The bill amends the Mutual Finance Assistance Act by updating provisions related to property tax rates and qualifications for certain distributions. Specifically, it allows mutual finance organizations to establish property tax rates that must be levied uniformly by all members for one out of three tax years, while also ensuring that these rates do not exceed an agreed-upon maximum. The bill clarifies that property tax rates will exclude levies for bonded indebtedness and lease-purchase contracts that are in effect on or after July 1, 1998. Additionally, it eliminates obsolete provisions that previously affected eligibility for funding under the Act.

Furthermore, the bill modifies the criteria for rural or suburban fire protection districts and mutual finance organizations to qualify for distributions from the Mutual Finance Assistance Fund. The population threshold for eligibility is adjusted from eighty percent to sixty percent of the assumed county population residing outside city limits for both types of organizations. The bill will take effect on October 1, 2025, and repeals the original sections of the law that are being amended.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 35-1204, 35-1205
Final Reading: 35-1204, 35-1205
Slip Law: 35-1204, 35-1205