00                SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 296(CRA)                                                             
01 "An Act relating to mergers and consolidations of municipalities."                                                      
02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
03    * Section 1.  AS 29.06.100(a) is amended to read:                                                                  
04            (a)  Residents of two or more municipalities may file a merger or consolidation                              
05       petition with the department.  The petition must be signed during a period that does                          
06       not exceed 365 consecutive days by a number of voters of each existing municipality                           
07       equal to at least 25 percent of the number of votes cast in each municipality's last                              
08       regular election.                                                                                                 
09    * Sec. 2.  AS 29.06.100 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:                                             
10            (c)  A petition for the merger or consolidation of a borough and more than one                               
11       city within that borough shall provide that, if the proposal is approved by a majority of                         
12       the votes in the borough area outside of the cities proposed to be merged or                                      
13       consolidated but is not approved by a majority of the votes in each of the cities,                                
14                 (1)  the entire proposal is defeated; or                                                                
15                 (2)  the proposal is partially approved and the borough is merged or                                    
01       consolidated with the cities in which the proposal has been approved.                                             
02    * Sec. 3.  AS 29.06.140(a) is amended to read:                                                                     
03            (a)  The Local Boundary Commission shall immediately notify the director of                                  
04       elections of its acceptance of a merger or consolidation petition.  Within 30 days after                          
05       notification, the director of elections shall order an election in the area to be included                        
06       in the new municipality to determine whether the voters desire merger or                                          
07       consolidation.  The election shall be held not less than 30 or more than 90 days after                            
08       the election order.  A voter who is a resident of the area to be included in the proposed                         
09       municipality may vote.  Unless the proposal includes the merger or consolidation                              
10       of a borough and one or more of the cities within that borough, if a majority of                              
11       the votes in each of the municipalities proposed to be merged or consolidated                                 
12       favors the merger or consolidation, the proposal is approved.  Votes on a                                     
13       proposal that includes the merger or consolidation of a borough and one or more                               
14       of the cities within that borough shall be separately tabulated as follows:  (1)  in                          
15       the borough area outside of each city in that borough proposed to be merged or                                
16       consolidated; (2) in each of the cities in the borough proposed to be merged or                               
17       consolidated; and (3) if one or more municipalities outside of the borough are                                
18       also included within the proposal, in each of those other municipalities.  The                                
19       entire proposal is defeated if it is not separately approved in the borough outside                           
20       of the cities in that borough that are proposed to be merged or consolidated and,                             
21       if municipalities outside of the borough are included in the proposal, in those                               
22       other municipalities.  If the proposal is not approved in one or more of the cities                           
23       within the borough that are proposed to be merged or consolidated but is                                      
24       otherwise approved in each of the areas separately tabulated, the proposal is                                 
25       either entirely defeated or partially approved as provided in the petition under                              
26       AS 29.06.100(c).                                                                                              
27    * Sec. 4.  The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to                         
28 read:                                                                                                                   
29       APPLICABILITY.  The amendments to AS 29.06.100 in secs. 1 and 2 of this Act do                                    
30 not apply to a merger or consolidation petition filed with the Department of Community and                              
31 Economic Development before the effective date of this Act.  The amendment to                                           
01 AS 29.06.140(a) in sec. 3 of this Act does not apply to an election held as a result of a petition                      
02 filed with the Department of Community and Economic Development before the effective                                    
03 date of this Act, and AS 29.06.140(a) as it read before the effective date of this Act applies to                       
04 that election.