Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T15:02:32.696Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

County Governments and Democratic Decision Making: Explaining Why Counties Seek Approval of Local Option Sales Taxes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Andrew D. Green
Andrew D. Green*
Affiliation:
Central College, Pella, IA, USA
*
Andrew D. Green, Central College, Campus Box No. 0101, 812 University Pella, IA 50219, USA. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Local option sales taxes have become an important source of local revenue across the United States. Thirty-three of the 50 states have granted authorization to their counties or cities (or both) to levy local option sales taxes, and said taxes generated nearly $50 billion in 2005, which accounted for 11% of all local tax revenue nationwide. Even though local option sales taxes have significant impacts on a county's ability to fund programs and services, little has been written about the decisions of counties to place such taxes on the ballot. Using demographic, fiscal, and political variables, a model is developed that explains the decision to place a county transportation sales tax on the ballot. Modeling and analysis reveal that counties behave strategically as the impact of demographic, fiscal, and political factors on the decision to place a local option sales tax on the ballot is shaped by whether the county is making an initial attempt to adopt, a subsequent attempt to adopt after voter rejection, or a renewal attempt when an existing local option sales tax is nearing its sunset date.

Keywords

legislative behaviorlegislative politicslocal politicsfiscal policypublic policypublic administrationpolicy innovation/diffusion
Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 14 , Issue 1 , March 2014 , pp. 50 - 71
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2014

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allison, Paul D. 1984. Event History Analysis: Regression for Longitudinal Event Data. Newbury Park: SAGE.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alt, James E., and Lowry, Robert C.. 1994. “Divided Government, Fiscal Institutions, and Budget Deficits: Evidence from the States.” American Political Science Review 88:811–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andrew, Simon A. 2009. “Recent Developments in the Study of Interjurisdictional Agreements: An Overview and Assessment.” State and Local Government Review 41:133–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beale, Henry B. R., Bishop, Elbert R., and Marley, William G.. 1996. “How to Pass Local Option Taxes to Finance Transportation Projects.” Transportation Research Record 1558:74–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benton, J. Edwin. 1996. “Fiscal Aid and Mandates: The County Experience.” In The American County: Frontiers of Knowledge, ed. Menzel, D.. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 149–216.Google Scholar
Benton, J. Edwin. 2002. “County Service Delivery: Does Government Structure Matter?” Public Administration Review 62:471–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benton, J. Edwin. 2003a. “County Government Structure and County Revenue Policy: What's the Connection?” State and Local Government Review 35:78–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benton, J. Edwin. 2003b. “The Impact of Structural Reform on County Government Service Provision.” Social Science Quarterly 84:858–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berry, F. Stokes, and Berry, William D.. 1992. “Tax Innovation in the States: Capitalizing on Political Opportunity.” American Journal of Political Science 36:715–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Box-Steffensmeier, Janet M., and Jones, Bradford S.. 1997. “Time Is of the Essence: Event History Models in Political Science.” American Journal of Political Science 41:1414–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breiland, Kendra. 2007. California Travels: Financing Our Transportation. Sacramento, CA: Office of the Legislative Analyst.Google Scholar
Brunori, David. 2007. Local Tax Policy: A Federalist Perspective. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press.Google Scholar
Burge, Gregory S., and Piper, Brian. 2012. “Strategic Fiscal Interdependence: County and Municipal Adoptions of Local Option Sales Taxes.” National Tax Journal 65:387–416.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Camobreco, John F. 1998. “Preferences, Fiscal Policies, and the Initiative Process.” Journal of Politics 60:819–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chapman, Jeffrey I. 2003. “Local Government Autonomy and Fiscal Stress: The Case of California Counties.” State and Local Government Review 35:15–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crabbe, Amber E., Hiatt, Rachel, Poliwka, Susan D., and Wachs, Martin. 2005. “Local Transportation Sales Taxes: California's Experiment in Transportation Finance.” Public Budgeting & Finance 25(3): 91–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeSantis, Victor S., and Renner, Tari. 1996. “Structure and Policy Expenditures in American Counties.” In The American County: Frontiers of Knowledge, ed. Menzel, D.. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 80–91.Google Scholar
Fosler, R. Scott. 1991. “The Suburban County: Governing Mainstream Diversity.” Intergovernmental Perspective 17(1): 33–37.Google Scholar
Georgia Municipal Association. 2011. Local Option Sales Tax (LOST): Definitions, Legal Requirements, and FAQ. Atlanta: Georgia Municipal Association.Google Scholar
Green, Andrew D. 2006. “Life in the Fast Lane: Transportation Finance and the Local Option Sales Tax.” State and Local Government Review 38:92–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, Andrew D., Neiman, Max, Bockman, Shel, and Sirotnik, Barbara. 2013. “Public Support for Transportation Sales Taxes in California: A Two County Assessment.” California Journal of Politics and Policy 5(4): 645–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haas, Peter J., Massey, Kristen S., Valenty, Linda O., and Werbel, Richard. 2000. Why Campaigns for Local Transportation Funding Initiatives Succeed or Fail: An Analysis of Four Communities and National Data. San José: Mineta Transportation Institute.Google Scholar
Hamideh, Ashad, Oh, Jung E., Labi, Samuel, and Mannering, Fred. 2008. “Public Acceptance of Local Government Transportation Taxes: A Statistical Assessment.” State and Local Government Review 40:150–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hannay, Robert, and Wachs, Martin. 2007. “Factors Influencing Support for Local Transportation Sales Tax Measures.” Transportation 34:17–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hennessey, Bridget, Jordan, Jason, Karstens, Mary, and Vance, Stephanie. 2006. Transportation Finance at the Ballot Box: Voters Support Increased Investment & Choice. Washington, DC: Center for Transportation Excellence.Google Scholar
Hill, Elizabeth G. 1998. Why County Revenues Vary: State Laws and Local Conditions Affecting County Finance. Sacramento: Office of the Legislative Analyst.Google Scholar
Hoene, Christopher, Baldassare, Mark, and Shires, Michael. 2002. “The Development of Counties as Municipal Governments: A Case Study of Los Angeles County in the Twenty-First Century.” Urban Affairs Review 37:575–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iowa Department of Revenue. 2008. “School Infrastructure Local Option (SILO) Sales Tax Q&A.” http://www.iowa.gov/tax/educate/78511.html (accessed December 31, 2013).Google Scholar
Johnston, Jocelyn M., Pagano, Michael A., and Russo, Philip A. Jr. 2000. “State Limits and State Aid: An Exploratory Analysis.” State and Local Government Review 32:86–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krmenec, Andrew J. 1991. “Sales Taxes as Property Tax Relief? The Shifting Onus of Local Revenue Generation.” Professional Geographer 43:60–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marando, Vincent L., and Thomas, Robert D.. 1977. The Forgotten Governments: County Commissioners as Policy Makers. Gainesville: The University Presses of Florida.Google Scholar
Menzel, Donald C., and Edwin Benton, J.. 1991. “Citizen Contacting in an Urban County: Hillsborough County, Florida.” Journal of Urban Affairs 13:33–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, Gary J. 1981. Cities by Contract: The Politics of Municipal Incorporation. Cambridge: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Morgan, David R., and Kickham, Kenneth. 1999. “Changing the Form of County Government: Effects on Revenue and Expenditure Policy.” Public Administration Review 59:315–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neiman, Max, and Riposa, Gerry. 1986. “Tax Rebels and Tax Rebellion.” Western Political Quarterly 39:435–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, Bonnie W., and Colman, Steven B.. 1991. “Transportation Sales Taxes—The California Experience.” Paper presented at the Institute for Transportation Engineers 44th Annual Meeting, District 6, Compendium of Papers, Anaheim, CA.Google Scholar
Nicholson-Crotty, Sean. 2008. “Fiscal Federalism and Tax Effort in the U.S. States.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 8:109–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pagano, Michael A., and Johnston, Jocelyn M.. 2000. “Life at the Bottom of the Fiscal Food Chain: Examining City and County Revenue Decisions.” Publius 30:159–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parks, Roger B. 1991. “Counties in the Federal System: The Interlocal Connection.” Intergovernmental Perspective 17:29–32.Google Scholar
Percival, Garrick L., Johnson, Martin, and Neiman, Max. 2009. “Representation and Local Policy: Relating County-Level Public Opinion to Policy Outputs.” Political Research Quarterly 62:164–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PRINCIPALS: Intergovernmental Forum on Transportation Finance. 2008. Financing Transportation in the 21st Century: An Intergovernmental Perspective. Washington, DC: National Academy of Public Administration.Google Scholar
Rabushka, Alvin, and Ryan, Pauline. 1982. The Tax Revolt. Stanford: Hoover Press.Google Scholar
Salant, Tanis J. 1991. “County Governments: An Overview.” Intergovernmental Perspective 17(1): 5–9.Google Scholar
Salant, Tanis J. 1994. “Evolving County-State Relations: From Servant to Partner?” International Journal of Public Administration 17:995–1020.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schneider, Mark, and Park, Kee O.. 1989. “Metropolitan Counties as Service Delivery Agents: The Still Forgotten Governments.” Public Administration Review 49:345–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sears, David, and Citrin, Jack. 1982. Tax Revolt: Something for Nothing in California. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Sjoquist, David L., Smith, William J., Walker, Mary B., and Wallace, Sally. 2007. “An Analysis of the Time to Adoption of Local Sales Taxes: A Duration Model Approach.” Public Budgeting & Finance 27:20–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sokolow, Alvin D. 1993. “Legislatures and Legislating in County Government.” In County Governments in an Era of Change, ed. Berman, D.. Westport: Greenwood Press, 29–42.Google Scholar
Steel, Brent S., and Lovrich, Nicholas P.. 2000. “Growth Management Policy and County Government: Correlates of Policy Adoption across the United States.” State and Local Government Review 32:7–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stewart, D. Michael. 1991. “Counties in the Federal System: The Washington Connection.” Intergovernmental Perspective 17(1): 18–20.Google Scholar
Thomas, Robert D. 1991. “Counties in Transition: Issues and Challenges.” Intergovernmental Perspective 17(1): 41–44.Google Scholar
Todd, Barbara. 1991. “Counties in the Federal System: The State Connection.” Intergovernmental Perspective 17(1): 22–25.Google Scholar
Wachs, Martin. 2006. “A Quiet Crisis in Transportation Finance: Options for Texas.” Testimony presented before the Texas Study Commission on Transportation Finance, April 19, Santa Monica, CA.Google Scholar
Waugh, William L., and Hy, Ronald. 1988. “The Administrative, Fiscal, and Policymaking Capabilities of County Governments.” State and Local Government Review 20:28–31.Google Scholar
Weinstein, Asha, Dill, Jennifer, Goldman, Todd, Hall, John, Holtzman, Franziska, Recker, Joe, and Goodwin, Eileen. 2006. Transportation Financing Opportunities for the State of California. San José: Mineta Transportation Institute.Google Scholar
Zhao, Zhirong. 2005. “Motivations, Obstacles, and Resources: The Adoption of the General-Purpose Local Option Sales Tax in Georgia Counties.” Public Finance Review 33:721–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar