Article 2. Management of California Military And Veterans Code >> Division 6. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 2.

Every district shall be a public corporation, have perpetual succession, and may:
  (a) Sue and be sued in all actions and proceedings in all courts and tribunals of competent jurisdiction.
  (b) Adopt a seal and alter it at pleasure.
  (c) Call upon the district attorney for legal advice and assistance in all matters concerning the district.
  (d) Make contracts, employ labor, and do all acts necessary or convenient for the full exercise of any of the powers of the district.

A district may destroy a record pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 60200) of Division 1 of Title 6 of the Government Code.

(a) Every district may do all of the following:
  (1) Provide and maintain memorial halls, assembly halls, buildings, or meetingplaces, together with suitable indoor and outdoor park and recreation facilities, including swimming pools, picnic areas, and playgrounds, for the use of persons or organizations other than veterans, pursuant to paragraphs (8) and (9), and veteran soldiers, sailors, and marines who have honorably served the United States in any wars or campaigns recognized by law for the purposes of Section 3 of Article XIII of the California Constitution, or for the use of patriotic, fraternal, or benevolent associations of those persons. However, no district shall provide and maintain indoor and outdoor park and recreation facilities, including swimming pools, picnic areas, and playgrounds, unless these projects have been approved by a majority of the voters at either the general district election or at a special election called for that purpose. The question of whether the district shall provide and maintain indoor and outdoor park and recreation facilities may be submitted to the registered voters of the district by the board on its own motion and shall be submitted by the board upon petition signed by 8 percent of the registered voters of the district, at either the general district election or at a special election called for that purpose. If submitted at a special election, the election shall be called, conducted, governed, and regulated in the same manner as the general district election. All plans for indoor and outdoor park and recreation facilities, including swimming pools, picnic areas, and playgrounds, shall be approved initially by the board of supervisors.
  (2) Purchase, receive by donation, condemn, lease, or acquire real or personal property necessary or convenient for the construction or maintenance of halls, buildings, meetingplaces, and facilities, and improve, preserve, manage, and control these facilities.
  (3) Purchase, construct, lease, build, furnish, or repair halls, buildings, meetingplaces, and facilities upon sites owned or leased by the district or made available to the district, and provide custodians, employees, attendants, and supplies for the proper maintenance, care, and management of those halls, buildings, meetingplaces, and facilities.
  (4) Furnish sites for halls, buildings, meetingplaces, or facilities, to be built either by the district or by or for patriotic, fraternal, or benevolent associations of veterans, if the funds for these sites are supplied by the district or from other sources.
  (5) Enter into agreements with county, municipal, school, park, or other public authorities or agencies conveying, leasing, or making available to the district, either gratuitously or for compensation, sites upon public land for the construction, maintenance, and management by the district of assembly or memorial halls, buildings, meetingplaces, or facilities, and construct and maintain on those sites halls, buildings, meetingplaces, or facilities.
  (6) Sell or lease any district property to the highest responsible bidder, as determined by the board, except as provided by Section 1191.3. The board shall, prior to any sale, make a call for bids and advertise that call pursuant to Section 6062 of the Government Code in a newspaper of general circulation in the district, inviting sealed bids for the sale or lease of the property. The board may either accept the highest responsible bid or reject all bids. The board may require the successful bidder to file with the board good and sufficient undertaking to be approved by the board to insure faithful performance of the contract of sale or lease. No sale or lease shall be transacted, however, if a petition has been filed with the board requesting it not to enter into the sale or lease of the property. The petition shall have affixed to it, as petitioners, the signatures, indicating place of residence and place of signing, of the registered voters of the district in a number equal to at least 10 percent of the votes cast in the district at the last preceding general election held in the state. If the petition meets these requirements, as determined by the records of the county elections official for the county or counties in which the district is situated, the board either shall not convey the property or shall submit the matter to the registered voters of the district to be voted upon at the next primary or general election, or at a special election called for the purpose of ratifying or rejecting the action of the district to sell or lease the property.
  (7) Sell or lease any district property to any political subdivision, or portion thereof, in which the district is situated for purposes of roads, streets, or highways, or for the improvement of roads, streets, or highways, without regard to the highest responsible bidder but otherwise meeting the petition requirements of paragraph (6).
  (8) Adopt, from time to time, reasonable rules and regulations for the use of halls, buildings, meetingplaces, and facilities by veterans or by organizations of veterans, and to allow the halls, buildings, meetingplaces, and facilities to be used for lawful purposes consistent with the objects of this section by persons or organizations other than veterans either free of charge or for stated compensation to aid in defraying the cost of maintenance of the facilities, if that use will not unduly interfere with the reasonable use of the facilities by veterans' associations.
  (9) Enter into a joint powers agreement for recreational or senior citizens' services within the district.
  (b) In conformance with this section, a district may provide recreational facilities or services at any location within the district regardless of the location of district-owned facilities. A district may not increase its tax levy for the purpose of providing recreational services for persons other than veterans unless that increase is first approved by a majority of the registered voters of the district who vote upon the proposal.

(a) The Lindsay-Strathmore Memorial District may enter into a joint powers agreement with the Strathmore Public Utility District to provide for the management, maintenance, and operation of the memorial district property and improvements located at Strathmore, California, and for the use by the public utility district of the real property and improvements owned by the memorial district for offices, maintenance, and storage facilities.
  (b) This section applies only to the Lindsay-Strathmore Memorial District in Tulare County. This section is not intended to amend any of the provisions of Section 1266, and use of the Lindsay-Strathmore Memorial District property by the Strathmore Public Utility District under this section is not an abandonment of the facility by the Lindsay-Strathmore Memorial District or the veterans' organization.

When the district desires to sell real property that was donated to the district by a city or county, the district shall offer to reconvey it to the city or county before selling it and shall reconvey it if the city or county agrees to accept it. If the property was sold to the district by a city or county, or was given or sold by a private person, or his successors in interest as determined by the district, the district shall offer to reconvey it at the then market price as determined by it, before selling it to any other person. In any case no sale or other use of the real property shall be made which is contrary to the provisions of any instrument under which the district holds title to or any interest in the property.

Every district may:
  (a) Cause to be levied and collected in any year a special tax not to exceed three-tenths of one cent ($0.003) on the one dollar ($1) of assessed valuation of all the taxable property in the district, exclusive of any tax which may be required to pay the principal of and interest upon any bonded indebtedness of the district, in addition to all other taxes provided for by law upon the taxable property of the district and to be paid into a special fund in the county treasury to be known as the memorial district fund. In no event shall the tax exceed an amount that is sufficient to pay the estimated expenses of operating and maintaining the memorial district for the next year and the estimated capital outlay of the district for the next two years.
  (b) Incur, through the board of supervisors, bonded indebtedness on behalf of the district for the purpose of exercising any of the powers of the district or accomplishing any of the purposes of this chapter.
  (c) Cause to be levied and collected in any one year a special tax sufficient to pay the principal of and interest upon all bonded indebtedness of the district incurred as herein provided, in addition to all other taxes provided for by law or by the provisions of this chapter and to be paid into a special fund in the county treasury to be known as the memorial district bond retirement fund.
  (d) Refund or retire any indebtedness that may exist against the district.

When a district is authorized to provide and maintain indoor and outdoor park and recreation facilities including swimming pools, picnic areas and playgrounds, unobligated funds of the district accumulated prior to the authorization may be used for said purposes.

A district may impose a special tax pursuant to Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 50075) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code. The special taxes shall be applied uniformly to all taxpayers or all real property within the district, except that unimproved property may be taxed at a lower rate than improved property.

Every district may combine with the county in which it is located or with any incorporated city wholly within the county, in the accomplishment of any of the purposes of this chapter, and to that end hold jointly with such county or city any property acquired or made available for such purposes, and expend money in conjunction with such county or city in accomplishing any of the purposes hereof.

The powers of the district, except as otherwise expressly provided, shall be exercised by the board of directors.

The general district election shall be governed by the provisions of the Uniform District Election Law and be held in every district formed under the provisions of this chapter on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each odd-numbered year.

If the board of directors of the district shall fail to take the action necessary to hold a general district election pursuant to Section 1195, the board of supervisors of the county in which the district is situated may call and hold a special election to vote for members of the board of directors of the district. Such special election shall be held and conducted pursuant to the provisions of Section 1180, at the expense of the district. If, on the 40th day prior to the day fixed for such special election, not more than one candidate has been nominated for each office of member of the board of directors to be filled at such election, and if on the 30th day prior to the day fixed for such election, a petition signed by 5 percent of the qualified electors in the district, requesting that such election be held, has not been presented to the board of supervisors, such election shall not be held, and the board of supervisors shall appoint persons to fill such offices and shall give notice that such election will not be held, substantially as provided in Section 1195.1.

The board shall consist of five members who shall be registered electors residing within the district or proposed district at the time of their election and shall be elected by the qualified electors of the district. A majority of the seats on the board shall be designated for veterans, as defined in Section 940. Any board seat that is so designated, but is not currently filled by a qualifying individual, shall be filled by a qualified individual at the next election at which that seat is to be filled. Members shall serve without compensation, but shall be entitled to actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of duties. Reimbursement for these expenses is subject to Sections 53232.2 and 53232.3 of the Government Code.

The board first elected in any district shall hold its first meeting in the meeting room of the board of supervisors commencing at ten o'clock a.m. on the first Monday following the date of declaration by the board of supervisors of the result of the special election at which the board was elected. The board shall elect one of its members president, and shall elect a secretary, and shall provide for the time and place of holding meetings and the manner in which special meetings may be called. The board may establish rules for proceedings of the board.

(a) The secretary of every memorial district shall annually prepare a financial report signed by the board of directors containing the following information and related data in such detail as may be necessary to accurately disclose its financial condition and operations during the preceding fiscal year:
  (1) Assets and liabilities at the beginning and end of the fiscal year.
  (2) Receipts of any kind and the sources thereof.
  (3) Disbursements of any kind and the purposes thereof.
  (4) A list of all contracts, transactions, agreements of other obligations entered into.
  (b) The board of every memorial district shall provide for the safekeeping of all records, at such places as the board may order and shall transfer such records to such boards as are subsequently elected under the provisions of this chapter.

The president shall sign all contracts on behalf of the district and shall certify to the county auditor all lawful demands against the district payable from the memorial district fund and from the memorial district bond fund after such demands have first been approved by at least three members of the board. The president shall also perform any other duties imposed by the board. The secretary shall countersign all contracts on behalf of the district and perform any other duties precribed by the board. A majority of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but all official acts of the board must receive the affirmative vote, signature, or approval, as the case may require, of at least three members of the board.

The moneys in the several funds of the district shall be paid out by the county treasurer only upon warrants drawn by the county auditor against the appropriate district fund. The county auditor shall draw warrants against the memorial district bond retirement fund, if that fund contains sufficient moneys, and if not, then, against any other funds of the district in payment of all valid and outstanding bonds of the district at maturity and of interest coupons thereon when due, upon presentation to the county auditor of the bonds or coupons by the owners thereof.

The county auditor shall also draw warrants against the memorial district fund and against the memorial district bond fund, in payment of lawful claims against the district certified to the county auditor by the president of the board.

The board shall, annually, at least fifteen days before the first day of the month in which the board of supervisors is required by law to levy the taxes required for county purposes, furnish to the board of supervisors and to the auditor estimates in writing of the minimum amount of money required for the payment of the principal of and interest upon all bonded indebtedness of the district; and also of the minimum amount of money required by the district for any other purposes.

The board of supervisors shall annually at the time of levying county taxes and until all bonded indebtedness of the district is fully paid, levy and cause to be collected by the county tax collector a tax on all taxable property in the district sufficient for the payment of the principal of and interest upon all bonded indebtedness of the district. This tax shall be known as the memorial district bond retirement tax.

The board of supervisors shall in like manner and until all other expenses and claims are fully paid, levy and cause to be collected by the county tax collector a tax sufficient for the payment of all other expenses and claims of the district. This tax shall be known as the memorial district tax.

The memorial district tax levied in any one year shall not exceed the rate of three-tenths of one cent ($0.003) on each dollar ($1) of the assessed valuation of all taxable property in the district, exclusive of any tax which may be required to pay the principal of and interest upon any bonded indebtedness of the district. In no event shall the tax exceed an amount that is sufficient to pay the estimated expenses of operating and maintaining the memorial district for the next year and the estimated capital outlay of the district for the next two years.

Taxes shall be paid into the county treasury to the credit of the memorial district bond retirement fund or to the credit of the memorial district fund, as the purpose of the tax determines.

Taxes become delinquent at the time the county taxes become delinquent and shall bear like penalties for delinquency. All taxes shall be a lien upon all the taxable property in the district, and shall be of the same force and effect as the liens for county taxes. Their collection shall be enforced by the same means provided for the enforcement of liens for county taxes.

Boards of supervisors, governing bodies of incorporated cities and school districts, and all authorities having control of public lands within this State may on behalf of the county, city, school district, park area, or public agency convey, lease, or make available to districts, either gratuitously or for compensation, sites upon lands under their control or jurisdiction, for the erection and maintenance thereon by districts of assembly or memorial halls, buildings, and meeting places, whenever in the reasonable discretion of such board, body, or authority, such sites can be so conveyed, leased, or made available without inconvenience to the interests of the particular county, city, school district, park, or public agency.