STATE OF OKLAHOMA

2nd Session of the 53rd Legislature (2012)

SENATE BILL 1150	By:	Justice

AS INTRODUCED

An Act relating to Multi-District Library Systems; creating the Multi-District Public Library Act; providing short-title; authorizing establishment of certain library system; stating district boundaries; providing for funding; stating procedures for creation of system; requiring certain public vote upon request by citizens; authorizing certain contracts; providing for termination of system; stating accounting requirements for certain funds; prohibiting diversion of taxes; providing for access to certain telecommunication network; providing for appointment of library board of directors; stating terms; providing for vacancies; stating requirements for directors; providing for meetings; providing for open meetings; stating powers and duties of board; authorizing board to impose fines; providing for appointment of librarian; stating qualifications; providing for codification; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 10-101 of Title 65, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
MULTI-DISTRICT PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEMS
This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Multi-District Public Library Act".
SECTION 2.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 10-102 of Title 65, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A.  Counties and municipalities are hereby authorized and empowered to join in creation, development, operation and maintenance of public libraries to serve municipalities and adjoining, designated districts with existing, recognizable boundaries such as municipalities and school districts, and to appropriate and allocate funds for the support of Multi-District Libraries.  Multi-District libraries shall provide equitable library services to all persons in the district.  Multi-District libraries may, with approval of the board of county commissioners and the municipal governing body, establish branch libraries in different parts of the district to accommodate the citizens of the district.
B.  Special levies of any and all taxes authorized to be levied by counties and municipalities under the Oklahoma Constitution are hereby authorized to be levied for support of Multi-District libraries.
C.  A Multi-District Library may be created by resolution or ordinance by the board of county commissioners and the governing body of the municipality.  The resolution and ordinances shall specify the district to be serviced, organization of the governing board of the Multi-District public library and proposed financing including agreement to call for a vote of the people as necessary for special tax levies.
D.  Multi-District public libraries may be proposed upon resolution or ordinance of the municipal governing bodies as provided in subsection C of this section or upon presentation of petitions to the board of county commissioners of the county signed by not less than five percent (5%) of the qualified electors of the designated district requesting a vote on library funding.  Upon receipt of such petitions from qualified electors, or resolutions or ordinances of the governing body of a municipality, the board of county commissioners shall call a district-wide vote on the proposed Multi-District library funding.
E.  The board of county commissioners and the governing body of the municipality involved in the creation of the Multi-District public library are authorized to enter into contracts and agreements with each other as necessary to effect the purposes of this act.
F.  A Multi-District public library created under the provisions of this act may be terminated only by majority vote of qualified electors voting in an election called by petitions signed by not less than twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors voting in the last preceding general election in the district.  If a Multi-District public library is abolished, the assets shall be disposed of jointly by the board of county commissioners and the municipal governing body.
G.  When a Multi-District public library has been established, the governing body of the municipality must allot for library purposes a prescribed proportion of its municipal revenues to be used exclusively for the maintenance of the public library.  The municipality’s allotment cannot be less than its allocation to the public library during the previous fiscal year.  The Multi-District library will remain a department of the municipality and receive the same benefits and access to services allocated to other municipal departments.
H.  All moneys received for the Multi-District library, whether by taxation or otherwise, shall belong to and be designated as the library fund.
I.  Moneys from federal, state and other sources shall be deposited in a separate library account following procedures as may be agreed upon by the contributing agency.
J.  Any moneys deposited in the library account shall be kept separate and apart from other funds of the municipality or county and drawn upon by the proper officers of the library designated by the board of county commissioners or governing body of the municipality, or the library board of directors.
K.  Property taxes levied for libraries under the Multi-District Public Library Act shall not be diverted from the use for which they were levied.
L.  When available, the Multi-District public library will have access to a statewide library telecommunication network.
SECTION 3.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 10-103 of Title 65, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A.  The Multi-District Library Board shall consist of at least five but not more than nine directors, chosen by the municipal governing body from the citizens of the district with reference to their fitness for such office.  Directors shall receive no compensation for their duties.  Directors appointed to the library board shall hold office for a term of three (3) years from the first day of May following their appointment, and their terms shall be staggered.  The municipal governing body may remove any director for misconduct or neglect of duty.  Vacancies in the library board of directors shall be filled in the same manner as original appointments.
B.  Appointments to the library board shall be made on the basis of ability, a sound understanding of the total responsibilities and objectives of public libraries and active interest in the attainment of Multi-District library goals.  Appointive members shall be qualified electors and bona fide residents of the county.  No member of the library board shall be in the business of publishing or selling books, periodicals or other forms of library materials or the business of manufacturing or selling library supplies or equipment.
C.  The library board, immediately after the appointment and qualification of its directors, shall meet and organize by electing one director as president, one director as secretary, and by electing such other officers as the board may deem necessary.  The officers shall serve one-year terms beginning on July 1.
D.  The library board shall meet as often as a majority of the board members deem necessary.  The library board shall be subject to the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act.  The board shall adopt rules for the transaction of business and keep a record of its functions and activities which shall be a public record.  A majority of the board membership shall constitute a quorum.
SECTION 4.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 10-104 of Title 65, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A.  The municipal governing body may, in its discretion and by ordinance, place the management and control of the public library under a Multi-District Library Board of Directors, appointed pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 of this act.  The board shall fix any fees to be charged by the library and shall have such other powers and authority as may be provided by ordinances of the municipality.
B.  The library board shall prepare an annual budget which shall be filed on or before June 1 with the board of county commissioners, the county excise board, the State Auditor and Inspector, the State Board of Equalization, and any municipality that participates in the financial support of the library.
C.  The municipal governing body shall submit an annual audit of the library fund within ninety (90) days following the close of the fiscal year to the board of county commissioners, the county excise board, the State Auditor and Inspector, and the State Board of Equalization.
D.  The library board shall have the power, with the approval of the municipal governing body, to purchase grounds and erect thereon a suitable building for the use of the Multi-District public library and to suitably equip the same, and to lease rooms or buildings for the use of the library.  The title to any grounds so purchased or leased, as well as any building thereon, shall be taken in the name of the municipality as grantee.
E.  The library board may impose fines or suitable penalties for loss of, failure to return, or damage to library materials, subject to ordinances which the municipal governing body may enact.
SECTION 5.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 10-105 of Title 65, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A.  The Multi-District Library Board may appoint a librarian on the basis of merit and experience and remove the librarian, subject to approval of the municipal governing body.  In districts with a population of twenty thousand (20,000) or more according to the latest Federal Decennial Census, the librarian shall be a graduate of a library school accredited by the American Library Association.
B.  The librarian shall be the administrative, executive and supervisory officer of the library.  The librarian shall appoint and remove staff members and other employees, subject to the ordinances and policies of the municipal governing body.
SECTION 6.  This act shall become effective November 1, 2012.

53-2-2326	MJM	1/11/2012 10:28:04 AM