SCS/SB 640 - This act amends the Missouri Transportation Development District Act to explicitly include public mass transportation systems as transportation development district projects. Under current law, owners of property adjacent to a TDD may petition the court to add their property to the district and such property shall be added if the property owners within the district unanimously approve of its addition. Under this act, unanimous approval is not needed to add adjacent property to a TDD formed by a local transportation authority for the purpose of operating a public mass transportation system. Instead, the court shall add the adjacent property listed in the petition upon approval and consent of the district’s board of directors (Section 238.208).
Under the act, the board of directors for a district formed by local transportation authorities to operate a public mass transportation system shall consist of not less than 3 nor more than 5 persons appointed by the chief executive officers of each local transportation authority (Section 238.220). The directors appointed by the chief executive officers may be removed by such officers at any time with or without cause (Section 238.220). Under the act, the state highways and transportation commission is prohibited from appointing advisers to the boards of directors of transportation development districts formed to operate public mass transportation systems (Section 238.220).
Under the act, districts formed by local transportation authorities for the purpose of operating a public mass transportation system do not have to submit their project plans to the state Highways and Transportation Commission (Section 238.225).
The act provides that real property taxes for transportation development districts shall not be considered "payment in lieu of taxes" as that term is defined in the Real Property Tax Increment Allocation Redevelopment Act. In addition, the tax revenues derived from such property taxes are not subject to allocation under the Real Property Increment Allocation Redevelopment Act (Section 238.232).
The act provides that the sales tax for a district formed by a local transportation authority for the purpose of operating a public mass transportation system shall not be considered economic activity taxes as used in the TIF statutes and that the tax revenues are not subject to allocation by the TIF statutes. The act also creates a special fund known as the "Transportation Development District Sales Tax Trust Fund" to deposit the sales tax revenues generated by these types of transportation development districts (Section 2388.236).
These provisions may also be found in HCS/SB 716 (2010).
STEPHEN WITTE