The formation process shall comply with the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000 (Division 3 (commencing with Section 56000) of Title 5 of the Government Code), with the exception of the following provisions:

(a) On or before January 1, 2019, 10 percent of landowners may petition for, or an affected local agency within the county, including the county and the San Luis Obispo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, may apply for by resolution, the formation of a district, consistent with the following definitions:

(1) “Landowner” means any person who holds title to land within the boundaries of the proposed district as shown on the last assessment roll prepared by the county assessor, or a legal representative of a landowner who holds title to land within the boundaries of the proposed district as shown on the last assessment roll prepared by the county assessor.

(2) “Landowner” does not include individuals, partnerships, corporations, or public agencies holding easements or less than fee interests, including leaseholds of any nature.

(3) “Legal representative” means either of the following:

(A) A duly appointed and acting guardian, executor, or administrator of the estate of a holder of title to land.

(B) One of the following:

(i) If the holder of title is a trust, any trustee of the trust may vote on behalf of the trust.

(ii) If the holder of title is a corporation, the president, vice president, secretary, or other duly designated officer may vote on behalf of the corporation.

(iii) If the holder of title is a limited liability company, any managing member may vote on behalf of the limited liability company.

(iv) An officer or partner with managerial responsibilities of a legal entity not listed in clauses (i) to (iii), inclusive, may vote on behalf of the entity.

(b) Following a successful petition by the landowners or a resolution of application by an affected local agency, an election among landowners shall be conducted on the matter of whether to form the district.

(c) For purposes of a petition to form the district and a vote on the matter to form the district, the following applies:

(1) Each voter, who shall be a landowner as defined in this section, may cast one vote on the matter of a petition and one vote on the matter of an election to form the district. Ownership of multiple parcels of land, in full or in part, shall not entitle any voter to more than one vote.

(2) For land held jointly, owners collectively get one vote. Nothing in this section should be construed to indicate that multiple owners of a property get more than one vote.

(3) In the event any landowner that is a member of the same commonly controlled group, as defined in Section 25105 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, or is a member of a combined reporting group, as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 25106.5 of Title 18 of the California Code of Regulations, or under common ownership with, another landowner in the district, all members of the commonly controlled group or combined reporting group will be deemed a single landowner for the purpose of this subdivision.

(4) Each public agency that holds title to land within the district shall be entitled to one vote.

(5) No person shall vote by proxy unless his or her authority to cast that vote is evidenced by an instrument acknowledged and filed with the board of election.

(6) If from the election returns a majority of the votes cast at the election were in favor of the formation of the district, the formation of the district shall be complete.

(d) Recognizing that an election is needed to form the Paso Robles Basin Water District, the protest provisions of the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Reorganization Act of 2000 as they pertain to the formation of a district, do not apply.

(Added by Stats. 2014, Ch. 350, Sec. 1. (AB 2453) Effective January 1, 2015.)