PROPOSED
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AMENDMENTS TO H.B. 2386
(Reference to printed bill)
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert:
"Section 1. Section 48-251, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
48-251. Annual report
A. Each district organized under this title and not exempted under subsection C of this section shall submit an annual report as prescribed by this section that contains the following information:
1. A schedule of the beginning and ending fund balances and all revenues and expenditures for the preceding fiscal year on a form prescribed by the auditor general or the same information contained in a financial statement for the preceding fiscal year that has been attested to by an independent certified public accountant. The schedule or statement shall include all monies, gifts or donations that are received from all sources and that have a value exceeding one hundred dollars.
2. Legal descriptions of any boundary changes occurring during the preceding fiscal year.
3. The names, occupations and business telephone numbers of all members of the governing board and officers of the district on the last day of the preceding fiscal year.
4. The schedule and location of regular meetings of the district governing board.
5. The location or locations where public notices of meetings are posted pursuant to section 38‑431.02.
6. The name and title of the person or persons completing the reporting requirements pursuant to this subsection.
B. The secretary or other officer of the district governing board shall submit the report within two hundred forty days of the close of the district's fiscal year to the clerk of the board of supervisors of each county in which the district is located.
C. Districts organized under chapters 4, 6, 17, 22, 27 and 28 of this title are exempt from the requirements of this section. Districts that do not provide services or otherwise operate during the entire period covered by the report and that notify the clerk of the board of supervisors in writing of such these circumstances within the time for filing the report are exempt from the requirements of subsection A of this section.
D. If a district fails to submit a report as required by this section, any taxpayer residing in the district may petition the superior court in a county in which the district is organized to order the district to show cause why the report has not been submitted. On a failure to show cause the court shall order the district to file all reports as required by this section. A failure to obey the order of the court is punishable as contempt of court.
E. If the court finds that a district has violated this section, it shall award the taxpayer attorney fees and costs associated with bringing the action.
F. The board of supervisors of each county shall submit annually by March 31 a report on compliance with the requirements of this section to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and the governor. The annual report shall include a listing of all those districts required to comply with the requirements of this section, the districts in compliance and not in compliance with the requirements and an analysis of the sufficiency of each district report.
G. The board of supervisors shall notify each district not in compliance with the reporting requirements of this section to comply within thirty days after receipt by certified mail of such noncompliance and that the district is subject to a civil penalty if it fails to comply. The board of supervisors shall assess, and the county treasurer shall collect from the monies of a district remaining in noncompliance thirty days after receipt of certified mail a penalty assessment of one hundred dollars per day for each day that such the district is not in compliance with the reporting requirements of this section from thirty days after receipt by certified mail of the noncompliance notice until such time as the board of supervisors receives a copy of the district's annual report, to the extent that district monies are available and unencumbered. Penalty monies collected shall be deposited in the county general fund.
Sec. 2. Section 48-252, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
48-252. District budgets
A. Each district organized under this title and not exempted by subsection D shall submit the annual budget most recently adopted by the district to the county board of supervisors and the county treasurer. The district budget shall be prepared consistent with the annual financial statements required by this article. The board of supervisors may supply forms for use by districts in preparing their annual budget.
B. Budgets required to be submitted pursuant to this section shall be submitted to the county treasurer and the board of supervisors no later than July 10 of each year. If the district fails to submit a budget as required by this section, any taxpayer residing in the district, the board of supervisors or the county treasurer may petition the superior court in a county where the district is organized to show cause why the budget has not been submitted. On a failure to show cause, the court shall order the district to submit the budget within ten days after judgment is entered.
C. If the court enters judgment against the district under this section, the court may award the taxpayer, board of supervisors or county treasurer reasonable attorney fees and costs associated with bringing the action.
D. Districts organized under chapters 4, 5, 6, 17, 22, 27 and 28 of this title are exempt from the requirements of this section.
Sec. 3. Section 48-253, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
48-253. District audits and financial reviews
A. Each district that is organized under this title, that is not exempt under subsection G of this section and that is required to make an annual report under this article shall have its reports audited in accordance with according to generally accepted government auditing standards and the following:
1. Audits required by this section shall be performed annually for districts whose budgets are one million dollars or more. Districts whose budgets are one hundred thousand dollars or more but less than one million dollars shall have a financial review performed annually. Districts whose budgets are more than fifty thousand dollars and less than one hundred thousand dollars shall have a financial review performed at least biennially. Districts whose budgets are fifty thousand dollars or less shall have a financial review performed at the request of the county board of supervisors or on receipt of a request for a financial review that is signed by at least ten residents of that district. A district shall not be required to perform a financial review more than once per fiscal year.
2. A district may select an outside auditor who is a certified public accountant or a representative who is selected by the board of supervisors and who is trained as an auditor.
3. A district may advertise and use competitive bidding practices to select an agent to perform the audits or financial reviews required by this section.
B. Each district that submits a financial statement for the preceding fiscal year that has been attested to by an independent certified public accountant pursuant to section 48‑251 is deemed to have complied with this section by submitting a copy of the financial statement to the county treasurer.
C. Each district shall submit a copy of the completed audit or financial review to the county treasurer and the board of supervisors within two hundred forty days after the close of the district's fiscal year or within one hundred eighty days after a request for a financial review is received by the district pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 1 of this section.
D. If a district fails to submit an audit or financial review as required by this section, any taxpayer residing in the district, the board of supervisors or the county treasurer may petition the superior court in a county where the district is organized to show cause why the audit or financial review has not been submitted. On a failure to show cause the court shall order the district to submit the audit or financial review within ten days after the judgment is entered.
E. If the court enters a judgment against the district under this section, the court may award the taxpayer, board of supervisors or county treasurer reasonable attorney fees and costs associated with bringing the action.
F. For districts organized under chapter 19 of this title, a district with an annual budget of at least five million dollars shall have an audit performed annually and a district with an annual budget of at least one million dollars but less than five million dollars shall have an audit performed every five years and a financial review performed each year an audit is not performed. A district with an annual budget of at least one hundred thousand dollars but less than one million dollars shall have an audit performed every ten years and a financial review performed each year an audit is not performed.
G. Districts organized under chapters 4, 6, 17, 22, 27 and 28 of this title are exempt from the requirements of this section.
Sec. 4. Title 48, chapter 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding article 14, to read:
ARTICLE 14. MISCELLANEOUS
48-296. Election information; informational pamphlet
For any special district organized or authorized pursuant to this title:
1. The district shall provide notice to the qualified electors of the district regarding any election for the district, including elections to authorize or increase a property tax levy, to create or dissolve a district, to modify the boundaries of the district, to elect candidates to the district board and to authorize the issuance of bonds. The notice must include the date of the election, the location of the polling place for that election, the hours the polls are open and a specific description of the matters to be voted on at that election and shall be mailed to each household that contains a qualified elector of the district. The notice shall be mailed no later than ninety days before the date of the election or as otherwise provided by law for that special district, whichever is earlier.
2. For any election to authorize the issuance of bonds, section 35-454 applies and the special district shall produce an informational pamphlet and otherwise comply with section 35-454.
48-297. Bonding limits; net assessed valuation; exception
For any special taxing district organized or authorized pursuant to this title, other than a fire district established pursuant to chapter 5 of this title:
1. A district with a net assessed valuation that is less than eighty per cent of the net assessed valuation of the county in which the majority of the district is located may not issue general obligation bonds in an amount that exceeds the lesser of the following:
(a) Twenty per cent of the net assessed valuation of the taxable property in the district at the time the bonds are issued.
(b) The general obligation bond limit otherwise prescribed by law for that special taxing district.
2. A district with a net assessed valuation that is equal to or greater than eighty per cent of the net assessed valuation of the county in which the majority of the district is located may not issue general obligation bonds in an amount that exceeds the lesser of the following:
(a) Six per cent of the assessed valuation of the taxable property of the district at the time the bonds are issued.
(b) The general obligation bond limit otherwise prescribed by law for that special taxing district.
Sec. 5. Section 48-3015, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
48-3015. Registration of voters
A. The board of directors of an irrigation district using the personal and individual system of voting shall provide for and require a registration of the voters of the irrigation district. The registration books shall be opened for a period beginning on the thirtieth day after an election and closing on the fiftieth day before the date of the next election, and the place of registration shall be the business office of the district. The registration books shall include the full name and sex of the registrant, and the certificate of the registrant that he is a qualified elector of the district as provided by section 48‑2917.
B. A person not registered as provided in this section shall not be entitled to vote, but a qualified and registered elector who voted at the last preceding district election and who continues to possess the qualifications of a qualified elector in the district shall not be required to reregister. Following the close of registration, the board of directors shall prepare lists of the qualified electors of the several divisions, and shall deliver the list to the judges of election in each division."
Amend title to conform
MICHELLE UGENTI |