Title 48 — Special Taxing Districts

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Active management area" means an active management area established under title 45, chapter 2, article 2. 2. "Actual central Arizona project water supply" means, for any calendar year, the total amount of central Arizona…

The purposes of a groundwater replenishment district are to develop, store, augment, conserve, replenish or otherwise increase water supplies for the benefit of the district members consistent with achieving safe-yield, as defined by section 45-561.

A. A groundwater replenishment district is a public improvement district of this state and a municipal corporation to the extent of the powers, privileges and immunities conferred by this chapter or granted generally to municipal corporations by the constitution and statutes of t…

This chapter shall not be construed to affect vested water rights.

A. A groundwater replenishment district may be established in an active management area with a management goal of safe-yield that, as of the date the petition is submitted, has at least three municipal water providers each having a service area population exceeding one hundred fi…

A. The district shall be administered by a board of directors of nine persons consisting of six division directors, representing divisions established under section 48-4461, paragraph 4, and three at large directors. A division director shall be a qualified elector of a county lo…

A. A candidate for election to the board as a division director shall be nominated by a petition that is signed by at least five hundred qualified electors of the division in which the candidate resides and that is filed as prescribed by title 16, chapter 3. B. If a division is l…

A. Not later than thirty days after appointment of the initial board by the governor, and after each election for members of the board, the board shall meet and select a president, vice-president and secretary from its membership. B. Each board member shall qualify by taking and …

The board shall hold its regular annual meeting in the district at such time and place as may be fixed by the board and shall hold additional meetings as necessary to transact business on the call of the president of the board or on the request of two or more board members. No bu…

A. The board of directors shall: 1. Manage and conduct the business and affairs of the district. 2. Make and execute all necessary contracts and other instruments that shall be signed by the president or by another board member or an employee of the district designated for that p…

The district, acting through its board, may: 1. Develop, plan, design, finance, construct, acquire, own, lease, operate, maintain, replace and dispose of by gift, sale or exchange any of the works, facilities, machinery, equipment, canals, conduits, pipelines, land, property or r…

A. On or before March 31 of each year beginning in the fifth calendar year following the year in which the district is established, each district member shall file a report with the district and the director containing the following information for the preceding year, which is th…

A. The district shall establish and maintain a replenishment account for each district member. After the district computes each member's replenishment obligation, the district shall adjust the existing balance in the member's replenishment account as follows: 1. Debit the member'…

A. Any district member that holds a credit certificate may transfer all or any part of its credits to the district or to any other district member. B. The district member that transfers any credit shall report the transfer to the district within ten days after the date of the tra…

A. On or before June 30 of each year, a district member whose replenishment account reflects a net debit balance shall: 1. Enter into a contract with the district for replenishment services pursuant to section 48-4470 in an amount sufficient to offset the debit balance or allocat…

A. The district shall establish and maintain a drought relief account for the district beginning January 1 of the third calendar year following the year in which the district is established with a balance of zero on that date. B. At the end of each calendar year, beginning with t…

A district shall require district members to install and pay for water measuring devices and periodically test the devices as may be necessary to ensure the accurate measurement of the amount of water produced.

A. The district may contract with a district member, in one year increments, to deliver water directly to the district member to replace groundwater that the district member would have otherwise withdrawn in the district if the water delivered to the district member would have ot…

A. A district may contract with water suppliers to acquire water to replenish the groundwater in the district on behalf of district members. If a district contracts with a water supplier or anticipates contracting with a water supplier, it shall notify all district members of the…

A. The district shall accept delivery, either directly or through exchange, from a district member of any of the following water that the district member is legally entitled to use for a non-irrigation purpose unless the district lacks sufficient capacity to accept delivery of th…

If a district is established in the Phoenix active management area, within five years after being established the district shall apply for at least two water storage permits under title 45, chapter 3.1. At least one water storage permit shall be associated with a storage facility…

A. The district may offer replenishment services to its members on an on-demand basis if the district has water available to provide replenishment services in excess of the total replenishment services to be provided during the year pursuant to contracts entered into under sectio…

A. If the board determines that water may be obtained in any year in excess of the amount of replenishment services pursuant to sections 48-4470, 48-4472 and 48-4501, the district may offer to store any portion of that excess water for any of the district members pursuant to titl…

A. In order to efficiently manage sources of replenishment water, the district may store and recover water outside of the district's boundaries pursuant to title 45, chapter 3. B. The costs of operating storage and recovery facilities outside of the district shall be included as …

A. To the extent practicable, a district shall use a public right-of-way as provided by this section to transport water instead of seeking to use other properties. B. The district, at no cost to this state or another governmental entity that exercises control over the right-of-wa…

A. The board shall levy an annual replenishment tax for the privilege of withdrawing groundwater in the district. The tax shall be levied against each district member whose replenishment account under section 48-4464 contains a debit balance as of June 30 each year. The tax shall…

A district member is not required to pay: 1. A replenishment tax for: (a) Stored water recovered in the district pursuant to water storage permits and recovery well permits issued by the director of water resources pursuant to title 45. (b) Groundwater withdrawn for treatment pur…

A. On or before the second Monday in August of the fourth calendar year following the year in which the district is established and each year thereafter, the clerk of the board of supervisors of each county in which all or part of the district is located shall certify to the boar…

On or before June 15 of the year the district is established and on or before June 15 thereafter the director shall transfer to the district eighty per cent of the monies collected from district members in that calendar year pursuant to section 45-611, subsection C, paragraph 2. …

A. The district shall establish and maintain a general fund and a water acquisition fund in addition to the bond fund established under section 48-4549. B. The general fund consists of revenues received from: 1. The portion of the district's ad valorem property tax levy under sec…

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Bond related expenses" means any expenses incurred by the district to issue and administer its bonds including underwriting fees and costs, trustee fees, financial consultant fees, printing and advertising costs, paying …

A. The board, subject to this article, may: 1. Issue its negotiable bonds in such principal amount as, in the opinion of the board, is necessary to: (a) Provide sufficient monies for any water replenishment purpose. (b) Establish reserves to secure the bonds. (c) Pay the necessar…

A. On determining the amount of money that is necessary to be raised for any of the purposes set forth in section 48-4542 and that may be subject to repayment under section 48-4503, subsection B, paragraph 1, the board shall immediately call an election to submit to the electors …

A. To secure the principal and interest on the bonds the board by resolution may: 1. Establish and segregate the bond fund into one or more accounts and subaccounts to secure bonds or other obligations of the district. Any of the accounts or subaccounts may be pledged or assigned…

A. Bonds issued under this article are fully negotiable within the meaning and for all purposes of the uniform commercial code regardless of whether the bonds constitute negotiable instruments under the uniform commercial code. B. The bonds, their transfer and the income from the…

A. Bonds issued under this article are valid and binding obligations of the district notwithstanding that before the delivery of the bonds any of the persons whose signatures appear on the bonds cease to be officers of the district. B. An amendment of any provision in this chapte…

A. This article constitutes full authority for authorizing and issuing bonds without reference to any other law of this state. No other law with regard to authorizing or issuing obligations or that in any way impedes or restricts performing the acts authorized by this article may…

A. The board may appoint a treasurer or fiscal agent to hold, deposit and invest the district's monies. B. No monies derived from selling bonds issued under this article or pledged or assigned to or in trust for the benefit of the holder or holders of the bonds may be paid into t…

A. The board shall establish and maintain a bond fund. After deducting the necessary costs and expenses of issuing and selling the bonds, the treasurer or fiscal agent shall promptly deposit the proceeds from selling and delivering the bonds in the bond fund. The treasurer or fis…

A. A district member that fails to pay any tax or fee charged by the district by the prescribed date is subject to a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars per day that the assessment or fee is overdue. B. The district shall bring an action to recover penalties unde…

The district shall determine the form and substance of any reports to be submitted by a district member in order to carry out the purposes of this chapter. Each report required by the district shall contain either a sworn statement or a certification, under penalty of perjury, th…

A. If not paid by the due date specified by the district, the replenishment tax or a fee imposed by this chapter constitutes a lien on the property of the district member. B. On delinquency, the district shall notify the district member that the district will file a lien on the s…

A. If a district member fails to pay a replenishment tax or fee when due, the district shall charge interest at a rate of one per cent for each month or fraction of a month that the tax or fee remains delinquent. B. If a district member fails to file a report as required by the d…

A. A member of the board or an employee of the district shall not have any direct or indirect financial interest in any real property for water replenishment needs as defined in section 48-4541, paragraph 3 purchased with monies derived from issuing bonds. B. A person who violate…