HF 76 Local option

[Fishbonker]

This bill would create a local option sales tax for a natural resource and recreation fund. If I read it correctly it is a county by county version of IWILL. I don't know if this is meant to supplant IWILL or a failsafe if IWILL isn't funded by the legislature. It is hard to know the "politics" of a bill by just reading it but I think this is the wrong move. I'd rather see all Iowans paying for a statewide fund than a patchwork of counties. When was the last time a LOST was passed? I think here in Linn County it has been a very long time. On a side note, there was a referendum here in Linn County for the conservation Board to sell bonds to finance their water quality projects. The referendum passed. I don't see anything in this bill that would stop the County from using money generated from this LOST to pay off their bonds. If this is indeed why this bill is being propose then it is wrong for the Conservation Board(s) to have asked for the referendum(s) in the hope that there would eventually be a LOST that would bail them out. Again, it is hard to figure the politics of proposed legislation.

https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ba=HF76&ga=87

As always, please read the bill and draw your own conclusions.