Title 48 — Special Taxing Districts
37 chapters · 1,636 sections in this title.
A.R.S. § 48-2901 District as municipal corporation
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All irrigation districts organized under the laws of this state are declared to be municipal corporations for all purposes. Under the laws of this state affecting or relating to irrigation districts such irrigation districts shall be deemed municipal corporations in the construct…
A.R.S. § 48-2902 Taking of waters without compensation prohibited
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This chapter shall not be construed as authority to any district or district officers to divert the water of a river, creek, stream, canal or reservoir to the injury or damage of any person or persons having a prior right to such water, prior to such time as the amount of the inj…
A.R.S. § 48-2903 Organization of district
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A. When a majority of the holders of title or evidence of title, including receipts or other evidence of the rights of entrymen on lands under any law of the United States or of this state, to lands in a designated area desire to provide for the irrigation of lands in the area, t…
A.R.S. § 48-2904 Name of district; change of name
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A. The name of a district organized under this chapter shall contain the words "irrigation district" or "water conservation district," and if the district is vested with the power of drainage, it shall also contain the word "drainage." B. Any district which has in its name the wo…
A.R.S. § 48-2905 Petition for organization; inclusion of power of drainage
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A. For the purpose of organizing an irrigation district as provided by this chapter, a petition signed by a majority of the resident owners of real property to which they hold title or evidence of title in the proposed district shall be filed with the board of supervisors of the …
A.R.S. § 48-2906 Bond required upon filing petition; payment of costs of organization
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A. At the time of filing the petition a good and sufficient bond in double the amount of the probable cost of organizing the district, conditioned upon the payment to the county of all expenses incurred by the board in the proceedings if organization of the district is not effect…
A.R.S. § 48-2907 Time of hearing petition; notice of hearing
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When the petition has been filed with the board of supervisors and the bond approved, the board shall fix a time for hearing the petition which shall be not less than three nor more than seven weeks after the date of filing the petition. The board of supervisors shall cause the p…
A.R.S. § 48-2908 Proof of publication of notice of hearing; veracity of signatures on petition
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Proof that the petition was signed by the persons whose names appear thereon and proof that notice of hearing was given by publication and posting may be made by the affidavit or affidavits of persons having knowledge of the facts, and filed with the board. When the affidavits ar…
A.R.S. § 48-2909 Hearing; determination of district boundaries
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A. If at the time and place of hearing it appears that the petition conforms to the requirements of this article and that the notice of hearing the petition has been given as required by this article, the board shall proceed to hear the matters relating to the organization of the…
A.R.S. § 48-2910 Hearing on vesting proposed district with power of drainage
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A. If the petition requests the board of supervisors to submit to the electors of the district the question of vesting the proposed district with the power of drainage, the board shall hear all matters relating to the need for drainage of the lands of the proposed district and ma…
A.R.S. § 48-2911 Denial of petition or application
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If the board denies the petition or any part thereof, or an application made for any reason, it shall in writing state in detail its reasons therefor which shall be entered upon the records of the board.
A.R.S. § 48-2912 Remedy of persons aggrieved by board order
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Any person aggrieved by the action of the board of supervisors in the hearing on the petition may apply for a writ of mandamus to the superior court of the county in which the hearing was conducted, and if the court grants and issues an alternative writ it shall be heard within t…
A.R.S. § 48-2913 Order of election; contents
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A. If upon the hearing the request of petitioners is granted the board of supervisors shall by further order entered upon its record call an election of the qualified electors of the proposed district to be held for the purpose of determining whether or not the proposed district …
A.R.S. § 48-2914 Nine member board of directors in certain districts; adoption of nine member board after organization
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A. When a proposed irrigation district includes twenty-five thousand or more acres of land and the petition proposing the district requests that the district have a board of directors of nine members, the board of supervisors shall nominate three or more qualified electors in eac…
A.R.S. § 48-2914.01 Additional directors in certain districts
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A. If a district includes more than ten thousand acres of land, the district, by resolution of the board of directors, may provide for electing two qualified electors as directors at large in addition to one director elected from each division in the district. At the first electi…
A.R.S. § 48-2915 Election of all directors at large in certain districts
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When the acreage to be benefited by the proposed district is ten thousand acres or less, the board of supervisors shall not divide the proposed district into three divisions unless the petitioners request it to be so divided. If a district is not divided the board of supervisors …
A.R.S. § 48-2916 Notice of election
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The board of supervisors shall cause a notice embodying the order in substance, signed by the chairman and clerk of the board, to be issued and published, giving public notice of the organizational election, the time and polling places, and specifying the matters to be submitted …
A.R.S. § 48-2917 Qualifications of electors; definitions
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A. No person shall be entitled to vote at any election, held under the provisions of this chapter unless: 1. He is a holder of title or evidence of title, including receipts or other evidence of the rights of entry-men on lands under any law of the United States or this state, to…
A.R.S. § 48-2918 Ballots; manner of voting
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A. The ballots at an election for the formation of an irrigation district shall be supplied by the board of supervisors and shall contain the words, "irrigation district, yes" and "irrigation district, no." If the board of supervisors has submitted the question of vesting the pro…
A.R.S. § 48-2919 Conduct of election; return
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A. The polls shall be open on the day of election from eight o'clock in the morning until six o'clock in the afternoon. After closing the polls the judges of the election shall ascertain the result of the vote and certify it in writing to the board of supervisors of the county wh…
A.R.S. § 48-2920 Early voting
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An elector who desires to vote by early ballot may vote by early ballot at an election held in the district substantially in the manner as provided by title 16, chapter 4, article 8. In the application of such article to this section: 1. The words "division of the district" shall…
A.R.S. § 48-2921 Canvass of votes; declaration of result; organization of another district including lands of district
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A. The board of supervisors shall meet on the second Monday next succeeding the election and canvass the votes cast. If it appears that a majority of the votes cast at the election in the proposed district is "irrigation district, yes," the board shall, by an order entered on its…
A.R.S. § 48-2922 Completion of district organization; qualification of directors; determination of term of initial directors
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A. Upon recording the order of the board of supervisors the organization of the district shall be complete, and the directors shall within fifteen days thereafter qualify in the same manner as in this chapter required of directors elected at subsequent elections. The directors sh…
A.R.S. § 48-2923 Testing validity of organization of district by quo warranto
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Within one year after the date of filing the order of the board of supervisors declaring the district organized, any person affected thereby may commence quo warranto proceedings to test the validity of the organization of the district, but no such proceedings or other action wha…
A.R.S. § 48-2941 Petition for inclusion of lands; notice of hearing; payment of expenses of publishing notice
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A. The holder or holders of title or evidence of title representing a majority of the acreage of any body of land adjacent to the boundary of an irrigation district, may file with the board of directors of the district a petition in writing requesting that such lands be included …
A.R.S. § 48-2942 Hearing on petition for inclusion of lands; liability of petitioners for pro rata share of district indebtedness; acceptance or rejection of petition; order of inclusion
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A. At the time and place mentioned in the notice, or at such time or times to which the hearing may be adjourned, the board of directors shall proceed to hear the petition for inclusion of lands and all objections thereto presented in writing to show cause why the petition should…
A.R.S. § 48-2943 Completion of inclusion of lands; terms and conditions of inclusion for certain lands; amendment of terms
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A. Upon allowance of the petition wholly or in part, and if no protest is filed with the board within thirty days after entry of the order of inclusion, a certified copy of such order shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder and filed in the office of the board of s…
A.R.S. § 48-2944 Appeal from denial of protest against inclusion; apportionment of new lands into divisions of district; effect of inclusion upon district rights and obligations
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A. If a protest is filed against the inclusion of new lands or any part thereof with the board of directors and such protest is denied, an appeal may be taken in the same manner as upon the organization of a district. If a protest is not filed within thirty days, nor an appeal ta…
A.R.S. § 48-2945 Exclusion of lands from district by petition; payment of expenses of publication of notice and of hearing
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A. The owners of lands may file with the board of directors of a district a petition for the purpose of excluding from the district lands not susceptible of irrigation from the irrigation works or lands which may be nonirrigable in character. B. The petition shall describe the la…
A.R.S. § 48-2946 Notice of hearing on petition for exclusion of lands; hearing
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A. Upon the filing of the petition and payment of estimated expenses as provided by section 48-2945, the secretary of the board shall cause notice to be given and published once each week for three successive weeks in a newspaper published in the county in which the office of the…
A.R.S. § 48-2947 Entry and filing of order excluding lands upon petition
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A. Upon the hearings, if the board of directors deems it for the best interest of the district to grant the petition it may do so, or may deny it, but in either event shall enter an order upon the records of the district recording the action taken. B. If an order is made for the …
A.R.S. § 48-2948 Personal representatives as petitioners
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A guardian, executor or administrator of an estate who has qualified under the laws of this state and as such is entitled to possession of the lands belonging to the estate which he represents may sign the petition provided by section 48-2941 or 48-2945.
A.R.S. § 48-2949 Exclusion of unproductive lands from district by resolution; notice
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A. When the board of directors of an irrigation district finds that lands within the district are alkaline, slick, unsusceptible of economic leveling, water-logged, caliche, hard pan or otherwise unproductive or incapable of carrying their proportionate district liabilities and o…
A.R.S. § 48-2950 Hearing on resolution for exclusion of lands; action of board
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A. The resolution of exclusion shall fix a time for hearing the resolution at the district office. The board of directors at the time and place designated in the resolution or at such time or times to which the hearing is adjourned, shall consider the resolution and hear any pert…
A.R.S. § 48-2951 Appeal from final action of board on exclusion of lands; entry of final order of board
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A. Any person aggrieved by the final action of the board on a resolution of exclusion may file a written motion for reconsideration within ten days after adoption of the final resolution. Such person may appeal to the superior court of the county in which the lands are located wi…
A.R.S. § 48-2952 Effect of exclusion of lands on district property and organization; powers of board
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A. Upon exclusion of any lands, the board of directors may make such rearrangement or reapportionment of divisions within the district as the board deems advisable. B. No exclusion of lands shall impair or affect the district organization or its property or rights therein, or any…
A.R.S. § 48-2953 Concurrent exclusion and inclusion of land
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A. When a petition is filed for the exclusion of lands from a district and the board of directors is satisfied that the lands to be excluded are sterile, alkaline or for any reason unfit for profitable cultivation and not worth in productiveness the amount of the annual tax norma…
A.R.S. § 48-2954 Dissolution of district; disposition of assets
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A. When a majority of the bona fide owners of land in an irrigation district organized under this chapter petition the board of supervisors to call a special election for the purpose of submitting to the electors of the irrigation district a proposal to vote on dissolution of the…
A.R.S. § 48-2971 Officers; office of district
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The officers of an irrigation district shall consist of a board of directors and a secretary appointed by the board. The treasurer of the county in which the office of the district is located shall be ex officio treasurer of the district. The officers shall hold office until thei…
A.R.S. § 48-2972 Organization of board
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The directors elected shall qualify and organize as a board, select a president from the members, and appoint a secretary.
A.R.S. § 48-2973 Form of official oath and bond of directors
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Official oaths and bonds required by this chapter shall be in the form prescribed by law for official oaths and bonds of county officials, except that the obligee named in the bond shall be the district.
A.R.S. § 48-2974 Compensation of directors; petition to submit schedule of salaries and fees
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A. The compensation of members of the board of directors shall be determined by the board, but shall not exceed fifty dollars for each day or part of the day devoted to the business of the district, and such mileage, expenses and insurance related benefits as the board by resolut…
A.R.S. § 48-2975 Meetings of board of directors; records
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A. The board of directors shall hold a regular monthly meeting in the district office on the first Tuesday in each month and such special meetings necessary for the transaction of business. Special meetings shall be called by the president of the board, or any two directors. Meet…
A.R.S. § 48-2976 Publication of minutes; effective date of by-laws, rules, regulations and resolutions
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A. The minutes of proceedings of the board of directors or an abstract thereof may be published when the board by resolution entered upon its minutes so direct. B. All by-laws, rules, regulations or resolutions of a general nature governing drainage ditches, laterals, canals and …
A.R.S. § 48-2977 Administrative powers of board of directors
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The board shall: 1. Adopt a seal. 2. Manage and conduct the affairs and business of the district. 3. Make and execute all necessary contracts, deeds and conveyances. 4. Employ such agents, attorneys and employees as required, and prescribe their duties and compensation. 5. Establ…
A.R.S. § 48-2978 General powers of board of directors
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In order to accomplish the purposes of the district the board may: 1. Purchase or acquire water rights. 2. Acquire or lease real estate and personal property when necessary. 3. Acquire and hold stock in irrigation ditch and reservoir companies. 4. Lease, sell and otherwise dispos…
A.R.S. § 48-2979 Investment and reinvestment of sinking fund
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A. The board of directors of an irrigation district may invest and reinvest all money belonging or credited to the district as a sinking fund. The investment shall be made for the best interests of the district. B. The funds may be invested and reinvested under the authority of t…
A.R.S. § 48-2980 Powers of district vested with power of drainage
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If the district has been vested with the necessary authority, the board of directors may: 1. Construct ditches, conduits, drains, sluices, water gates, pumps, pumping plants, electric transmission lines, cement linings for canals to prevent seepage of irrigation or other water, a…
A.R.S. § 48-2981 Powers of district serving municipal and industrial waters on June 12, 1980
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A. If a district was providing not less than ninety per cent of its total deliveries of water for municipal and industrial uses on June 12, 1980, the district may deliver municipal and industrial service to all lands within the boundaries of the district as constituted on June 12…
A.R.S. § 48-2982 Powers of board in legal proceedings; judicial notice of district; exception
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A. The board of directors may, in the name of the district, institute, maintain, prosecute and defend any proceedings and any actions, civil or criminal, necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter or enforce, maintain, protect or preserve any right, privilege or immuni…