SB1316 - 531R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 48-4002, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE48-4002. Board of directors; administrative powers, duties and immunities

A. The county board of supervisors shall serve as the board of directors of the district. The directors are not eligible to receive compensation for their services as such but are eligible for reimbursement for their necessary expenses in attending district meetings and traveling in and out of state when necessary to carry on the affairs of the district.

B. A county jail district organized under this chapter is a tax‑levying public improvement district for all purposes of article XIII, section 7, Constitution of Arizona, and has all the powers, privileges and immunities granted generally to municipal corporations by the constitution and laws of this state including immunity of its property, debts, obligations and interest from taxation.

C. The board of directors shall exercise all powers and duties in acquiring the properties of the district and in carrying out its functions under this chapter, and as otherwise provided by law, as are ordinarily exercised by the governing body of a municipal corporation.

D. A district organized under this article, acting through its board of directors and the sheriff, may:

1. Acquire by eminent domain, purchase, donation, dedication, exchange, lease, lease-purchase or other lawful means and mortgage and dispose of by sale, exchange or other lawful means real and personal property. Any lease-purchase agreement for property acquired under this paragraph shall require the final payment to be made within twenty‑five years after the date the agreement is executed.

2. Acquire and maintain existing correctional facilities and juvenile detention facilities within the district for the benefit of the district if mutually agreeable to the owners of such facilities.

3. Enter into intergovernmental agreements with other public agencies pursuant to title 11, chapter 7, article 3 to carry out the objects and purposes of the district.

4. Sue and be sued, enter into contracts and generally do all things which that may be necessary to construct, acquire and maintain facilities, operate the district and perform its functions and which that are in the interests of the district.

5. Adopt such rules and bylaws for its orderly operation as it sees fit.

6. Apply for, obtain and expend financial assistance from this state and from any other available source and comply with the terms and conditions of the assistance, including repayment of loans.

7. Pledge all or part of the net revenues from county maintenance of effort payments under section 48‑4024 or 48-4024.01 or from an excise tax levied under section 48‑4022, or revenues from both sources, to make payments under a lease-purchase agreement.

E. The board shall keep a proper written record of all of its proceedings, which shall be open to public inspection.

F. Except as provided in sections 8‑306 and 48‑4005, the county sheriff shall exercise all powers and duties in operating and managing the properties of the district under this chapter and as otherwise provided by law, the county treasurer shall serve as the district treasurer and the county attorney shall serve as the attorney for the district. The sheriff may employ other employees the sheriff considers desirable and necessary to carry out the purposes of the district. Any other work required by the district may be performed by regular employees of the county on assignment by the county board of supervisors, except that regular county employees shall not undertake construction projects with an estimated cost of five thousand dollars or more.

G. The accounts, funds and monies of the district shall be maintained separate from county accounts, funds and monies and are subject to annual and other audits as provided by law. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Title 48, chapter 25, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 48-4024.01, to read:

START_STATUTE48-4024.01. County alternative maintenance of effort

A. A county as described in subsection D of this section and in which a county jail district is established shall maintain its support of corrections facilities and services operated, maintained and performed by the district. If the district includes juvenile detention facilities and services, the county shall also maintain its support of the juvenile detention facilities and services operated, maintained and performed by the district. Each fiscal year the county shall pay the amount determined under subsection B of this section to the district treasurer in twelve equal monthly installments for deposit in the county jail district general fund. Section 48‑4024 does not apply to counties that make payments under this section.

B. The auditor general shall determine the amount expended by the county for maintenance and operation of correctional facilities and programs in the fiscal year immediately preceding the first fiscal year in which a county jail district tax levy is effective under this article. If the district includes juvenile detention facilities and services, the auditor general shall determine the amount spent by the county for maintenance and operation of juvenile detention facilities and services in the fiscal year immediately preceding the first fiscal year in which the expenditures for juvenile detention facilities and services are transferred to the district. Twenty‑five percent of this total amount is the base expenditure. Any outstanding debt due from a city, this state or the United States for the county housing prisoners pursuant to section 31‑121 shall be excluded from the base expenditure calculation. As part of the annual county audit the auditor general shall determine the amount to be paid by the county to the district treasurer for the fiscal year by adjusting the amount the county paid to the district treasurer in the preceding fiscal year, or the base expenditure, by the lesser of the percentage change in the county's primary property tax levy limitation from the preceding year pursuant to section 42‑17051 or the annual change in the GDP price deflator, as defined in section 41‑563.

C. Notwithstanding subsections A and B of this section, the district may reimburse the county for the actual cost of indirect or collateral services provided to the district by the county, including services relating to human resources, information systems, purchasing, budget and finance and the offices of the county manager, the county treasurer, the county recorder and the county attorney. The district may choose to perform for itself any of the services provided by the county instead of receiving services from the county except for election and financial services and those other services that the county is required by law to provide to the district.

D. For any county with a negative net new assessed valuation in any one year that occurs after 2015 and that is within the three‑year period immediately preceding the imposition of a community corrections tax levied pursuant to this chapter, this section applies for the duration of the tax and the county is exempt from section 48-4024. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 48-4025, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE48-4025. County jail district general fund; annual audit

A. The board of directors shall establish and administer a county jail district general fund consisting of revenues from approved taxes under this article, county maintenance of effort payments under section 48‑4024 or 48-4024.01 and any other available revenues for that purpose from federal, state, local and private sources.

B. The board of directors shall separately account for monies received as county maintenance of effort payments and may expend other monies in the fund only after the expenditure of all county maintenance of effort monies currently deposited in the fund.

C. The board of directors shall retain any monies remaining unexpended or unencumbered in the fund at the end of the fiscal year and may allocate these monies as necessary to:

1. Reduce the county primary property tax levy.

2. Reduce the subsequent year's levy for the district.

3. Reduce the district's debt.

4. Be held as reserves for years in which district revenues are insufficient to meet district expenditures.

5. Offset future district construction and maintenance costs.

D. The board of directors shall cause an audit to be made of the fund either by a certified public accountant within ninety days after the close of each fiscal year or in conjunction with the annual county audit pursuant to section 41‑1279.21. The board shall immediately file a certified copy of the audit with the auditor general. The auditor general may make such further audits of the fund as necessary and take appropriate action relating to the audit pursuant to title 41, chapter 7, article 10.1. If the auditor general takes no official action within thirty days after the audit is filed, the audit is deemed sufficient. The board of directors shall pay the costs of the certified public accountant and the auditor general under this section from the fund.

E. Any jail district formed after January 1, 2000 shall only allocate monies based on subsection C, paragraphs 2 through 5 of this section. END_STATUTE