H.F. 557 Section 1. Section 357H.1, subsection 1, Code 2015, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 1. The board of supervisors of a county with less than 3 twenty thousand residents, not counting persons admitted or 4 committed to an institution enumerated in section 218.1 or 5 904.102 , based upon the 2000 most recent certified federal 6 census, and with a private lake development shall may designate 7 an area surrounding the lake, if it is an unincorporated 8 area of the county, a rural improvement zone upon receipt of 9 a petition pursuant to section 357H.2 , and upon the board’s 10 determination that the area is in need of improvements. 11 Sec. 2. Section 357H.1, subsection 2, paragraph b, Code 12 2015, is amended to read as follows: 13 b. “Improvements” means dredging, installation of erosion 14 control measures, water quality activities, land acquisition, 15 and related improvements, including soil conservation 16 practices, within or outside of the boundaries of the zone. 17 Sec. 3. Section 357H.1, subsection 2, Code 2015, is amended 18 by adding the following new paragraphs: 19 NEW PARAGRAPH . c. “Lake” means a body of water that has a 20 surface area of at least eighty acres. 21 NEW PARAGRAPH . d. “Water quality activities” includes but 22 is not limited to creation or maintenance of grass waterways or 23 wetlands, bank stabilization, watershed protection, activities 24 on lands outside the rural improvement zone which affect water 25 quality within the zone, and any other activity which will 26 improve water quality of a stream, river, or lake. 27 Sec. 4. Section 357H.2, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 28 2015, is amended to read as follows: 29 a. The need for the proposed zone . , which shall be based 30 upon a report of a licensed professional engineer prepared not 31 more than two years before the date the petition is filed, and 32 that includes all of the following: 33 (1) Surface area of the lake in acres. 34 (2) Number of acres of land comprising the lake’s watershed. 35 -1- LSB 1257HV (5) 86 md/sc 1/ 15

H.F. 557 (3) Soil classification of the land comprising the lake’s 1 watershed. 2 (4) Description of all current land uses within the lake’s 3 watershed. 4 (5) Estimate of historical annual silt accumulation for the 5 lake during the twenty years immediately preceding the year in 6 which the engineer’s report was completed. 7 (6) Estimate of the amount of silt currently accumulated in 8 the lake. 9 (7) Estimates of annual silt accumulation in the lake for 10 the twenty-year period following establishment of the rural 11 improvement zone. 12 (8) Estimate of remaining space available to the proposed 13 zone in existing detention basins for storage of dredged and 14 removed silt. 15 (9) Estimate of storage space that will be required to store 16 dredged and removed silt from the lake for the twenty-year 17 period following establishment of the rural improvement zone. 18 (10) Assessment of the current water quality of the lake. 19 (11) Assessment of the current need for preventative 20 practices to improve the water quality of the lake. 21 (12) Assessment of the impact preventative practices will 22 have on the water quality of the lake. 23 (13) Estimate of the cost to effectively address erosion 24 control and water quality for the twenty-year period following 25 establishment of the rural improvement zone. 26 Sec. 5. Section 357H.2, Code 2015, is amended by adding the 27 following new subsection: 28 NEW SUBSECTION . 1A. A copy of the report prepared by the 29 licensed professional engineer and used to prepare the petition 30 shall be submitted with the petition under this section. 31 Sec. 6. Section 357H.3, Code 2015, is amended to read as 32 follows: 33 357H.3 Time of public hearing. 34 1. The If the petition substantially meets the requirements 35 -2- LSB 1257HV (5) 86 md/sc 2/ 15

H.F. 557 of section 357H.2, the public hearing required in section 1 357H.2 shall be held within thirty sixty days of the 2 presentation of the petition. Notice of hearing shall be 3 given by publication as provided in section 331.305 . Holding 4 a public hearing pursuant to this section is not dispositive 5 of the approval or denial of a petition by the board under this 6 chapter. 7 2. If the board determines that the petition or the 8 engineer’s report does not substantially meet the requirements 9 of section 357H.2, the board may, within thirty days of 10 presentation of the petition, request additional information 11 from the petitioners. The board’s request for additional 12 information shall be limited to the information required under 13 section 357H.2 that was not contained in the petition or the 14 accompanying engineer’s report. The board shall be limited to 15 one request for additional information under this section. The 16 public hearing required in section 357H.2 shall be held within 17 sixty days of receiving the additional information. Notice of 18 hearing shall be given in the same manner as required under 19 subsection 1. 20 Sec. 7. Section 357H.4, Code 2015, is amended to read as 21 follows: 22 357H.4 Hearing on petition —— action by board. 23 1. At the public hearing required in section 357H.3 , 24 the board may consider the boundaries of a proposed rural 25 improvement zone, whether the boundaries shall be as described 26 in the petition or otherwise, and for that purpose may amend 27 the petition and change the boundaries of the proposed zone as 28 stated in the petition. The board may adjust the boundaries 29 of a proposed zone as needed to exclude land that has no 30 reasonable likelihood of benefit from inclusion in a rural 31 improvement zone. However, the boundaries of a proposed zone 32 shall not be changed to incorporate property which is not 33 included in the original petition. 34 2. Within ten thirty days after the hearing, the board shall 35 -3- LSB 1257HV (5) 86 md/sc 3/ 15

H.F. 557 establish the rural improvement zone by resolution or disallow 1 the petition. However, the zone shall not include any area 2 which is part of an urban renewal area under chapter 403 . 3 Sec. 8. Section 357H.8, subsection 2, Code 2015, is amended 4 to read as follows: 5 2. Certificates may be issued with respect to a single 6 improvement project or multiple projects and may contain 7 terms or conditions as the board of trustees may provide by 8 resolution authorizing the issuance of the certificates. 9 However, certificates , including certificates to refund 10 outstanding certificates under subsection 3, shall not 11 be issued after January 1, 2007, except to refund other 12 certificates as provided in subsection 3 if the maturity 13 date of the certificates would be after the date the rural 14 improvement zone is, at the time of issuing the certificates, 15 to be dissolved by law under section 357H.10 . 16 Sec. 9. Section 357H.9, subsection 1, Code 2015, is amended 17 to read as follows: 18 1. a. The board of trustees shall provide by resolution 19 that taxes levied on the taxable property in a rural 20 improvement zone each year by or for the benefit of the state, 21 city, county, school district, or other taxing district after 22 the effective date of the resolution shall , except as provided 23 in this section, be divided as provided in section 403.19, 24 subsections 1 and 2 , in the same manner as if the taxable 25 property in the rural improvement zone was taxable property 26 in an urban renewal area and the resolution was an ordinance 27 within the meaning of those subsections. The taxes received by 28 the board of trustees shall be allocated to, and when collected 29 be paid into, a special fund and may be irrevocably pledged 30 by the trustees to pay the principal of and interest on the 31 certificates, contracts, or other obligations approved by the 32 board of trustees to finance or refinance, in whole or in part, 33 an improvement project. 34 b. (1) For fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2016, 35 -4- LSB 1257HV (5) 86 md/sc 4/ 15

H.F. 557 when calculating the amount of taxes subject to the division 1 of taxes in a rural improvement zone established on or after 2 July 1, 2004, if the assessed value of the taxable property 3 in the rural improvement zone used to calculate the amount of 4 taxes under section 403.19, subsection 1, is less than fifty 5 percent of the assessed value of the taxable property in the 6 rural improvement zone used to calculate the total amount of 7 property taxes in the rural improvement zone for the fiscal 8 year in which the taxes are due and payable, the assessed value 9 used to calculate the amount of taxes under section 403.19, 10 subsection 1, shall, notwithstanding any reduction required 11 under section 403.20, be increased for that fiscal year until 12 the amount is equal to fifty percent of the assessed value used 13 to calculate the total amount of property taxes in the rural 14 improvement zone for the fiscal year in which the taxes are due 15 and payable. 16 (2) However, for the period of ten consecutive fiscal 17 years beginning with the first fiscal year in which the zone 18 receives revenue from a division of taxes under this section, 19 the division of taxes authorized under this section shall be 20 calculated subject to the provisions of subparagraph (1), 21 except that any references to fifty percent in subparagraph (1) 22 shall be forty percent. 23 c. For fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2016, 24 when calculating the amount of taxes subject to the division 25 of taxes in a rural improvement zone established before July 26 1, 2004, if the assessed value of the taxable property in 27 the rural improvement zone used to calculate the amount of 28 taxes under section 403.19, subsection 1, is less than sixty 29 percent of the assessed value of the taxable property in the 30 rural improvement zone used to calculate the total amount of 31 property taxes in the rural improvement zone for the fiscal 32 year in which the taxes are due and payable, the assessed value 33 used to calculate the amount of taxes under section 403.19, 34 subsection 1, shall, notwithstanding any reduction required 35 -5- LSB 1257HV (5) 86 md/sc 5/ 15

H.F. 557 under section 403.20, be increased for that fiscal year until 1 the amount is equal to sixty percent of the assessed value used 2 to calculate the total amount of property taxes in the rural 3 improvement zone for the fiscal year in which the taxes are due 4 and payable. 5 d. The board of trustees may enter into an agreement 6 with the board that modifies the allocation of the taxes 7 levied in the rural improvement zone. Such an agreement 8 shall not, however, provide an allocation to the other taxing 9 districts that is less than the amount of taxes resulting from 10 application of paragraphs “b” or “c” , as applicable. 11 e. As used in this section , “taxes” includes but is not 12 limited to all levies on an ad valorem basis upon land or real 13 property located in the rural improvement zone. 14 Sec. 10. Section 357H.9, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code 15 2015, is amended to read as follows: 16 a. Each board of trustees that has by resolution provided 17 for a division of revenue taxes in the rural improvement zone 18 during the most recently ended fiscal year shall complete 19 and file with the department of management a tax increment 20 financing report by December 1 following the end of such 21 fiscal year. The report shall be approved by the affirmative 22 vote of a majority of the board of trustees and be prepared 23 in the format and submitted electronically pursuant to the 24 instructions prescribed by the department of management in 25 consultation with the legislative services agency. 26 Sec. 11. NEW SECTION . 357H.9A Annual financial report —— 27 audit. 28 1. Not later than December 1 of each year on forms and 29 pursuant to the instructions prescribed by the department 30 of management, the board of trustees shall file with the 31 county auditor an annual financial report showing the rural 32 improvement zone’s financial condition as of June 30 and the 33 results of operations for the year then ended. 34 2. A rural improvement zone is subject to annual audit by 35 -6- LSB 1257HV (5) 86 md/sc 6/ 15

H.F. 557 the auditor of state. In lieu of an audit by the auditor of 1 state, the rural improvement zone may contract with or employ 2 a certified public accountant to conduct the audit pursuant 3 to the applicable terms and conditions prescribed by sections 4 11.6, 11.14, 11.19, and 11.41. The audit format shall be as 5 prescribed by the auditor of state. The rural improvement zone 6 shall pay all expenses incurred by the auditor of state in 7 conducting an audit under this section. 8 Sec. 12. Section 357H.10, Code 2015, is amended to read as 9 follows: 10 357H.10 Dissolution of zone. 11 1. The Prior to the date required for dissolution under 12 subsection 2, a rural improvement zone shall may be dissolved 13 upon the adoption of a resolution of the board of trustees 14 which specifies that all improvements have been made in the 15 zone , the need for the zone, as identified under section 16 357H.2, subsection 1, has been satisfied, and all indebtedness 17 has been paid. 18 2. a. Unless dissolved by resolution of the board of 19 trustees under subsection 1, or an extension is approved under 20 paragraph “b” , each rural improvement zone is dissolved on June 21 30, 2019, or twenty years after the first day of the fiscal 22 year following the fiscal year in which the zone first receives 23 revenue from the division of taxes under section 357H.9, 24 whichever date is later. 25 b. The date required under this subsection for dissolution 26 of a rural improvement zone may be extended by resolution of 27 the board adopted prior to the date required for dissolution 28 under paragraph “a” or a date prior to the date to which 29 the rural improvement zone was previously extended by the 30 board under this paragraph “b” or by operation of law under 31 subparagraph (1). Each extension approved by the board under 32 this paragraph “b” shall be for a period of twenty years. Prior 33 to approval of an extension by the board under this paragraph 34 “b” , all of the following requirements shall be met: 35 -7- LSB 1257HV (5) 86 md/sc 7/ 15

H.F. 557 (1) Not more than forty-eight months nor less than 1 thirty-six months prior to the date required for dissolution, 2 the board of trustees shall file a written request with the 3 board for an extension of the zone’s dissolution date. The 4 request shall state the improvements needed in the rural 5 improvement zone beyond the dissolution date otherwise required 6 under this section. The board shall, within ninety days after 7 receiving the request, either adopt a resolution granting the 8 twenty-year extension without further proceedings or notify the 9 board of trustees in writing of the board’s intent to review 10 the zone’s dissolution date under subparagraphs (2) through 11 (4). The board may, as part of its notice to the board of 12 trustees, request a report prepared by a licensed professional 13 engineer containing all of the information required under 14 section 357H.2, subsection 1. If the board fails to either 15 approve the extension by resolution or notify the board of 16 trustees of the board’s intent to review the zone’s dissolution 17 date under subparagraphs (2) through (4) within the ninety-day 18 period, the request for a twenty-year extension shall be deemed 19 approved. 20 (2) Following receipt of the board’s notice of intent to 21 review and not less than twenty-four months prior to the date 22 required for dissolution, the board of trustees shall, if 23 requested by the board under subparagraph (1), submit to the 24 board a report prepared by a licensed professional engineer 25 that includes the information required under section 357H.2, 26 subsection 1, paragraph “a” . If the board determined that the 27 engineer’s report does not substantially meet the requirements 28 of section 357H.2 or that additional relevant information is 29 needed, the board may, within thirty days of the date the 30 request was filed under subparagraph (1), request additional 31 information from the board of trustees. The board shall be 32 limited to one request for additional information. 33 (3) Not more than sixty days after receiving the engineer’s 34 report required or the additional information requested under 35 -8- LSB 1257HV (5) 86 md/sc 8/ 15

H.F. 557 subparagraph (2), whichever is later, the board shall hold a 1 public hearing to determine the need for improvements in the 2 rural improvement zone. Notice of hearing shall be given by 3 publication as provided in section 331.305. Holding a public 4 hearing pursuant to this subparagraph is not dispositive of 5 the approval or denial of a request for an extension of the 6 dissolution date by the board under this chapter. 7 (4) Within thirty days after the public hearing, the 8 board shall either find a need for improvements in the 9 rural improvement zone and adopt a resolution approving the 10 twenty-year extension or find that the area is no longer in 11 need of improvements. If the board fails to either approve or 12 deny the extension within the ten-day period, the request for a 13 twenty-year extension is deemed approved. 14 3. Upon dissolution of the zone, all assets shall be deeded 15 or otherwise transferred to a nonprofit corporation whose 16 members are property owners of the improvement zone. 17 4. Upon dissolution of the zone, the collection of the 18 property tax authorized under section 357H.8, subsection 4, and 19 the division of taxes authorized under section 357H.9 shall 20 cease immediately. 21 Sec. 13. NEW SECTION . 357H.11 Agreements. 22 Any agreement or other instrument in connection with an 23 agreement between a board of trustees and a board in effect on 24 July 1, 2015, relating to the division of taxes under section 25 357H.9, the dissolution date of a rural improvement zone, or 26 the criteria used for determining the need for improvements 27 in the rural improvement zone that is inconsistent with this 28 chapter shall be null and void. However, nothing in this 29 chapter shall be construed to prohibit the board of trustees 30 and the board from entering into an agreement on or after 31 July 1, 2015, relating to the division of taxes under section 32 357H.9, the dissolution date of the rural improvement zone, or 33 the criteria used for determining the need for improvements in 34 the rural improvement zone, so long as such agreement does not 35 -9- LSB 1257HV (5) 86 md/sc 9/ 15

H.F. 557 violate the provisions of this chapter. 1 Sec. 14. Section 403.20, Code 2015, is amended to read as 2 follows: 3 403.20 Percentage of adjustment considered in value 4 assessment. 5 In determining the assessed value of property within an 6 urban renewal area which is subject to a division of tax 7 revenues pursuant to section 403.19 , the difference between the 8 actual value of the property as determined by the assessor each 9 year and the percentage of adjustment certified for that year 10 by the director of revenue on or before November 1 pursuant to 11 section 441.21, subsection 9 , multiplied by the actual value of 12 the property as determined by the assessor, shall be subtracted 13 from the actual value of the property as determined pursuant 14 to section 403.19, subsection 1 . If the assessed value of the 15 property as determined pursuant to section 403.19, subsection 16 1 , is reduced to zero, or if the reduction in the assessed 17 value of the property as determined pursuant to section 403.19, 18 subsection 1, is limited by operation of section 357H.9, 19 subsection 1, paragraph “b” or “c” , the additional valuation 20 reduction shall be subtracted from the actual value of the 21 property as determined by the assessor. 22 EXPLANATION 23 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 24 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 25 This bill relates to the establishment, operation, and 26 dissolution of rural improvement zones under Code chapter 357H. 27 Current law provides that the population threshold for 28 establishing a rural improvement zone is determined using 29 the 2000 certified federal census. The bill changes that 30 requirement so that the population is determined using the most 31 recent certified federal census. 32 Current Code section 357H.1 provides that a board of 33 supervisors of a county meeting specified population 34 requirements shall designate an area surrounding the lake, if 35 -10- LSB 1257HV (5) 86 md/sc 10/ 15

H.F. 557 it is an unincorporated area of the county, a rural improvement 1 zone upon receipt of a petition, and upon the board’s 2 determination that the area is in need of improvements. This 3 bill strikes “shall” from that provision and inserts “may”. 4 The bill also adds a definition of “lake” for purposes of 5 determining eligibility to establish a rural improvement zone. 6 The bill defines “lake” to mean a body of water that has a 7 surface area of at least 80 acres. 8 The bill adds water quality activities to the definition 9 of “improvements”. Under Code chapter 357H, the board of 10 trustees may authorize construction, reconstruction, or repair 11 of improvements for the rural improvement zone. Under the 12 bill, “water quality activities” includes but is not limited 13 to creation or maintenance of grass waterways or wetlands, 14 bank stabilization, watershed protection, activities on lands 15 outside the rural improvement zone which affect water quality 16 within the zone, and any other activity which will improve 17 water quality of a stream, river, or lake. 18 The bill provides that as part of the approval process for a 19 rural improvement zone, the petition must include a statement 20 of the need for the proposed zone based upon a report prepared 21 by a licensed professional engineer. The report utilized 22 in preparing the petition must have been prepared not more 23 than two years before the date the petition is filed. The 24 information required to be included in the engineer’s report 25 relates to the size of the lake, soil classification, silt 26 accumulation data and estimates, water quality assessments, 27 and cost estimates. The bill requires a copy of the report 28 prepared by the licensed professional engineer and used to 29 prepare the petition to be submitted with the petition. 30 The bill changes the period of time required for holding 31 a public hearing on the petition from within 30 days of 32 presentation of the petition to within 60 days. The bill 33 specifies that holding a public hearing relating to the 34 establishment of a rural improvement zone is not dispositive 35 -11- LSB 1257HV (5) 86 md/sc 11/ 15

H.F. 557 of the approval or denial of a petition by the board. In 1 addition, the bill provides that if the board of supervisors 2 determines that the petition or the engineer’s report does 3 not substantially meet the statutory requirements, the 4 board may, within 30 days of presentation of the petition, 5 request additional information from the petitioners. The 6 board’s request for additional information is limited to the 7 statutorily required information that was not contained in the 8 petition or in the accompanying engineer’s report. The bill 9 limits the board to one request for additional information. 10 Upon presentation of the additional information, the public 11 hearing must be held within 60 days of receiving the additional 12 information. 13 Current law requires that the board either establish the 14 rural improvement zone by resolution or disallow the petition 15 within 10 days after the required public hearing. The bill 16 changes that period of time to 30 days. 17 The bill strikes the provision which prohibited the issuance 18 of certificates for the payment of a rural improvement zone’s 19 improvements and activities after January 1, 2007, and provides 20 that such certificates, including certificates to refund 21 outstanding certificates, may not be issued if the maturity 22 date of the certificates would be after the date the rural 23 improvement zone is to be dissolved, as provided by the bill. 24 Current Code section 357H.9 authorizes rural improvement 25 zones to authorize the use of taxes from a division of taxes 26 (tax increment financing). The bill provides that for fiscal 27 years beginning on or after July 1, 2016, when calculating the 28 amount of taxes subject to the division of taxes in a rural 29 improvement zone established on or after July 1, 2004, if the 30 assessed value of the taxable property in the rural improvement 31 zone used to calculate the amount of taxes under Code section 32 403.19(1) is less than 50 percent of the assessed value used 33 to calculate the total amount of property taxes in the rural 34 improvement zone for the fiscal year in which the taxes are due 35 -12- LSB 1257HV (5) 86 md/sc 12/ 15

H.F. 557 and payable, the assessed value used to calculate the amount of 1 taxes under Code section 403.19(1) shall, notwithstanding any 2 reduction required due to an assessment limitation (rollback) 3 under Code section 403.20, be increased for that fiscal year 4 until the amount is equal to 50 percent of the assessed value 5 used to calculate the total amount of property taxes in the 6 rural improvement zone for the fiscal year in which the taxes 7 are due and payable. However, for the period of 10 consecutive 8 fiscal years beginning with the first fiscal year in which 9 those zones established on or after July 1, 2014, receive 10 revenue from a division of taxes, the division of taxes is 11 subject to the assessed value adjustment in the bill, except 12 that any references to 50 percent shall be 40 percent. 13 The bill also provides that for fiscal years beginning on 14 or after July 1, 2016, when calculating the amount of taxes 15 subject to the division of taxes in a rural improvement zone 16 established before July 1, 2004, if the assessed value of 17 the taxable property in the rural improvement zone used to 18 calculate the amount of taxes under Code section 403.19(1) is 19 less than 60 percent of the assessed value used to calculate 20 the total amount of property taxes in the rural improvement 21 zone for the fiscal year in which the taxes are due and 22 payable, the assessed value used to calculate the amount of 23 taxes under Code section 403.19(1) shall, notwithstanding any 24 reduction required due to an assessment limitation (rollback) 25 under Code section 403.20, be increased for that fiscal year 26 until the amount is equal to 60 percent of the assessed value 27 used to calculate the total amount of property taxes in the 28 rural improvement zone for the fiscal year in which the taxes 29 are due and payable. 30 The bill authorizes the board of trustees to enter into 31 an agreement with the board of supervisors that modifies the 32 allocation of the taxes levied in the rural improvement zone. 33 Such an agreement shall not, however, provide an allocation 34 to the other taxing districts that is less than the amount of 35 -13- LSB 1257HV (5) 86 md/sc 13/ 15

H.F. 557 taxes resulting from application of assessed value adjustments 1 required in the bill. 2 The bill provides that not later than December 1 of each 3 year the board of trustees of a zone shall file with the 4 county auditor an annual financial report showing the rural 5 improvement zone’s financial condition as of June 30 and the 6 results of operations for the year then ended. The bill also 7 provides that all rural improvement zones are subject to annual 8 audit either by the auditor of state or by a certified public 9 accountant contracted with or employed by the rural improvement 10 zone to conduct the audit. 11 The bill provides that, unless dissolved by resolution of 12 the board of trustees, each rural improvement zone is dissolved 13 on June 30, 2019, or 20 years from the first day of the fiscal 14 year following the fiscal year in which the zone first receives 15 revenue from the division of taxes, whichever is later. The 16 bill further provides that the date required for dissolution 17 may be extended by resolution of the board of supervisors 18 adopted prior to the date required for dissolution or prior to 19 the date to which the rural improvement zone was previously 20 extended by the board of supervisors under the provisions of 21 the bill. Each extension shall be for a period of 20 years. 22 The bill updates language relating to the disposition of 23 property upon dissolution of the zone and specifies that any 24 collection of, or division of, property taxes under Code 25 chapter 357H ceases immediately upon dissolution of the zone. 26 Under the bill, the rural improvement zone’s board of 27 trustees must file a written request with the board of 28 supervisors requesting an extension of the dissolution date. 29 The request must state the improvements needed in the zone 30 beyond the dissolution date otherwise required by the bill. 31 Within 90 days after receiving the request, the board of 32 supervisors must either adopt a resolution granting the 20-year 33 extension without further proceedings, or notify the board of 34 trustees in writing of the board’s intent to review the zone’s 35 -14- LSB 1257HV (5) 86 md/sc 14/ 15

H.F. 557 dissolution date. The board may, as part of its notice to the 1 board of trustees, request a report prepared by a licensed 2 professional engineer. If the board fails to either approve 3 the extension by resolution or notify the board of trustees of 4 the board’s intent to review the zone’s dissolution date within 5 the 90-day period, the request for a 20-year extension is 6 deemed approved. The board of supervisors requests additional 7 information from the board of trustees. As part of the 8 board of supervisors’ further review of the request, a public 9 hearing must be held within the period of time specified in 10 the bill. Within 30 days after the public hearing, the board 11 of supervisors is required to either find a continued need for 12 the rural improvement zone and adopt a resolution approving the 13 20-year extension or find that the continued operation of the 14 rural improvement zone is not necessary and deny the request 15 for an extension. If the board fails to either approve or 16 deny the extension within the specified period of time after 17 the hearing, the request for a 20-year extension is deemed 18 approved. 19 The bill provides that any agreement or other instrument in 20 connection with an agreement between a board of trustees and 21 a board in effect on July 1, 2015, relating to the division of 22 taxes, the dissolution date of a rural improvement zone, or 23 the criteria used for determining the need for improvements in 24 the rural improvement zone that is inconsistent with this Code 25 chapter shall be null and void. However, the bill provides 26 that nothing in Code chapter 357H shall be construed to 27 prohibit the board of trustees and the board from entering into 28 an agreement on or after July 1, 2015, relating to the division 29 of taxes, the dissolution date of the rural improvement zone, 30 or the criteria used for determining the need for improvements 31 in the rural improvement zone, so long as such agreement does 32 not violate the provisions of Code chapter 357H. 33 -15- LSB 1257HV (5) 86 md/sc 15/ 15