The 4th meeting of the Task Force on Local Taxation was held on Tuesday, June 27, 2006, at<MeetTime> 10:00 AM, in Room 169 of the Capitol Annex. Representative Charlie Hoffman, Chair, called the meeting to order, and the secretary called the roll.
Present were:
Members: Senator Damon Thayer, Co-Chair; Representative Charlie Hoffman, Co-Chair; Senators Denise Harper Angel and Ernie Harris; Representatives Steve Riggs and Arnold Simpson; Glenn Caldwell, Tom Guidugli, Steve Hoskins, Vince Lang, Bert May, Willie McElroy, Richard Tanner, Bill Thielen, and Larry Whittaker.
LRC Staff: Pam Thomas, Charlotte Quarles, Lauren Armstrong, Jamie Franklin, Donna Gaines, Mark Mitchell, Joe Pinczewski-Lee, and Sheri Mahan.
Senator Thayer moved that the minutes from the previous meeting be approved as written. The motion was seconded by Mr. May. Mayor Caldwell asked that the minutes reflect that he had voted yes on the question of whether to have a minority recommendation regarding a restaurant tax. The members voted by voice vote to approve the minutes with that one correction included.
Representative Hoffman and Senator Thayor thanked the members of the task force for their hard work and dedication to this issue. Representative Hoffman then introduced Pam Thomas, LRC staff, who detailed the contents of the draft task force report. Ms. Thomas requested input as to possible changes necessary to the draft document.
Mr. Lang suggested a change to the first paragraph discussing House Bill 44 limitations, located on page 4 of the draft report. He suggested adding the following text after the sentence ending with House Bill 44 limit (Wildasin 77-78): "A survey conducted in 2005 by the Kentucky County Judge Executives Association reflected that 41 out of 112 counties reporting levied at the House Bill 44 limit." This additional text was approved by voice vote.
Mr. Thielen suggested a second change to the draft report. He suggested additional language located at the end of paragraph (1)(b) of the section relating to amendment of the Constitution of Kentucky, located on page 9 of the draft report. The following text was added between the words "occur" and ",including": "or increased local tax flexibility can be granted". This addition was approved by voice vote.
Mr. Thielen also suggested the third change to the draft report. On page 11 of the draft report, at the end of paragraph (6) he suggested inserting the following text: " The task force encourages jurisdictions with overlapping taxes that are not uniform and that have local ordinances with differing requirements to develop interlocal agreements to reduce compliance burdens, including the filing of multiple tax forms by businesses." This additional language was approved by voice vote.
Representative Simpson moved to incorporate the approved changes and finalize the task force report as amended. Representative Riggs seconded the motion. The motion was approved by roll call vote. The vote was as follows: Senator Damon Thayer, Co-Chair; Yes; Representative Charlie Hoffman, Co-Chair, Yes; Senators Denise Harper Angel, Yes; Ernie Harris, Yes; Representatives Steve Riggs, Yes; Arnold Simpson, Yes; Glenn Caldwell, Yes; Tom Guidugli, Yes; Steve Hoskins, Yes; Vince Lang, Yes; Bert May, Yes; Willie McElroy, Yes; Richard Tanner, Yes; Bill Thielen, Yes; and Larry Whittaker, Yes.
Senator Thayor informed the task force member that the final report would be delivered to the LRC, and presented to the Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue and the Interim Joint Committee on Local Government during the 2006 interim.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:55 a.m.