KRS 132.017: Recall petition -- Requirements and procedures -- Reconsideration --

Election -- Local, state, and federal tax dollars and resources not to be used to

advocate for or against public question -- Second billing.

(1) As used in this section:

(a) "Local governmental entity" includes a county fiscal court and legislative

body of a city, urban -county government, consolidated local government,

charter county government, unified local government, or other taxing district;

and

(b) "Next regular election" means the regular election that occurs immediately

after all statutory requirements for levying a property tax rate have been met,

regardless of whether the election occurs in the same or a subsequent calendar

year as the levy of the property tax rate.

(2) (a) 1. Except as provided in subparagraph 2. of this paragraph, the portion of a

tax rate levied by an ordinance, order, resolution, or motion of a taxing

district subject to recall as provided for in KRS 68.245, 132.023,

132.027, and 160.470, shall go into effect forty -five (45) days after its

passage if a petition is not filed to challenge the levy. If a petition is

filed, the levy shall be suspended in accordance with paragraph (e) of

this subsection.

2. When a tax rate is levied by a taxing district that is primarily located in a

county with a population of three hundred thousand (300,000) or more

inhabitants, the portion of a tax rate levied by an ordinance, order,

resolution, or motion of a taxing district subject to recall as provided for

in KRS 68.245, 132.023, 132.027, and 160.470, shall go into effect fifty

(50) days after its passage if a petition is not filed to challenge the levy.

If a petition is filed, the levy shall be suspended in accordance with

paragraph (e) of this subsection.

(b) During the same forty -five (45) day or fifty (50) day time period provided by

paragraph (a) of this subsection, any three (3) qualified voters, who reside in

the area where the tax levy will be imposed, may commence petition

proceedings to protest the passage of the ordinance, order, resolution, or

motion levied by a taxing district by filing an affidavit with the county clerk.

The affidavit shall state:

1. The three (3) qualified voters constitute the members of the petition

committee;

2. The petition committee will be responsible for circulating the petition;

3. The petition committee will file the petition in the proper form within

the same forty -five (45) day or fifty (50) day time period provided by

paragraph (a) of this subsection;

4. The names and addresses of the petition committee members;

5. The address to which all notices to the committee are to be sent; and

6. For petition committees filing petitions in response to a tax rate levied

by a taxing district that is primarily located in a county with a

population of three hundred thousand (300,000) or more inhabitants,

whether or not the petition committee is willing to incur all of the

expenses associated with electronic petition signatures. If the petition

committee is not willing to incur all of the expenses, then electronic

petition signatures shall not be allowed for the petition.

(c) Upon receipt of the affidavit, the county clerk shall immediately:

1. Notify the petition committee of all statutory requirements for the filing

of a valid petition under this section;

2. Notify the petition committee that the clerk will publish a notice

identifying the tax levy being challenged and providing the names and

addresses of the petition committee on the home page of the clerk's

website and in a newspaper of general circulation within the county, if:

a. There is a newspaper within the county in which to publish the

notice; and

b. The petition committee remits an amount equal to the cost of

publishing the notice in the newspaper as determined in

accordance with the provisions of KRS 424.160 at the time of the

filing of the affidavit.

If the petition committee elects to have the notice published, the clerk

shall publish the notice within five (5) days of receipt of the affidavit;

and

3. Deliver a copy of the affidavit to the taxing district levying the tax.

(d) The petition shall meet the following requirements:

1. All papers of the petition shall be substantially uniform in size and style

and shall be assembled in one (1) instrument for filing;

2. Each sheet of the petition may contain the names of voters from more

than one (1) voting precinct;

3. Each nonelectronic petition signature shall be executed in ink or

indelible pencil;

4. Each electronic petition signature shall comply with the requir ements of

the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, KRS 369.101 to 369.120;

5. Each petition signature shall be followed by the printed name, street

address, birth month, and birth year of the person signing; and

6. a. i. Except for petitions filed in response to a tax rate levied by a

local board of education, the petition shall be signed by a

number of registered and qualified voters residing in the

affected jurisdiction equal to at least ten percent (10%) of the

total number of votes cast in the last prec eding presidential

election.

ii. For petitions filed in response to a tax rate levied by a local

board of education, the petition shall be signed by at least

five thousand (5,000) registered and qualified voters residing

in the affected jurisdiction or sig ned by a number of

registered and qualified voters residing in the affected

jurisdiction equal to at least ten percent (10%) of the total

number of votes cast in the last preceding presidential

election, whichever is less.

b. Electronic petition signatures shall be included in determining

whether the required number of petition signatures has been

obtained when:

i. The expenses associated with the electronic petition

signatures have been incurred in accordance with paragraph

(b)6. of this subsection;

ii. The electronic petition signatures comply with the

requirements of this subsection; and

iii. The petition was filed in response to a tax rate levied by a

taxing district that is primarily located in a county with a

population of three hundred thousand (300,0 00) or more

inhabitants.

c. The inclusion of an invalid petition signature on a page shall not

invalidate the entire page of the petition, but shall instead result in

the invalid petition signature being stricken and not counted.

(e) Upon the filing of the petition with the county clerk, the ordinance, order,

resolution, or motion shall be suspended from going into effect until after the

election referred to in subsection (3) of this section is held, or until the

petition is finally de termined to be insufficient and no further action may be

taken pursuant to paragraph (i) of this subsection.

(f) The county clerk shall immediately notify the presiding officer of the taxing

district that the petition has been received and shall, within th irty (30) days of

the receipt of the petition, make a determination of whether the petition

contains enough signatures of qualified voters to place the ordinance, order,

resolution, or motion before the voters.

(g) If the county clerk finds the petition to be sufficient, the clerk shall certify to

the petition committee and the taxing district within the thirty (30) day period

provided for in paragraph (f) of this subsection that the petition is properly

presented and in compliance with the provisions of th is section, and that the

ordinance, order, resolution, or motion levying the tax will be placed before

the voters for approval.

(h) If the county clerk finds the petition to be insufficient, the clerk shall, within

the thirty (30) day period provided for i n paragraph (f) of this subsection,

notify, in writing, the petition committee and the taxing district levying the tax

of the specific deficiencies found. Notification shall be sent by certified mail

and shall be published on the home page of the clerk's website and at least one

(1) time in a newspaper of general circulation within the county containing the

taxing district levying the tax. If there is not a newspaper within the county in

which to publish the notification, then the notification shall be post ed at the

courthouse door.

(i) A final determination of the sufficiency of a petition shall be subject to final

review by the Circuit Court of the county in which the taxing district levying

the tax is located, and shall be limited to the validity of the c ounty clerk's

determination. Any petition challenging the county clerk's final determination

shall be filed within ten (10) days of the issuance of the clerk's final

determination.

(j) The local governmental entity levying the tax may cause the cancellatio n of

the election by reconsidering and amending the ordinance, order, resolution,

or motion to levy a tax rate which will produce no more revenue from real

property, exclusive of revenue from new property, than four percent (4%)

over the amount of revenue produced by the compensating tax rate from real

property. The action by the local governmental entity or local board of

education to cancel an election shall be valid only if taken within fifteen (15)

days following the date the clerk finds the petition to be sufficient.

(3) (a) If an election is necessary under the provisions of subsection (2) of this

section:

1. The local governmental entity shall cause to be submitted to the voters

of the district at the next regular election, the question as to whether the

property tax rate shall be levied; or

2. The local board of education shall cause to be submitted to the voters of

the district in a called common school election not less than fifty (50)

days nor more than sixty (60) days from the date the signatures on the

petition are validated by the county clerk, or at the next regular election,

at the option of the local board of education, the question as to whether

the property tax rate shall be levied. The cost of a called common school

election shall be borne by the school district holding the election, which

shall post bond with the Circuit Court to cover all costs of the election

within five (5) days after the date the clerk finds the petition to be

sufficient. Any called common school election shall comply w ith the

provisions of KRS 118.025.

(b) If an election under paragraph (a) of this subsection is held in conjunction

with a regular election, the question as to whether the property tax rate shall

be levied shall be submitted to the county clerk no later th an the second

Tuesday in August preceding the regular election.

(c) In an election held under paragraph (a) of this subsection, the question shall

be framed to ask whether the voter is for the levy of the property tax rate. If a

majority of the votes cast upon the question oppose its passage, the ordinance,

order, resolution, or motion shall not go into effect. If a majority of the votes

cast upon the question favor its passage, the ordinance, order, resolution, or

motion shall become effective.

(d) If the ordinance, order, resolution, or motion fails to pass pursuant to an

election held under paragraph (a) of this subsection, the property tax rate

which will produce four percent (4%) more revenues from real property,

exclusive of revenue from new property, than the amount of revenue produced

by the compensating tax rate, shall be levied without further approval by the

local governmental entity or local board of education.

(e) 1. As used in this paragraph:

a. "Local" has the same meaning as in KRS 65.013; and

b. "Resources" has the same meaning as in KRS 48.025.

2. Local, state, and federal tax dollars and resources shall not be used to

advocate for or against any public question that appears on the ballot.

(4) Notwithstanding any statutory provision to the co ntrary, if a taxing district has not

established a final tax rate as of September 15, due to the recall provisions of this

section, KRS 68.245, 132.023, 132.027, or 160.470, regular tax bills shall be

prepared as required in KRS 133.220 for all districts h aving a tax rate established

by that date; and a second set of bills shall be prepared and collected in the regular

manner, according to the provisions of KRS Chapter 132, upon establishment of

final tax rates by the remaining districts.

(5) If a second bi lling is necessary, the collection period shall be extended to conform

with the second billing date.

(6) All costs associated with the second billing shall be paid by the taxing district

requiring the second billing.