189.4044  Special procedures for inactive districts.--

(1)  The department shall declare inactive any special district in this state by filing a report with the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate which shows that such special district is no longer active. The inactive status of the special district must be based upon a finding:

(a)  That the special district meets one of the following criteria:

1.  The district has taken no action for 2 calendar years;

2.  The district has not had a governing board or a sufficient number of governing board members to constitute a quorum for 18 or more months;

3.  The district has failed to file or make a good faith effort to file any of the reports listed in s. 189.419; or

4.  The district has failed, for 2 consecutive fiscal years, to pay fees assessed by the Special District Information Program pursuant to this chapter.

(b)  That a notice of the proposed declaration has been published once a week for 4 weeks in a newspaper of general circulation within the county or municipality wherein the territory of the special district is located, stating the name of said special district, the law under which it was organized and operating, a general description of the territory included in said special district, and stating that any objections to the proposed declaration or to any claims against the assets of said special district shall be filed not later than 60 days following the date of last publication with the department; and

(c)  That 60 days have elapsed from the last publication date of the notice of proposed declaration and no sustained objections have been filed.

(2)  If any special district is declared inactive pursuant to this section, the property or assets of the special district are subject to legal process for payment of any debts of the district. After the payment of all the debts of said inactive special district, the remainder of its property or assets shall escheat to the county or municipality wherein located. If, however, it shall be necessary, in order to pay any such debt, to levy any tax or taxes on the property in the territory or limits of the inactive special district, the same may be assessed and levied by order of the local general-purpose government wherein the same is situated and shall be assessed by the county property appraiser and collected by the county tax collector.

(3)  The department shall notify the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate of each special act creating or amending the charter of any special district declared to be inactive under this section. The declaration of inactive status shall be sufficient notice as required by s. 10, Art. III of the State Constitution to authorize the Legislature to repeal any special laws so reported.

(4)  A special district declared inactive under this section must be dissolved by repeal of its enabling laws.