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effect Jan. 1, 1999.
• Shall the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow a combination of localities to contract debt as part of an agreement to share the revenues, tax base, or the benefits of economic growth and exempt this class of debt from the ceiling on local debt for cities and towns and from the requirement for a local referendum for counties?
This would add another exception to the constitutional limits on local debt, covering debt that results from an agreement among two or more localities to share “the revenue, tax base, or benefits of economic growth.”
Under state code, and economic growth-sharing agreement is subject to an advisory review and evaluation by the Commission on Local Government and must be approved by the participating localities’ governing bodies following public hearings on the proposed agreement. These requirements are unchanged.
Both the third and fourth amendments would affect primarily those areas of the state where cities and counties adjoin and would let counties in those situations get out of, for example, a referendum to build an industrial park cooperatively with the city.
• Shall the Constitution of Virginia be amended to authorize the General Assembly by general law to give local governments the option of eliminating, in whole or in part, either the business, professional or occupational license tax or the merchants’ capital tax or both?
This would clarify that the GA may give local governments an option to grant exceptions to either the BPOL tax or the merchants’ capital tax, or both taxes. Allows total or partial exceptions for both taxes. It will take effect Jan. 1, 1999 if approved.
Information for this article was provided by the State Board of Elections.
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