Committee approves amendment to require municipal bond votes on primary or general election days

The Finance and Taxation Committee voted 6-0 on Tuesday to approve amendments to House Bill 1482 that would require most municipalities to hold bond elections on a primary or general election day rather than at special elections.

The change, discussed and moved by Senator Rummel, would remove the option to submit bond measures to voters at special elections and attach those measures to primary or general election ballots for cities, public school districts and park districts. The committee approved the amendment and then the bill as amended; Chairman Weber said he would hold the bill until legislative counsel and the Secretary of State confirm the changes are administratively acceptable.

The amendment narrows the timing of bond votes but does not alter constitutionally established debt limits. “We are taking away the ability to…have that done at a special election,” Senator Rummel said while explaining the amendment. She noted that the amendment addresses when a bond question appears on the ballot, not the constitutional percentage ceilings that…