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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
[PERFECTED WITH PERFECTING AMENDMENT]
HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 2600
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
4533H.03D JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal sections 190.050, 190.051, 190.052, 190.070, and 190.090, RSMo, and to enact in
lieu thereof six new sections relating to ambulance districts.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 190.050, 190.051, 190.052, 190.070, and 190.090, RSMo, are
2 repealed and six new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 190.050,
3 190.051, 190.052, 190.070, 190.089, and 190.090, to read as follows:
190.050. 1. After the ambulance district has been declared organized, the declaring
2 county commission[, except in counties of the second class having more than one hundred
3 five thousand inhabitants located adjacent to a county of the first class having a charter form
4 of government which has a population of over nine hundred thousand inhabitants,] shall
5 divide the district into six election districts as equal in population as possible[, and] or
6 provide for the election of six directors elected at large from within the district.
7 (1) If the county commission divides the district into election districts, the
8 commission shall by lot number the districts from one to six inclusive. The county
9 commission shall cause an election to be held in the ambulance district on the next regularly
10 scheduled election date [within ninety days] after the order establishing the ambulance
11 district to elect ambulance district directors. Each voter shall vote for one director from the
12 ambulance election district in which the voter resides. The directors elected from districts
13 one and four shall serve for a term of one year, the directors elected from districts two and
14 five shall serve for a term of two years, and the directors from districts three and six shall
15 serve for a term of three years; thereafter, the terms of all directors shall be three years. All
16 directors shall serve the term to which they were elected or appointed, and until their
17 successors are elected and qualified, except in cases of resignation or disqualification. The
EXPLANATION — 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.
18 county commission shall reapportion the ambulance districts within sixty days after the
19 population of the county is reported to the governor for each decennial census of the United
20 States. Notwithstanding any other provision of law , if the number of candidates for the of fice
21 of director is no greater than the number of directors to be elected, no election shall be held,
22 and the candidates shall assume the responsibilities of their of fices at the same time and in the
23 same manner as if they have been elected.
24 [ 2. In all counties of the second class having more than one hundred five thousand
25 inhabitants located adjacent to a county of the first class having a charter form of government
26 which has a population of over nine hundred thousand inhabitants,] (2) If the county
27 commission pr ovides for an at large board of directors , it shall order an election be held
28 on the next regu larly scheduled election date and the voters shall vote for six directors
29 elected at lar ge from within the district for a term of three years. [ Those directors holding
30 of fice in any district in such a county on August 13, 1976, shall continue to hold of fice until
31 the expiration of their terms, and their successors shall be elected from the district at lar ge for
32 a term of three years. In any district formed in such counties after August 13, 1976, the
33 governing body of the county shall cause an election to be held in that district within ninety
34 days after the order establishing the ambulance district to elect ambulance district directors. ]
35 Each voter shall vote for six directors. The two candidates receiving the highest number of
36 votes at such election shall be elected for a term of three years, the two candidates receiving
37 the third and fourth highest number of votes shall be elected for a term of two years, the two
38 candidates receiving the fifth and sixth highest number of votes shall be elected for a term of
39 one year; thereafter , the term of all directors shall be three years. A dir ector holding office
40 as of August 28, 2026, shall continue as an at-large dir ector for the r emainder of such
41 dir ector's existing term.
42 [ 3. ] 2. A candidate for director of the ambulance district shall, at the time of filing, be
43 a citizen of the United States, [ a qualified voter of the election district as provided in
44 subsection 1 of this section, ] a resident of the district for two years next preceding the
45 election, and shall be at least twenty-four years of age. In an established district which is
46 located within the jurisdiction of more than one election authority , the candidate shall file his
47 or her declaration of candidacy with the secretary of the board. In all other districts, a
48 candidate shall file a declaration of candidacy with the county clerk of the county in which he
49 or she resides. A candidate shall file a statement under oath that he or she possesses the
50 required qualifications. No candidate's name shall be printed on any of ficial ballot unless the
51 candidate has filed a written declaration of candidacy pursuant to subsection 5 of section
52 1 15.127. If the time between the county commission's call for a special election and the date
53 of the election is not suf ficient to allow compliance with subsection 5 of section 1 15.127, the
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54 county commission shall, at the time it calls the special election, set the closing date for filing
55 declarations of candidacy .
56 3. An ambulance district may , following a public hearing subject to the
57 pr ovisions of chapter 610, by an ordinance adopted by an affirmative vote of two-thirds
58 of the members of the board of dir ectors, abolish the boundaries of any existing election
59 subdistricts if the board is unable to find a qualified candidate to fill the dir ector
60 position of each such subdistrict. Such ordinance may eliminate the subdistricts entir ely
61 and prov ide for the election of directors at large. A copy of the ordinance shall be filed
62 with the county clerk. Upon the abolition of such election subdistricts, all curr ent
63 dir ectors shall serve as dire ctors at large for the rem ainder of their existing terms.
64 4. Any ambulance district may , by an ordinance adopted by an affirmative vote
65 of two thirds of the members of the board of dir ectors, establish election subdistricts.
66 Each election subdistrict shall consist of contiguous territory and shall be as compact
67 and nearly equal in population as practicable. The boundaries of such subdistricts shall
68 be established by the county commission. Each board member shall be a r esident of the
69 election subdistrict that he or she r epresent s at the time of election and shall rem ain a
70 r esident of such subdistrict for the duration of the member's term.
71 5. Notwithstanding any other pr ovision of law to the contrary , if the number of
72 candidates for the office of director is less than the number of dir ectors to be elected, no
73 election shall be held, and the candidates shall assume the res ponsibilities of their offices
74 at the same time and in the same manner as if they wer e elected.
190.051. 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 190.050 and 190.052 to the
2 contrary , upon a [ motion ] res olution adopted by the board of directors in districts where
3 there are six-member boards, and upon approval by the voters in the district, the number of
4 directors may be increased to seven [ with one board member running district wide, ] or
5 decreased to five or three board members. The res olution shall state the names of the
6 existing dir ectors who will fill the positions on the board if such measur e is appr oved by
7 the voters, as well as any vacancies to be filled by subsequent election, and shall state the
8 dates on which those terms shall conclude.
9 2. The ballot to be used for the approval of the voters to increase or decrease the
10 number of members on the board of directors of the ambulance district shall be substantially
11 in the following form:
12 Shall the number of members of the board of directors of the ______
13 (Insert name of district) Ambulance District be (increased to seven
14 members/decreased to five members/decreased to three members)?
15 YES NO
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16 [ 2. ] 3. If a majority of the voters voting on a proposition to increase the number of
17 board members [ to seven ] vote in favor of the proposition, then at the next election of board
18 members after the voters vote to increase the number of directors, the voters shall select [ one
19 person to serve in addition to the existing six directors as the member who shall run district
20 wide ] additional persons to fill any such vacancies .
21 [ 3. ] 4. If a majority of the voters voting on a proposition to decrease the number of
22 board members vote in favor of the proposition, then the county clerk shall redraw the district
23 into the resulting number of subdistricts with equal population bases and hold elections by
24 subdistricts pursuant to section 190.050. Thereafter , members of the board shall be elected to
25 serve terms of three years and until their successors are duly elected and qualified.
26 [ 4. Members of the board of directors in office on the date of an election pursuant to
27 this section to increase or decrease the number of members of the board of directors shall
28 serve the term to which they were elected or appointed and until their successors are elected
29 and qualified.]
190.052. Any member of the board of directors who moves residency from the
2 district [ from which the member was elected ] shall be disqualified as a member of the board.
3 If one or two vacancies occur in the membership of the board as a result of death, resignation,
4 or disqualification, the remaining members shall appoint one or two qualified persons, as
5 provided in section 190.050, to fill the vacancies until the end of the unexpired term. Such
6 appointment shall be made with the consent of a majority of the remaining members of the
7 board. If the board is unable to agree in filling a vacancy [ within sixty days or if there are
8 more than two vacancies at any one time ], the county commission, upon [ notice from the
9 board of failure to agree in filling the vacancies ] the written re quest of a majority of the
10 r emaining board members or the ambulance service administrator , as described in
11 section 190.1 12 , shall within [ ten ] thirty calendar days fill them by appointment of qualified
12 persons, as provided in section 190.050, and shall notify the persons in writing of their
13 appointment. The persons appointed shall serve for the unexpired term.
190.070. 1. A petition for annexation of land to an ambulance district shall be signed
2 by not less than ten percent or fifty voters, whichever is fewer , residing within the territory
3 therein described proposed for annexation and shall be filed with the county clerk of the
4 county in which the district or the greater portion thereof is situated, and shall be addressed to
5 the commissioners of the county commission. A hearing shall be held thereon [ as nearly as
6 possible as in the case of a formation petition ] within thirty days of the filing of such
7 petition . If upon the hearing the commissioners of the county commission find that the
8 petition is in compliance with the provisions of sections 190.005 to 190.085, they shall order
9 the question to be submitted to the voters within the territory and within the district.
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10 2. The question shall be submitted in substantially the following form to all of the
11 voters in the existing ambulance district and the ar ea prop osed to be annexed :
12 Shall ______ (description of territory) be annexed to the ______ ambulance district ,
13 and a tax imposed within such annexed are a equal to the existing rate of the _____
14 ambulance district ?
15 3. If a majority of the votes cast on the question [in the district and in the territory
16 described in the petition, respectively ,] are in favor of the annexation, the commissioners of
17 the county commission shall , within thirty days of the certification of the election r esults,
18 by order declare the territory annexed and shall describe the altered boundaries of the district.
19 A copy of the same shall be filed with the county clerk.
190.089. Upon voter appr oval of an ambulance district consolidation at an
2 election, the department shall prioritize and expedite any activities necessary to
3 facilitate the consolidation.
190.090. 1. T wo or more or ganized ambulance districts may consolidate into one
2 ambulance district by following the procedures set forth in this section.
3 2. If the consolidation of existing ambulance districts is desired, a number of voters
4 residing in an existing ambulance district equal to ten percent of the vote cast for governor in
5 the existing district in the next preceding gubernatorial election may file with the county clerk
6 in which the territory or greater part of the proposed consolidated district is situated a petition
7 requesting the consolidation of two or more existing ambulance districts.
8 3. The petition shall be in the following form:
9 W e, the undersigned voters of the ______ ambulance district do hereby petition that _
10 _____ existing ambulance districts be consolidated into one consolidated ambulance district
11 to be known as the _____ Ambulance District, subject to the attached consolidation
12 plan .
13 4. An alternative procedure of consolidation may be followed, if the board of
14 directors of the existing ambulance districts pass a resolution in the following form:
15 Be it resolved by the board of directors of the ambulance district that the ______
16 ambulance districts be consolidated into one consolidated ambulance district to be known as
17 the _____ Ambulance District, subject to the attached consolidation plan .
18 5. Every petition or re solution shall be accompanied by a consolidation plan
19 outlining the process for the pr oposed consolidation. At a minimum, the consolidation
20 plan shall include the following:
21 (1) The name of the pr oposed consolidated district, a legal description of the
22 boundaries of such consolidated district, and the pro posed tax levy to be imposed by the
23 consolidated district. In the event that the pr oposed plan is for the consolidation into an
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24 existing district, the consolidation plan shall clearly state that the existing district shall
25 continue as the legal entity into which the other districts ar e consolidated;
26 (2) The names of the districts to be consolidated, accompanied by a list of all r eal
27 pr operty owned and financial assets curr ently held by the district, all outstanding bonds
28 or debts of each of said districts, and the curr ent tax levies imposed by each of said
29 districts;
30 (3) The name of the district which shall be r esponsible for maintaining
31 ambulance service during the consolidation, including continuing operations,
3 2 administration, and governance of the consolidated district, pr ovided that ther e shall
33 be a pr esumption that the district with the largest operating budget in the pr eceding
34 fiscal year shall assume such res ponsibility;
35 (4) The pr oposed number of board members and specific individuals who will
36 serve as the initial dir ectors, pr ovided that such dir ectors shall be chosen fr om among
37 the existing board members of the districts to be consolidated such that ther e is at least
38 one dir ector fr om each of the districts to be consolidated; and
39 (5) A pro posed time line for consolidation, which shall not exceed one hundr ed
40 eighty days, prov ided that such time line shall be subject to modification by the board of
41 the consolidated district for good cause.
42 6. Upon the filing of a petition, or a resolution, and a consolidation plan with the
43 county clerk from each of the ambulance districts proposed to be consolidated, the county
44 clerk shall present the petition or resolution and consolidation plan to the commissioners of
45 the county commission [having jurisdiction who shall thereupon order the submission of the
46 question to the voters of the districts. The filing of each of the petitions in the ambulance
47 districts shall have occurred within a continuous twelve-month period.
48 6. The notice shall set forth the names of the existing ambulance districts to be
49 included in the consolidated district.
50 7. The question shall be submitted in substantially the following form:
51 Shall the existing ______ ambulance districts be consolidated into one ambulance
52 district?
53 8. If the county commission having jurisdiction finds that the question to consolidate
54 the districts received a majority of the votes cast, the commission shall make and enter its
55 order declaring that the proposition passed.
56 9. W ithin thirty days after the district has been declared consolidated, the county
57 commission shall divide the district into six election districts and shall order an election to be
58 held and conducted as provided in section 190.050 for the election of directors.
59 10. W ithin thirty days after the election of the initial board of directors of the district,
60 the directors shall meet and the time and place of the first meeting of the board shall be
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61 designated by the county commission. At the first meeting the newly elected board of
62 directors shall choose a name for the consolidated district and shall notify the clerk of the
63 county commission of each county within which the consolidated district is located of the
64 name of the consolidated district.
65 1 1. On the thirtieth day following the election of the board of directors, the existing
66 ambulance districts shall cease to exist and the consolidated district shall assume all of the
67 powers and duties exercised by those districts. All assets and obligations of the existing
68 ambulance districts shall become assets and obligations of the consolidated district] , who
69 shall r ecord such documents in the record s of the county . A petition or r esolution for a
70 pr oposed consolidation shall be rec eived fr om all ambulance districts within the same
71 calendar year or shall be consider ed null and void.
72 7. Each of the ambulance districts seeking to consolidate shall post the notice of
73 the intent to consolidate in the same manner as district public meetings ar e posted. In
74 addition, publication of such notice of intent shall be made in a newspaper of general
75 cir culation in every county in which the pro posed consolidated ambulance district shall
76 be located, with publication to be made once per week for two consecutive weeks. A
77 public hearing shall be held jointly by all ambulance districts seeking to consolidate at a
78 location within the boundaries of the pr oposed consolidated ambulance district,
79 pr ovided that such hearing shall be no mor e than thirty days after the date of the second
80 publication. The notice of intent shall be in substantially the following form:
81 NOTICE OF THE FILING OF A PETITION/RESOLUTION FOR
82 CONSOLIDA TION OF THE ______ AMBULANCE DISTRICTS
83 T o all voters, res idents, and inter ested persons within the boundaries
84 of the above described ambulance districts: Y ou are her eby notified
85 that a petition/r esolution has been filed for the consolidation of the
86 above named ambulance districts into one consolidated ambulance
87 district to be known as _____ Ambulance District. A pro posed
88 consolidation plan is available for inspection at the office of the
89 County Clerk of _____ County .
90 A public hearing will be held on ______ (date) at ________ (time) at
91 the following location: ________. The purpose of this public hearing
92 shall be to explain the r easons for the consolidation and answer
93 questions fr om the public.
94 Objections to this consolidation may be filed with the County Clerk of
95 _____ County , pro vided such objections are filed in writing not less
96 than thirty days after the public hearing. Any such objection must be
97 signed by a number of voters resi ding in the pr oposed consolidated
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98 district that is not less than five per cent of the votes cast for governor
99 in the district in the most r ecent gubernatorial election.
100 8. If no objections ar e filed with the county clerk within thirty days after the
101 public hearing, then within forty-five days following the date of the public hearing, the
102 county commission shall order the districts consolidated pursuant to the terms of the
103 consolidation plan and shall further appoint as dir ectors those individuals identified in
104 the consolidation plan. The county commission shall further set a date, time, and
105 location for the first meeting of the dir ectors of the newly consolidated district.
106 9. Upon receip t of any objections filed, the county clerk shall verify that such
107 objections are signed by the necessary number of voters of the district. If said
108 objections are signed by an appr opriate number of voters, the county commission of
109 each county in which the prop osed consolidated district is to be located shall ther eupon
110 order the submission of the question to the voters of the districts. The question shall be
111 submitted in substantially the following form:
112 Shall the existing ______ ambulance districts be consolidated into one
113 ambulance district to be known as the _________ Ambulance District,
114 with such consolidated district authorized to levy a prop erty tax not
115 to exceed the annual rate of ______ cents on the hundred dollars
116 assessed valuation or a sales tax in an amount not to exceed ______
117 per cent, or a combination of both?
118
119 If the county commission having jurisdiction finds that the question to consolidate the
120 districts receiv ed a majority of the votes cast, the commission shall make and enter its
121 order declaring that the prop osition passed. The county commission shall further order
122 the districts consolidated pursuant to the terms of the consolidation plan and shall
123 further appoint as dir ectors those individuals identified in the consolidation plan. The
124 county commission shall further set a date, time, and location for the first meeting of the
125 dir ectors of the newly consolidated district.
126 10. Notwithstanding any other pr ovision of law to the contrary , the consolidated
127 district may impose an initial tax levy up to the highest tax levy of the consolidating
128 districts, pr ovided such tax levy is specifically set forth in the ballot language submitted
129 to and appr oved by the voters of the consolidating district.
130 1 1. Withou t a vote of the r esidents of the consolidated district as pr ovided in this
131 section, no consolidated ambulance district shall be permitted to impose a pro perty tax
132 gr eater than the lowest of any existing prop erty tax rate of the districts to be
133 consolidated, nor shall the consolidated ambulance district be permitted to impose any
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134 sales tax great er than the lowest of any existing sales tax rate of the districts to be
135 consolidated.
136 12. Upon written certification by the board of directors of the consolidated
137 district to the prior district that the consolidated district has obtained the necessary
138 licenses and permits to operate an ambulance service and all dir ectors of such
139 consolidated district have completed the training re quir ed by section 190.053, the
140 existing ambulance districts shall cease to exist and the consolidated district shall
141 assume all of the powers and duties exercised by those districts. All assets and
142 obligations of the existing ambulance districts shall become assets and obligations of the
143 consolidated district .
✔
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