fire districts; formation; county supervisors

SB1269 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
fire districts; formation; county supervisors

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SB 1269

Introduced by

Senator
Gowan

AN
ACT

amending section 48-261, Arizona Revised
Statutes; amending title 48, chapter 5, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, by
adding section 48-825; relating to fire districts.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 48-261, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
48-261.

District creation; procedures; notice; hearing; determinations;
petitions

A.
Except for a fire district formed
pursuant to section 48-825,
a fire district, community park maintenance
district, sanitary district or hospital district for either a hospital or an
urgent care center shall be created by the following procedures:

1. Any adult person desiring to propose creation of
a district shall provide a legal description of the area proposed for inclusion
in the district to the county assessor of the county in which the district is
to be located.� The county assessor shall provide to the person proposing
formation of the district a detailed list of all taxable real and personal
properties in the area proposed for inclusion in the district. The
person proposing formation of the district shall prepare and submit a district
impact statement to the board of supervisors of the county in which the
district is to be located. The county assessor's parcel map and the
assessed valuation of the properties as prescribed by section 42-17052 and as
shown in the county assessor's records at the time the district impact
statement is submitted are deemed sufficient for any required maps and for
determining the assessed valuations prescribed by this
section. Except for a proposed community park maintenance district
that is to be located in more than one county, if a proposed district is
located in more than one county, the impact statement shall be submitted to the
board of supervisors of the county in which the majority of the total assessed
valuation of the proposed district is located.� The boards of supervisors of
any other counties in which a portion of the district is to be located shall
provide information and assistance to the responsible board of supervisors.�
For a community park maintenance district that is to be located in more than one
county, the impact statement shall be submitted to the board of supervisors for
each of the affected counties. If the person desiring to create a
district pursuant to this section is unable to complete the district impact
statement, the board of supervisors may assist in the completion of the impact
statement if requested to do so, provided the bond required in subsection C of
this section is in an amount sufficient to cover any additional cost to the
county. The district impact statement shall contain at least the
following information:

(a) A legal description of the boundaries of the
proposed district and a map and a general description of the area to be
included in the district sufficiently detailed to allow a property owner to
determine whether a particular property is within the proposed district.

(b) The detailed list of taxable real and personal

properties provided by the assessor pursuant to this
paragraph.

(c) An estimate of the total assessed valuation
within the proposed district.

(d) An estimate of the change in the property tax
liability, as a result of the proposed district, of a typical resident of the
proposed district.

(e) A list and explanation of benefits that will
result from the proposed district.

(f) A list and explanation of the injuries that may
result from the proposed district.

(g) The names, addresses and occupations of the
proposed members of the district's organizing board of directors.

(h) A general description of the scope of services
to be provided by the district during its first five years of
operation. At a minimum this description shall include an estimate
of anticipated capital expenditures, personnel growth and enhancements to
service.

2. On receipt of the district impact statement, the
board of supervisors shall set a day, at least thirty but not more than sixty
days after that date, for a hearing on the impact statement. The
board of supervisors, at any time before making a determination pursuant to
paragraph 4 of this subsection, may require that the impact statement be
amended to include any information that the board of supervisors deems to be
relevant and necessary.

3. On receipt of the district impact statement, the
clerk of the board of supervisors shall mail, by first class mail, notice of
the day, hour and place of the hearing on the proposed district to each owner
of taxable real or personal

property within the
boundaries of the proposed district. The written notice shall state
the purpose of the hearing and shall state where a copy of the impact statement
may be viewed or requested.� The clerk of the board of supervisors shall post
the notice in at least three conspicuous public places in the area of the
proposed district and shall publish twice in a daily newspaper of general
circulation in the area of the proposed district, at least ten days before the
hearing, or, if no daily newspaper of general circulation exists in the area of
the proposed district, at least twice at any time before the date of the
hearing, a notice setting forth the purpose of the impact statement, the
description of the area of the proposed district and the day, hour and place of
the hearing.

4. At the hearing called pursuant to paragraph 2 of
this subsection, the board of supervisors shall hear those who appear for and
against the proposed district and shall determine whether the creation of the
district will promote public health, comfort, convenience, necessity or
welfare. If the board of supervisors determines that the public
health, comfort, convenience, necessity or welfare will be promoted, it shall
approve the district impact statement and authorize the circulation of
petitions as provided in this subsection.� For a community park maintenance
district that is required to obtain the approval of more than one county's
board of supervisors, the petitions may only be circulated after approval of
the board of supervisors from each affected county.� The order of the board of
supervisors shall be final, but if the request to circulate petitions is
denied, a subsequent request for a similar district may be refiled with the
board of supervisors
after
six months
from
after
the date of the denial. �The county board of supervisors
shall authorize the circulation of petitions of only one proposed new district
of the same type in which any property owner's land is proposed for
inclusion. A new petition circulation shall not be authorized until
the one-year period to submit signatures prescribed by paragraph 6 of this
subsection of the original petition circulation has expired or has otherwise
been extinguished.

5. Within fifteen days after receiving the approval
of the board of supervisors as prescribed by paragraph 4 of this subsection,
the clerk of the board shall determine the minimum number of signatures and
total assessed valuation required for compliance with paragraph 7 of this
subsection.� After making that determination, the number of signatures shall
remain fixed and the assessed valuation of the taxable real and personal properties
within the boundaries of the proposed district shall remain fixed as prescribed
in this subsection for the purposes of determining compliance with the property
valuation requirement prescribed in paragraph 7 of this subsection.

6. After receiving the approval of the board of
supervisors as provided in paragraph 4 of this subsection, any adult person may
circulate and present petitions to the board of supervisors of the county in
which the district is located.� All petitions circulated shall be returned to
the board of supervisors within one year
from
aFTER
the date of the approval of the board of supervisors
pursuant to paragraph 4 of this subsection.� Any petition that is returned more
than one year from that date is void.

7. The petitions presented pursuant to paragraph 6
of this subsection shall comply with the provisions regarding verification in
section 48-266 and shall:

(a) At all times, contain a map and general
description of the boundaries of the proposed district sufficiently detailed to
allow a real or personal property owner to determine whether a particular
property is within the proposed district and the names, addresses and
occupations of the proposed members of the district's organizing board of
directors. An alteration of the proposed district shall not be made
after receiving the approval of the board of supervisors as provided in
paragraph 4 of this subsection.� The items required to be contained with the
petition under this subdivision shall be printed on the back of the petition
form required pursuant to section 48-266 unless the size of the items
precludes compliance with this requirement.� An error in the legal description
of the proposed district shall not invalidate the petitions if considered as a
whole the information provided is sufficient to identify the property as
illustrated in the map required pursuant to this subdivision.

(b) Be signed by owners of more than one-half
of the taxable property units in the area of the proposed district and be
signed by persons owning collectively more than one-half of the assessed
valuation of the property in the area of the proposed district.� Property
exempt pursuant to title 42, chapter 11, article 3 shall not be considered in
determining the total assessed valuation of the proposed district nor shall
owners of property not subject to taxation be eligible to sign petitions.

8. On receipt of the petitions, including any
supplemental signatures, and the report of the county assessor, the board of
supervisors shall set a day for a hearing on the petition.�

9. Before the hearing called pursuant to paragraph 8
of this subsection, the board of supervisors shall determine the validity of
the petitions presented.

10. At the hearing called pursuant to paragraph 8 of
this subsection, the board of supervisors, if the petitions are valid, shall
order the creation of the district. The board of supervisors shall
enter its order setting forth its determination in the minutes of the meeting,
not later than ten days after the day of the hearing, and a copy of the order
shall be filed in the county recorder's office. The order of the
board of supervisors shall be final, and the proposed district shall be created
thirty days after the board of supervisors votes to create the district, except
that for a community park maintenance district that is proposed for more than
one county, the proposed district is created thirty days after the approval of
the board of supervisors of the final county of the counties in which the
district is to be located.� A decision of the board of supervisors under this
subsection is subject to judicial review under title 12, chapter 7,
article 6.

B. For the purpose of determining the validity of
the petitions presented pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 6 of this section:

1. Real or personal

property
held in multiple ownership shall be treated as if it had only one property
owner, and the signature of only one of the owners of property held in multiple
ownership is required on the formation petition.� The number of persons owning
property inside the boundaries of the proposed district shall be determined as
follows:

(a) In the case of property assessed by the county
assessor, the number of persons owning property shall be as shown on the most
recent assessment of property.

(b) In the case of property valued by the department
of revenue, the number of persons owning property shall be as shown on the most
recent valuation of property.

(c) If an undivided parcel of property is owned by
multiple owners, those owners are deemed to be one owner for the purposes of
this section.

(d) If a person owns multiple parcels of property,
that owner is deemed to be a single owner for the purposes of this section.

2. The value of real or personal

property shall be determined as follows:

(a) In the case of property assessed by the county
assessor, values shall be the same as those shown on the day the district
impact statement is submitted.

(b) In the case of property valued by the department
of revenue, the values shall be those determined by the department in the
manner provided by law, for municipal assessment purposes. The
county assessor and the department of revenue, respectively, shall furnish to
the board of supervisors, within twenty days after a request, a statement in
writing showing the owner, the address of each owner and the appraisal or assessment
value of properties contained within the boundaries of the proposed district as
described in subsection A of this section.

3. Petition signatures representing real property on
which taxes and assessments are not current at the time of petition review are
invalid.

C. The board of supervisors may require of the
person desiring to propose creation of a district pursuant to subsection A,
paragraph 1 of this section a reasonable bond to be filed with the board at the
start of proceedings under this section.� The bond shall be in an amount
sufficient to cover costs incurred by the county if the district is not finally
organized.� County costs covered by the bond include any expense incurred from
completion of the district impact statement, mailing of the notice of hearing
to district property owners, publication of the notice of hearing and other
expenses reasonably incurred as a result of any requirements of this section.

D. If a district is created pursuant to this
section, the cost of publication of the notice of hearing, the cost of the
mailing of notices to property owners, the cost of the bond and all other costs
incurred by the county as a result of this section shall be a charge against
the district.

E. If a proposed district would include property
located within an incorporated city or town, in addition to the other
requirements of subsection A of this section, the board shall approve the
creation and authorize the circulation of petitions only if the governing body
of the city or town has by ordinance or resolution endorsed the creation.

F. Except as provided in section 48-851 and
section 48-2001, subsection A, the area of a district created pursuant to
this section shall be contiguous.

G. A district
organized pursuant to this section shall have an organizing board of directors
to administer the affairs of the district until a duly constituted board of
directors is elected as provided in this title. The organizing board
shall have all the powers, duties and responsibilities of an elected
board. The organizing board shall consist of the three or five
individuals named in the district impact statement and the petitions presented
pursuant to subsection A of this section. If a vacancy occurs on the
organizing board, the remaining board members shall fill the vacancy by
appointing an interim member. Members of the organizing board shall
serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred
in performing their duties. The organizing board shall elect from
its members a chairman and a clerk.

H. For the purposes of this section, assessed
valuation does not include property exempt pursuant to title 42, chapter 11,
article 3 and is determined as prescribed by section 48-261.01.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Title 48, chapter 5, article 1, Arizona
Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 48-825, to read:

START_STATUTE
48-825.

Alternate formation process for fire district; board of
supervisors; election; board of directors

A. Until December 31, 2028, in a
county with a population of less than five hundred thousand persons, a fire
district may be formed as follows:

1. On written request to the board of
supervisors for formation of a fire district with five thousand or FEWER
persons and submission of a map delineating the proposed boundaries of the
district, the board of supervisors may hold a hearing on the matter at a
meeting of the board of supervisors.

2. The board of supervisors may
consider the matter, including by taking testimony from the public, and may
revise the proposed boundaries for the district.� The board of supervisors
shall revise the proposed boundaries for the district as necessary to ensure
that no one property in the proposed boundaries of the district will be
required to contribute more than two and one-half percent of the total
funding of the proposed district.

3. On a determination by the board of
supervisors to proceed with possible formation of the fire district, the board
of supervisors shall submit the matter to a vote of the qualified electors in
the proposed boundaries of the district.� The election shall be held on one of
the four dates prescribed by section 16-204.

4. The election shall comply with the
general election laws of this state.� At the election ON THE formation of the
fire district, the words to appear on the ballots shall be "fire district,
yes" and "fire district, no". The returns of the
election shall be made to the board of supervisors.

B. If approved at the formation
election by sixty-five percent of the votes cast thereon, the board of
supervisors shall declare the fire district formed and shall name three persons
who are residents of the fire district to serve on the fire district organizing
board of directors until fire district board members are elected as otherwise
provided by law at the next general election immediately following formation of
the fire district.�

C. After declaring the fire district
formed, the board of supervisors shall transmit to the county assessor a
certified copy of the description of the boundaries of the fire district.

D. A fire district formed pursuant to
this section has all of the powers and duties of a fire district prescribed by
this article.

E. From and after December 31, 2028,
a fire district may not be formed pursuant to this section.
END_STATUTE