DEFINITIONS - The act modifies several definitions contained in the Port Improvement District Act. Under the act, the term "consent" means the written acknowledgment and approval of the creation of a district by the real property owners owning more than 60% by assessed valuation of real property within the proposed district's boundaries and more than 60% per capita of the real property owners within the proposed district boundaries. The act further modifies the terms "obligations", "port district boundaries", "project", "qualified project costs", "respondent" and "taxpayer" (Section 68.205).

PORT IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT PROCEDURE - The act modifies the location of where the draft petition for creating a port improvement district must be filed. Under current law, the draft petition must be filed in the circuit court where the port improvement district is located. This act clarifies this requirement by requiring the draft petition to be filed in the circuit court where a majority of the proposed port improvement district is located. Under current law, a port authority board must file certain documents with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission. Under this act, these documents only have to be filed with the commission if the proposed district lies within state highways. Under current law, a petition is proper for consideration and approval by the board and the circuit court if it has been signed by property owners collectively owning more than 60% per capita of all owners of real property within the boundaries of the proposed district and contains certain information. Under the proposed act, the petition is proper for consideration if it has the consent (as defined by the act) of the property owners and the petition contains certain information. No consent is necessary if the port authority is the owner of all the real property within the proposed district (Section 68.210).

REMOVAL OF LEGAL IMPEDIMENT TO CREATING PORT IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS WITHIN CLAY COUNTY - Under current law, port authorities located in Clay County do not have the authority to establish port improvement districts within their port district boundaries. This act removes this legal impediment (Section 68.210).

PUBLIC HEARINGS - Under current law, a port authority must hold a public hearing on a proposed port improvement district not more than 10 days prior to submitting the petition to the circuit court. This act requires the public hearing to be held not more than 60 days prior to submitting the petition to the circuit court.

Under current law, notice of the hearing must be provided by both publication and mailing. This act eliminates the mailing requirement where the port authority is the owner of all the real property within the proposed district (Section 68.215).

PUBLIC NOTICE BY NEWSPAPER - The act clarifies that the circuit court must give notice of the petition to create a port improvement district when the court receives the filed petition (Section 68.225).

ELECTION TO LEVY PROPERTY TAX WITHIN PORT IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT - This act provides that no mail-in ballot election is required to levy a real property tax where the port authority is the owner of all of the real property within the proposed district (Section 68.235).

REPEAL OF REAL PROPERTY TAX - This act provides that a port authority shall repeal by resolution the continuation of any real property tax when all obligations of the port improvement project have been met, unless the real estate tax in any way secures outstanding obligations of the port improvement project or covers ongoing expenses the port authority has incurred to pay qualified project costs of any of the approved port improvement project.

The act further provides that any remaining funds in such special trust fund which exceed any remaining obligations of the port improvement project and are not needed to cover ongoing expenses shall be refunded pro-rata to the property owners. Current law provides that remaining property tax funds that are not needed for current expenditures may be invested by the port authority or used for other port improvement projects (Section 68.240).

PORT IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT SALES TAX - This act provides that no mail-in ballot election is required to levy a sales tax if the port authority is the owner of all of the real property within the proposed district (Sections 68.245 and 68.250)

SEVERABILITY CLAUSE - Under current law, the provisions of the Port Improvement District Act are nonseverable meaning that if one provision is found invalid the entire act is invalidated. This act makes the provisions of the Port Improvement District Act severable (Section 68.259).

This act is identical to SB 257 (2013).

STEPHEN WITTE