Missouri Revised Statutes













Chapter 262

Promotion of Agriculture and Horticulture

←262.597

Section 262.598.1

262.600→

August 28, 2015

Extension districts authorized--powers and duties--tax authorized, ballot language--withdrawal, ballot language--increase in tax, ballot language.

262.598. 1. As used in this section, the following terms shall mean:



(1) "Consolidated district", a district formed jointly by two or more

councils;



(2) "Council", a University of Missouri extension council authorized

under section 262.563;



(3) "District" or "extension district", a political subdivision

formed by one or more councils;



(4) "Governing body", the group of individuals who govern a district;



(5) "Single-council district", a district formed by one council.



2. University of Missouri extension councils, except for any council

located in a county with a charter form of government and with more than

nine hundred fifty thousand inhabitants, are hereby authorized to form

extension districts made up of cooperating counties for the purpose of

funding extension programming. An extension district may be a

single-council district or a consolidated district. A single-council

district shall be formed upon a majority vote of the full council. A

consolidated district shall be formed upon a majority vote of each

participating council.



3. In a single-council district, the council shall serve as the

district's governing body. In addition to any other powers and duties

granted to the council under sections 262.550 to 262.620, the council shall

also have the powers and duties provided under subsection 5 of this

section.



4. In a consolidated district, the governing body of the district

shall consist of at least three, but no more than five, representatives

appointed by each participating council. The term of office shall be two

years. Representatives may be reappointed. The governing body shall elect

officers, who shall serve as officers for two years, and establish a

regular meeting schedule which shall not be less than once every three

months.



5. The governing body of a district shall have the following powers

and duties:



(1) Review the activities and annual budgets of each participating

council;



(2) Determine, by September first of each year, the tax rate

necessary to generate sufficient revenue to fund the extension programming

in the district, which includes annual funding for each participating

council for the costs of personnel and the acquisition, supply, and

maintenance of each council's property, work, and equipment;



(3) Oversee the collection of any tax authorized under this section

by ensuring the revenue is deposited into a special fund and monitoring the

use of the funds to ensure they are used solely for extension programming

in the district;



(4) Approve payments from the special fund in which the tax revenue

is deposited; and



(5) Work cooperatively with each participating council to plan and

facilitate the programs, equipment, and activities in the district.



6. The governing body of a district may submit a question to the

voters of the district to institute a property tax levy in the county or

counties that compose the district. Questions may be submitted to the

voters of the district at any general municipal election. Any such

proposed tax shall not exceed thirty cents per one hundred dollars of

assessed valuation. The costs of submitting the question to the voters at

the general municipal election shall be paid as provided in section

115.063. Such question shall be submitted in substantially the following

form:



Shall the Extension District in .................... County (insert

name of county) be authorized to levy an annual tax of ....................

(insert amount not to exceed thirty) cents per one hundred dollars of

assessed valuation for the purpose of funding the University of Missouri

Extension District programs, equipment, and services in the district?

In a single-council district, if a majority of the voters in the county

approve the question, then the district shall impose the tax. If a

majority of the voters in a single-council district do not approve the

question, then no tax shall be imposed. In a consolidated district, if a

majority of voters in each county in the district approve the question,

then the district shall impose the tax. If a majority of the voters in a

consolidated district do not approve the question, then no tax shall be

imposed in any county of the district. In a consolidated district, if a

majority of voters in a county do not approve the question, the council in

the county that did not approve the question may withdraw from the

district. Upon such withdrawal, the district shall be made up of the

remaining counties and the tax shall be imposed in those counties.

However, if the county that did not approve the question does not withdraw

from the district, the tax shall not be imposed. Revenues collected from

the imposition of a tax authorized under this section shall be deposited

into a special fund dedicated only for use by the local district for

programming purposes.



7. The county commission of any county in which the tax authorized

under this section is levied and collected:



(1) Shall be exempt from the funding requirements under section

262.597 if revenue derived from the tax authorized under this section is in

excess of an amount equal to two hundred percent of the average funding

received under section 262.597 for the immediately preceding three years;

or



(2) May reduce the current year's funding amount under section

262.597 by thirty-three percent of the amount of tax revenues derived from

the tax authorized under this section which exceed the average amount of

funding received under section 262.597 for the immediately preceding three

years.



8. Any county that collects tax revenues authorized under this

section shall transfer all attributable revenue plus monthly interest for

deposit into the district's special fund. The governing body of the

district shall comply with the prudent investor standard for investment

fiduciaries as provided in section 105.688.



9. In any county in which a single-council district is established,

and for which a tax has not been levied, the district may be dissolved in

the same manner in which it was formed.



10. A county may withdraw from a consolidated district at any time by

the filing of a petition with the circuit court having jurisdiction over

the district. The petition shall be signed by not fewer than ten percent

of those who voted in the most recent presidential election in the county

seeking to withdraw that is part of a consolidated district stating that

further operation of the district is contrary to the best interest of the

inhabitants of the county in which the district is located and that the

county seeks to withdraw from the district. The circuit court shall hear

evidence on the petition. If the court finds that it is in the best

interest of the inhabitants of the county in which the district is located

for the county to withdraw from the district, the court shall make an order

reciting the same and submit the question to the voters. The costs of

submitting the question to the voters at the general municipal election

shall be paid as provided in section 115.063. The question shall be

submitted in substantially the following format:



Shall the County of .................... (insert name of county) being

part of .................... (insert name of district) Extension District

withdraw from the district?

The question shall be submitted at the next general municipal election

date. The election returns shall be certified to the court. If the court

finds that two-thirds of the voters voting on the question voted in favor

of withdrawing from the district, the court shall issue an order

withdrawing the county from the district, which shall contain a proviso

that the district shall remain intact for the sole purposes of paying all

outstanding and lawful obligations and disposing of the district's

property. No additional costs or obligations for the withdrawing county

shall be created except as necessary. The withdrawal shall occur on the

first day of the following January after the vote. If the court finds that

two-thirds of the voters voting on the question shall not have voted

favorably on the question to withdraw from the district, the court shall

issue an order dismissing the petition and the district shall continue to

operate.



11. The governing body of any district may seek voter approval to

increase its current tax rate authorized under this section, provided such

increase shall not cause the total tax to exceed thirty cents per one

hundred dollars of assessed valuation. To propose such an increase, the

governing body shall submit the question to the voters at the general

municipal election in the county in which the district is located. The

costs of submitting the question to the voters at the general municipal

election shall be paid as provided in section 115.063. The question shall

be submitted in substantially the following form:



Shall the Extension District in .................... (insert name of

county or counties) be authorized to increase the tax rate from

.................... (insert current amount of tax) cents to

.................... (insert proposed amount of tax not to exceed thirty)

cents per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation for the purpose of

funding the University of Missouri Extension District programs, equipment,

and services in the district?

In a single-council district, if a majority of the voters in the county

approve the question, then the district shall impose the tax. If a

majority of the voters in a single-council district do not approve the

question, then the tax shall not be imposed. In a consolidated district,

if a majority of voters in the district approve the question, then the

district shall impose the new tax rate. If a majority of the voters in a

consolidated district do not approve the question, then the tax shall not

be imposed in any county of the district. Revenues collected from the

imposition of the tax authorized under this section shall be deposited into

the special fund dedicated only for use by the district.



(L. 2013 H.B. 542 merged with S.B. 9)



Effective 8-28-13 (H.B. 542)



10-11-13 (S.B. 9)



*S.B. 9 effective 10-11-13, see § 21.250. S.B. 9 was vetoed July 2,

2013. The veto was overridden on September 11, 2013.







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