26-74-605. Conduct of election and results — Challenges.

26-74-605. Conduct of election and results — Challenges. (a) An election called under § 26-74-603 shall be conducted in the manner provided by law for all other county elections unless otherwise specified in this subchapter. (b)(1) Notice of the election shall be given by the county clerk by one (1) publication in a newspaper having a general circulation within the eligible county not less than ten (10) days prior to the election. (2) No other publication or posting of a notice by any other public official shall be required. (c) When the election results have been certified, the county judge shall immediately issue a proclamation declaring the results of the election and cause the proclamation to be published one (1) time in a newspaper having general circulation within the eligible county. (d) Any person desiring to challenge the results of the election as published in the proclamation shall file the challenge in the circuit court of the eligible county within thirty (30) days after the date of publication of the proclamation. (e)(1)(A) If a challenge to an election called under § 26-74-603(b) is not timely filed, there shall be levied effective on the first day of the first month of the calendar quarter after a minimum of sixty (60) days' notice by the Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration to sellers and subsequent to the expiration of the thirty-day challenge period a countywide tax on the gross receipts from the sale at retail within the eligible county of all items that are subject to the Arkansas Gross Receipts Act of 1941, § 26-52-101 et seq. (B) Furthermore, in every eligible county in which a local sales and use tax has been adopted under this subchapter, there is imposed an excise tax on the storage, use, distribution, or consumption within the eligible county of taxable services and tangible personal property purchased, leased, or rented from any retailer outside the state after the effective date of the sales and use tax for storage, use, distribution, or other consumption in the eligible county at the same rate as on the sale price of the property or in the case of leases or rentals of the lease or rental price, the rate of the use tax to correspond to the rate of the sales tax portion of the tax. (2) The use tax portion of the local sales and use tax shall be collected according to the terms of the Arkansas Compensating Tax Act of 1949, § 26-53-101 et seq. (f)(1) In the event of an election challenge, the tax shall be collected as prescribed in subsection (e) of this section unless enjoined by a court order. (2) A hearing involving this litigation shall be advanced on the docket of the courts and disposed of at the earliest feasible time. (g) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (e) and (f) of this section, the effective date of the levy of the tax may be delayed beyond the effective date as set forth in subsection (e) of this section to a date to be determined as set forth in the ballot, which date must be the first day of a calendar quarter. (h)(1) To extend the period for the levy of a tax under § 26-74-603(c), after the publication of the proclamation has occurred and at least ninety (90) days before the current period for the levy of the tax is set to expire, the county shall notify the secretary of the new period for the levy of the tax that was approved by the voters. (2) A tax extended under § 26-74-603(c) shall continue to be levied until the end of the new tax period. (3) If the voters do not approve a change in the period for the levy of the tax, the: (A) Tax shall continue to be levied until the end of the period previously approved by the voters; and (B) Question may be resubmitted to the voters at the time permitted by the applicable election laws.