CSHB 255(CRA): "An Act relating to cities incorporated under state law that are home rule communities."
00CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 255(CRA) 01 "An Act relating to cities incorporated under state law that are home rule 02 communities." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 01.10.060(a)(4) is amended to read: 05 (4) "municipality" means a political subdivision incorporated under the 06 laws of the state that is a home rule community, a home rule or general law city, a 07 home rule or general law borough, or a unified municipality; 08 * Sec. 2. AS 01.10.060(a) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 09 (15) "city" means a home rule community, home rule city, or general 10 law city incorporated under the laws of the state. 11 * Sec. 3. AS 19.30.241(4) is amended to read: 12 (4) "home rule city" means a city incorporated under the laws of the 13 state that has adopted a charter and includes a home rule community [AS 14 DEFINED IN AS 29.04.010];
01 * Sec. 4. AS 29.04.040(a) is amended to read: 02 (a) A second class city may be reclassified as a first class city. A first class 03 or home rule city may be reclassified as a second class city. A home rule community 04 may be reclassified as a home rule city. Reclassification is proposed by filing a 05 petition with the department. The department shall investigate the proposal and report 06 its findings to the Local Boundary Commission with its recommendations. The 07 commission shall hold at least one public hearing in the city on the proposal. The 08 commission may amend the petition and may impose conditions on the reclassification. 09 If the commission determines that the reclassification, as amended or conditioned if 10 appropriate, meets applicable standards under the state constitution and commission 11 regulations, meets the standards for incorporation under AS 29.05.011 for the class of 12 city proposed in the reclassification petition, and is in the best interests of the state, 13 it may accept the petition. Otherwise, it shall reject the petition. The commission 14 shall notify the city of its decision. The decision may be appealed under AS 44.62 15 (Administrative Procedure Act). 16 * Sec. 5. AS 29.04.040(d) is amended to read: 17 (d) The council shall, within 30 days after receiving notification from the 18 Local Boundary Commission that a petition has been accepted, order an election on 19 the question of reclassification. The election shall be held at least 30 days after the 20 order and not later than the next regular election occurring after the 30-day period. 21 If more than one question is to be voted on at the election, each shall appear separately 22 on the ballot. However, if reclassification from a home rule community to a home 23 rule city requires adoption of a new charter, the question of approving the charter 24 and the reclassification may appear as a single question. 25 * Sec. 6. AS 29.05.011(b) is amended to read: 26 (b) A community that meets all the standards under (a) of this section except 27 (a)(1) may incorporate as a second class city or a home rule community . 28 * Sec. 7. AS 29.05.060 is amended to read: 29 Sec. 29.05.060. Petition. Municipal incorporation is proposed by filing a 30 petition with the department. The petition must include the following information about 31 the proposed municipality:
01 (1) class; 02 (2) name; 03 (3) boundaries; 04 (4) maps, documents, and other information required by the department; 05 (5) composition and apportionment of the governing body; 06 (6) a proposed operating budget for the municipality projecting sources 07 of income and items of expenditure through the first full fiscal year of operation; 08 (7) for a borough or unified municipality, based on the number who 09 voted in the respective areas in the last general election, the signature and resident 10 address of 15 percent of the voters in 11 (A) home rule and first class cities in the area of the proposed 12 borough or unified municipality; and 13 (B) the area of the proposed borough or unified municipality 14 outside home rule and first class cities; 15 (8) for a first class borough or unified municipality, a designation of 16 areawide powers to be exercised; 17 (9) for a second class borough, a designation of areawide and 18 nonareawide powers to be exercised; 19 (10) for a home rule community or first class, second class, or home 20 rule city, a designation of the powers to be exercised; 21 (11) for a first class or home rule city, based on the number who voted 22 in the area in the last general election, the signatures and resident addresses of 50 23 voters in the proposed city or of 15 percent of the voters in the proposed city, 24 whichever is greater; 25 (12) for a second class city or home rule community , based on the 26 number who voted in the area in the last general election, the signatures and resident 27 addresses of 25 voters in the proposed city or of 15 percent of the voters in the 28 proposed city, whichever is greater; 29 (13) for a home rule community, home rule city, home rule borough, 30 or unified municipality , a proposed home rule charter. 31 * Sec. 8. AS 29.10.010(a) is amended to read:
01 (a) A general law borough [OR FIRST CLASS CITY] may adopt a charter for 02 its own government. A first class city may adopt a charter and become a home 03 rule city. A second class city may adopt a charter and become a home rule 04 community. 05 * Sec. 9. AS 29.10.010(c) is amended to read: 06 (c) At an incorporation, merger, or consolidation election , a municipality may 07 adopt a charter for its own government and incorporate, merge, or consolidate as a 08 home rule community, home rule city, home rule borough, or unified municipality. 09 * Sec. 10. AS 29.10.010(f) is amended to read: 10 (f) The proposed charter for a home rule municipality to be formed by 11 incorporation, merger, or consolidation shall be prepared by the petitioners and filed 12 with the petition to incorporate, merge, or consolidate a home rule community, home 13 rule city, home rule borough, or unified municipality. 14 * Sec. 11. AS 29.10 is amended by adding a new section to read: 15 Sec. 29.10.015. Home rule community charter. A charter for a home rule 16 community may provide that the council shall be known by another name as set out 17 in the charter, or that the mayor shall be known by another name as set out in the 18 charter. 19 * Sec. 12. AS 29.10.020 is amended to read: 20 Sec. 29.10.020. Model charters. The department shall prepare at least one 21 model home rule charter for a home rule community, a city, a borough, and a unified 22 municipality. The model charters shall be made available to persons interested in 23 filing a petition to form a home rule municipality under AS 29.05.060 or 24 AS 29.06.090. 25 * Sec. 13. AS 29.20.640(a) is amended to read: 26 (a) A municipality shall file with the department 27 (1) maps and descriptions of all annexed or detached territory; 28 (2) a copy of the annual audit, or, for a second class city or a home 29 rule community , an audit or statement of annual income and expenditures; 30 (3) tax assessment and tax levy figures as requested; 31 (4) a copy of the current annual budget of the municipality;
01 (5) a summary of the optional property tax exemptions authorized 02 together with the estimate of the revenues lost to the municipality by operation of each 03 of the exemptions. 04 * Sec. 14. AS 29.35.030(a) is amended to read: 05 (a) A municipality may, only within its boundaries, exercise the powers of 06 eminent domain and declaration of taking in the performance of a power or function 07 of the municipality under the procedures set out in AS 09.55.250 - 09.55.460. In the 08 case of a home rule community or a second class city, the exercise of the power of 09 eminent domain or declaration of taking must be by ordinance that is submitted to the 10 voters at the next general election or at a special election called for that purpose. A 11 majority of the votes on the question is required for approval of the ordinance. 12 * Sec. 15. AS 29.35.120(a) is amended to read: 13 (a) The governing body shall provide for an annual independent audit of the 14 accounts and financial transactions of the municipality or, in the case of a home rule 15 community or second class city, an audit or statement of annual income and 16 expenditures. To make the audit , the governing body shall designate a public 17 accountant who has no personal interest, direct or indirect, in the fiscal affairs of the 18 municipality. Copies of the audit shall be available to the public upon request. 19 * Sec. 16. AS 29.35.250(c) is amended to read: 20 (c) A home rule city in a third class borough shall provide for planning, 21 platting, and land use regulation as provided by AS 29.35.180(b) for home rule 22 boroughs. A first class city in a third class borough shall provide for planning, 23 platting, and land use regulation as provided by AS 29.35.180(a) for first and second 24 class boroughs. A home rule community or second class city in a third class borough 25 may provide for planning, platting, and land use regulation as provided by 26 AS 29.35.180(a) for first and second class boroughs. 27 * Sec. 17. AS 29.35.260(b) is amended to read: 28 (b) A home rule or first class city outside a borough is a city school district 29 and shall establish, operate, and maintain a system of public schools as provided by 30 AS 29.35.160 for boroughs. A home rule community or second class city outside 31 a borough is not a school district and may not establish a system of public schools.
01 * Sec. 18. AS 29.35.260(c) is amended to read: 02 (c) A home rule city outside a borough shall provide for planning, platting, and 03 land use regulation as provided by AS 29.35.180(b) for home rule boroughs. A first 04 class city outside a borough shall, and a home rule community or a second class city 05 outside a borough may, provide for planning, platting, and land use regulation as 06 provided by AS 29.35.180(a) for first and second class boroughs. 07 * Sec. 19. AS 29.45.590 is amended to read: 08 Sec. 29.45.590. Limited property taxing power for home rule communities 09 and second class cities. A home rule community or second class city may by 10 referendum levy property taxes as provided for first class cities. However, levy of an 11 ad valorem tax by a home rule community or second class city may not exceed two 12 percent of the assessed value of the property taxed, except that the limit does not apply 13 to a levy necessary to avoid a default upon payment of principal and interest of bonded 14 or other indebtedness that is secured by a pledge to levy ad valorem or other taxes 15 without limit to meet debt payments. 16 * Sec. 20. AS 29.60.030(e) is amended to read: 17 (e) In addition to the computation for municipalities that levy and collect a 18 property tax, the department shall determine an estimated full and true assessed 19 property value under (d) of this section for 20 (1) each municipality that is a school district and that does not levy and 21 collect a property tax; 22 (2) each second class city or home rule community with a population 23 of 750 or more persons; however, a computation is not required under this paragraph 24 more often than once during a period of three successive calendar years; and 25 (3) all other second class cities and home rule communities , by 26 determining the average per capita full and true assessed property value of all cities 27 having a population of less than 750 persons in which an assessment has been 28 completed by a municipality or for which a determination is not made under (1) or (2) 29 of this subsection. 30 * Sec. 21. AS 29.71.800(4) is amended to read: 31 (4) "city" means a general law first or second class city , [OR] a home
01 rule city , or a home rule community ; 02 * Sec. 22. AS 29.71.800(7) is amended to read: 03 (7) "council" means the governing body of a city , and includes the 04 governing body of a home rule community regardless of the name of that 05 governing body established under the community's charter ; 06 * Sec. 23. AS 29.71.800(13) is amended to read: 07 (13) "municipality" means a political subdivision incorporated under 08 the laws of the state that is a home rule community, a home rule or general law city, 09 a home rule or general law borough, or a unified municipality;