Bill description: HB 501 expands the number of voters involved in an excision and annexation process.

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Does it in any way restrict public access to information related to government activity or otherwise compromise government transparency or accountability? Conversely, does it increase public access to information related to government activity or increase government transparency or accountability? 

HB 501 increases government accountability by allowing all affected voters to be a part of an excision and annexation process involving a school district. Specifically, an excision and annexation process occurs when a group of landowners “residing in an area of not more than fifty (50) square miles within which there is no schoolhouse” petition to have their land removed from the boundaries of one school district and annexed into another. 

This bill ensures that both the group of voters representing the area that might be excised and the group of voters representing the district that is proposed to annex the excised area can vote. 

Currently, voting is limited just to the group of voters in the area being excised. This bill would ensure that both groups vote on the excision and annexation. 

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