Currently, a fire protection district (district) may receive and spend
an impact fee or other similar development charge in connection with a local government's imposition of such fee or charge to fund expenditures by a fire and emergency services provider. Section 1 of the bill repeals these statutory provisions for funding fire and emergency services and section 2 prohibits a district from on its own authority imposing a fee, rate, toll, or charge for responding to, combating, and extinguishing a fire occurring within the district's jurisdictional boundaries, but continues to allow a district to charge or seek reimbursement for such services as authorized by separate state or federal law.
In place of the repealed funding mechanisms, section 3 authorizes
a district to impose its own impact fee on the construction of new buildings, structures, facilities, or improvements on real property within the district's jurisdictional boundaries so long as the fee is:
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Reasonably related to the overall cost of the district's services; and
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Imposed in accordance with a fee schedule that is legislatively adopted by the district's board and that applies to all similarly situated property. Section 4 gives districts the additional financial power to levy a
sales tax within the district's jurisdiction, at a rate determined by the district's board, upon every transaction or other incident with respect to which a sales tax is levied by the state. The tax must be approved by a majority of the eligible electors within the district voting at a regular special district election or at a special election that complies with section 20 of article X of the state constitution and related statutory requirements. Such a sales tax must be collected, administered, and enforced by the executive director of the department of revenue in the same manner as the state sales tax.
