An Act relating to water; concerning water supply and distribution districts; relating to the powers thereof; concerning water development projects and financial assistance therefor; amending K.S.A. 19-3546 and 19-3547 and repealing the existing sections.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:

Section 1. K.S.A. 19-3546 is hereby amended to read as follows: 19- 3546. For the purposes of K.S.A. 19-3545 to 19-3556, inclusive, and amendments thereto: (a) ``Public agency'' shall mean: (1) Any county, township, city, town, water district, or other municipal corporation, quasi- municipal corporation or political subdivision of this state or or any state adjacent to this state; or (2) any agency or instrumentality of this state or or any state adjacent to this state; or (3) any agency or instrumentality of the United States.

(b) ``District'' shall mean any public wholesale water supply district organized pursuant to the provisions of this act K.S.A. 19-3545 et seq., and amendments thereto.

Sec. 2. K.S.A. 19-3547 is hereby amended to read as follows: 19- 3547. (a) Any powers, privileges or authority of a public agency of this state relating to public water supplies may be exercised jointly with any other public agency of this state, or with any agency of the United States to the extent that the laws of the United States permit. Any agency of the state government when acting jointly with any public or private agency may exercise all of the powers, privileges and authority conferred by this act upon a public agency.

(b) Any public agency may enter into agreements with one or more other public agencies for the purpose of organizing a public wholesale water supply district. Appropriate action by ordinance, resolution or oth- erwise pursuant to law of the governing bodies of the participating public agencies shall be necessary before any such agreement may enter into force.

(c) Any such agreement shall specify the following:

(1) Its The duration;

(2) the precise organization, composition and nature of the district created thereby together with the powers delegated thereto;

(3) Its the purpose or purposes;

(4) the manner of financing the district and of establishing and main- taining a budget therefor;

(5) the permissible methods for partial or complete termination of the agreement and for disposing of property upon such partial or com- plete termination;

(6) the manner of acquiring, holding and disposing of real and per- sonal property of the district;

(7) any other necessary and proper matters.

(d) Any such agreement may be amended to include additional public agencies by consent of two-thirds (2/3) 2/3 of the signatories to the agree- ment, if no terms of agreement are changed, otherwise a new agreement with the new public agency shall be drawn.

(e) Prior to taking effect, every agreement made hereunder shall be submitted to the attorney general who shall determine whether the agree- ment is in proper form and compatible with the laws of this state. The attorney general shall approve any agreement submitted hereunder un- less the attorney general shall find finds that it does not meet the con- ditions set forth herein and shall detail in writing addressed to the gov- erning bodies of the public agencies concerned the specific respects in which the proposed agreement fails to meet the requirements of law. Failure to disapprove an agreement submitted hereunder within ninety (90) 90 days of its submission shall constitute approval thereof.

(f) Prior to taking effect, an agreement made hereunder shall be filed with the register of deeds of the county or counties wherein the district is to be located and such agreement then also shall be filed with the secretary of state, accompanied by a certificate from the register of deeds of each county where filed, stating that such agreement has been filed in such county.

New Sec. 3. (a) The state shall provide financial assistance to certain public corporations for part of the costs or reimbursement of part of the costs of installation of water development projects, which derive general benefits to the state as a whole, or to a section thereof beyond the bound- aries of such public corporation.

(b) Any public corporation shall be eligible for state financial assis- tance for a part of the costs it becomes actually and legally obligated to pay for all lands, easements, and rights-of-way for the water development projects in the event the state conservation commission shall find that (1) such public corporation has made application for approval of such finan- cial assistance with the state conservation commission in such form and manner as the state conservation commission may require, which appli- cation each public corporation is hereby authorized to make; (2) such works will confer general flood control benefits beyond the boundaries of such public corporation in excess of 20% of the total flood control benefits of the works; (3) such works are consistent with the state water plan; (4) such public corporation will need such financial assistance for actual expenditures within the fiscal year next following; and (5) the leg- islature has appropriated funds for the payment of such sum. The pay- ment authorized hereunder shall be limited to an amount equal to the total costs the public corporation shall become actually and legally obli- gated to spend for lands, easements, and rights-of-way for such water resource development works, multiplied by the ratio that the flood control benefits conferred beyond the boundaries of the public corporation bear to the total flood control benefits of the project. Such findings shall each be made at and in such manner as is provided by procedural rules and regulations which shall be adopted by the state conservation commission.

(c) Any public corporation receiving financial assistance under this section shall apply those sums toward the satisfaction of the legal obli- gations for the specific lands, easements, and rights-of-way for which it receives them or toward the reimbursement of those accounts from which those legal obligations were satisfied, in whole or in part, and it shall return to the state any sums that are not in fact so applied. In ascertaining costs of lands, easements, and rights-of-way under this section, the state conservation commission shall not consider any costs which relate to land treatment measures nor any costs for which federal aid for construction costs is granted pursuant to the watershed protection and flood preven- tion acts or pursuant to any other federal acts.

New Sec. 4. The governing body of each public corporation eligible for state financial assistance under the provisions of this act shall make application for state payment each year to the state conservation com- mission in such form and manner as the state conservation commission may prescribe by its rules and regulations. Each year the state conser- vation commission shall determine what persons are eligible to receive financial assistance from the state, and the amounts thereof, pursuant to this act. In the event the state conservation commission shall determine that any such application, including the amounts thereof, is proper and in compliance with this act and is supported by a resolution as provided in section 5, and amendments thereto, the state conservation commission may submit a request therefor as a part of its annual budget requests and estimates. Each such request shall be separately stated and identified. The budget item for each project shall contain the name of the project, the name of the public corporation to which the item relates, the county or counties in which such public corporation is located, the identification of the agreement or resolution supporting the request, and the amount of state payment requested therefor.

New Sec. 5. In order that any public corporation eligible for state payments under the provisions of this act may receive payment from the state, the governing body of the public corporation shall adopt and trans- mit to the state conservation commission an appropriate resolution re- questing the state conservation commission to approve payment to the requesting body of a sum or sums to be named within the limits of and for the purposes defined in this act. The resolution shall show the total cost allocated to the requesting body for providing the lands, easements, and rights-of-way for the works of improvement of the requesting body and shall pledge that all money received from the state under authority of this act will be applied solely to the purposes specified in this act.

New Sec. 6. The words and phrases used in sections 3 to 5, inclusive, and amendments thereto shall have the meaning ascribed to such words and phrases by K.S.A. 82a-902 and amendments thereto.

Sec. 7. K.S.A. 19-3546 and 19-3547 are hereby repealed.

Sec. 8. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its publication in the statute book.

Approved March 12, 1996.