SCS CSHB 296(JUD): "An Act relating to mergers and consolidations of municipalities."
00 SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 296(JUD) 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). This subsection is intended to be consistent with the voting 27 requirements for annexation specified in AS 29.06.040(c)(1). 28 * Sec. 4. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 29 read: 30 APPLICABILITY. The amendments to AS 29.06.100 in secs. 1 and 2 of this Act do 31 not apply to a merger or consolidation petition filed with the Department of Community and
01 Economic Development before the effective date of this Act. The amendment to 02 AS 29.06.140(a) in sec. 3 of this Act does not apply to an election held as a result of a petition 03 filed with the Department of Community and Economic Development before the effective 04 date of this Act, and AS 29.06.140(a) as it read before the effective date of this Act applies to 05 that election.