An Act concerning certain cemetery districts; relating to tax levies therefor; amending K.S.A. 15-1015 and repealing the existing section.

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

Section 1. K.S.A. 15-1015 is hereby amended to read as follows: 15- 1015. (a) Subsequent to the establishment of the cemetery district and after the board has organized, the township board of any township owning a cemetery within the newly created district shall convey the township cemetery to the newly organized district, and the governing body of any third-class city of the third class located within the organized district shall convey the city cemetery located either within or outside the district to said the newly created cemetery district and the board of trustees or other governing board of any religious organization located within the district desiring to come under the provisions of this act shall convey its cemetery to the said cemetery district. Thereafter, the board of directors is au- thorized to certify the levy of a tax of not to exceed one (1) 1 mill on all the taxable tangible property within the district for the purpose of main- taining and improving the cemeteries located within the newly organized district, including the maintenance and improvement of any abandoned cemeteries located therein. The board of directors of any cemetery dis- trict located in a county having a population of more than four thousand (4,000) and less than five thousand five hundred (5,500) which has an assessed taxable tangible valuation of less than twenty million dollars ($20,000,000), may certify the levy of a tax of not to exceed two (2) mills for such purposes. No such tax shall be levied in an amount in excess of that which said district was authorized to levy for the year 1975, without the question of making such levy having been submitted to and approved by a majority of the electors of the district at an election called and held thereon. All such elections shall be noticed, called and held in the manner prescribed in K.S.A. 10-120.

(b) Whenever the board determines that the tax levy of 1 mill au- thorized by subsection (a) is insufficient to maintain and improve ceme- teries, the board may adopt a resolution to certify a levy of a tax of more than 1 mill but not more than 3 mills in any year. Any such resolution adopted under this subsection shall state the total amount of the tax to be certified and shall be published once each week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation within the cemetery district. Where- upon such annual levy in an amount not to exceed the amount stated in the resolution may be made for the ensuing budget year and each suc- cessive budget year unless a petition, signed by at least 5% of the qualified electors of the cemetery district, requesting an election upon the propo- sition to increase the tax levy in excess of the current tax levy, is filed with the county election officer within 30 days following the date of the last publication of the resolution. In the event a valid petition is filed, no such increased levy shall be made without such proposition having been sub- mitted to and having been approved by a majority of the electors of the cemetery district voting at an election called and held thereon. All such elections shall be called and held in the manner provided by the general bond law. Such taxes shall be levied and collected in like manner as other taxes, which levy the board shall certify, on or before August 25 of each year, to the county clerk who is hereby authorized and required to place the same on the tax roll of the county to be collected by the county treas- urer and paid over by the county treasurer to the treasurer of such board.

(c) If a sufficient protest petition is not filed, or if an election is held pursuant to subsection (b) and the question is approved at such election, the tax levy herein authorized shall be levied by the board of county commissioners upon certification to them, by the board of directors of the cemetery district, of the rate of levy to be made. The tax so collected shall be paid over by the county treasurer to the treasurer of the cemetery district upon order of the board of directors of the district, which order shall be signed by the chairman chairperson and secretary of said the board.

Sec. 2. K.S.A. 15-1015 is hereby repealed.

Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its publication in the statute book.

Approved May 3, 1996.