EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
FIRST REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 813
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR BLACK.
3067S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal sections 190.050, 190.051, 190.052, and 190.090, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof
four 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, and 1
190.090, RSMo, are repealed and four new sections enacted in 2
lieu thereof, to be known as sectio ns 190.050, 190.051, 190.052, 3
and 190.090, to read as follows:4
190.050. 1. After the ambulance district has been 1
declared organized, the declaring county commission, except 2
in counties of the second class having more than one hundred 3
five thousand inhabitants located adjacent to a county of 4
the first class having a charter form of government which 5
has a population of over nine hundred thousand inhabitants, 6
shall [divide the district into six election districts as 7
equal in population as possib le, and shall by lot number the 8
districts from one to six inclusive. The county commission 9
shall] cause an election to be held in the ambulance 10
district within ninety days after the order establishing the 11
ambulance district to elect ambulance district directors. 12
Each voter shall vote for one director from the ambulance 13
[election] district in which the voter resides. The two 14
directors elected [from districts one and four ] with the 15
lowest number of votes shall serve for a term of one year, 16
the two directors elected [from districts two and five ] with 17 SB 813 2
the third and fourth highest number of votes shall serve for 18
a term of two years, and the two directors [from districts 19
three and six] with the highest number of votes shall serve 20
for a term of three years; thereafter, the terms of all 21
directors shall be three years. All directors shall serve 22
the term to which they were elected or appointed, and until 23
their successors are elected and qualified, except in cases 24
of resignation or disqualification. [The county commission 25
shall reapportion the ambulance districts within sixty days 26
after the population of the county is reported to the 27
governor for each decennial census of the United States. ] 28
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the num ber of 29
candidates for the office of director is no greater than the 30
number of directors to be elected, no election shall be 31
held, and the candidates shall assume the responsibilities 32
of their offices at the same time and in the same manner as 33
if they have been elected. 34
2. In all counties of the second class having more 35
than one hundred five thousand inhabitants located adjacent 36
to a county of the first class having a charter form of 37
government which has a population of over nine hundred 38
thousand inhabitants, the voters shall vote for six 39
directors elected at large from within the district for a 40
term of three years. Those directors holding office in any 41
district in such a county on August 13, 1976, shall continue 42
to hold office until the e xpiration of their terms, and 43
their successors shall be elected from the district at large 44
for a term of three years. In any district formed in such 45
counties after August 13, 1976, the governing body of the 46
county shall cause an election to be held in that district 47
within ninety days after the order establishing the 48
ambulance district to elect ambulance district directors. 49 SB 813 3
Each voter shall vote for six directors. The two candidates 50
receiving the highest number of votes at such election shall 51
be elected for a term of three years, the two candidates 52
receiving the third and fourth highest number of votes shall 53
be elected for a term of two years, the two candidates 54
receiving the fifth and sixth highest number of votes shall 55
be elected for a term o f one year; thereafter, the term of 56
all directors shall be three years. 57
3. A candidate for director of the ambulance district 58
shall, at the time of filing, be a citizen of the United 59
States, [a qualified voter of the election district as 60
provided in subsection 1 of this section, ] a resident of the 61
district for two years next preceding the election, and 62
shall be at least twenty -four years of age. In an 63
established district which is located within the 64
jurisdiction of more than one election auth ority, the 65
candidate shall file his or her declaration of candidacy 66
with the secretary of the board. In all other districts, a 67
candidate shall file a declaration of candidacy with the 68
county clerk of the county in which he or she resides. A 69
candidate shall file a statement under oath that he or she 70
possesses the required qualifications. No candidate's name 71
shall be printed on any official ballot unless the candidate 72
has filed a written declaration of candidacy pursuant to 73
subsection 5 of section 115.127. If the time between the 74
county commission's call for a special election and the date 75
of the election is not sufficient to allow compliance with 76
subsection 5 of section 115.127, the county commission 77
shall, at the time it calls the special ele ction, set the 78
closing date for filing declarations of candidacy. 79
190.051. 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of 1
sections 190.050 and 190.052 to the contrary, upon a motion 2 SB 813 4
by the board of directors in districts where there are six - 3
member boards, and upon approval by the voters in the 4
district, the number of directors may be increased to seven 5
[with one board member running district wide, ] or decreased 6
to five or three board members. The ballot to be used for 7
the approval of the voters to increase or decrease the 8
number of members on the board of directors of the ambulance 9
district shall be substantially in the following form: 10
2. If a majority of the voters voting on a proposition 17
to increase the number of board members to seven vote in 18
favor of the proposition, then at the next election of board 19
members after the voters vote to increase the number of 20
directors, the voters shall selec t one person to serve in 21
addition to the existing six directors as the member who 22
shall run district wide. 23
3. If a majority of the voters voting on a proposition 24
to decrease the number of board members vote in favor of the 25
proposition, then [the county clerk shall redraw the 26
district into the resulting number of subdistricts with 27
equal population bases and hold elections by subdistricts 28
pursuant to section 190.050 ] the existing board members 29
shall complete their terms, but at each subsequent e lection, 30
one seat shall be eligible for reelection until the correct 31
number of directors is reached . Thereafter, members of the 32
11
12
13
14
15
Shall the number of members of the board of
directors of the ______ (Insert name of district)
Ambulance District be (increased to seven
members/decreased to five members/decreased to
three members)?
16 □ YES □ NO SB 813 5
board shall be elected to serve terms of three years and 33
until their successors are duly elected and qualified. 34
4. Members of the board of directors in office on the 35
date of an election pursuant to this section to increase or 36
decrease the number of members of the board of directors 37
shall serve the term to which they were elected or appointed 38
and until their successor s are elected and qualified. 39
190.052. Any member of the board of directors who 1
moves residency from the district [from which the member was 2
elected] shall be disqualified as a member of the board. If 3
one or two vacancies occur in the membership of the board as 4
a result of death, resignation, or disqualification, the 5
remaining members shall appoint one or two qualified 6
persons, as provided in section 190.050, to fill the 7
vacancies until the end of the unexpired term. Such 8
appointment shall be made with the consent of a majority of 9
the remaining members of the board. If the board is unable 10
to agree in filling a vacancy within sixty days or if there 11
are more than two vacancies at any one time, the county 12
commission, upon not ice from the board of failure to agree 13
in filling the vacancies, shall within ten days fill them by 14
appointment of qualified persons, as provided in section 15
190.050, and shall notify the persons in writing of their 16
appointment. The persons appointed s hall serve for the 17
unexpired term. 18
190.090. 1. Two or more organized ambulance districts 1
may consolidate into one ambulance district by following the 2
procedures set forth in this section. 3
2. If the consolidation of existing am bulance 4
districts is desired, a number of voters residing in an 5
existing ambulance district equal to ten percent of the vote 6
cast for governor in the existing district in the next 7 SB 813 6
preceding gubernatorial election may file with the county 8
clerk in which the territory or greater part of the proposed 9
consolidated district is situated a petition requesting the 10
consolidation of two or more existing ambulance districts. 11
3. The petition shall be in the following form: 12
We, the undersigned voters o f the ______ 13
ambulance district do hereby petition that 14
______ existing ambulance districts be 15
consolidated into one consolidated ambulance 16
district to be known as the __________ ambulance 17
district, subject to the attached consolidation 18
plan. 19
4. An alternative procedure of consolidation may be 20
followed, if the board of directors of the existing 21
ambulance districts pass a resolution in the following form: 22
Be it resolved by the board of directors of 23
the ambulance district that the ______ a mbulance 24
districts be consolidated into one consolidated 25
ambulance district to be known as the __________ 26
ambulance district, subject to the attached 27
consolidation plan. 28
5. Every petition or resolution shall be accompanied 29
by a consolidation pla n outlining the process for the 30
proposed consolidation. At a minimum, the consolidation 31
plan shall include the following: 32
(1) The name and a legal description of the boundaries 33
of the proposed consolidated district and the proposed tax 34
levy to be imposed by the consolidated district. In the 35
event that the proposed plan is for the consolidation into 36
an existing district, the consolidation plan shall clearly 37
state that the existing district shall continue as the legal 38
entity into which the oth er districts are consolidated; 39 SB 813 7
(2) The names of the districts to be consolidated, 40
accompanied by a list of all real property owned, financial 41
assets currently held, all outstanding bonds or debts, and 42
the current tax levies imposed by each distric t; 43
(3) The name of the district which shall be 44
responsible for maintaining ambulance service during the 45
consolidation, including continuing operations, 46
administration, and governance of the consolidated district; 47
provided that there shall be a pr esumption that the district 48
with the largest operating budget in the preceding year 49
shall assume this responsibility; 50
(4) The proposed individuals who will serve as the 51
initial directors, provided that such directors shall be 52
chosen from among th e existing board members of the 53
districts to be consolidated, such that there is at least 54
one director from each of the districts to be consolidated; 55
and 56
(5) A proposed time line for consolidation, which 57
shall not exceed one hundred eighty days; provided that such 58
time line shall be subject to modification by the board of 59
the consolidated district for good cause. 60
6. Upon the filing of a petition, or a resolution, and 61
a consolidation plan with the county clerk from each of the 62
ambulance districts proposed to be consolidated, the county 63
clerk shall present the petition or resolution and 64
consolidation plan to the commissioners of the county 65
[commission having jurisdiction who shall thereupon order 66
the submission of the question to the vo ters of the 67
districts. The filing of each of the petitions in the 68
ambulance districts shall have occurred within a continuous 69
twelve-month period]. 70 SB 813 8
[6. The notice shall set forth the names of the 71
existing ambulance districts to be included in th e 72
consolidated district. 73
7. The question shall be submitted in substantially 74
the following form: 75
Shall the existing ______ ambulance 76
districts be consolidated into one ambulance 77
district? 78
8. If the county commission having jurisdiction finds 79
that the question to consolidate the districts received a 80
majority of the votes cast, the commission shall make and 81
enter its order declaring that the proposition passed. 82
9. Within thirty days after the district has been 83
declared consolidated, the county commission shall divide 84
the district into six election districts and shall order an 85
election to be held and conducted as provided in section 86
190.050 for the election of directors. 87
10. Within thirty days after the election of the 88
initial board of directors of the district, the directors 89
shall meet and the time and place of the first meeting of 90
the board shall be designated by the county commission. At 91
the first meeting the newly elected board of directors shall 92
choose a name for the consolidated district and shall notify 93
the clerk of the county commission of each county within 94
which the consolidated district is located of the name of 95
the consolidated district. 96
11. On the thirtieth day following the election of the 97
board of directors, the existing ambulance districts shall 98
cease to exist and the consolidated district shall assume 99
all of the powers and duties exercised by those districts. 100
All assets and obligations of the existing ambulance 101
districts shall become ass ets and obligations of the 102 SB 813 9
consolidated district ] who shall record such documents in 103
the records of the county. Petitions or resolutions shall 104
be received from all ambulance districts proposed to be 105
consolidated within the same calendar year or they s hall be 106
considered null. 107
7. Each of the ambulance districts seeking to 108
consolidate shall post the notice of the intent to 109
consolidate in the same manner that district public meetings 110
are posted. In addition, publication of such notice of 111
intent shall be made in a newspaper of general circulation 112
in every county in which the proposed consolidated ambulance 113
district shall be located, with publication to be made once 114
per week for two consecutive weeks. A public hearing shall 115
be held jointly by all ambulance districts seeking to 116
consolidate at a location within the boundaries of the 117
proposed consolidated ambulance district, provided that such 118
hearing shall be no more than ten days after the date of the 119
second publication. The notice of intent shall be in 120
substantially the following form: 121
122
123
NOTICE OF THE FILING OF A PETITION/RESOLUTION FOR
CONSOLIDATION OF THE ______ AMBULANCE DISTRICTS
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
To all voters, residents, and interested persons
within the boundaries of the above -described
ambulance districts: You are hereby notified that
a petition/resolution has been filed for the
consolidation of the above -named ambulance
districts into one cons olidated ambulance district
to be known as _____ ambulance district. A
proposed consolidation plan is available for
inspection at the office of the County Clerk of
_____ County.
134
135
136
A public hearing will be held on ______ (date) at
________ (time) at the following location:
________. The purpose of this public hearing
shall be to explain the reasons for the
SB 813 10
8. If no objections are filed with the county clerk 147
within thirty days of the public hearing, subject to the 148
restrictions provided in subsecti on 11 of this section, then 149
within forty-five days following the date of the public 150
hearing, the county commission shall order the districts 151
consolidated pursuant to the terms of the consolidation plan 152
and shall further appoint as directors those indiv iduals 153
identified in the consolidation plan. The county commission 154
shall further set a date, time, and location for the first 155
meeting of the directors of the newly consolidated district. 156
9. Upon receipt of any objections filed, the county 157
clerk shall verify that such objections are signed by the 158
necessary number of voters of the district. If said 159
objections are signed by an appropriate number of voters, 160
the county commission of each county in which the proposed 161
consolidated district is to be located shall thereupon order 162
the submission of the question to the voters of the 163
districts as follows: 164
Shall the existing ______ ambulance districts be 165
consolidated into one ambulance district to be 166
known as the _________ ambulance district, and 167
such consolidated district shall be authorized 168
to levy a property tax not to exceed the annual 169
137
138
consolidation and answer questions from the
public.
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
Objections to this consolidation may be filed with
the County Clerk of _____ County, provided such
objections are filed in writing not more than
thirty days after the public hearing. Any such
objection shall be signed by a number of voters
not less than five percent of the votes cast for
governor in the most recent gubernatorial
election.
SB 813 11
rate of ______ cents on the hundred dollars 170
assessed valuation and/or a sales tax in an 171
amount not to exceed ______ percent? 172
If the county commission having jur isdiction finds that the 173
question to consolidate the districts received a majority of 174
the votes cast, the commission shall make and enter its 175
order declaring that the proposition passed. The county 176
commission shall further order the districts consolid ated 177
pursuant to the terms of the consolidation plan and shall 178
further appoint as directors those individuals identified in 179
the consolidation plan. The county commission shall further 180
set a date, time, and location for the first meeting of the 181
directors of the newly consolidated district. 182
10. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the 183
contrary, the consolidated district may impose an initial 184
tax levy not to exceed the highest tax levy imposed by the 185
consolidating districts, provided su ch tax levy is 186
specifically set forth in the question submitted to and 187
approved by the voters of the consolidating district. 188
11. In the absence of a vote of the people as provided 189
in subsection 9 of this section, no consolidated ambulance 190
district shall be permitted to impose a property tax greater 191
than the lowest of any existing property tax rate of the 192
districts to be consolidated, nor shall the consolidated 193
ambulance district be permitted to impose any sales tax 194
greater than the lowest of a ny existing sales tax rate of 195
the districts to be consolidated. 196
12. Upon written certification by the board of 197
directors of the consolidated district to the prior district 198
that the consolidated district has obtained the necessary 199
licenses and permits to operate an ambulance service and all 200 SB 813 12
directors of such consolidated district have completed the 201
training required by section 190.053, the existing ambulance 202
districts shall cease to exist and the consolidated district 203
shall assume all of the po wers and duties exercised by those 204
districts. All assets and obligations of the existing 205
ambulance districts shall become assets and obligations of 206
the consolidated district. 207
13. Subject to the limitations of subsection 10 of 208
this section, any ambulance district which has contracted 209
for ambulance service with another ambulance district for 210
more than five consecutive years may submit a joint 211
resolution executed by the boards of both ambulance 212
districts to the county clerk of the county in whic h the 213
larger area of the proposed consolidated district is located 214
requesting consolidation of said districts by consolidating 215
the smaller districts into the larger district. Such 216
resolution may be accompanied by a consolidation plan as 217
provided in this section. Upon the receipt of such joint 218
resolution, the county commission shall promptly order the 219
smaller districts consolidated into the larger district, 220
pursuant to the terms of the consolidation plan without the 221
necessity of notice or hearing . 222