As used in this article 1, unless the context otherwise
requires:
(1) Ambulance district means a special district which provides emergency
medical services and the transportation of sick, disabled, or injured persons by
motor vehicle, aircraft, or other form of transportation to and from facilities
providing medical services. For the purpose of this subsection (1), emergency
medical services means services engaged in providing initial emergency medical
assistance, including, but not limited to, the treatment of trauma and burns and
respiratory, circulatory, and obstetrical emergencies.
(1.5) Board means the board of directors of a special district.
(2) Court means the district court in any county in which the petition for
organization of the special district was originally filed and which entered the order
organizing said district or the district court to which the file pertaining to the
special district has been transferred pursuant to section 32-1-303 (1)(b).
(2.5) Depository institution means:
(a) A person that is organized or chartered, or is doing business or holds an
authorization certificate, under the laws of a state or of the United States which
authorize the person to receive deposits, including deposits in savings, shares,
certificates, or other deposit accounts, and that is supervised and examined for the
protection of depositors by an official or agency of a state or the United States; and
(b) A trust company or other institution that is authorized by federal or state
law to exercise fiduciary powers of the type that a national bank is permitted to
exercise under the authority of the comptroller of the currency and that is
supervised and examined by an official or agency of a state or the United States.
The term does not include an insurance company or other organization primarily
engaged in the insurance business.
(3) Director means a member of the board.
(4) Division means the division of local government in the department of
local affairs.
(4.5) Early childhood development service district means a special district
created pursuant to article 21 of this title 32 to provide, directly or indirectly, early
childhood development services to children from birth through eight years of age.
(5) (a) Eligible elector means a person who, at the designated time or
event, is registered to vote pursuant to the Uniform Election Code of 1992,
articles 1 to 13 of title 1, C.R.S., and:
(I) Who is a resident of the special district or the area to be included in the
special district; or
(II) Who, or whose spouse or civil union partner, owns taxable real or
personal property situated within the boundaries of the special district or the area
to be included in the special district, whether said person resides within the special
district or not.
(b) A person who is obligated to pay taxes under a contract to purchase
taxable property situated within the boundaries of the special district or the area to
be included within the special district shall be considered an owner within the
meaning of this subsection (5).
(c) Repealed.
(d) For all elections and petitions that require ownership of real property or
land, the ownership of a mobile home as defined in section 38-12-201.5 (5) or 5-1-301 (29), or a manufactured home as defined in section 42-1-102 (48.8), is sufficient
to qualify as ownership of real property or land for the purpose of voting rights and
petitions.
(e) In the event that the board, by resolution, ends business personal
property taxation by the district pursuant to subsection (8)(b) of section 20 of
article X of the state constitution, persons owning such property and spouses or
civil union partners of such persons shall not be eligible electors of the district on
the basis of ownership of such property.
(6) Repealed.
(6.5) Financial institution or institutional investor means any of the
following, whether acting for itself or others in a fiduciary capacity:
(a) A depository institution;
(b) An insurance company;
(c) A separate account of an insurance company;
(d) An investment company registered under the federal Investment
Company Act of 1940;
(e) A business development company as defined in the federal Investment
Company Act of 1940;
(f) Any private business development company as defined in the federal
Investment Company Act of 1940;
(g) An employee pension, profit-sharing, or benefit plan if the plan has total
assets in excess of five million dollars or its investment decisions are made by a
named fiduciary, as defined in the federal Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974, that is a broker-dealer registered under the federal Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, an investment adviser registered or exempt from
registration under the federal Investment Advisers Act of 1940, a depository
institution, or an insurance company;
(h) An entity, but not an individual, a substantial part of whose business
activities consists of investing, purchasing, selling, or trading in securities of more
than one issuer and not of its own issue and that has total assets in excess of five
million dollars as of the end of its last fiscal year; and
(i) A small business investment company licensed by the federal small
business administration under the federal Small Business Investment Act of 1958.
(7) Fire protection district means a special district which provides
protection against fire by any available means and which may supply ambulance
and emergency medical and rescue services.
(7.5) Forest improvement district means a special district created pursuant
to article 18 of this title that protects communities from wildfires and improves the
condition of forests in the district.
(8) Governing body means a city council or board of trustees and includes
a body or board where the operation and management of service is under the
control of a municipal body or board other than a city council or board of trustees.
(8.5) Health assurance district means a special district that is created to
organize, operate, control, direct, manage, contract for, furnish, or provide, directly
or indirectly, health-care services to residents of the district and family members of
such residents who are in need of such services.
(9) Health service district means a special district that may establish,
maintain, or operate, directly or indirectly through lease to or from other parties or
other arrangement, public hospitals, convalescent centers, nursing care facilities,
intermediate care facilities, emergency facilities, community clinics, or other
facilities licensed or certified pursuant to section 25-1.5-103 (1)(a), C.R.S., providing
health and personal care services and may organize, own, operate, control, direct,
manage, contract for, or furnish ambulance service.
(9.3) Inactive special district means a special district in a predevelopment
stage that has no residents other than those who lived within the district
boundaries prior to the formation of the district, no business or commercial
ventures or facilities within its boundaries, has not issued any general obligation or
revenue debt and does not have any financial obligations outstanding or contracts
in effect that require performance by the district during the time the district is
inactive, has not imposed a mill levy for tax collection in that fiscal year, anticipates
no receipt of revenue and has no planned expenditures, except for statutory
compliance, in that fiscal year, has no operation or maintenance responsibility for
any facilities, has initially filed a notice of inactive status pursuant to section 32-1-104 (3), and, each year thereafter, has filed a notice of continuing inactive status
pursuant to section 32-1-104 (4).
(9.5) Mental health-care service district means a special district created
pursuant to this article to provide, directly or indirectly, mental health-care services
to residents of the district who are in need of mental health-care services and to
family members of such residents.
(10) Metropolitan district means a special district that provides for the
inhabitants thereof any two or more of the following services:
(a) Fire protection;
(b) Mosquito control;
(c) Parks and recreation;
(d) Safety protection;
(e) Sanitation;
(f) Solid waste disposal facilities or collection and transportation of solid
waste;
(g) Street improvement;
(h) Television relay and translation;
(i) Transportation;
(j) Water.
(11) Municipality means a municipality as defined in section 31-1-101 (6),
C.R.S.
(12) Net effective interest rate means the net interest cost of securities
issued by a public body divided by the sum of the products derived by multiplying
the principal amount of the securities maturing on each maturity date by the
number of years from their date to their respective maturities. In all cases, net
effective interest rate shall be computed without regard to any option of
redemption prior to the designated maturity dates of the securities.
(13) Net interest cost means the total amount of interest to accrue on
securities issued by a public body from their date to their respective maturities, less
the amount of any premium above par, or plus the amount of any discount below
par, at which said securities are being or have been sold. In all cases net interest
cost shall be computed without regard to any option of redemption prior to the
designated maturity dates of the securities.
(13.5) Nonprofit entity means a person that is registered as an exempt
charitable organization pursuant to 26 U.S.C. sec. 501 (c)(3) and that is exempt from
taxation pursuant to 26 U.S.C. sec. 501 (a) of the federal Internal Revenue Code of
1986.
(14) Park and recreation district means a special district which provides
parks or recreational facilities or programs within said district.
(14.3) Privately owned real property or property means privately owned
real property that is not classified as agricultural land by the tax assessor.
Privately owned real property or property does not mean privately owned real
property owned by a nonprofit entity that is leased for agricultural purposes.
Privately owned real property or property does not mean real property owned or
occupied by a public utility that has a vegetation management or wildfire mitigation
plan to address vegetative fuel sources or real property adjacent to a ditch that
conveys decreed water rights or within the appurtenant easement within which the
ditch is located.
(14.5) Property owners list means the list furnished by the county assessor
in accordance with section 1-5-304, 1-13.5-204, or 1-13.5-1105 (2)(a) and (2)(b)
showing each property owner within the district, as shown on a deed or contract of
record.
(15) Publication means printing one time, in one newspaper of general
circulation in the special district or proposed special district if there is such a
newspaper, and, if not, then in a newspaper in the county in which the special
district or proposed special district is located. For a special district with territory
within more than one county, if publication cannot be made in one newspaper of
general circulation in the special district, then one publication is required in a
newspaper in each county in which the special district is located and in which the
special district also has fifty or more eligible electors.
(16) Quorum means more than one-half of the number of directors serving
on the board of a special district.
(17) Regular special district election means the election on the Tuesday
succeeding the first Monday of May in every odd-numbered year, held for the
purpose of electing members to the boards of special districts and for submission
of other public questions, if any.
(17.5) (Deleted by amendment, L. 92, p. 874, � 105, effective January 1, 1993.)
(18) Sanitation district means a special district that provides for storm or
sanitary sewers, or both, flood and surface drainage, treatment and disposal works
and facilities, or solid waste disposal facilities or waste services, and all necessary
or proper equipment and appurtenances incident thereto.
(19) Secretary means the secretary of the board.
(19.5) Solid waste shall have the same definition as specified in section 30-20-101 (6), C.R.S.
(20) Special district means any quasi-municipal corporation and political
subdivision organized or acting pursuant to the provisions of this article. Special
district does not include any entity organized or acting pursuant to the provisions
of article 8 of title 29, article 20 of title 30, article 25 of title 31, or articles 41 to 50
of title 37, C.R.S.
(21) Special election means any election called by the board for submission
of public questions and other matters. The election shall be held on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in February, May, October, or December, in
November of even-numbered years or on the first Tuesday in November of odd-numbered years. Any special district may petition a district court judge who has
jurisdiction in such district for permission to hold a special election on a day other
than those specified in this subsection (21). The district court judge may grant
permission only upon a finding that an election on the days specified would be
impossible or impracticable or upon a finding that an unforeseeable emergency
would require an election on a day other than those specified.
(22) Taxable property means real or personal property subject to general
ad valorem taxes. Taxable property does not include the ownership of property on
which a specific ownership tax is paid pursuant to law.
(23) (a) Taxpaying elector means an eligible elector of a special district
who, or whose spouse or civil union partner, owns taxable real or personal property
within the special district or the area to be included in or excluded from the special
district, whether the person resides within the special district or not.
(b) A person who is obligated to pay taxes under a contract to purchase
taxable property within the special district shall be considered an owner within the
meaning of this subsection (23).
(c) For all elections and petitions that require ownership of real property or
land, the ownership of a mobile home as defined in section 38-12-201.5 (5) or 5-1-301 (29), or a manufactured home as defined in section 42-1-102 (48.8), is sufficient
to qualify as ownership of real property or land for the purpose of voting rights and
petitions.
(23.2) Tunnel means one or more holes under or through the ground,
mountains, rock formations, or other natural or man-made material, including roads,
railroads, pipelines, and other means of transporting vehicles, people, or goods
through any such tunnel, whether located in the tunnel or, to the extent the same
connects the tunnel to other similar facilities, located outside the tunnel. Tunnel
also means any ventilation, drainage, and support facilities, toll collection facilities,
administrative facilities, and other facilities necessary or convenient to the
acquisition, construction, improvement, equipping, operation, or maintenance of the
tunnel or to the operation of the tunnel district, whether located within or without
the tunnel.
(23.5) Tunnel district means a special district which provides a tunnel.
(23.7) Vegetative fuel means any dead plant material that can burn and
contribute to a fire, including leaves, grass, shrubs, ground litter, dead leaves, and
fallen pine needles.
(24) Water and sanitation district means a special district which provides
both water district and sanitation district services.
(25) Water district means a special district which supplies water for
domestic and other public and private purposes by any available means and
provides all necessary or proper reservoirs, treatment works and facilities,
equipment, and appurtenances incident thereto.