House Bill 1475

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.







    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1475

        By Representative Jacobs






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the Lake Worth Drainage

  3         District, Palm Beach County; amending s. 4 of

  4         section 2 of chapter 98-525, Laws of Florida;

  5         providing for the board of supervisors of the

  6         district to be elected from single-member

  7         subdistricts; increasing the membership of the

  8         board of supervisors; deleting provisions that

  9         authorize a referendum on the procedures for

10         electing the board of supervisors; providing

11         for the members of the board of supervisors on

12         the effective date of the act to remain in

13         office until the expiration of their terms;

14         providing an effective date.

15

16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

17

18         Section 1.  Section 4 of section 2 of chapter 98-525,

19  Laws of Florida, is amended to read:

20         Section 4.  Board of supervisors; elections.--

21         (1)  BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, APPOINTMENTS, ELECTIONS,

22  POWERS, DUTIES, AND TERMS OF OFFICE.--There is hereby created

23  a Board of Supervisors of the Lake Worth Drainage District,

24  which shall be the governing body of the district. The board

25  of supervisors shall consist of five three persons. Each

26  candidate to be qualified for the office of supervisor shall

27  be either himself or herself a landowner or he or she shall be

28  the president of a corporate landowner, and all of the

29  qualified voters of the entire district shall be allowed to

30  vote for the election of all of the supervisors to be elected.

31

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1475

    542-169A-99






  1  All supervisors shall hold office for a term of 3 years and

  2  until their successors are duly elected and qualified.

  3         (a)  Hereafter, on the first Wednesday after the 3rd of

  4  October, a qualified supervisor shall be elected for a term of

  5  3 years in rotation, by the landowners of the district, to

  6  take the place of the retiring supervisor.

  7         (b)  In case of a vacancy in the office of any

  8  supervisor, the remaining supervisors shall within 60 days

  9  fill such vacancy by appointment for the unexpired term.

10         (c)  All vacancies or expirations on the board of

11  supervisors shall be filled as required by this subsection.

12  All supervisors shall hold office until their successors have

13  been elected and qualified.

14         (d)  Whenever an election is authorized or required by

15  this subsection to be held by the landowners at any particular

16  or stated time of day, and if, for any reason, such election

17  is not or cannot be held at such time or on such day, then in

18  such event and in all and every such event the power or duty

19  to hold such election shall not cease or lapse, but such

20  election shall be held thereafter as soon as practicable and

21  consistent with this subsection.

22         (2)  SINGLE-MEMBER SUBDISTRICT ELECTIONS; SUBDISTRICT

23  BOUNDARIES.--

24         (a)  Definitions.--As used in this subsection, the

25  term:

26         1.  "Board" means the Board of Supervisors of the Lake

27  Worth Drainage District.

28         2.  "District" means the Lake Worth Drainage District.

29         3.  "Qualified elector" means any person at least 18

30  years of age who is a citizen of the United States, a

31  permanent resident of Florida, and a freeholder, freeholder's

                                  2

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1475

    542-169A-99






  1  spouse, or authorized representative of a legal entity holding

  2  title to land in the district. Presidents or other indicated

  3  officers or agents may represent corporations or other legal

  4  entities, guardians may represent their wards, and executors

  5  and administrators may represent the estates of deceased

  6  persons and be qualified to represent the corporate landowner

  7  and hold the office of supervisor.

  8         (b)  Single-member subdistrict elections.--

  9         1.  Petition.--A referendum shall be called by the

10  board of supervisors of the district on the question of

11  whether members of the board should be elected on a

12  single-member subdistrict basis, provided a petition signed by

13  10 percent or more of the qualified electors of the district

14  is filed with the board requesting a referendum on adoption of

15  the election procedures set forth in this subsection.

16         2.  Referendum.--Upon verification by the Supervisor of

17  Elections of Palm Beach County that 10 percent of the

18  qualified electors of the district have petitioned the board

19  of supervisors, a referendum election shall be called by the

20  board at the next regularly scheduled election or within 6

21  months after verification, whichever is earlier.

22         3.  Disapproval of referendum.--If the qualified

23  electors of the district disapprove the election procedures

24  described in this subsection, elections of the members of the

25  board shall continue as described in subsection (1) and s.

26  298.12, Florida Statutes. No further referendum on the

27  question shall be held for a minimum of 2 years.

28         4.  Approval of referendum; single-member subdistrict

29  elections.--

30         a.  Increase in board size.--If the qualified electors

31  approve the election procedure described in this subsection,

                                  3

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1475

    542-169A-99






  1  the board of supervisors of the district shall be increased to

  2  five members and elections shall be held pursuant to the

  3  criteria described in this subparagraph beginning with the

  4  next regularly scheduled election of the board.

  5         b.  Single-member subdistrict elections.--If the

  6  election process described in this subparagraph is approved by

  7  the qualified electors of the district, Members of the board

  8  of supervisors shall be elected from five single-member

  9  subdistricts, the boundaries of which are set forth in

10  paragraph (c). Only those qualified electors owning property

11  or representing property in a subdistrict may cast votes for

12  candidates for the subdistrict. However, an owner or

13  representative may only cast votes in a subdistrict election

14  equal to the acreage owned within the subdistrict. Each acre,

15  or fraction thereof, of land in the district shall represent

16  one vote, and each owner shall be entitled to one vote, in

17  person or by proxy, for every acre, or fraction thereof, of

18  land owned within the district. The subdistrict candidate

19  receiving the greatest number of votes shall be the supervisor

20  from that subdistrict.

21         a.c.  Term of office.--All board members shall have a

22  term of 4 years except the board members elected at the first

23  election following the referendum prescribed in subparagraph

24  2. With respect to the members initially elected, the three

25  candidates receiving the greatest number of votes from

26  subdistricts 1, 2, and 3 shall be elected for a period of 4

27  years, and the two candidates receiving the greatest number of

28  votes from subdistricts 4 and 5 shall be elected for a period

29  of 2 years. Subsequent elections shall be held to elect

30  members of the board during the same month as the first

31  election in years when any board member's term will expire.

                                  4

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1475

    542-169A-99






  1         b.d.  Qualifications.--Elections for board members

  2  shall be nonpartisan. Qualification shall occur during the

  3  qualifying period established by section ss. 99.061, Florida

  4  Statutes. Each candidate to be qualified for the office of

  5  supervisor shall be a qualified elector of the district.

  6         c.e.  Vacancies.--If any vacancy occurs in a seat

  7  occupied by a governing board member, the remaining members of

  8  the board shall, within 45 days after receipt of a

  9  resignation, appoint a person who would eligible to hold the

10  office for the unexpired term of the resigning member.

11         (c)  Boundaries of single-member subdistricts.--If the

12  referendum called by the board of supervisors on the question

13  of whether the board should be elected on a single-member

14  subdistrict basis is approved, The district shall be divided

15  for the purposes of electing members to the board upon the

16  following territorial boundaries:

17

18         1.  The boundary lines of subdistrict 1 shall be:

19         All that part of the JURISDICTIONAL LIMITS OF

20         THE LAKE WORTH DRAINAGE DISTRICT lying westerly

21         of the centerline of FLORIDA'S TURNPIKE and

22         lying northerly of the South lines of BLOCKS 59

23         and 60, PALM BEACH FARMS CO. PLAT NO. 3, as

24         same is recorded in Plat Book 2 at pages 45

25         through 54, Public Records of Palm Beach

26         County, Florida, and northerly of the South

27         line of Township 45 South, Range 41 East, all

28         in Palm Beach County, Florida.

29

30         2.  The boundary lines of subdistrict 2 shall be:

31

                                  5

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1475

    542-169A-99






  1         All that part of the JURISDICTIONAL LIMITS OF

  2         THE LAKE WORTH DRAINAGE DISTRICT lying westerly

  3         of the centerline of FLORIDA'S TURNPIKE and

  4         lying southerly of the North lines of BLOCKS 62

  5         and 63, PALM BEACH FARMS CO. PLAT NO. 3, as

  6         same is recorded in Plat Book 2 at pages 45

  7         through 54, Public Records of Palm Beach

  8         County, Florida, and southerly of the North

  9         line of Township 46 South, Range 41 East, all

10         in Palm Beach County, Florida.

11

12         3.  The boundary lines of subdistrict 3 shall be:

13         All that part of the JURISDICTIONAL LIMITS OF

14         THE LAKE WORTH DRAINAGE DISTRICT lying easterly

15         of the centerline of FLORIDA'S TURNPIKE and

16         lying northerly of the South line of Township

17         44 South, Range 42 East, and northerly of the

18         South line of Township 44 South, Range 43 East,

19         all in Palm Beach County, Florida.

20

21         4.  The boundary lines of subdistrict 4 shall be:

22         All that part of the JURISDICTIONAL LIMITS OF

23         THE LAKE WORTH DRAINAGE DISTRICT lying easterly

24         of the centerline of FLORIDA'S TURNPIKE and

25         lying southerly of the North line of Township

26         44  1/2  South, Range 42 East, and southerly of

27         the North line of Township 44  1/2  South,

28         Range 43 East, and lying northerly of the

29         centerline of DELRAY WEST ROAD (State Road

30         806), all in Palm Beach County, Florida.

31

                                  6

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1475

    542-169A-99






  1         5.  The boundary lines of subdistrict 5 shall be:

  2         All that part of the JURISDICTIONAL LIMITS OF

  3         THE LAKE WORTH DRAINAGE DISTRICT lying easterly

  4         of the centerline of FLORIDA'S TURNPIKE and

  5         lying southerly of the centerline of DELRAY

  6         WEST ROAD (State Road 806), all in Palm Beach

  7         County, Florida.

  8

  9         Section 2.  The members of the board of supervisors who

10  are in office on the effective date of this act shall continue

11  in office for the remainder of their terms. The two additional

12  members must be qualified electors of two subdistricts that

13  are not represented by a board member on the effective date of

14  this act. The terms of office for the two additional members

15  shall be established so that the terms of the board members

16  are staggered.

17         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

                                  7