SS/SCS/HCS/HB 833 - This act creates the Exhibition Center and Recreational Facility District Act; authorizes St. Charles County to have a theater, cultural arts, and entertainment district; and repeals the Community Comeback Program.

The creates the "Exhibition Center & Recreation Facility District Act". The act enables citizens of Buchanan, Camden, Cole, Jasper, Jefferson, Miller, Morgan, Newton and Wright counties to petition to create an exhibition center & recreation facility district. At least fifty property owners in the county must sign the petition.

The petition must include the petitioners names, a description of the district's boundaries, and the name of the proposed district. Once the petition is filed, the governing body may approve a resolution to the create the district. Following a public hearing, the governing body may adopt an order establishing the proposed district.

A board of trustees is created to administer any district created and the expenditure of revenue that accompanies such district. The governing body of each county within the district shall appoint four residents from the portion of the county within the district to serve on the board. At least one member of the board shall be the owner of a business in the district and at least one member shall be the owner of a lodging facility in the district. Two of the members of the board must reside in the district. The board will have the power to have a seal, sue and be sued, enter into contracts or other agreements affecting the affairs of the district, to borrow money, to issue bonds, to acquire and dispose of real and personal property, to refund bonds without an election, to manage the affairs of the district, to hire agents, and to amend and adopt bylaws.

The district may submit to its voters a sales tax of up to one-quarter of one percent. The act includes ballot language to that effect. The act also includes the creation of a fund to receive such sales tax revenue and instructs the Director of the Department of Revenue to authorize disbursements to the district. The tax shall be reduced automatically to a rate of one-tenth of one percent after twenty-five years unless an extension is voted upon by the voters in the district. Extensions of the sales tax cannot be for more than 20 years. This tax cannot be abolished or terminated if the district has outstanding debts or obligations.

Also, current law enables the creation of regional recreation districts. This act would permit a county to establish a regional recreation district on undeveloped property if all persons owning property within the proposed district consent and there are no eligible qualified voters residing within the district. Otherwise, the eligible and qualified voters of the district would approve the formation of the district by a public vote. The act also permits a sales tax to be submitted for a vote for the district under similar terms as above.

The above portion of the act is similar to SB 244 (2003) and SB 833 (2004).

The act enables Saint Charles County to establish a theater, cultural arts, and entertainment district. The sales tax in the district shall be up to one-half of one percent. The act establishes minimum criteria for the formation of the district, including land area, and petition requirements.

The district will be controlled by a board of directors, the number of which must be specified in the petition. The act lays out criteria for the board of directors. The board has various powers, including the power to issue bonds. The bonding power is provided in detail in the act.

Public meetings regarding the formation of the district must take place before the governing body of the county can put the proposal to a vote of the people in the proposed district. Once the governing body of the county approves a resolution to establish the district, a vote is authorized. After it is approved, the district shall be formalized by an ordinance from the governing body.

The act allows for subdistricts in the district that may oppose the creation of the district and thereby avoid the sales tax to support the district. The act establishes a procedure for forming a governing body for a subdistrict.

If there are no registered voters in a subdistrict, one or more property owners who collectively own one or more parcels of real estate comprising at least a majority of the land situated in the proposed subdistricts within the proposed district may file a petition with the circuit court requesting the creation of a theater, cultural arts, and entertainment district. The circuit clerk of the county in which the petition is filed pursuant to this section shall present the petition to the judge, who shall set the petition for hearing. The court shall hear the case without a jury. If the court determines the petition is defective or the proposed district or its plan of operation is unconstitutional, it shall refuse to incorporate the district. If the court determines the petition is not legally defective and the proposed district and plan of operation are not unconstitutional, the court shall order an election for voter approval and certify the questions to the circuit clerk.

The act contains ballot language for the formation and possible dissolution of the district. In the event that a district is dissolved, the act contains provisions to govern such dissolution.

The sales tax is to be collected by the municipality and placed into a special trust fund for the purposes of the district. The act also contains sourcing language for the treatment of out-of-district purchases.

The act assigns the sole duty of the metropolitan district to the development, operation and maintenance of a public system of interconnecting trails and parks. The act goes on to state that the district shall not substitute for the powers and responsibilities of other conservation and environmental regulatory agencies. Finally, this amendment specifically states that nothing in the statute shall authorize the district to regulate water quality, watershed or land use issues in the counties comprising the district.

The act repeals the Community Comeback Act and defines "economic development". The local use tax in St. Louis County, which is currently used to fund the program, will instead be used for economic development and enhancing local government in St. Louis County. This tax cannot be imposed on the sale of food.
JEFF CRAVER