| Summary |
The bill makes the following modifications to statutory provisions
governing special districts to increase the accountability of special
districts to taxpayers:
•
If a separate legal entity established by contract includes
one or more special districts, requires the separate legal
entity to file with the division of local government in the
department of local affairs certain financial information
pertaining to the special district. In such circumstances, the
directors of the special district are also required to comply
with oath and bond requirements for directors of special
districts.
•
Expands existing requirements on the information a
metropolitan district must include on its public website to
include information that is required by the service plan of
the metropolitan district, by an ordinance or resolution
adopted by the board of commissioners of a county, or by
the governing body of a municipality, as applicable;
•
Expands the applicability of statutory provisions governing
the approval and oversight of special districts to specify
that these provisions do not apply when a special district
that was originally approved at any time thereafter becomes
wholly included within the boundaries of one or more
municipalities;
•
Specifies information to be included in the financial plan
that a new district submits along with its service plan;
•
Removes an existing cap on the amount of the fee that a
special district must pay the board of county commissioners
for processing review of a service plan;
•
For any proposed special district that has any property
within its boundaries that is zoned or valued for assessment
as residential, enumerates certain acts that are disallowed
for any service plan required to be filed by the district. A
local government acting on a service plan is prohibited
from approving a service plan for a special district that
permits any of these same acts.
•
Clarifies requirements affecting the oversight by a
municipality that is wholly contained within the boundaries
of the municipality, especially in connection with an
annexing municipality;
•
Expands the circumstances under which material
modifications of a special district's service plan are
approved by the county or municipality, as applicable, to
include the situation when the special district after initial
approval of the plan becomes wholly included within the
boundaries of a newly annexed municipality;
•
Specifies that approval is also required for any action or
omission of a special district that is materially inconsistent
with the district's service plan. Expands the list of examples
of acts or omissions necessitating approval.
•
Authorizes a board of county commissioners for a district
that lies entirely within the territorial boundaries of a
county or the governing body of a municipality for a
district that lies entirely within the boundaries of a
municipality to impose a fee to offset the costs incurred by
the county or municipality, as applicable, in reviewing the
operations of the district and the district's compliance with
its service plan. The fee is not payable more than once
annually.
•
Prohibits a member of the board of a district that approved
the issuance of any debt while the member was serving on
the board from thereafter acquiring any interest in the debt
individually or on behalf of any organization or entity for
which the board member is engaged as an employee,
counsel, consultant, representative, or agent;
•
Requires all meetings of a board of a special district that
are held solely at physical locations to be held at physical
locations that are within the boundaries of the district or
that are within the boundaries of any county in which the
district is located, in whole or in part, without exceptions or
the possibility of a waiver;
•
Clarifies that the powers of the board of directors of any
metropolitan district are limited by the district's service
plan;
•
On and after September 1, 2022, prohibits a metropolitan
district from entering into any new contract or agreement
as of that date to furnish covenant enforcement and design
review services. On and after September 1, 2022, the bill
prohibits a metropolitan district from renewing any existing
agreement entered into prior to that date to furnish
covenant enforcement and design review services. Upon
the expiration of the agreement, the master association or
similar entity contracting with the metropolitan district is
required to assume covenant enforcement and design
review services.
•
Under current law, under specified circumstances, the
board of county commissioners or the governing body of
the municipality that has adopted a resolution of approval
of the special district may require the board of the special
district to file an application for a finding of reasonable
diligence every 5 years. The bill makes this an annual
requirement.
•
Makes proof of the commission of such act by a
preponderance of the evidence proof that the director has
breached the director's fiduciary duty and the public trust.
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