article XI of - } the Oregon
Constitution.
(b) 'Exempt bonded indebtedness' includes bonded indebtedness
issued to refund or refinance any bonded indebtedness described
in paragraph (a) of this subsection.
(8)(a) 'Incurred charge' means a charge imposed by a unit of
government on property or upon a property owner that does not
exceed the actual cost of providing goods or services and that
can be controlled or avoided by the property owner because:
(A) The charge is based on the quantity of the goods or
services used, and the owner has direct control over the
quantity;
(B) The goods or services are provided only on the specific
request of the property owner; or
(C) The goods or services are provided by the government unit
only after the individual property owner has failed to meet
routine obligations of ownership of the affected property, and
such action is deemed necessary by an appropriate government unit
to enforce regulations pertaining to health or safety.
(b) For purposes of this subsection, an owner of property may
control or avoid an incurred charge if the owner is capable of
taking action to affect the amount of a charge that is or will be
imposed or to avoid imposition of a charge even if the owner must
incur expense in so doing.
(c) For purposes of paragraph (a)(A) of this subsection, an
owner of property has direct control over the quantity of goods
or services if the owner of property has the ability, whether or
not that ability is exercised, to determine the quantity of goods
or services provided or to be provided.
(9)(a) 'Local improvement' means a capital construction
project, or part thereof, undertaken by a local government,
pursuant to ORS 223.387 to 223.399, or pursuant to a local
ordinance or resolution prescribing the procedure to be followed
in making local assessments for benefits from a local improvement
upon the lots that have been benefited by all or a part of the
improvement:
(A) That provides a special benefit only to specific properties
or rectifies a problem caused by specific properties;
(B) The costs of which are assessed against those properties in
a single assessment upon the completion of the project; and
(C) For which the property owner may elect to make payment of
the assessment plus appropriate interest over a period of at
least 10 years.
(b) For purposes of paragraph (a) of this subsection, the
status of a capital construction project as a local improvement
is not affected by the accrual of a general benefit to property
other than the property receiving the special benefit.
(10) 'Maintenance and repairs, the need for which could be
reasonably anticipated':
(a) Means activities, the type of which may be deducted as an
expense under the provisions of the federal Internal Revenue
Code, as amended and in effect on December 31, 2004, that keep
the property in ordinarily efficient operating condition and that
do not add materially to the value of the property nor
appreciably prolong the life of the property;
(b) Does not include maintenance and repair of property that is
required by damage, destruction or defect in design, or that was
otherwise not reasonably expected at the time the property was
constructed or acquired, or the addition of material that is in
the nature of the replacement of property and that arrests the
deterioration or appreciably prolongs the useful life of the
property; and
(c) Does not include street and highway construction, overlay
and reconstruction.
(11) 'Projected useful life' means the useful life, as
reasonably estimated by the unit of government undertaking the
capital construction or capital improvement project, beginning
with the date the property was acquired, constructed or
reconstructed and based on the property's condition at the time
the property was acquired, constructed or reconstructed.
(12) 'Routine obligations of ownership' means a standard of
operation, maintenance, use or care of property established by
law, or if established by custom or common law, a standard that
is reasonable for the type of property affected.
(13) 'Single assessment' means the complete assessment process,
including preassessment, assessment or reassessment, for any
local improvement authorized by ORS 223.387 to 223.399, or a
local ordinance or resolution that provides the procedure to be
followed in making local assessments for benefits from a local
improvement upon lots that have been benefited by all or part of
the improvement.
(14) 'Special benefit only to specific properties' shall have
the same meaning as 'special and peculiar benefit' as that term
is used in ORS 223.389.
(15) 'Specific request' means:
(a) An affirmative act by a property owner to seek or obtain
delivery of goods or services;
(b) An affirmative act by a property owner, the legal
consequence of which is to cause the delivery of goods or
services to the property owner; or
(c) Failure of an owner of property to change a request for
goods or services made by a prior owner of the property.
(16) 'Structure' means any temporary or permanent building or
improvement to real property of any kind that is constructed on
or attached to real property, whether above, on or beneath the
surface.
(17) 'Supplies and equipment intrinsic to a structure ' means
the supplies and equipment that are necessary to permit a
structure to perform the functions for which the structure was
constructed, or that will, upon installation, constitute fixtures
considered to be part of the real property that is comprised, in
whole or part, of the structure and land supporting the
structure.
(18) 'Tax on property' means any tax, fee, charge or assessment
imposed by any government unit upon property or upon a property
owner as a direct consequence of ownership of that property, but
does not include incurred charges or assessments for local
improvements. As used in this subsection, 'property' means real
or tangible personal property, and intangible property that is
part of a unit of real or tangible personal property to the
extent that such intangible property is subject to a tax on
property.
SECTION 15. ORS 341.085 is amended to read:
341.085. (1) An election for the purpose of presenting the
question of formation of a district and establishing a permanent
rate limit for operating taxes and the boundaries of the zones,
if the zones were recommended by the State Board of Education,
shall be held to submit the question to the electors registered
in the proposed district designated in the recommendation of the
state board. The election shall be held not sooner than the 90th
day after the effective date of the appropriation required by ORS
341.102. The election date shall be uniform throughout the
proposed district, and shall be set by the state board on a date
specified in ORS 255.345. However, if the question of
establishing a permanent rate limit for operating taxes is to be
submitted, the election must be held on the same date as the next
primary election or the next general election, as determined by
the state board.
(2) ORS chapter 255 and ORS 250.035 { - and 250.036 - }
govern the notice and conduct of an election under this section.
The state board shall be the district elections authority for an
election conducted under this section. Notwithstanding ORS
255.305, the state board shall pay the expenses incurred for the
election.
(3) An elector registered in a precinct or in the portion of a
precinct which is located within the boundaries of the proposed
district may vote on any matter arising at the election under
subsection (1) of this section.
SECTION 16. { + ORS 250.036 and ORS 310.190 are repealed. + }
SECTION 17. { + This 2007 Act does not become effective unless
the amendment to the Oregon Constitution proposed by Senate Joint
Resolution 10 (2007) is approved by the people at a special
election held throughout this state on May 20, 2008. This 2007
Act becomes effective on the effective date of that
constitutional amendment. + }
----------