Joint taxation districts - authorized

(1) (a) A plan of organization in which one or more new school districts are formed within the boundaries of an existing school district may provide that any two or more school districts included in the plan shall comprise a joint taxation district. The boundaries of the original school district shall be the boundaries of the joint taxation district. A joint taxation district formed pursuant to this part 2 shall be a body corporate and a political subdivision of the state. (b) A joint taxation district may be formed to incur bonded indebtedness for the purposes listed in section 22-42-102 (2)(a) and raise and expend property taxes to retire such bonded indebtedness or to raise and expend additional local property tax revenues in excess of the participating school districts' total program, pursuant to section 22-54-108 or 22-54-108.5. (2) (a) A plan of organization that involves a joint taxation district may provide that two or more school districts that result from the reorganization of a single school district may share the valuation for assessment of the taxable property in each school district for the purposes stated in the plan of organization, as limited under paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section. (b) For the purpose of determining the limit of bonded indebtedness pursuant to section 22-42-104 for any school district that is participating in a joint taxation district, a portion of the bonded indebtedness of the joint taxation district, determined pursuant to the apportionment formula in the plan of organization, shall be added to the bonded indebtedness of the school district. The total bonded indebtedness of the joint taxation district, as apportioned among and added to the bonded indebtedness of the participating school districts, shall not cause any of the participating school districts to exceed its limit of bonded indebtedness pursuant to section 22-42-104. (c) The plan of organization: (I) May place a limit on the bonding capacity of the joint taxation district in addition to any other limitation on bonded indebtedness; (II) Shall specify whether the joint taxation district shall continue indefinitely or for a specified period of time; (III) Shall include a formula for the equitable apportionment of tax revenues from any property tax levied by the joint taxation district; (IV) Shall include a formula for apportioning the bonded indebtedness of the joint taxation district for the purposes of section 22-42-104 among the participating school districts; (V) Shall provide that the joint taxation district becomes a body corporate at the time the reorganization becomes effective or at some other time as specified in the plan of organization.