{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-132.017","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 132.017","heading":"Recall petition -- Requirements and procedures -- Reconsideration --","body":"Election -- Local, state, and federal tax dollars and resources not to be used to\nadvocate for or against public question -- Second billing.\n(1) As used in this section:\n(a) \"Local governmental entity\" includes a county fiscal court and legislative\nbody of a city, urban -county government, consolidated local government,\ncharter county government, unified local government, or other taxing district;\nand\n(b) \"Next regular  election\" means the regular election that occurs immediately\nafter all statutory requirements for levying a property tax rate have been met,\nregardless of whether the election occurs in the same or a subsequent calendar\nyear as the levy of the property tax rate.\n(2) (a) 1. Except as provided in subparagraph 2. of this paragraph, the portion of a\ntax rate levied by an ordinance, order, resolution, or motion of a taxing\ndistrict subject to recall as provided for in KRS 68.245, 132.023,\n132.027, and 160.470, shall go into effect forty -five (45) days after its\npassage if a petition is not filed to challenge the levy. If a petition is\nfiled, the levy shall be suspended in accordance with paragraph (e) of\nthis subsection.\n2. When a tax rate is levied by a taxing district that is primarily located in a\ncounty with a population of three hundred thousand (300,000) or more\ninhabitants, the portion of a tax rate levied by an ordinance, order,\nresolution, or motion of a taxing district subject to recall as provided for\nin KRS 68.245, 132.023, 132.027, and 160.470, shall go into effect fifty\n(50) days after its passage if a petition is not filed to challenge the levy.\nIf a petition is filed, the levy shall be suspended in accordance with\nparagraph (e) of this subsection.\n(b) During the same forty -five (45) day or fifty (50) day time period provided by\nparagraph (a) of this subsection, any three (3) qualified voters, who reside in\nthe area where the tax levy will be imposed, may commence petition\nproceedings to protest the passage of the ordinance, order, resolution, or\nmotion levied by a taxing district by filing an affidavit with the county clerk.\nThe affidavit shall state:\n1. The three (3) qualified voters constitute the members of the petition\ncommittee;\n2. The petition committee will be responsible for circulating the petition;\n3. The petition committee will file the petition in the proper form within\nthe same forty -five (45) day or fifty (50) day time period provided by\nparagraph (a) of this subsection;\n4. The names and addresses of the petition committee members;\n5. The address to which all notices to the committee are to be sent; and\n6. For petition committees filing petitions in response to a tax rate levied\nby a taxing district that is primarily located in a county with a\npopulation of three hundred thousand (300,000) or more inhabitants,\nwhether or not the petition committee is willing to incur all of the\nexpenses associated with electronic petition signatures. If the petition\ncommittee is not willing to  incur all of the expenses, then electronic\npetition signatures shall not be allowed for the petition.\n(c) Upon receipt of the affidavit, the county clerk shall immediately:\n1. Notify the petition committee of all statutory requirements for the filing\nof a valid petition under this section;\n2. Notify the petition committee that the clerk will publish a notice\nidentifying the tax levy being challenged and providing the names and\naddresses of the petition committee on the home page of the clerk's\nwebsite and in a newspaper of general circulation within the county, if:\na. There is a newspaper within the county in which to publish the\nnotice; and\nb. The petition committee remits an amount equal to the cost of\npublishing the notice in the newspaper as determined in\naccordance with the provisions of KRS 424.160 at the time of the\nfiling of the affidavit.\nIf the petition committee elects to have the notice published, the clerk\nshall publish the notice within five (5) days of receipt of the affidavit;\nand\n3. Deliver a copy of the affidavit to the taxing district levying the tax.\n(d) The petition shall meet the following requirements:\n1. All papers of the petition shall be substantially uniform in size and style\nand shall be assembled in one (1) instrument for filing;\n2. Each sheet of the petition may contain the names of voters from more\nthan one (1) voting precinct;\n3. Each nonelectronic petition signature shall be executed in ink or\nindelible pencil;\n4. Each electronic petition signature shall comply with the requir ements of\nthe Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, KRS 369.101 to 369.120;\n5. Each petition signature shall be followed by the printed name, street\naddress, birth month, and birth year of the person signing; and\n6. a. i. Except for petitions filed in response to a tax rate levied by a\nlocal board of education, the petition shall be signed by a\nnumber of registered and qualified voters residing in the\naffected jurisdiction equal to at least ten percent (10%) of the\ntotal number of votes cast in the last prec eding presidential\nelection.\nii. For petitions filed in response to a tax rate levied by a local\nboard of education, the petition shall be signed by at least\nfive thousand (5,000) registered and qualified voters residing\nin the affected jurisdiction or sig ned by a number of\nregistered and qualified voters residing in the affected\njurisdiction equal to at least ten percent (10%) of the total\nnumber of votes cast in the last preceding presidential\nelection, whichever is less.\nb. Electronic petition signatures  shall be included in determining\nwhether the required number of petition signatures has been\nobtained when:\ni. The expenses associated with the electronic petition\nsignatures have been incurred in accordance with paragraph\n(b)6. of this subsection;\nii. The electronic petition signatures comply with the\nrequirements of this subsection; and\niii. The petition was filed in response to a tax rate levied by a\ntaxing district that is primarily located in a county with a\npopulation of three hundred thousand (300,0 00) or more\ninhabitants.\nc. The inclusion of an invalid petition signature on a page shall not\ninvalidate the entire page of the petition, but shall instead result in\nthe invalid petition signature being stricken and not counted.\n(e) Upon the filing of the petition with the county clerk, the ordinance, order,\nresolution, or motion shall be suspended from going into effect until after the\nelection referred to in subsection (3) of this section is held, or until the\npetition is finally de termined to be insufficient and no further action may be\ntaken pursuant to paragraph (i) of this subsection.\n(f) The county clerk shall immediately notify the presiding officer of the taxing\ndistrict that the petition has been received and shall, within th irty (30) days of\nthe receipt of the petition, make a determination of whether the petition\ncontains enough signatures of qualified voters to place the ordinance, order,\nresolution, or motion before the voters.\n(g) If the county clerk finds the petition to  be sufficient, the clerk shall certify to\nthe petition committee and the taxing district within the thirty (30) day period\nprovided for in paragraph (f) of this subsection that the petition is properly\npresented and in compliance with the provisions of th is section, and that the\nordinance, order, resolution, or motion levying the tax will be placed before\nthe voters for approval.\n(h) If the county clerk finds the petition to be insufficient, the clerk shall, within\nthe thirty (30) day period provided for i n paragraph (f) of this subsection,\nnotify, in writing, the petition committee and the taxing district levying the tax\nof the specific deficiencies found. Notification shall be sent by certified mail\nand shall be published on the home page of the clerk's website and at least one\n(1) time in a newspaper of general circulation within the county containing the\ntaxing district levying the tax. If there is not a newspaper within the county in\nwhich to publish the notification, then the notification shall be post ed at the\ncourthouse door.\n(i) A final determination of the sufficiency of a petition shall be subject to final\nreview by the Circuit Court of the county in which the taxing district levying\nthe tax is located, and shall be limited to the validity of the c ounty clerk's\ndetermination. Any petition challenging the county clerk's final determination\nshall be filed within ten (10) days of the issuance of the clerk's final\ndetermination.\n(j) The local governmental entity levying the tax may cause the cancellatio n of\nthe election by reconsidering and amending the ordinance, order, resolution,\nor motion to levy a tax rate which will produce no more revenue from real\nproperty, exclusive of revenue from new property, than four percent (4%)\nover the amount of revenue produced by the compensating tax rate from real\nproperty. The action by the local governmental entity or local board of\neducation to cancel an election shall be valid only if taken within fifteen (15)\ndays following the date the clerk finds the petition to be sufficient.\n(3) (a) If an election is necessary under the provisions of subsection (2) of this\nsection:\n1. The local governmental entity shall cause to be submitted to the voters\nof the district at the next regular election, the question as to whether the\nproperty tax rate shall be levied; or\n2. The local board of education shall cause to be submitted to the voters of\nthe district in a called common school election not less than fifty (50)\ndays nor more than sixty (60) days from the date the signatures on the\npetition are validated by the county clerk, or at the next regular election,\nat the option of the local board of education, the question as to whether\nthe property tax rate shall be levied. The cost of a called common school\nelection shall be borne by the school district holding the election, which\nshall post bond with the Circuit Court to cover all costs of the election\nwithin five (5) days after the date the clerk finds the petition to be\nsufficient. Any called common school election shall comply w ith the\nprovisions of KRS 118.025.\n(b) If an election under paragraph (a) of this subsection is held in conjunction\nwith a regular election, the question as to whether the property tax rate shall\nbe levied shall be submitted to the county clerk no later th an the second\nTuesday in August preceding the regular election.\n(c) In an election held under paragraph (a) of this subsection, the question shall\nbe framed to ask whether the voter is for the levy of the property tax rate. If a\nmajority of the votes cast upon the question oppose its passage, the ordinance,\norder, resolution, or motion shall not go into effect. If a majority of the votes\ncast upon the question favor its passage, the ordinance, order, resolution, or\nmotion shall become effective.\n(d) If the ordinance, order, resolution, or motion fails to pass pursuant to an\nelection held under paragraph (a) of this subsection, the property tax rate\nwhich will produce four percent (4%) more revenues from real property,\nexclusive of revenue from new property, than the amount of revenue produced\nby the compensating tax rate, shall be levied without further approval by the\nlocal governmental entity or local board of education.\n(e) 1. As used in this paragraph:\na. \"Local\" has the same meaning as in KRS 65.013; and\nb. \"Resources\" has the same meaning as in KRS 48.025.\n2. Local, state, and federal tax dollars and resources shall not be used to\nadvocate for or against any public question that appears on the ballot.\n(4) Notwithstanding any statutory provision to the co ntrary, if a taxing district has not\nestablished a final tax rate as of September 15, due to the recall provisions of this\nsection, KRS 68.245, 132.023, 132.027, or 160.470, regular tax bills shall be\nprepared as required in KRS 133.220 for all districts h aving a tax rate established\nby that date; and a second set of bills shall be prepared and collected in the regular\nmanner, according to the provisions of KRS Chapter 132, upon establishment of\nfinal tax rates by the remaining districts.\n(5) If a second bi lling is necessary, the collection period shall be extended to conform\nwith the second billing date.\n(6) All costs associated with the second billing shall be paid by the taxing district\nrequiring the second billing.","path":["KRS Chapter 132"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57903","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:50:23Z","sha256":"b405ca8101153e22dee5bae1e5ebd12f106849443e994b756bbfbbec94411a7c","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-132.015","next":"us-ky/krs-132.018"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}