Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

0823.01000
     Sixty-eighth
     Legislative Assembly                    HOUSE BILL NO. 1365
     of North Dakota
     Introduced by
       Representatives Fegley, Rohr, Tveit
       Senator Lee
  A BILL for an Act to amend and reenact sections 11-28.3-09 and 23-46-03 of the North Dakota
  Century Code, relating to rural ambulance service district levies and ambulance operations
  areas.
  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA:
      SECTION 1. AMENDMENT. Section 11-28.3-09 of the North Dakota Century Code is
  amended and reenacted as follows:
      11-28.3-09. Emergency medical service policy - Levy - Financial report.
      1.   The board of directors shall establish a general emergency medical service policy for
           the district and annually shall estimate the probable expense for carrying out that
          policy. The estimate must be certified by the president and secretary to the proper
          county auditor or county auditors, on or before June thirtieth of each year. In the year
          for which the levy is sought, a board of directors of a rural ambulance service district
          seeking approval of a property tax levy under this chapter shall file with the county
          auditor of the counties within the rural ambulance service district, at a time and in a
          format prescribed by the county auditors, a financial report for the preceding calendar
          year showing the ending balances of each fund held by the rural ambulance service
          district during that year. The board or boards of county commissioners may levy a tax
          not to exceed the mill rate approved by the electors of the district under section
          11-28.3-04. If the board wishes to levy a tax in excess of that approved by the
          electors, the board, upon its own motion, may place the question of increasing the
          maximum allowable mill levy for the electors to approve at a regular or special
          election. The amount levied under this section may not exceed a mill rate of fifteen
          mills upon the taxable property within the district for the maintenance of the rural
          ambulance service district for the fiscal year as provided by law. A rural ambulance
                                              Page No. 1                         23.0823.01000
     Sixty-eighth
     Legislative Assembly
           service district may be dissolved by approval of electors of the district as provided in
           section 11-28.3-13.
      2.   The tax levied for a rural ambulance service district must be:
           a.   Collected as other taxes are collected in the county.
           b.   Turned over to the secretary-treasurer of the rural ambulance service district,
                who must be bonded in the amount of at least five thousand dollars.
           c.   Deposited by the secretary-treasurer in a state or national bank in a district
                account.
           d.   Paid out upon warrants drawn upon the district account by authority of the board
               of directors of the district, bearing the signature of the secretary-treasurer and the
               countersignature of the president.
     3.   The amount of the tax levy may not exceed the amount of funds required to defray the
          expenses of the district for a period of one year as embraced in the annual estimate of
          expense, including the amount of principal and interest upon the indebtedness of the
          district for the ensuing year. The district may include in its operating budget no more
          than ten percent of its annual operating budget as a depreciation expense to be set
          aside in a dedicated emergency medical services sinking fund deposited with the
          treasurer for the replacement of equipment and ambulances. The ten percent
          emergency medical services sinking fund may be in addition to the actual annual
          operating budget, but the total of the annual operating budget and the annual ten
          percent emergency medical services sinking fund shall not exceed the amount of
          revenue that would be generated by application of the maximum mill levy approved by
          the electors.
     4.   If an ambulance operations area identified by the department of health and human
          services under section 23-46-03 is situated, in whole or in part, within the boundaries
          of a rural ambulance service district formed under this chapter, and the district does
          not provide emergency medical services to individuals residing in the ambulance
          operations area, whether directly or through a contract under section 11-28.3-12, the
          property situated in the ambulance operations area which does not receive emergency
          medical services from the district is exempt from the district's tax levy under this
          section.
                                              Page No. 2                          23.0823.01000
     Sixty-eighth
     Legislative Assembly
      SECTION 2. AMENDMENT. Section 23-46-03 of the North Dakota Century Code is
  amended and reenacted as follows:
      23-46-03. Emergency medical services funding areas.
      The department of health and human services shall establish and update biennially a plan
  for integrated emergency medical services in this state. The plan must identify ambulance
  operations areas, emergency medical services funding areas that require state financial
  assistance to operate a minimally reasonable level of emergency medical services, and a
  minimum reasonable cost for an emergency medical services operation. If the department
  identifies an ambulance operations area to be situated, in whole or in part, within the
 boundaries of an existing rural ambulance service district formed under chapter 11-28.3, the
 department shall notify the rural ambulance service district. The department shall designate
 emergency medical services funding areas based on criteria adopted by rule of the department
 of health and human services.
     SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. Section 1 of this Act is effective for taxable years
 beginning after December 31, 2022.
                                              Page No. 3                         23.0823.01000
Statutes affected: 
INTRODUCED: 11-28.3-09, 23-46-03
Adopted by the House Human Services Committee: 11-28.3-05, 11-28.3-06, 11-28.3-13, 11-28.3-16, 23-27-04.2, 23-46-04, 57-15-50
FIRST ENGROSSMENT: 11-28.3-05, 11-28.3-06, 11-28.3-09, 11-28.3-13, 11-28.3-16, 23-27-04.2, 23-46-04, 57-15-50
Prepared by the Legislative Council staff for Senator Estenson: 11-28.3-08, 23-12-08
Enrollment: 11-28.3-05, 11-28.3-06, 11-28.3-08, 11-28.3-09, 11-28.3-13, 11-28.3-16, 23-12-08, 23-27-04.2, 23-46-04, 57-15-50