AN ACT relating to prohibited uses of tax dollars and resources.

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AN ACT relating to prohibited uses of tax dollars and resources. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 48.025 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) As used in [Local, state, and federal tax dollars shall not be us ed to advocate, in 4
partial terms, for or against any public question that appears on the ballot. For 5
purposes of] this section: 6
(a) [, ] "Local" means and includes any city, county, urban -county government, 7
consolidated local government, unified local gover nment, charter county 8
government, school district, or special district[.]; and 9
(b) "Resources" means any: 10
1. Moneys appropriated by the General Assembly; 11
2. Items of value, facilities, materials, and other physical resources 12
derived from local, state, or federal tax dollars, including but not 13
limited to computers, copiers, printers, paper, office supplies, and 14
buildings; 15
3. Digital resources derived from or su pported by local, state, or federal 16
tax dollars, including but not limited to any official website, email 17
account, or social media account; 18
4. Classified and unclassified employees, and other human resources 19
within the scope of their state employment; or 20
5. Employees and other human resources within the scope of their 21
school district employment; and 22
(c) "School district" means any: 23
1. County school district as defined in KRS 160.010; 24
2. Independent school district as defined in KRS 160.020; or 25
3. Regional educational cooperative organization formed by local boards 26
of education or other public educational institutions listed in KRS 27
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161.220(4), for the purpose of providing educational services to the 1
participating organizations. 2
(2) Local, state, and federal t ax dollars and resources shall not be used to advocate 3
for or against any public question that appears on the ballot. 4
(3) Any person who violates subsection (2) of this section shall be: 5
(a) Fined five hundred dollars ($500) for the first offense; 6
(b) Fined one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the second offense; and 7
(c) Guilty of a Class A misdemeanor and fined one thousand dollars ($1,000) 8
for each subsequent offense. 9
(4) This section shall not prohibit a public employee who is not otherwise prohibited 10
under another provision of law from advocating for or against a public question 11
appearing on the ballot on his or her personal time using nongovernment 12
resources. 13
(5) This section shall not apply to: 14
(a) Educational television operating in accordance with KRS C hapter 168, so 15
long as equal opportunity is given to both sides of the public question; or 16
(b) An association advocating for or against a ballot initiative that directly 17
applies to its members, so long as no funds authorized or appropriated by 18
local, state , or federal tax dollars or resources are expended for that 19
purpose. 20
Section 2. KRS 65.013 is amended to read as follows: 21
(1) As used in this section: 22
(a) [Local, state, and federal tax dollars shall not be used to advoc ate, in partial 23
terms, for or against any public question that appears on the ballot. For 24
purposes of this section, ] "Local" means [ and includes] any city, county, 25
urban-county government, consolidated local government, unified local 26
government, charter county government, or special district; and[.] 27
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(b) "Resources" has the same meaning as in Section 1 of this Act. 1
(2) Local, state, and federal tax dollars and resources shall not be used to advocate 2
for or against any public question that appears on the ballot. 3
(3) Any person who violates subsection (2) of this section shall be: 4
(a) Fined five hundred dollars ($500) for the first offense; 5
(b) Fined one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the second offense; and 6
(c) Guilty of a Class A misdemeanor and fined one thousand dollars ($1,000) 7
for each subsequent offense. 8
(4) This section shall not prohibit a public employee who is not otherwise prohibited 9
under another provision of law from advocating for or against a publi c question 10
appearing on the ballot on his or her personal time using nongovernment 11
resources. 12
(5) This section shall not apply to: 13
(a) Educational television operating in accordance with KRS Chapter 168, so 14
long as equal opportunity is given to both sides of the public question; or 15
(b) An association advocating for a ballot initiative that directly applies to its 16
members, so long as no funds authorized or appropriated by local, state, or 17
federal tax dollars or resources are expended for that purpose. 18
Section 3. KRS 132.017 is amended to read as follows: 19
(1) As used in this section: 20
(a) "Local governmental entity" includes a county fiscal court and legislative 21
body of a city, urban -county government, consolidated local gove rnment, 22
charter county government, unified local government, or other taxing district; 23
and 24
(b) "Next regular election" means the regular election that occurs immediately 25
after all statutory requirements for levying a property tax rate have been met, 26
regardless of whether the election occurs in the same or a subsequent calendar 27
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year as the levy of the property tax rate. 1
(2) (a) 1. Except as provided in subparagraph 2. of this paragraph, the portion of a 2
tax rate levied by an ordinance, order, resolution, or motion of a local 3
governmental entity or district board of education subject to recall as 4
provided for in KRS 68.245, 132.023, 132.027, and 160.470, shall go 5
into effect forty-five (45) days after its passage. 6
2. When a tax rate is levied by a district boa rd of education or other taxing 7
district that is primarily located in a county containing an urban -county 8
government or a consolidated local government, the portion of a tax rate 9
levied by an ordinance, order, resolution, or motion of a district board of 10
education or other taxing district subject to recall as provided for in KRS 11
68.245, 132.023, 132.027, and 160.470, shall go into effect fifty (50) 12
days after its passage. 13
(b) During the same forty -five (45) day or fifty (50) day time period provided by 14
paragraph (a) of this subsection, any three (3) qualified voters, who reside in 15
the area where the tax levy will be imposed, may commence petition 16
proceedings to protest the passage of the ordinance, order, resolution, or 17
motion by filing an affidavit with the county clerk. The affidavit shall state: 18
1. The three (3) qualified voters constitute the members of the petition 19
committee; 20
2. The petition committee will be responsible for circulating the petition; 21
3. The petition committee will file the petition in th e proper form within 22
the same forty -five (45) day or fifty (50) day time period provided by 23
paragraph (a) of this subsection; 24
4. The names and addresses of the petition committee members; 25
5. The address to which all notices to the committee are to be sent; and 26
6. For petition committees filing petitions in response to a tax rate levied 27
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by a district board of education or other taxing district that is primarily 1
located in a county containing an urban -county government or a 2
consolidated local government, whether or not the petition committee is 3
willing to incur all of the expenses associated with electronic petition 4
signatures. If the petition committee is not willing to incur all of the 5
expenses, then electronic petition signatures shall not be allowed for th e 6
petition. 7
(c) Upon receipt of the affidavit, the county clerk shall immediately: 8
1. Notify the petition committee of all statutory requirements for the filing 9
of a valid petition under this section; 10
2. Notify the petition committee that the clerk will pu blish a notice 11
identifying the tax levy being challenged and providing the names and 12
addresses of the petition committee in a newspaper of general 13
circulation within the county, if: 14
a. There is a newspaper within the county in which to publish the 15
notice; and 16
b. The petition committee remits an amount equal to the cost of 17
publishing the notice determined in accordance with the provisions 18
of KRS 424.160 at the time of the filing of the affidavit. 19
If the petition committee elects to have the notice published , the clerk 20
shall publish the notice within five (5) days of receipt of the affidavit; 21
and 22
3. Deliver a copy of the affidavit to the appropriate local governmental 23
entity or district board of education. 24
(d) The petition shall meet the following requirements: 25
1. All papers of the petition shall be substantially uniform in size and style 26
and shall be assembled in one (1) instrument for filing; 27
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2. Each sheet of the petition may contain the names of voters from m ore 1
than one (1) voting precinct; 2
3. Each nonelectronic petition signature shall be executed in ink or 3
indelible pencil; 4
4. Each electronic petition signature shall comply with the requirements of 5
the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, KRS 369.101 to 369.120; 6
5. Each petition signature shall be followed by the printed name, street 7
address, birth month, and birth year of the person signing; and 8
6. a. i. Except for petitions filed in response to a tax rate levied by a 9
district board of education, the petiti on shall be signed by a 10
number of registered and qualified voters residing in the 11
affected jurisdiction equal to at least ten percent (10%) of the 12
total number of votes cast in the last preceding presidential 13
election. 14
ii. For petitions filed in response to a tax rate levied by a district 15
board of education, the petition shall be signed by at least 16
five thousand (5,000) registered and qualified voters residing 17
in the affected jurisdiction or signed by a number of 18
registered and qualified voters residing in the affected 19
jurisdiction equal to at least ten percent (10%) of the total 20
number of votes cast in the last preceding presidential 21
election, whichever is less. 22
b. Electronic petition signatures shall be included in determining 23
whether the required number o f petition signatures has been 24
obtained when: 25
i. The expenses associated with the electronic petition 26
signatures have been incurred in accordance with paragraph 27
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(b)6. of this subsection; 1
ii. The electronic petition signatures comply with the 2
requirements of this subsection; and 3
iii. The petition was filed in response to a tax rate levied by a 4
district board of education or other taxing district that is 5
primarily located in a county containing an urban -county 6
government or a consolidated local government. 7
c. The inclusion of an invalid petition signature on a page shall not 8
invalidate the entire page of the petition, but shall instead result in 9
the invalid petition signature being stricken and not counted. 10
(e) Upon the filing of the petition with the county c lerk, the ordinance, order, 11
resolution, or motion shall be suspended from going into effect until after the 12
election referred to in subsection (3) of this section is held, or until the 13
petition is finally determined to be insufficient and no further action may be 14
taken pursuant to paragraph (i) of this subsection. 15
(f) The county clerk shall immediately notify the presiding officer of the 16
appropriate local governmental entity or district board of education that the 17
petition has been received and shall, withi n thirty (30) days of the receipt of 18
the petition, make a determination of whether the petition contains enough 19
signatures of qualified voters to place the ordinance, order, resolution, or 20
motion before the voters. 21
(g) If the county clerk finds the petitio n to be sufficient, the clerk shall certify to 22
the petition committee and the local governmental entity or district board of 23
education within the thirty (30) day period provided for in paragraph (f) of 24
this subsection that the petition is properly presente d and in compliance with 25
the provisions of this section, and that the ordinance, order, resolution, or 26
motion levying the tax will be placed before the voters for approval. 27
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(h) If the county clerk finds the petition to be insufficient, the clerk shall, wit hin 1
the thirty (30) day period provided for in paragraph (f) of this subsection, 2
notify, in writing, the petition committee and the local governmental entity or 3
district board of education of the specific deficiencies found. Notification 4
shall be sent by c ertified mail and shall be published at least one (1) time in a 5
newspaper of general circulation within the county containing the local 6
governmental entity or district board of education levying the tax. If there is 7
not a newspaper within the county in whi ch to publish the notification, then 8
the notification shall be posted at the courthouse door. 9
(i) A final determination of the sufficiency of a petition shall be subject to final 10
review by the Circuit Court of the county in which the local governmental 11
entity or district board of education is located, and shall be limited to the 12
validity of the county clerk's determination. Any petition challenging the 13
county clerk's final determination shall be filed within ten (10) days of the 14
issuance of the clerk's final determination. 15
(j) The local governmental entity or district board of education may cause the 16
cancellation of the election by reconsidering and amending the ordinance, 17
order, resolution, or motion to levy a tax rate which will produce no more 18
revenue fro m real property, exclusive of revenue from new property as 19
defined in KRS 132.010, than four percent (4%) over the amount of revenue 20
produced by the compensating tax rate defined in KRS 132.010 from real 21
property. The action by the local governmental entit y or district board of 22
education shall be valid only if taken within fifteen (15) days following the 23
date the clerk finds the petition to be sufficient. 24
(3) (a) If an election is necessary under the provisions of subsection (2) of this 25
section: 26
1. The local governmental entity shall cause to be submitted to the voters 27
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of the district at the next regular election, the question as to whether the 1
property tax rate shall be levied; or 2
2. The district board of education shall cause to be submitted to the voters 3
of the district in a called common school election not less than thirty -4
five (35) days nor more than forty -five (45) days from the date the 5
signatures on the petition are validated by the county clerk, or at the next 6
regular election, at the option of the district board of education, the 7
question as to whether the property tax rate shall be levied. The cost of a 8
called common school election shall be borne by the school district 9
holding the election. Any called common school election shall comply 10
with the provisions of KRS 118.025. 11
(b) If an election under paragraph (a) of this subsection is held in conjunction 12
with a regular election, the question as to whether the property tax rate shall 13
be levied shall be submitted to the county clerk no later than the se cond 14
Tuesday in August preceding the regular election. 15
(c) In an election held under paragraph (a) of this subsection, the question shall 16
be framed to ask whether the voter is for the levy of the property tax rate. If a 17
majority of the votes cast upon the question oppose its passage, the ordinance, 18
order, resolution, or motion shall not go into effect. If a majority of the votes 19
cast upon the question favor its passage, the ordinance, order, resolution, or 20
motion shall become effective. 21
(d) If the ordinance, order, resolution, or motion fails to pass pursuant to an 22
election held under paragraph (a) of this subsection, the property tax rate 23
which will produce four percent (4%) more revenues from real property, 24
exclusive of revenue from new pro perty as defined in KRS 132.010, than the 25
amount of revenue produced by the compensating tax rate defined in KRS 26
132.010, shall be levied without further approval by the local governmental 27
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entity or district board of education. 1
(e) 1. As used in [Local, sta te, and federal tax dollars shall not be used to 2
advocate, in partial terms, for or against any public question that appears 3
on the ballot in this subsection. For purposes of] this 4
paragraph:[section,] 5
a. "Local" has the same meaning as in Section 2 of this Act; and 6
b. "Resources" has the same meaning as in Section 1 of this 7
Act[means and includes any city, county, urban -county 8
government, consolidated local government, unified local 9
government, charter county, or special district]. 10
2. Local, state, and federal tax dollars and resources shall not be used to 11
advocate for or against any public question that appears on the ballot. 12
(4) Notwithstanding any statutory provision to the contrary, if a local governmental 13
entity or district board of education has not e stablished a final tax rate as of 14
September 15, due to the recall provisions of this section, KRS 68.245, 132.027, or 15
160.470, regular tax bills shall be prepared as required in KRS 133.220 for all 16
districts having a tax rate established by that date; and a second set of bills shall be 17
prepared and collected in the regular manner, according to the provisions of KRS 18
Chapter 132, upon establishment of final tax rates by the remaining districts. 19
(5) If a second billing is necessary, the collection period shall be extended to conform 20
with the second billing date. 21
(6) All costs associated with the second billing shall be paid by the taxing district or 22
districts requiring the second billing. 23