Taxpayer's bill of rights.

2018
STATE OF WYOMING
18LSO-0079
Numbered
1.9

House
Joint Resolution
NO.
HJ0007

Taxpayer's bill of rights.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Gray

A
JOINT RESOLUTION

for

A JOINT RESOLUTION proposing to amend the constitution by creating a new section establishing the taxpayer's bill of rights; prohibiting any tax increase by the state or any local government or increase of debt unless approved by the voters; specifying ballot requirements; providing for a refund of excess taxes; providing for emergency taxes; prohibiting increasing state expenditures; providing for distribution of surplus funds; providing definitions; authorizing persons to commence a civil action against state governmental entities and officials as specified; allowing the state to intervene in actions; and providing for an award of litigation costs as specified.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING,
two
‑
thirds of all the members of the two houses, voting separately, concurring therein:

Section 1
.

The following proposal to amend Wyoming Constitution, Article
1, by creating a new Section 40
is proposed for submission to the electors of the State of Wyoming at the next general election for approval or rejection to become valid as a part of the Constitution if ratified by a majority of the electors at the election:

Article 1
, Section
40
.

T
axpayer
's
bill of rights.

(a
)

Taxpayer's bill of rights. The following shall apply:

(i
)

Districts shall have voter approval in advance for:

(A
)

Any new tax, tax rate increase, mill levy above the mill levy for the prior year, valuation or assessment ratio increase for any property class, extension
of an expiring tax or adoption of any tax policy directly causing a net tax revenue gain to any district; and

(B
)

Except for refinancing district bonded debt at a lower interest rate or adding new employees to existing district pension plans, the creation of any multiple

fiscal year direct or indirect district debt
if the district does not have
adequate present cash reserves pledged irrevocably and held for payments
on the debt
in all future years.

(ii
)

The requirements of
paragraph (i
) of this
subsection
requiring voter approval shall not apply:

(A
)

To an emergency tax or budget increase. An emergency shall be declared only after approval by a two
‑
thirds (2/3) vote of all members of each of the two (2) houses of the Wyoming legislature, voting separately, and signature by the governor for a state tax or budget increase or by two
‑
thirds (2/3) of the members elected to the governing body of any other district imposing or increasing a tax. Any revenue raised under this subsection
which is not expended on the emergency for which it was raised shall be refunded in the fiscal year following the expiration of the emergency. An emergency tax imposed under this subsection shall be approved by the voters on the next regular election that is more than sixty (60) days following the declaration of the emergency. If the emergency is not approved under this subsection, the emergency tax shall end on the first day of the month immediately following the month the election results are reported; or

(B
)

When annual district revenue is less than annual payments on general obligation bonds, pensions and final court judgments. This paragraph shall only apply for the amount of time necessary to provide for the deficiency.

(
iii
)

Ballot issues shall be decided in a state general election, biennial local district election or on the first Tuesday in November of odd
‑
numbered years. At least thirty (30) days before a ballot issue election, districts shall mail at the least cost, and as a package
where districts with ballot issues overlap, a titled notice or set of notices addressed to "All Registered Voters" at each address with one (1) or more active registered electors. Title notices shall have this order of preference: "NOTICE OF ELECTION TO INCREASE TAXES/TO INCREASE DEBT/ON A CITIZEN PETITION/ON A REFERRED MEASURE." Except for district voter

approved additions, notices shall include only:

(A
)

The election
date, hours, ballot title, text of the ballot
and local election offi
ce address and telephone number;

(
B
)

For proposed district tax or bonded debt increases, the estimated or actual total of district fiscal year spending for the current year and each of the past four
(4)
years, and the overa
ll percentage and dollar change;

(C
)

For the first full fiscal year of each proposed district tax increase,
a
dist
rict estimate
of the
maximum dollar amount of each increase and of district fiscal year spending without the increase
;

(D
)

For proposed district bonded debt,
the
principal amount
of proposed debt
and
the
maximum annual and total district repayment cost, the principal balance of total current district bonded debt and
the
maximum annual and remainin
g total district repayment cost;

(E
)

Two
(2)
summaries,
of not more than five hundred

(
500
)
words each, one
(1)
for and one
(1)
against the proposal, of written comments filed with the election officer
not more than forty
‑
five (
45
)
days bef
ore the election.
No summary shall
include the name
of
any person or private group or any endorsement of or resolution against the proposal.
Petition representatives following these rules shall write th
e summary for the petition.
The election officer shall maintain and accurately summarize all ot
her relevant written comments.

(iv
)

Unless authorized
by later voter approval, if a tax increase or fiscal year spending exceeds
the

estimate
provided
in paragraph (iii
)(
c
) of this
subsection
for the same fiscal year, the tax increase
shall
thereafter
be
reduced up to
one hundred percent (
100%
)
in proportion to the combined excess
revenue
, and the combined excess revenue
shall be
ref
unded in the next fiscal year
;

(
v
)

District bonded debt shall not
be
issue
d
on terms that could exceed its share of its maximum repayment costs
as provided in
paragraph

(
iii
)(
D
) of this
subsection
;

(vi
)

Ballot titles for tax or bonded debt increases
under this section shall begin, "
SHALL (DISTRICT) TAXES BE INCREASED (
amount of
first
year dollar amount
, or if phased in,
the final
full fiscal ye
ar dollar amount) ANNUALLY?" or "
SHALL (DISTRICT) DEBT BE INCREASED (principal amount), WITH A REPAYMENT COST OF (maximum total district cost)
?"
;

(vii
)

In addition to the limi
ts on increasing taxes under paragraph (i
) of this
subsection
, the maximum annual percentage change in state fiscal year spending shall not exceed inflation in the prior calendar year plus
the positive percentage change in state population in the prior calendar year, adjusted for revenue changes approved by voters after the effective date of this section.
Expenditures shall be made using a zero
‑
based budgeting process as determined by the legislature.
Any n
egative population change shall not be deducted in the calculation of the maximum spending limit under this subsection. Population shall be determined by annual federal census estimates and the population shall be adjusted every decade to match the federal census
;

(viii
)

Any surplus annual funds after the spending limits under
paragraph (
vii
)
of this
subsection
are met shall be distributed as determined by the legislature in the following ranges:

(
A
)

Seventy percent (70%) to eighty percent (80%) of the surplus shall be deposited into reserve accounts, provided that not more than fifteen
percent

(
15%
)
of this amount shall be placed in the permanent Wyoming mineral trust fund or other inviolate account;

(B
)

Ten percent (10%) to twenty percent (20%) of the surplus shall be deposited into capital accounts for future construction projects or other future improvements
;

(
C
)

Ten percent (10%) to twenty percent (
20%
) of the surplus shall be
returned to the voters
of Wyoming
via a rebate check
.

(
ix
)

The intent of this
section
is to
reasonably restrain most the growth of government. All provisions
of this
section

are self
‑
executing and severable and
shall supersede
conflicting state constitutional, state
statutory, charter
or oth
er state or local provisions. Any o
ther limit
s on district revenue, spending
and debt
shall
be
removed or limited
only
through
voter approval
under paragraph (iii
) of this
subsection
;

(x
)

Individual or class action enforcement suits may be filed
for any violation of this
section

and shall have the highest
civil priority of resolution.
Successful plaintiffs
under this
paragraph
shall be awarded allowed
cos
ts and reasonable attorney fees. A
district
shall
not
be entitled to costs or fees for a suit under this
paragraph

unless
it is ruled frivolous.
Revenue
collected, kept
or spent illegally before a suit is filed
under this paragraph
shall be refunded with
ten percent (
10%
)
annual simple inte
rest from the initial conduct.
Subject to judicial review, districts may use any reasonable method for refunds under this
paragraph
, including temporary tax cred
its or rate reductions
;

(xi
)

Nothing in this
section
shall be interpreted to increase the taxing authority of any district prior to the effective date of this
section
;

(xii)

Taxpayer standing. The following shall apply:

(A)

Any
citizen
of the state of Wyoming

may commence a civil action on his own behalf against the state of Wyoming, any state governm
ental entity or official for
alleged violations or to compel compliance with the constitution and laws of the state of Wyoming;

(B)

Any action filed pursuant to this paragraph shall be filed in the district court for Laramie county;

(C)

The state of Wyoming may intervene as a matter of right in any action filed pursuant to this paragraph;

(D)

The court, in issuing any final order in any action brought pursuant to this paragraph, may award costs of litigation including attorney and expert witness fees to any party whenever the court determines an award is appropriate;

(E)

The availability of judicial review shall not be construed to limit the operation of rights established in this paragraph;

(F)

Nothing in this paragraph shall limit any existing civil or criminal penalty or right arising out of a violation of any provision of the constitution or laws
of the state of Wyoming pertaining to separation of powers, procurement and state contracts.

(xiii
)

As used in this
section
:

(A
)

"District"
means the state, any local government or political subdivision with taxing authority;

(
B
)

"Emergency"
shall not include ordinary economic conditions including a structural budget deficit or salary or fringe benefit increases;

(C
)

"Fiscal year spending" means all state expenditures including expenditures from reserves. "Fiscal year spending" shall not include
expenditures for schools from the school foundation program account, expenditures for school capital construction,
refunds made in the current or next fiscal year or expenditures made from gifts, federal funds, collections for another government, pension contributions by employees, pension fund earnings, damage awards or property sales;

(
D
)

"Inflation" means the percentage change in the annualized Wyoming cost of living index produced for the second quarter by the
s
tate of Wyoming economic analysis division
;

(E
)

"
T
ax"
means any financial charge, however denominated, imposed by a
district
and from which revenue acc
rues to government, other than:

(I
)

The
price
paid
in a voluntary transaction in a competitive market where the item for which the price is being imposed is not monopolized by government, including but not limited to educational tuition; or

(II
)

C
ivil and criminal fines and other charges collected in cases of restitution or violation of law or contract.

Section 2
.

That the Secretary of State shall endorse the following statement on the proposed amendment:

The adoption of this amendment would
establish the taxpayer's bill of
rights
. The taxpayer's bill of rights would
prohibit state and local governments from imposing new taxes
,
increasing existing taxes
or increasing debt without voter approval
. The
taxpayer's bill of rights
establishes requirements for ballots and provides for a refund of taxes collected in excess of the maximum amount specified on the ballot
and
would also limit s
tate spending and specifies how surplus funds shall be distributed.
The
taxpayer's bill of rights
authorizes emergency taxes in specified circumstances and provides that emergency taxes shall expire if not approved by voters at the next election.

Taxpayer
standing would
authoriz
e
citizens to commence a civil action against state governmental entities and officials and allow the state to intervene in those actions
.

(END)

1
HJ0007