Arkansas Constitution
Amendments
Amendment 78 - City and County Government Redevelopment.
Section 1: Redevelopment Projects
Any city or county may form a redevelopment district for the purpose of financing one (1) or more redevelopment projects within the district.
A city or county which has formed a redevelopment district may issue bonds for the purpose of financing capital improvements for redevelopment projects within the district. The bonds may be secured by and be payable from all or a portion of the division of ad valorem taxes in the district provided for in (d) below. The bonds shall not be considered in calculating debt limits for bonds issued pursuant to Article XII, Section 4, of the Arkansas Constitution and shall not be subject to the provisions of Article XVI, Section 1 of the Arkansas Constitution or Amendments 62 or 65 to the Arkansas Constitution.
For purposes of this section, the term "redevelopment project" means an undertaking for eliminating, or preventing the development or spread of, slums or blighted, deteriorated, or deteriorating areas, for discouraging the loss of commerce, industry, or employment, or for increasing employment, or any combination thereof, as may be defined by the General Assembly.
The General Assembly may provide that the ad valorem taxes levied by any taxing unit, in which is located all or part of an area included in a redevelopment district, may be divided so that all or part of the ad valorem taxes levied against any increase in the assessed value of property in the area obtaining after the effective date of the ordinance approving the redevelopment plan for the district shall be used to pay any indebtedness incurred for the redevelopment project; provided, however, there shall be excluded from the division all ad valorem taxes for debt service approved by voters in a taxing unit prior to the effective date of this amendment.
After the effective date of an ordinance approving the redevelopment plan for the district, no increase in the assessed value of property in a redevelopment district shall be taken into account for purposes of calculating increases in the aggregate value of taxable real and personal property in a taxing unit pursuant to Article XVI, Section 14 of the Arkansas Constitution.
Any provision of the Constitution of the State of Arkansas in conflict with this section is repealed insofar as it is in conflict with this amendment.
The General Assembly shall provide for the implementation of this section by law.
Section 2: Short-term financing obligations
For the purpose of acquiring, constructing, installing or renting real property or tangible personal property having an expected useful life of more than one (1) year, municipalities and counties may incur short-term financing obligations maturing over a period of, or having a term, not to exceed five (5) years. Such obligations may bear interest. The aggregate principal amount of short-term financing obligations incurred by a municipality or a county pursuant to this section shall not exceed five percent (5%) of the assessed value of taxable property located within the municipality or two and one half percent (2.5%) of the assessed value of taxable property located within the county, as determined by the last tax assessment completed before the last obligation was incurred by the city or county. The total annual principal and interest payments in each fiscal year on all outstanding obligations of a municipality or a county pursuant to this section shall be charged against and paid from the general revenues for such fiscal year, which may include road fund revenues. Tax revenues earmarked for solid waste disposal purposes may be used to pay printing and other costs associated with bonds issued under this amendment for solid waste disposal purposes.
As used here:
“Short-term financing obligation” means a debt, a note, an installment purchase agreement, a lease, a lease-purchase contract, or any other similar agreement, whether secured or unsecured; provided, that the obligation shall mature over a period of, or have a term, not to exceed five (5) years.
The provisions of this section shall be self-executing. (Amended by Const. Amend. 89.) Annotations
Section 3: Scope of authority to incur debt
The authority conferred by this amendment shall be in addition to the authority of municipalities and counties to issue bonds and other debt obligations pursuant to Amendments 62, 65, and 72, and other provisions of the Constitution and laws of the state.