Senate Bill No. 778
(By Senators Kessler, Dempsey, Fanning, Foster, Hunter, Jenkins,
Minard, Oliverio, White, Barnes, Caruth, Deem, Lanham, McKenzie
and Weeks)
____________
[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 23, 2006.]
_____________
A BILL to repeal §19-21A-4a, §19-21A-13a, §19-21A-13b and §19-21A-
13c
of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended
; and to
amend and reenact §19-21A-2, §19-21A-3, §19-21A-4, §19-21A-5
§19-21A-6, §19-21A-7, §19-21A-8, §19-21A-9, §19-21A-10, §19-
21A-11, §19-21A-1
2, §19-21A-13 and §19-21A-14, all relating to
the State Conservation Committee and conservation districts
generally; allowing ex officio members of state committee to
designate representative; allowing certain persons to enter
private property and waters of the state to remove flood
debris; providing for continuation of conservation districts;
providing for election of supervisors; providing method for
filling supervisor vacancies; requiring conservation districts
follow county lines; providing for per diem for supervisors;
clarifying status of dam monitors; providing for
discontinuance of districts; providing for reformation of districts; providing for distribution of assets and
liabilities upon discontinuance of districts; removing
antiquated provisions; and making technical and conforming
amendments throughout.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That
§19-21A-4a, §19-21A-13a, §19-21A-13b and §19-21A-13c
of
the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be repealed; and that
§19-21A-2, §19-21A-3, §19-21A-4, §19-21A-5, §19-21A-6, §19-21A-7,
§19-21A-8, §19-21A-9, §19-21A-10, §19-21A-11,
§19-21A-1
2, §19-21A-
13 and §19-21A-14
of said code be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 21A. CONSERVATION DISTRICTS.
§19-21A-2. Legislative determinations and declaration of policy.
It is hereby declared, as a matter of legislative
determination:
(a) That the farm and grazing lands of the state of West
Virginia are among the basic assets of the state and that the
preservation of these lands is necessary to protect and promote the
health, safety and general welfare of its people; that improper
land-use practices have caused and have contributed to, and are now
causing and contributing to, a progressively more serious erosion
of the farm and grazing lands of this state by water; that the
breaking of natural grass, plant and forest cover has interfered
with the natural factors of soil stabilization, causing loosening of soil and exhaustion of humus and developing a soil condition
that favors erosion; that the topsoil is being washed out of fields
and pastures; that there has been an accelerated washing of sloping
fields; that these processes of erosion by water and flooding speed
up is increased with removal of absorptive topsoil, causing
exposure of less absorptive and less protective but more erosive
subsoil; that failure by any landowner to conserve the soil and
control erosion upon his lands causes a washing of soil and water
from his or her lands onto other lands and makes the conservation
of soil and control of erosion of such other lands difficult or
impossible and increases the potential damages from flooding.
(b) That the consequences of such soil erosion in the form of
soil washing are the silting and sedimentation of stream channels,
reservoirs, dams, ditches and harbors; the piling up of soil on
lower slopes and its deposit over alluvial plains; the reduction in
productivity or outright ruin of rich bottom lands by overwash of
poor subsoil material, sand and gravel swept out of the hills;
deterioration of soil and its fertility, deterioration of crops
grown thereon and declining acre yields despite development of
scientific processes for increasing such yields; loss of soil and
water which causes destruction of food and cover for wildlife; the
washing of soil into streams which silts over spawning beds and
destroys water plants, diminishing the food supply of fish; a
diminishing of the underground water reserve which causes water shortages, intensifies periods of drought and causes crop failures;
an increase in the speed and volume of rainfall runoff, causing
more severe and increasing more numerous floods which bring
suffering, disease and death; impoverishment of families attempting
to farm eroding and eroded lands; damage to roads, highways,
railways, farm buildings and other property from floods; and losses
in navigation, hydroelectric power, municipal water supply,
irrigation developments, farming, and grazing and reduction of
suitable land available for homes and businesses.
(c) That to conserve soil resources and control and prevent
soil erosion and prevent floodwater and sediment damage and further
the conservation, development, utilization and disposal of water,
it is necessary that land-use practices contributing to soil
wastage and soil erosion be discouraged and discontinued and
appropriate soil-conserving land-use practices and works of
improvement for flood prevention or the conservation, development,
utilization and disposal of water be adopted and carried out; that
among the procedures necessary for widespread adoption are the
carrying on of engineering operations such as the construction of
terraces, terrace outlets, dams, desilting basins, floodwater
retarding structures, channel improvements, floodways, dikes,
ponds, ditches and the like; the utilization of strip cropping,
lister furrowing, contour cultivating and contour furrowing; land
drainage; land irrigation; seeding and planting of waste, sloping, abandoned or eroded lands to with water-conserving and
erosion-preventing plants, trees and grasses; forestation and
reforestation; rotation of crops; soil stabilization with trees,
grasses, legumes and other thick-growing, soil-holding crops;
retardation of runoff by increasing absorption of rainfall; and
retirement from cultivation of steep, highly erosive areas and
areas now badly gullied or otherwise eroded.
(d) It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Legislature
to provide for the conservation of the soil and soil resources of
this state, for the control and prevention of soil erosion, for the
prevention of floodwater and sediment damage and for furthering the
conservation, development, utilization and disposal of water, and
thereby to preserve natural resources, control floods, prevent
impairment of dams and reservoirs, assist in maintaining the
navigability of rivers and harbors, preserve wildlife, protect the
tax base, protect public lands and protect and promote the health,
safety and general welfare of the people of this state.
(e) This article contemplates that the incidental cost of
organizing conservation districts will be borne by the state, while
the expense of operating the districts so organized will be
provided by donations, gifts, contributions, grants and
appropriations, in money, services, materials or otherwise, from
the United States or any of its agencies, from the state of West
Virginia or from other sources, with the understanding that the owners or occupiers will contribute funds, labor, materials and
equipment to aid the in carrying out of erosion control measures on
their lands.
§19-21A-3. Definitions.
Wherever used or referred to in this article, unless a
different meaning clearly appears from the context:
(1) "Agency of this state" includes means the government of
this state and any subdivision, agency or instrumentality,
corporate or otherwise, of the government of this state.
(2) "Committee" or "State Conservation Committee" means the
agency created in section four of this article.
(3) "District" or "conservation district" means a subdivision
of this state, organized in accordance with the provisions of this
article, for the purposes, with the powers and subject to the
restrictions hereinafter set forth.
(4) "Governing body" means the supervisors of any conservation
district, town or city, council, city commission, county court or
body acting in lieu of a county court, in this state, and the term
"governmental division" means any conservation district, town, city
or county in this state.
(5) "Land occupier" or "occupier of land" includes means any
person, firm or corporation who shall hold title to, or shall be in
possession of, any lands lying within a district organized under
the provisions of this article, whether as owner, lessee, renter or tenant.
(6) "Landowners" or "owners of land" includes means any person
or persons, firm or corporation who shall hold holds title to three
or more acres of any lands lying within a district organized under
the provisions of this article.
(7) "Notice" means notice published as a Class II legal
advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three,
chapter fifty-nine of this code and the publication area for such
publication shall be the county in which is located the appropriate
area. At any hearing held pursuant to such notice at the time and
place designated in such notice, adjournment may be made, from time
to time, without the necessity of renewing such notice for such
adjournment dates.
(8) "Petition" means a petition filed under the provisions of
subsection (a), section five of this article for the creation of a
district.
(9) "Soil conservation", "erosion control" or "erosion
prevention projects" when used throughout the article, shall denote
means those projects that have been established by federal agencies
in cooperation with state agencies for the purpose of demonstrating
soil erosion control and water conservation practices.
(10) "State" means the State of West Virginia.
(11) "Supervisor" means one of the members of the governing
body of a district, elected or appointed in accordance with the provisions of this article.
(12) "United States" or "agencies of the United States"
includes means the United States of America, Natural Resources
Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture
and any other agency or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of
the United States of America.
(13) "Works of improvement" means such structures as may be
necessary or convenient for flood prevention or the conservation,
development, utilization or disposal of water.
§19-21A-4. State conservation committee; continuation.
(a) The State Conservation Committee is continued. It serves
as an agency of the state and is to perform the functions conferred
upon it in this article. The committee consists of the following
ten members:
(1) Four citizen members;
(2) The following ex officio members or his or her designee:
(A) The Director of the State Cooperative Extension Service;
(B) The Director of the State Agricultural and Forestry
Experiment Station;
(C) The Secretary of the Department of Environmental
Protection;
(D) The State Commissioner of Agriculture, who is the
chairperson of the committee;
(E) The Director of the Division of Forestry; and
(F) The President of the West Virginia Association of
Conservation Districts.
(b) The Governor shall appoint, by and with the consent of the
Senate, the four citizen members. Members shall be appointed for
four-year terms, which are staggered in accordance with the initial
appointments under prior enactment of this section. In the event
of a vacancy, the appointment is for the unexpired term.
(c) The committee may invite the Secretary of Agriculture of
the United States of America to appoint one person to serve with
the committee as an advisory member.
(d) The committee shall keep a record of its official actions,
shall adopt a seal, which shall be judicially noticed, and may
perform those acts, hold public hearings and adopt or propose for
legislative approval rules necessary for the execution of its
functions under this article.
(e) The State Conservation Committee may employ an
administrative officer, technical experts and other agents and
employees, permanent and temporary, as it requires. The
administrative officer and support staff shall be known as the West
Virginia Conservation Agency. The committee shall determine their
qualifications, duties and compensation. The committee may call
upon the Attorney General of the state for legal services it
requires. It may delegate to its chairperson, to one or more of
its members, or to one or more agents or employees powers and duties it considers proper. The committee may secure necessary and
suitable office accommodations and the necessary supplies and
equipment. Upon request of the committee, for the purpose of
carrying out any of its functions, the supervising officer of any
state agency or of any state institution of learning shall, insofar
as may be possible, under available appropriations and having due
regard to the needs of the agency to which the request is directed,
assign or detail to the committee, members of the staff or
personnel of the agency or institution of learning and make special
reports, surveys or studies required by the committee.
(f) A member of the committee holds office so long as he or
she retains the office by virtue of which he or she is serving on
the committee. A majority of the committee is a quorum and the
concurrence of a majority in any matter within their duties is
required for its determination. The chairperson and members of the
committee may receive no compensation for their services on the
committee, but are entitled to reimbursement of expenses, including
traveling expenses necessarily incurred in the discharge of their
duties on the committee. The committee shall:
(1) Require the execution of surety bonds for all employees
and officers who are entrusted with funds or property;
(2) Provide for the keeping of a full and accurate public
record of all proceedings and of all resolutions, rules and orders
issued or adopted; and
(3) Provide for an annual audit of the accounts of receipts
and disbursements.
(g) In addition to other duties and powers conferred upon the
State Conservation Committee, it may:
(1) Offer appropriate assistance to the supervisors of
conservation districts, organized as provided in this article, in
the carrying out of any of their powers and programs;
(2) Keep the supervisors of each of the several districts,
organized under the provisions of this article, informed of the
activities and experience of all other districts organized under
this article and facilitate an interchange of advice and experience
between the districts and cooperation between them;
(3) Coordinate the programs of the several conservation
districts so far as this may be done by advice and consultation;
(4) Secure the cooperation and assistance of the United States
and any of its agencies and of agencies of this state in the work
of the districts;
(5) Disseminate information throughout the state concerning
the activities and programs of the conservation districts and
encourage the formation of the districts in areas where their
organization is desirable;
(6) Accept and receive donations, gifts, contributions, grants
and appropriations in money, services, materials or otherwise from
the United States or any of its agencies, from the State of West Virginia or from other sources and use or expend the money,
services, materials or other contributions in carrying out the
policy and provisions of this article, including the right to
allocate the money, services or materials in part to the various
conservation districts created by this article in order to assist
them in carrying on their operations; and
(7) Obtain options upon and acquire by purchase, exchange,
lease, gift, grant, bequest, devise or otherwise any property, real
or personal, or rights or interests in the property; maintain,
administer, operate and improve any properties acquired; receive
and retain income from the property and to expend the income as
required for operation, maintenance, administration or improvement
of the properties or in otherwise carrying out the purposes and
provisions of this article; and sell, lease or otherwise dispose of
any of its property or interests in the property in furtherance of
the purposes and the provisions of this article. Money received
from the sale of land acquired in the small watershed program shall
be deposited in the special account of the State Conservation
Committee and expended as provided in this article.
(8) To promulgate emergency and legislative rules to
effectuate the provisions of this article as amended and reenacted
by the Legislature during the regular session of the Legislature in
the year two thousand five.
(9) During and after a flood event agency employees, agents or contractors may enter any water of the state for the purpose of
removing debris and other obstructions which impede water flow and
present additional flood hazards. The agency shall conduct this
effort as part of stream recovery programs in cooperation with
other federal, state and local entities. In exercising this
emergency power agency employees, agents and contractors are
authorized to enter any property regardless of ownership when and
where necessary to most efficiently carry out the tasks necessary
to reduce additional flood hazzards during a flood event. The
exercise of this limited authority does not constitute taking of
private property or trespass.
(10) The State Conservation Committee is continued until the
first day of July, two thousand eight, pursuant to the provisions
of article four, chapter ten of the code of West Virginia, unless
sooner terminated, continued or reestablished pursuant to the
provisions of that article.
§19-21A-5. Continuation of conservation districts.
The conservation districts formed throughout the state under
the prior enactments of this section are continued and shall remain
in effect until reformed or reorganized as provided in section
fourteen of this article.
§19-21A-6. Election of supervisors for each district; filling
vacancies.
Within thirty days after the date of issuance by the Secretary of State of a certificate of organization of a conservation
district, nominating petitions may be filed with the state
conservation committee to nominate candidates for supervisors of
the district.
(a) Beginning with the two thousand eight general election,
each county in a district shall elect, two nonpartisan supervisors:
Provided, That any county with a population of one hundred thousand
based on the most recent decennial census shall elect one
additional supervisor and any county with a population over one
hundred thousand based on the most recent decennial census shall
elect one additional supervisor for each fifty thousand residents
over one hundred thousand.
(b) A candidate for supervisor shall own land in the district
and have the education, training or experience necessary to carry
out the duties required by this article and rules promulgated
thereunder. A candidate shall file with the committee a sworn
written statement specifying that he or she meets the requirements
of office. A candidate may not be placed on the ballot or be
seated as a supervisor unless he or she meets these the
requirements.
(c) The committee shall provide a list of qualified candidates
to the Secretary of State no less than ninety days prior to any
election for supervisor at the time and in the manner specified by
the Secretary.
(d) The committee shall have authority to extend the time
within which nominating petitions may be filed. No nominating
petition shall may be accepted by the committee unless it is
subscribed by twenty-five or more owners of lands lying within the
boundaries of the district and within the boundaries of the county
in which the candidate resides. Registered voters Landowners in
the district may sign more than one nominating petition to nominate
more than one candidate for supervisor.
(e) All registered voters in the district shall be are
eligible to vote in the election for two candidates from the county
or portion thereof within the boundaries of the district in which
they reside the voter resides. The two candidates in each county
who receive the largest number of votes cast in the election shall
be elected supervisors for district that county.
(f) Supervisors shall be elected in the general election to be
conducted in the year two thousand eight as nonpartisan candidates.
Thereafter, supervisors shall be elected in the primary election.
The term of office for the candidate for supervisor receiving the
highest number of votes in the general election of two thousand
eight shall be for four years; the candidate for
supervisor
receiving the second highest number of votes in the general
election of two thousand eight shall be for two years, commencing
on the first day of January, two thousand nine, and ending on the
thirty-first day of December, two thousand eleven. In counties where more than two supervisors are elected in the general election
of two thousand eight the two supervisors receiving the highest
number of votes shall serve for four years and the remaining
supervisor or supervisors shall serve for two years. Subsequent
terms of office for supervisors elected thereafter shall be for
four years. The provisions of chapter three shall apply to
election of supervisors.
(h) Persons currently holding the position of supervisor
shall, regardless of the expiration of the currently designated
term of office, continue to serve until the two thousand eight
election and qualification of his or her successor. Unless
otherwise provided or in conflict with this article, the provisions
of chapter three shall apply to election of supervisors.
(i) Any vacancy occurring in the office of supervisor shall be
filled by the committee by appointment of a person from the county
in which the vacancy occurs. Within fifteen days after the vacancy
occurs, the district shall submit a list of names of persons
qualified to be a supervisor. If the unexpired term is for less
than two years and two months, the appointed person shall hold
office until the expiration of the term. If the unexpired term is
for more than two years and two months, the appointed person shall
hold the office until a successor is elected
in the next primary or
general election and qualified
.
§19-21A-7. Supervisors to constitute governing body of district; qualifications and terms of supervisors; powers and
duties.
(a) The governing body of the district consists of the
supervisors, appointed or elected, as provided in this article.
The supervisors shall be persons who are by training and experience
qualified to perform the specialized skilled services which are
required of them in the performance of their duties under this
section and shall be legal residents and landowners in the
district.
(b) The supervisors shall designate a chairperson and may,
from time to time, change the designation. On and after the
election of supervisors in two thousand eight, the term of office
of each elected supervisor is four years. A supervisor holds
office until his or her successor has been elected or appointed.
In case a new county or portion of a county is added to a district,
the committee may appoint a supervisor two supervisors to represent
it the county until the next regular election of supervisors for
the district takes place. If a vacancy occurs among the elected
supervisors of a district, the committee shall appoint a successor
from the same county to fill the unexpired term. The appointment
shall be made from a name or list of names submitted by the
conservation district.
(c) A supervisor is entitled to reasonable and necessary
expenses and a per diem not to exceed thirty dollars of not more than one hundred fifty dollars nor less than thirty dollars when
engaged in the performance of his or her duties. The expense and
per diem rate shall be established by the state committee based on
availability of funds.
(d) The supervisors may, with the approval of the State
Conservation Committee, employ a secretary, dam monitors, technical
experts and any other officers, agents and employees, permanent and
temporary, either with or without compensation, as they may require
and shall determine their qualifications, duties and compensation,
if any. Dam monitors, as specified in any emergency action plan or
monitoring plan approved by the Department of Environmental
Protection pursuant to its dam safety rules, pertaining to a flood
control structure operated or maintained by a soil conservation
district, and any other employees, agents or officers employed
pursuant to this section, are "employees" of the district within
the meaning of subsection (a), section three, article twelve-a,
chapter twenty-nine of this code.
(e) The supervisors may delegate to their chairperson, to one
or more supervisors or to one or more agents, or employees, those
administrative powers and duties they consider proper. The
supervisors shall furnish to the State Conservation Committee, upon
request, copies of the ordinances, rules, orders, contracts, forms
and other documents they adopt or employ and any other information
concerning their activities required in the performance of State Conservation Committee's duties under this article.
(e) (f) The supervisors shall:
(1) Require the execution of surety bonds for all employees
and officers who are entrusted with funds or property;
(2) Provide for the keeping of a full and accurate record of
all proceedings and of all resolutions, rules and orders issued or
adopted; and
(3) Provide for an annual audit of the accounts of receipts
and disbursements.
(f) (g) Any supervisor may be removed by the State
Conservation Committee upon notice and hearing for neglect of duty
or malfeasance in office, but for no other reason.
(g) (h) The supervisors may invite the legislative body of any
municipality or county located near the territory comprised within
the district to designate a representative to advise and consult
with the supervisors of a district on all questions of program and
policy which may affect the property, water supply or other
interests of the municipality or county.
§19-21A-8. Powers of districts; additional powers of supervisors.
A conservation district organized under the provisions of this
article and the supervisors thereof shall have the following
powers, in addition to others granted in other sections of this
article:
(1) To conduct surveys, investigations and research relating to the character of soil erosion and floodwater and sediment damage
and to the conservation, development, utilization and disposal of
water and the preventive and control measures needed to publish the
results of such surveys, investigations or research and to
disseminate information concerning such preventive and control
measures and works of improvement: Provided, That in order to
avoid duplication of research activities, no district shall
initiate any research program or publish the results except with
the approval of the state committee and in cooperation with the
government of this state or any of its agencies, or with the United
States or any of its agencies;
(2) To conduct demonstrational projects within the district on
lands owned or controlled by this state or any of its agencies,
with the consent and cooperation of the agency administering and
having jurisdiction thereof, and on any other lands within the
district upon obtaining the consent of the owner and occupier of
the lands or the necessary rights or interests in the lands in
order to demonstrate by example the means, methods and measures by
which soil and soil resources may be conserved and soil erosion in
the form of soil washing may be prevented and controlled and works
of improvement may be carried out;
(3) To carry out preventive and control measures and works of
improvement within the district, including, but not limited to,
engineering operations, methods of cultivation, the growing of vegetation, changes in use of land and the measures listed in
subsection (c), section two of this article on lands owned or
controlled by this state or any of its agencies with the consent
and cooperation of the agency administering and having jurisdiction
thereof and on any other lands within the district upon obtaining
the consent of the owner and occupier of such lands or the
necessary rights or interests in such lands;
(4) To cooperate, or enter into agreements with, and within
the limits of appropriations duly made available to it by law, to
furnish financial or other aid to any agency, governmental or
otherwise, or any occupier of lands within the district in the
carrying on of erosion-control and prevention operations and works
of improvement within the district, subject to such conditions as
the supervisors may deem necessary to advance the purposes of this
article;
(5) To obtain options upon and to acquire, by purchase,
exchange, lease, gift, grant, bequest, devise or otherwise, any
property, real or personal, or rights or interests therein; to
institute condemnation proceedings to acquire any property, real or
personal, or rights or interests therein, whether or not located in
the district, required for works of improvement; to maintain,
administer and improve any properties acquired, to receive income
from such properties and to expend such income in carrying out the
purposes and provisions of this article; and to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of any of its property or interests therein in
furtherance of the purposes and the provisions of this article;
(6) To make available, on such terms as it shall prescribe, to
land occupiers within the district agricultural and engineering
machinery and equipment, fertilizer, seeds and seedlings and such
other material or equipment as will assist such land occupiers to
carry on operations upon their lands for the conservation of soil
resources and for the prevention and control of soil erosion and
for flood prevention or the conservation, development, utilization
and disposal of water;
(7) To construct, improve, operate and maintain such
structures as may be necessary or convenient for the performance of
any of the operations authorized in this article;
(8) To develop with the approval of the state committee
comprehensive plans for the conservation of soil resources and for
the control and prevention of soil erosion and for flood prevention
or the conservation, development, utilization and disposal of water
within the district. The plans shall specify, in as much detail as
may be possible, the acts, procedures, performances and avoidances
which are necessary or desirable for the effectuation of such
plans, including the specification of engineering operations,
methods of cultivation, the growing of vegetation, cropping
programs, tillage practices and changes in use of land; and to
publish such plans and information and bring them to the attention of occupiers of lands within the district;
(9) To take over, by purchase, lease or otherwise, and to
administer any soil-conservation, flood-prevention, drainage,
irrigation, water-management, erosion-control or erosion-prevention
project, or combinations thereof, located within its boundaries,
undertaken by the United States or any of its agencies, or by this
state or any of its agencies; to manage, as agent of the United
States or any of its agencies, or of this state or any of its
agencies, any soil-conservation, flood-prevention, drainage,
irrigation, water-management, erosion-control or erosion-prevention
project, or combinations thereof, within its boundaries; to act as
agent for the United States or any of its agencies, or for this
state or any of its agencies, in connection with the acquisition,
construction, operation, or administration of any
soil-conservation, flood-prevention, drainage, irrigation,
water-management, erosion-control or erosion-prevention project, or
combinations thereof, within its boundaries; to accept donations,
gifts, contributions and grants in money, services, materials or
otherwise, from the United States or any of its agencies, or from
this state or any of its agencies, or from any other source and to
use or expend such money, services, materials or other
contributions in carrying on its operations;
(10) To sue and be sued in the name of the district; to have
a seal, which shall be judicially noticed; to have perpetual succession unless terminated as hereinafter provided; to make and
execute contracts and other instruments, necessary or convenient to
the exercise of its powers; to make and, from time to time, amend
and repeal rules and regulations not inconsistent with this article
to carry into effect its purposes and powers;
(11) As a condition to this extending of any benefits under
this article to, or the performance of work upon, any lands, the
supervisors may require contributions in money, services, materials
or otherwise to any operations conferring such benefits and may
require land occupiers to enter into and perform such agreements or
covenants as to the permanent use of such lands as will tend to
prevent or control erosion and prevent floodwater and sediment
damage thereon;
(12) No provisions with respect to the acquisition, operation
or disposition of property by other public bodies shall be
applicable to a district organized hereunder in its acquisition,
operation and disposition of property unless the Legislature shall
specifically so state;
(13) To enter into contracts and other arrangements with
agencies of the United States, with persons, firms or corporations,
including public corporations, with the state government of this
state or other states, or any department or agency thereof, with
governmental divisions, with soil conservation, drainage, flood
control, soil erosion or other improvement districts in this state or other states, for cooperation or assistance in constructing,
improving, operating or maintaining works of improvement within the
district, or in preventing floods, or in conserving, developing,
utilizing and disposing of water in the district, or for making
surveys, investigations or reports thereof; and to obtain options
upon and acquire property, real or personal, or rights or interests
therein, in other districts or states required for flood prevention
or the conservation, development, utilization and disposal of water
within the district and to construct, improve, operate or maintain
thereon or therewith works of improvement.
§19-21A-9. Cooperation between districts.
The supervisors of any two or more districts organized under
the provisions of this article may cooperate with one another in
the exercise of any or all powers conferred in this article.
§19-21A-10. Cooperation between state agencies and districts.
Agencies of this state which have jurisdiction over or be
charged with the administration of, any state-owned lands, and of
any county, or other governmental subdivision of the state, which
have jurisdiction over, or be charged with the administration of,
any county-owned or other publicly owned lands, lying within the
boundaries of any district organized hereunder, may cooperate with
the supervisors of the districts in the effectuation of programs
and operations undertaken by the supervisors under the provisions
of this article. When such cooperation is undertaken, the supervisors of the districts shall be given free access to enter
and perform work upon the publicly owned lands.
§19-21A-11. Authority of governmental divisions to expend money
for works of improvement; levy.
The governing body of any governmental division which may
reasonably be expected to receive a benefit from the construction,
improvement, operation or maintenance of any works of improvement
may expend money for such construction, improvement, operation or
maintenance if this expectation exists as to any part of the
governmental division and even though such works of improvement are
not located within the corporate limits of the governmental
division or are not within this state: Provided, That if the
expenditure is not made directly by the governmental division for
such purpose, it shall be made only through a conservation district
or watershed improvement district organized under the laws of this
state, but it shall not be necessary that any part of the
governmental division be within the limits of the district through
which the expenditure is made. Such The governing bodies or
governmental divisions may set up in their respective budgets funds
to be spent for such purposes and municipalities and counties may
levy and collect taxes for such purposes in the manner provided by
law: Provided, however, That in case sufficient funds cannot be
raised by ordinary levies, additional funds may be raised by
municipalities and counties as provided by section sixteen, article eight, chapter eleven of this code.
§19-21A-12. Assurances of cooperation by governmental division.
(a) By vote of the governing body, any governmental division
authorized to expend money on works of improvement by section
eleven of this article may alone, or in combination with any other
governmental division or divisions authorized to expend money on
works of improvement, give assurances, by contract or otherwise,
satisfactory to agencies of the United States, congressional
committees or other proper federal authority and to conservation
districts or watershed improvement districts organized under the
laws of this state that the governmental division or divisions will
construct, improve, operate or maintain works of improvement or
will appropriate a sum or sums of money and expend it for such
purposes as provided in section eleven of this article.
(b) The assurances, whether by contract or otherwise, shall be
reduced to writing and before final approval of the governing
bodies involved shall be submitted to the Attorney General for
approval. After approval by the Attorney General and by the
governing body or bodies concerned, certified copies of the
assurances shall be filed in the office of the county clerk of the
county or counties in which the governmental division is located
and in the office of the state Tax Commissioner.
(c) Any assurance hereunder may be valid and binding for a
period of time not to exceed fifty years.
§19-21A-13. Contracts with district for construction of flood
control projects; power to borrow money; levy.
The county commission of each county and the governing body of
each municipality in the state are hereby authorized and empowered
to enter into a contract or agreement with the conservation
district or districts for the purpose of constructing flood control
projects within their respective counties or municipalities or
adjacent thereto and to use the projects as recreational areas or
public parks. For the purpose of defraying the cost of any such
project or projects, the county commission or the governing body of
any municipality is hereby authorized to borrow from the federal
government or from any federal agency having money to loan, a sum
sufficient to cover the cost of such project or projects. For the
purpose of retiring any indebtedness incurred under the provisions
of this section, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the
county commission or the governing body of any municipality is
hereby authorized to lay and impose a county or citywide levy as
the case might be.
§19-21A-14. Discontinuing and reforming districts.
(a) At any time after five years following the organization of
a district under the provisions of this article, any twenty-five
owners of land lying within the boundaries of a district may file
a petition with the State Conservation Committee praying, that the
district be discontinued and the county or counties of the district be added to another district or districts.
(b) The committee shall conduct one or more public meetings or
public hearings upon the petition in the affected county or
counties including the district or districts which may accept one
or more counties from the district being discontinued. After the
public meetings or hearings have been held by the committee, it
shall notify the Secretary of State that a referendum question is
to be added to the ballot of the next primary or general election
to be held in the county or counties of the affected districts.
(c) The questions shall be submitted by ballots or electronic
voting system upon which the words "For discontinuing the
(name of the conservation district to be here inserted) and
adding __________(county or counties) to____________ (district or
districts) (If one or more counties in a district are to be
combined with one or more other districts, each combination must be
specified.)" and "Against discontinuing the (name of
the conservation district to be here inserted)" shall appear, with
a square before each proposition and a direction to mark the square
before one or the other of the propositions as the voter may favor
or oppose discontinuance of the district. All registered voters
lying within the boundaries of the district to be discontinued and
the district or districts to which all or part of the district
being discontinued may be added are eligible to vote on the
referendum.
(d) If a majority of the votes cast in the referendum are in
favor of discontinuing the district, the supervisors shall proceed
to terminate the affairs of the district. The supervisors of the
district being discontinued shall file an application to
discontinue the district with the Secretary of State. The
application shall recite the process undertaken in discontinuing
the district and the distribution of the property, assets,
liabilities, contracts, duties and responsibilities and transfer of
territory to one or more districts.
(e) The Secretary of State shall issue to the supervisors a
certificate of discontinuance and shall record the certificate in
an appropriate book of record in his or her office.
(f) The supervisors of the district or districts gaining all
or part of the discontinued district shall file an application with
the Secretary of State adding the additional territory to such
district or districts.
(g) The property, assets, liabilities, contracts, duties and
responsibilities of the district shall be assigned in accordance
with the division of the district.
(h) All contracts entered into by the district being
discontinued or its supervisors are parties shall remain in force
and effect for the period provided in the contract. The reformed
district receiving the assets, liabilities, duties and
responsibilities related to the contract shall be substituted for the district or supervisors as party to such contracts. The
reformed district shall be entitled to all benefits and subject to
all liabilities under such contract and have the same right and
liability to perform, to require performance, to sue and be sued
theron and to modify or terminate such contracts by mutual consent
or otherwise, as the supervisor or district would have had.
(i) The State Conservation Committee shall not entertain
petitions for the discontinuance of any district nor conduct
referenda upon such petitions nor make determinations pursuant to
such petitions in accordance with the provisions of this article
more often than once in three years.
__________
(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make technical
corrections to election provisions of the statute, remove
authorization to adopt land-use regulations, provide for an
increase in the per diem rate paid to district supervisors,
continue the current districts and establish a method to
discontinue a district and add one or more counties from the
discontinued district to another district.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
Sections §19-21A-8 through §19-21A-14 have been substantially
rewritten, therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been
omitted.)
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