By Attorney Elizabeth Burnett
House File 718, signed into law by Governor Reynolds on May 4, 2023, changed available bond election dates for municipalities.
General Obligation Bond elections may now only be held one time per year, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. If you are a municipal issuer, this change can affect planning for your fiscal year 2025 budget.
If you intend to include a pre-levy in your FY25 budget for bonds to be sold after April 30, 2024, and any of your bonded projects include an election or are subject to a reverse-referendum process (petition), you may need to call and hold an election to establish the bonding authority prior to the FY25 budget approval schedule. Final notice deadlines to the County for an election held on November 7, 2023, may vary based upon the other propositions on said date.
We advise checking with your bond counsel and coordinating with your Commissioner of Elections before the end of August to confirm actual deadlines, if an election is needed. If the public hearing process is held at a later time and a petition requesting an election is filed, that election may not be held until November 5, 2024 (precluding including a pre-levy in your FY25 budget for that portion of the bond issuance which requires passage of a successful election for authorization).
This article is only a summary of the bond election reform law. If you have questions about the impact of the law or want advice generally on this topic, please contact an attorney in the Ahlers & Cooney, P.C.’s Public Finance Practice Group or by visiting the Firm's website at www.ahlerslaw.com.
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