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ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES57th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session |
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HB4064: municipal improvement districts; petitions
Sponsor: Representative Bliss, LD 1
Committee on Government
Overview
Outlines requirements and procedures for a municipality to pass an ordinance for an improvement district.
History
Before ordering an authorized improvement, the governing body of a municipality must adopt a resolution or ordinance of intention that briefly describes the improvement. The resolution or ordinance may provide for one or more improvements on one or more streets as a single improvement under one or more contracts, may be combined with certain actions relating to public streets or off-street parking areas, and must exempt a lot from assessment to the extent the proposed work has already been completed.
If the governing body determines to form an improvement district after the final resolution of protests, it must submit, within 120 days, a petition signed by owners of more than one-half of the taxable property units and more than one-half of the assessed valuation within the proposed district. Property that is tax-exempt is excluded from the valuation calculation, owners of nontaxable property may not sign the petition, and on verification of the petition signatures, the governing body may form the district and order the improvement as provided by law.
When the proposed improvement, in the opinion of the governing body, is of more than local or ordinary public benefit, it may order the expense of the improvement chargeable upon another district. The governing body of a municipality is prohibited from assessing the costs of an improvement for general public benefit against land in a district. If a portion of the expense of an improvement is for general public benefit, the city or town must assess the district only for the portion of the expense that benefits the property in the district (A.R.S. § 48-576).
Provisions
1. Requires, when passing a resolution or ordinance for an improvement district, a municipal governing body to:
a. provide an estimate of the assessment, except that the assessment cannot exceed the amount prescribed in the petition.
b. receive a petition prior to passing the resolution or ordinance. (Sec. 4, 5)
2. Instructs the municipal governing body, before passing a resolution or ordinance, to receive a petition filed with the clerk and signed by the owners of real property in the proposed improvement district. (Sec. 4)
3. Requires the petition for improvement districts, that will levy and collect ad valorem taxes, to be signed by:
a. a majority of the individuals owning taxable property within the proposed area; and
b. the owners of 51% or more of the assessed valuation of the property within the proposed district. (Sec. 4)
4. Maintains that petitions for improvement districts, other than tax levying improvement districts, must be signed by:
a. a majority of the individuals owning real property within the proposed district; and
b. the owners of 51% or more of the real property, determined by acreage, within the proposed district. (Sec. 4)
5. Allows a municipal governing body and other individuals to rely on the taxable property units determined by the county assessor to determine a majority of the individuals owning real or taxable property within the proposed improvement districts. (Sec. 4)
6. Restricts property that is exempt from property taxes from being included in the determination for an improvement district that will levy and collect ad valorem taxes. (Sec. 4)
7. Requires property that is exempt from property taxes to be included in the determination of a majority of the individuals owning real property, except the owners of public property or rights-of-way owned by public property owners. (Sec. 4)
8. Stipulates that, in determining acreage within the area of a proposed district, public property and rights-of-way must be excluded, with the exception of the municipal governing body declaring in the resolution or ordinance of the intention to do so. (Sec. 4)
9. Exempts a community facilities district issuing special assessment bonds from real or taxable property determination requirements. (Sec. 4)
10. Permits the municipality and specified owners to enter into a written agreement waiving any or all posting requirements and protest and objections if the outlined requirements are met. (Sec. 4)
11. Allows a municipal governing body, on receipt of a petition signed by real property owners, to adopt a resolution or ordinance of intention to order an improvement district, have immediate jurisdiction to adopt the resolution and combine two or more improvement projects into the resolution. (Sec. 4)
12. Requires the petition to include all of the following:
a. the name of the proposed improvement district;
b. the necessity for the proposed improvement district;
c. that the public convenience, necessity or welfare will be promoted by establishing the improvement district and that the property to be included in the improvement district will be benefited;
d. a legal description of the boundaries and a map that shows generally the location of the proposed improvement district;
e. a maximum amount of the assessment;
f. that the petitioners consent to the assessment with the municipal governing body's compliance with specified requirements;
g. the county assessor's parcel number for each lot;
h. each petition signer indicates that the applicable county assessor's parcel number corresponds to their lot; and
i. any other matters required by statute. (Sec. 4)
13. Allows a municipality's governing body to adopt a resolution including adjacent territory in an improvement district without requiring a petition. (Sec. 2, 3)
14. Prohibits a municipality's governing body from forming improvement districts for areas that will provide outlined public services until the governing body receives the prescribed petition. (Sec. 3)
15. Removes provisions relating to the requirements for proposing an improvement district. (Sec. 4)
16. Expands the definition of street to include on-street parking. (Sec. 1)
17. Makes technical changes. (Sec. 1-4)
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Initials ML HB 4064
2/14/2026 Page 0 Government
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