70-604.

District; petition; contents.

The petition shall be addressed to the Nebraska Power Review Board and state in substance that it is the intent and purpose of the petitioners by such petition to create or amend the charter of a district subject to approval by the Nebraska Power Review Board. The petition shall state and contain:

(1) The name of the district, which name shall contain, if the district is to engage or is engaged in the electric light and power business, hydrogen production, storage, or distribution, or ethanol production and distribution, the words public power district. If the district is to engage or is engaged in the business of owning and operating irrigation works, the name shall include the words public irrigation district, except that if electric light and power are the major business of such district, it need not include these words in its name. A district may be organized to engage only in the electric light and power business, the production, storage, or distribution of hydrogen, and the production and distribution of ethanol, only in the business of owning and operating irrigation works, in any business identified in section 70-625, or in all of such businesses;

(2) The names of the municipalities constituting the district and the boundaries of such district;

(3) A general description of the nature of the business which the district intends to engage in and, for the original creation of a district, the location and method of operation of the proposed power plants and systems or irrigation works of the district;

(4) The location of the principal place of business of the district;

(5) A statement that the district shall not have the power to levy taxes nor to issue general obligation bonds;

(6) When the Nebraska Power Review Board finds from the evidence that subdivisions, from which directors are to be elected or appointed, are necessary or desirable, such subdivisions shall be of substantially equal population, except that no district shall be required to redistrict its subdivisions for purposes of equalizing population more frequently than every ten years following publication of the most recent federal decennial census; and

(7) Except in a district having within its boundaries twenty-five or more cities or villages, the names and addresses of the members of the board of directors of the district, not less than five nor more than twenty-one, who shall serve or continue to serve until their successors are elected and qualified. In any district having within its boundaries twenty-five or more cities and villages, (a) the original petition for creation shall set forth the number of directors of the district and shall provide that the board of directors, to serve until their successors are elected and qualified, shall be appointed by the Governor within thirty days after the approval of the formation of the district and (b) a petition to amend a charter shall set forth the names and addresses of the members of the board of directors of the district. In the petition the directors named or to be appointed by the Governor shall be divided as nearly as possible into three equal groups, the members of the first group to hold office until their successors, elected at the first statewide general election thereafter, shall have qualified, the members of the second group to hold office until their successors, elected at the second statewide general election thereafter, shall have qualified, and the members of the third group to hold office until their successors, elected at the third statewide general election thereafter, shall have qualified. The group to which each proposed director belongs shall be designated in the petition or, for an original petition in case the district has within its proposed boundaries twenty-five or more cities and villages, shall be set forth in the order of appointment by the Governor.