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Senate advances revised local-option sales tax distribution, sparking debate over city impacts
Summary
Senators debated and passed the first substitute to SB 35, revising the 1983 'hold harmless' local-option sales tax distribution formula with a phased phase-down; supporters framed it as tax equity while some lawmakers warned of hardships for cities like Riverdale; vote 25-2, 2 absent.
The Senate on Jan. 26 adopted the first substitute to Senate Bill 35, a measure that changes the way local-option sales and use tax distributions are calculated and phases out older "hold harmless" arrangements from 1983.
Sen. Bell, sponsor of the substitute, described the measure as correcting an unintended long-term inequality that froze some cities at a revenue high-water mark. The substitute replaces the decades-old…
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