A N
A C T
RELATING TO PARKING
SURCHARGES IN THE WARWICK AIRPORT PARKING DISTRICT
|
Introduced
By: Representatives Sherlock, Ginaitt, McNamara, Trillo, and Knickle |
|
Date
Introduced: May 29, 2002 |
It is enacted
by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. The general assembly finds that the state airport
provides substantial benefits to the people of the state beyond the city of
Warwick as well as within the city of Warwick, but that the T.F. Green state
airport imposes a significant burden on the city of Warwick not borne by
inhabitants of the state beyond the city of Warwick. Among these burdens is use
of city highways by persons not resident in Warwick and, in some cases, not resident
in the state. Furthermore, federal law prohibits the airport operator from
paying taxes or making payments in lieu of taxes at a rate adequate to
compensate the city and its inhabitants for that burden. The general assembly
therefore finds it fair and appropriate to dedicate certain parking surcharges
to the city of Warwick.
SECTION 2. Title 1 of the General Laws entitled
"Aeronautics" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following
chapter:
CHAPTER 6
WARWICK AIRPORT PARKING DISTRICT
(1)
"Administrator" means the state tax administrator.
(2)
"District" means the Warwick airport parking district, being the
district that runs from a point on Main Avenue in the city of Warwick at the
southerly boundary of T.F. Green state airport, and westerly along Main Avenue
to a point one-third (1/3) mile west of the intersection of Main Avenue with
Post Road; turning thence northerly running along a line parallel to and
one-third (1/3) mile west of Post Road to a point one (1) mile north of the
line of Airport Road; thence turning east running along a line parallel to and
one-third (1/3) mile north of the line of Airport Road to Warwick Avenue;
thence turning south along Warwick Avenue to Airport Road; thence turning west
along Airport Road to the boundary of T.F. Green state airport; thence running
southerly along the boundary of T.F. Green state airport to the point of
beginning. If any parking facility (including entrances, driveways, or private
access roads) is constructed partly within the district as so defined, the
entire facility shall be treated as though within the district.
(3)
"Operator" means any person providing transient parking within the
district.
(4)
"Permit fee" means the fee payable annually by an operator to the tax
administrator in an amount equal to ten dollars ($10.00) for each space made or
to be made available by the operator for transient parking during the period of
a permit's effectiveness, but not more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for
each permit.
(5)
"Transient parking" means any parking for motor vehicles at a lot,
garage, or other parking facility within the district for which a fee is
collected by the operator, but excludes:
(i) parking
for which the fee is charged and paid on a monthly or less frequent basis;
(ii) parking
for any employee of the operator of the facility;
(iii) parking
provided by any hotel or motel for registered guests;
(iv) parking
provided by validation or having a validated rate, where the person providing the
validation does not maintain a place of business at T.F. Green state airport.
(6)
"Transient parking receipts" shall mean the gross receipts collected
by an operator (excluding the surcharge imposed by this chapter) in
consideration of the provision of transient parking.
1-6-2. Surcharge on transient parking in
district. -- There is hereby imposed on all
transient parking in the district a surcharge in an amount equal to five
percent (5%) of transient parking receipts. The surcharge shall be collected by
the operator of each facility providing transient parking in the district and
remitted by the operator to the tax administrator not later than the twentieth
(20th) day of the month following the calendar month in which such
transient parking was provided. The tax administrator may require the filing of
such forms with such information as the tax administrator may reasonably
determine is necessary to carry out the provisions of this statute. The
surcharges collected by the tax administrator under this section shall be
deposited upon receipt in a special account denominated by the Warwick airport
parking district account. At annual or more frequent intervals, amounts
accumulated in the Warwick airport parking district account shall be remitted
to the treasurer of the city of Warwick to be held as part of the general fund
of the city of Warwick.
1-6-3. Permits for parking operations in
district. -- (a) Every person desiring to provide
transient parking in the district shall file with the tax administrator an application
for a permit for each place of business where transient parking will be
provided. The application shall be in a form, include information, and bear any
signatures that the tax administrator may require. At the time of making an
application, the applicant shall pay to the tax administrator the permit fee.
Every permit issued under this chapter shall expire on June 30 of each year.
Every permit holder desiring to renew a permit shall annually, on or before
February 1 of each year, apply for renewal of its permit and file therewith the
appropriate permit fee. The renewal permit shall be valid for the period of July 1
of that calendar year through June 30 of the subsequent calendar year, unless
sooner canceled, suspended, or revoked. Upon receipt of the required
application and permit fee, the tax administrator shall issue to the applicant
a permit. Provided, that if the applicant, at the time of making the
application, owes any fee, surcharge, penalty, or interest imposed under the
authority of this chapter, the applicant shall pay the amount owed. An operator
whose permit has been previously suspended or revoked shall pay to the tax
administrator a permit fee for the renewal or issuance of a permit.
(b) Whenever any person fails to comply with any
provision of this chapter, the tax administrator upon hearing, after giving the
person at least five (5) days notice, in writing, specifying the time and
place of hearing and requiring the person to show cause why his or her permit
or permits should not be revoked, may revoke or suspend any one (1) or more of
the permits held by the person. The notice may be served personally or by mail.
The tax administrator shall not issue a new permit after the revocation of a
permit unless the administrator is satisfied that the former holder of the
permit will comply with the provisions of the ordinance.
(c) The superior court of this state has
jurisdiction to restrain and enjoin any person from engaging in business as an
operator of a transient parking facility in the district without a parking
operator's permit or permits or after a transient parking facility operator's
permit has been suspended or revoked. The tax administrator may institute
proceedings to prevent and restrain violations of this chapter. In any
proceeding instituted under this section, proof that a person continues to
operate a transient parking facility from the location to which a revoked
parking operator's permit was assigned is prima facie evidence that the person
is engaging in business as a parking operator without a parking operator's
permit.
(d) Permit fees collected under the authority of
this section shall be deposited into the general fund of the state.
1-6-4. Returns. -- The administrator may require the filing of periodic reports, not more
frequently than monthly, setting out such information as the tax administrator
may require. The surcharge for the transient parking shown or which should be
shown on the report shall be due with the report; provided, that if an operator
will operate a transient parking facility for a period of less than one (1)
month, the administrator may require the filing of reports more frequently than
monthly. The ordinance may authorize the tax administrator for good cause to
extend the time for making any return or paying any amount required to be paid.
Any person to whom an extension is granted shall pay, in addition to the
surcharge, interest at the annual rate prescribed by section 44-5-9, as
amended, or fraction of it, from the date on which the surcharge would have been
due without the extension until the date of payment.
1-6-5. Payment of surcharges --
Enforcement. -- (a) If
the tax administrator is not satisfied with the return or returns or the amount
of surcharges paid to the tax administrator by any person, the tax
administrator may compute and determine the amount required to be paid upon the
basis of the facts contained in the return or returns or upon the basis of any
information in his or her possession or that may come into his or her
possession. The amount of the determination, exclusive of penalties, bears
interest at the annual rate provided by section 44-5-9, as amended, from the
fifteenth (15th) day after the close of the month for which the
amount, or any portion of it, should have been paid until the date of payment.
(b) If any part of the deficiency for which a
deficiency determination is made is due to negligence or intentional disregard
of the provisions of the ordinance, the ordinance may provide that a penalty of
not more than ten percent (10%) of the amount of the determination is added to
it. If any part of the deficiency for which a deficiency determination is made
is due to fraud or an intent to evade the provisions of the ordinance, the
ordinance may provide that a penalty of not more than fifty percent (50%) of
the amount of the determination is added to it.
(c) The tax administrator shall give to the parking
operator a written notice of his or her determination. Every notice of a
deficiency determination shall be mailed within two (2) years after the
fifteenth (15th) day of the calendar month following the month for
which the amount is proposed to be determined or within two (2) years after the
return is filed, whichever period expires the later, unless a longer period is
agreed upon by the tax administrator and the parking operator.
(d) Unless a hearing has been requested as provided
in subsection (e), any determination made by the tax administrator becomes
final and shall be paid within forty (40) days after mailing by the tax
administrator of the notice of that determination. If that determination is not
paid, the ordinance may provide a further penalty of not more than ten percent
(10%) of the amount of the determination, exclusive of interest and other
penalties, is added to it.
(e) Any person aggrieved by any assessment,
deficiency, or otherwise, shall notify the tax administrator, in writing,
within thirty (30) days from the date of mailing by the tax administrator of
the notice of the assessment and request a hearing relative to the assessment;
and the tax administrator shall, as soon as practicable, fix a time and place
for a hearing and shall, after the hearing, determine the correct amount of the
fee, surcharges, interest, and penalties.
(f) Appeals from administrative orders or decisions
made pursuant to any provisions of this chapter are to the third division
district court pursuant to chapter 8 of title 8. The operator's right to appeal
under this chapter is expressly made conditional upon prepayment of all fees,
surcharges, interest, and penalties, unless the operator moves for and is
granted an exemption from the prepayment requirement pursuant to section 8-8-26.
(g) If, upon final determination of the petition, it
appears that the tax administrator's assessment was correct, the court shall
confirm the assessment; or, if incorrect, the court shall determine the proper
amount of the fees, surcharges, interest, and penalties, and if it appears that
the petitioner, by reason of the payment of the fees, surcharges, interest, and
penalties, is entitled to recover them or any part of them, the court may order
a refund with interest at the annual rate provided by section 6-26-1, as
amended, or order a credit, as the circumstances may warrant. If it appears
that the administrator is entitled to a greater amount of fees, surcharges,
interest, and penalties than assessed or determined by the tax administrator
and paid by the petitioner, the court shall order the payment by the petitioner
of an additional amount as the court determines, and the petitioner shall
immediately pay that amount to the tax administrator.
(h) The amount of any fees, surcharges, interest,
and penalties imposed upon any operator under this chapter is a debt due from
the operator to the administrator, is recoverable at law in the same manner as
other debts.
1-6-6. Transfer of parking facilities. -- Prior to the sale or transfer by any operator other than receivers,
assignees under a voluntary assignment for the benefit of creditors, trustees
in bankruptcy, or public officers acting under judicial process of a parking
facility the parking operator, at least five (5) days before the sale or
transfer, must notify the tax administrator of the proposed sale or transfer.
Whenever an operator makes a sale or transfer of a parking facility, all fees
and surcharges must be paid at the time when the tax administrator is notified,
or, if the tax administrator is not notified, at the time when the tax
administrator should have been notified.
1-6-7. Books to be kept -- Examinations.
-- (a) Every operator shall keep books,
records, receipts, invoices, and other pertinent papers in the form the tax
administrator may require, that those books, records, receipts, invoices, and
other papers shall at all reasonable times be open to the inspection of the tax
administrator and his or her agents, and that the records shall be available
for inspection and examination at any time upon demand by the tax administrator
or his or her authorized agent or employee and preserved for a period of two
(2) years (or such longer period as the parking facility operator and the tax
administrator may agree), except that the tax administrator may consent to
their destruction within that period.
(b) The tax administrator and his or her agents for
the purpose of ascertaining the correctness of any return, report, or other
statement required to be filed under this chapter or by the tax administrator
thereunder, or for the purpose of determining the amount of any fee or surcharge
imposed under the provisions of this chapter, may examine any books, papers,
records, or memoranda bearing upon the matters required to be included in the
return, report, or other statement, and may require the attendance of the
person executing the return, report, or other statement, or of any officer or
employee of any operator, or the attendance of any other person, and may
examine the person under penalty of perjury respecting any matter which the tax
administrator or his or her agent deems pertinent or material in determining
the liability of any person to a fee or surcharge imposed under the provisions
of this chapter.
(c) The tax administrator may summon any operator,
or officer, agent, or employee of an operator, or any other person, to appear
before the tax administrator and produce records and documents at a time and
place named in the summons and to give testimony and to answer interrogatories,
under penalty of perjury, respecting any matter which the tax administrator
deems pertinent or material to the administration of the ordinance authorized
by this act. The summons may be sent by registered or certified mail to the
operator, or officer, agent, or employee of the operator, or to any other
authorized person, or may be left by any authorized agent of the tax
administrator with the operator, or officer, agent, or employee of the
operator, or other authorized person, or left at his or her last and usual
place of abode. When the summons requires the production of records or
documents, it is sufficient if those records and documents are described with
reasonable certainty.
(d) When any operator, or officer, agent, or
employee of the operator, or other person, summoned under the provisions of
this chapter neglects or refuses to obey the summons or to give testimony or to
answer interrogatories as required, the tax administrator may apply to the
third division of the district court for a citation against the person or it as
for a contempt. Any judge of that court may hear the application and, if satisfactory
proof is made, issue a citation for the arrest of the operator, or officer,
agent, or employee thereof, or other person, and upon the operator, or officer,
agent, or employee of the operator, or other person, being brought before the
judge, the judge shall proceed to a hearing of the case; and upon the hearing
the judge has power to make any order the judge deems proper. A party aggrieved
by an order of the court may appeal the order to the supreme court in
accordance with the procedures contained in the rules of appellate procedure of
the supreme court.
(e) It is unlawful, except in proceedings before a
court of competent jurisdiction or to collect the fees or surcharges or enforce
the penalties provided by this chapter, for the tax administrator or any person
having an administrative duty under those authorities to make known in any
manner whatever the business affairs, operations, or information obtained by an
investigation of records and equipment of any parking facility operator or any
other person visited or examined in the discharge of official duty, or the
amount or source of receipts, or any particular, stated or disclosed in any
return, or to permit any return or copy of any book containing any abstract or
particulars to be seen or examined by any person. Nothing in this paragraph
shall be construed to prevent the disclosure or publication of statistical or
other information where the identity of individual operators is not made known.
An operator may waive the confidentiality established by this paragraph by
notifying the hearing officer at any time, and may limit the waiver at his or
her own discretion. An operator may bring other persons into the hearing
without waiving the confidentiality described herein.
1-6-8. Regulations. -- (a) The tax administrator may prescribe rules and regulations, not
inconsistent with law, to carry into effect the provisions of this section,
which rules and regulations, when reasonably designed to carry out the intent
and purpose of this section, are prima facie evidence of their proper
interpretation. Those rules and regulations may from time to time be amended,
suspended, or revoked, in whole or in part, by the tax administrator. The tax
administrator may prescribe, and may furnish, any forms necessary or proper for
the administration of this chapter.
1-6-9. Nonresident operators. -- Any operator who is not a resident of this state shall, as a condition
precedent to engaging in such business, and by engaging in such business does
consent that any process issued in the enforcement of the provisions of this
chapter may be served upon the director of the department of business
regulation as agent of that person. The process may be served by leaving a copy
of the process in the hands of the director of the department of business
regulation or in the director's office with someone in charge of the office.
The service is sufficient service upon the person; provided, that notice of the
service and a copy of the process, at least fifteen (15) days before the return
day of the process, is sent by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid,
by the tax administrator or the tax administrator's attorney of record, to the
person's last known address, and the sender's registered or certified mail
receipt of sending and the tax administrator's or the administrator's
attorney's affidavit of compliance are appended to the process and entered with
the declaration. Service of process in the manner provided for in this section,
under the circumstances specified in this section, is of the same force and
validity as if served upon the operator personally within this state. Nothing
in this section limits or affects the right to serve process upon a person not
a resident of this state within this state in any other manner now or hereafter
permitted by law.
1-6-10. Surcharges are trust funds of
state. -- All surcharges collected by a parking
facility operator in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, and all
surcharges collected by any parking facility operator from persons paying transient
parking surcharges under color of these provisions, constitute a trust fund
until paid to the tax administrator. That trust is enforceable against:
(1) the parking facility operator;
(2) any officer, agent, servant, or employee of any
parking facility operator responsible for either the collection or payment, or
both, of the surcharge;
(3) any person receiving any part of the fund
without consideration, or knowing that the parking facility operator or any
officer, agent, servant, or employee of any corporate parking facility operator
is committing a breach of trust; and
(4) their estates, heirs, and representatives.
1-6-11. Application to certain exempt
entities. -- The surcharges authorized by section
1-6-2 shall apply notwithstanding section 42-64-20 of the general laws;
provided, however, that the case of any transient parking facility operator as
to which section 42-64-20 otherwise applies:
(1) the transient parking facility operator shall
not be required to pay any permit fee in connection with the application for or
issuance of any transient parking facility permit;
(2) the transient parking facility operator shall
not be required to pay an amount greater than the surcharges actually collected
by or on behalf of the transient parking facility operator. This provision
shall apply notwithstanding the occurrence of any default by the transient
parking facility operator;
(3) if the transient parking facility operator is a
quasi-public corporation, no court may order the corporation to collect the
surcharges or the proper amount thereof, but an injunction may issue, if
otherwise justified, against any officer or employee thereof;
(4) any assessment or order requiring the payment of
surcharges shall be effective only against the trust funds established under
section 1-6-10 and not against any other funds of the transient parking
facility operator.
SECTION 3. Section 8-8-27 of the General Laws in Chapter 8-8
entitled "District Court" is hereby amended to read as follows:
8-8-27. Refund
suits. -- Any taxpayer may bring an action for a refund of taxes
previously overpaid. The suit for refund may not be brought prior to the date
of a final determination by the tax administrator denying the claim for refund.
No action for a refund of tax shall be brought after the expiration of thirty
(30) days from a notice of final determination of the tax administrator denying
the claimed refund. As used in sections 8-8-27 and 8-8-28, the term
"tax" includes any surcharge imposed under section 1-6-2, and the
term "taxpayer" includes an operator as defined in section 1-6-1.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2002.