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143 <br />28 <br />already been upheld by the appellate courts, and one had been effective for almost three <br />years (with millions of dollars in public expenditures toward the water and sewer <br />infrastructure). Nonetheless, the two acts require these particular annexations to <br />reopen the process and go through a veto petition procedure similar to that in HB 845. <br />If the property owners of at least 60% of the parcels in the annexation area sign a <br />petition to deny the annexation, the annexation is terminated (or, in the case of the one <br />that had become effective, it is repealed) and the municipality may not adopt a <br />resolution of consideration for the area for at least 36 months. These acts raise a number <br />of questions and set a disturbing precedent. <br />They were effective June 18, 2001 and require the county board of elections to mail <br />petitions to property owners within 30 days thereafter. Affected cities in Voting Rights <br />counties have been made aware of preclearance needs (see Voting Rights in Sec. VII <br />above), adding a logistical issue to the other concerns with the legislation. <br />CHANGES TO THE VOLUNTARY ANNEXATION PROCESS <br />HB 845 - Annexation Reform Act of 2011 (SL 2011 -396) also amends the statutes on <br />voluntary annexation. The act provides for two new types of voluntary contiguous <br />annexations that allow annexation with less than a 100% petition. For one of these <br />types, the city retains discretion on whether to annex but for the other the municipality <br />is required to annex under specified circumstances. <br />I. Distressed Areas. <br />Applicability. The new types of voluntary annexation are applicable only to certain <br />high poverty areas. These are defined as areas in which at least 51% of the households <br />have incomes that are 200% or less than the most recently published U.S. Census <br />Bureau poverty thresholds. For both of the new types of voluntary annexation, the <br />petitioners are required to submit reasonable evidence to demonstrate that the area <br />meets the poverty thresholds. The evidence presented may include Census Bureau <br />data, signed affidavits by at least one adult resident of the household attesting to the <br />household size and income level, or any other documentation verifying the incomes for <br />a majority of the households within the petitioning area. Petitioners may elect to <br />submit the names, addresses, and social security numbers of persons in the area to the <br />city clerk for confidential submission to the Department of Revenue. This information <br />is not a public record. The Department uses the list to provide the city with a summary <br />report of income for households in the petitioning area that can serve as evidence that <br />the poverty thresholds are met. <br />Discretionary annexation. A municipality pLay annex a distressed area when an adult <br />resident in at least two- thirds of the households in the area has signed a petition. If an <br />