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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
[TRUL Y AGREED T O AND FINALL Y P ASSED]
SENA TE SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 2397
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
4332S.06T 2026
AN ACT
T o repeal section 247.220, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to
public water supply districts.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 247.220, RSMo, is repealed and two new sections enacted in lieu
2 thereof, to be known as sections 247.220 and 247.229, to read as follows:
247.220. 1. Proceedings for the dissolution of a public water supply district shall be
2 substantially the same as proceedings for the formation of such a district, as follows: A
3 petition describing the boundaries of the district sought to be dissolved shall be filed with the
4 clerk of the circuit court of the county wherein the subject district is situate, or with the clerk
5 of the circuit court of the county having the lar gest acreage within the boundaries of the
6 subject district, in the event that the subject district embraces lands in more than one county .
7 Such petition, in addition to such boundary description, shall allege that further operation of
8 the subject district is inimicable to the best interests of the inhabitants of the district, that the
9 district should, in the interest of the public welfare and safety , be dissolved, that an alternative
10 water supplier is available and better able to supply water to the inhabitants of the district,
11 that an agr eement for sale of the district's assets has been enter ed into by the board of
12 dir ectors contingent upon appr oval of the circ uit court and voters, and such other
13 information as may be useful to the court in determining whether the petition should be
14 granted and a decree of dissolution entered. Such petition shall also include a detailed plan
15 for payment of all debt and obligations of the district at the time of dissolution. Such petition
16 shall be accompanied by a cash deposit of fifty dollars as an advancement of the costs of the
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
17 proceeding and the petition shall be signed by not less than one-fifth of the registered voters
18 from each subdistrict, or fifty registered voters from each subdistrict, whichever is less, within
19 the subject district. The petition shall be verified by at least one of the signers thereof and
20 shall be served upon the board of directors of the district as provided by law . The district
21 shall be a party , and if the board of directors in its discretion determines that such dissolution
22 is not in the public interest, the district shall oppose such petition and pay all cost and expense
23 thereof.
24 2. Upon the filing of the petition, the same shall be presented to the circuit court, and
25 such court shall fix a date for a hearing on such petition, as provided in this section.
26 Thereupon, the clerk of the court shall give notice of the filing of the petition in some
27 newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the proceedings are pending, and if
28 the district extends into any other county or counties, such notice shall also be published in
29 some newspaper of general circulation in such other county or counties. The notice shall
30 contain a description of the subject boundary lines of the district and the general purposes of
31 the petition, and shall set forth the date fixed for the hearing on the petition, which shall not
32 be less than seven nor more than twenty-one days after the date of the last publication of the
33 notice and shall be on some regular judicial day of the court wherein the petition is pending.
34 Such notice shall be signed by the clerk of the circuit court and shall be published in three
35 successive issues of a weekly newspaper or in twenty successive issues of a daily newspaper .
36 3. The court, for good cause shown, may continue the case or the hearing thereon
37 from time to time until final disposition thereof.
38 4. Exceptions to the dissolution of a district may be made by any voter or landowner
39 of the district, and by the district as herein provided; such exceptions shall be filed not less
40 than five days prior to the date set for the hearing on the petition. Such exceptions shall
41 specify the grounds upon which the exceptions are filed and the court shall take them into
42 consideration in passing upon the petition and shall also consider the evidence in support of
43 the petition and in support of the exceptions made. Unless petitioners prove that ther e is an
44 agr eement for sale of the district's assets enter ed into by the board of dir ectors that
45 would permit all debts and financial obligations of the district can be paid in full upon
46 dissolution and pro vide for the continuation of water supply to the inhabitants of the
47 district , the petition shall be dismissed at the cost of the petitioners.
48 5. Should the court find that it would not be to the public interest to dissolve a district,
49 the petition shall be dismissed at the costs of the petitioners. If, however , the court should
50 find in favor of the petitioners, the court shall enter its interlocutory decree of dissolution
51 which decree shall provide for the submission of the question to the voters of the district in
52 substantially the following form with up to one hundred words, and notwithstanding the
53 pr ovisions of sections 1 16.1 15 and 1 16.160 to the contrary :
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54 Shall ______ Public W ater Supply District be dissolved and its assets sold to ______
55 which shall ther eafter be the water supplier ?
56 6. (1) Except as provi ded in subdivision (2) of this subsection, the decree of
57 dissolution shall not become final and conclusive until it shall have been submitted to the
58 voters residing within the boundaries described in such decree and until it shall have been
59 assented to by a majority of two-thirds of the voters of the district voting on the proposition.
60 (2) At their discret ion, the board of dir ectors of the district, except those
61 districts that lie within a county with mor e than eleven thousand but fewer than twelve
62 thousand five hundr ed inhabitants and with a county seat with mor e than four thousand
63 but fewer than five thousand inhabitants, or a county with mor e than seven thousand
64 but fewer than eight thousand inhabitants and with a county seat with mor e than one
65 thousand but fewer than two thousand inhabitants, may appr ove a change in the vote
66 thr eshold to a majority of thr ee-fifths of the voters of the district voting on the
67 pr oposition, if:
68 (a) Four -fifths of the dir ectors voting on the question shall vote in favor;
69 (b) The cir cuit court has appr oved the thr ee-fifths thr eshold; and
70 (c) The district has received fr om the department of natural r esources a formal
71 enfor cement action re sulting in an administrative order on consent pursuant to the
72 pr ovisions of chapter 640 or the Federal Safe Drinking W ater Act that has not rect ified
73 as specified in the administrative order of consent, immediately prior to such action by
74 the board.
75 (3) The decree shall provide for the submission of the question and shall fix the date
76 thereof. The returns shall be certified by the election authority to the circuit court having
77 jurisdiction in the case and the court shall thereupon enter its order canvassing the returns and
78 declaring the result of such election.
79 7. If, upon canvass and declaration, it is found and determined that the question shall
80 have been assented to by [ a majority of two-thirds of the voters of the district voting on such
81 proposition ] the number of voters r equir ed under subsection 6 of this section then the
82 court shall, in such order declaring the result of the election, enter a further order declaring the
83 decree of dissolution to be final and conclusive. In the event, however , that the court should
84 find that the question had not been assented to by the majority required, the court shall enter a
85 further order declaring such decree of dissolution to be void and of no ef fect. No appeal shall
86 lie from any of the aforesaid orders. In the event that the court declares the decree of
87 dissolution to be final, as provided in this section, the clerk of the circuit court shall file
88 certified copies of such decree of dissolution and of such final order with the secretary of state
89 of the state of Missouri, and with the recorder of deeds of the county or counties in which the
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90 district is situate and with the clerk of the county commission of the county or counties in
91 which the district is situate.
92 8. Notwithstanding anything in this section to the contrary , no district shall be
93 dissolved until after all of its debts shall have been paid, and the court, in its decree of
94 dissolution, shall provide for the disposition of the property of the district , which may direct
95 that any excess funds be paid over to the trea sur ers of the various school districts on a
96 pr o rata basis equivalent to the ratio of customers of the public water supply district in
97 the various school districts .
247.229 . The board of directors of a public water supply district may contribute
2 to the cost of a plan including a plan underwritten by insurance for furnishing all or
3 part of hospitalization or medical expenses, life insurance or similar benefits for the
4 district's employees. No contract shall be enter ed into by the board of direc tors to
5 pur chase any insurance policy or policies pursuant to the terms of this section unless the
6 contact is submitted to competitive bidding at least every thr ee years and the contract is
7 awarded to the lowest and best bidder .
✔
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