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Special district (United States)

Special districts (also known as special service districts, special district governments, or limited purpose entities) are independent, special-purpose governmental units that exist separately from local governments such as county, municipal, and township governments, with substantial administrative and fiscal independence. They are formed to perform a single function or a set of related functions.[1] The term special district governments as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau excludes school districts.[1] In 2017, the U.S. had more than 51,296 special district governments.[2]

Trends[edit]

The state of Illinois leads the nation in the number of special districts with California close behind.[42] State counts of their special districts may differ from the federal count because the states may have different definitions of a special district than the U.S. Census Bureau.[35]

Alabama:

Alabama Municipal Electric Authority

: regional electrical authorities Water district(general law)

Alaska

Arizona:

Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority

Arkansas: fire ant abatement districts (general law)

: Pomperaug Valley Water Authority (special act)

Connecticut

Delaware: tax ditches (general law)

Georgia: Special Services District

Atlanta BeltLine

Hawaiʻi: Central Maui Soil & Water Conservation District

Idaho: auditorium districts (general law)

Indiana:

Northwest Indiana Commuter Transportation District

Iowa: library districts (joint or regional) (general law)

Kansas: industrial districts (general law)

Kentucky:

Highview Fire Protection District

Louisiana: West Jefferson Levee District

Maine: cemetery districts (special acts)

Maryland: water and sewer authorities (general law)

Massachusetts:

Holyoke Water Works

Michigan:

Huron–Clinton Metroparks

Minnesota:

Minnehaha Creek Watershed District

Mississippi: lighting districts (special acts)

Missouri: Jackson County Sports Complex Authority (special act)

Montana: county rail authorities (general law)

Nebraska:

Omaha Public Power District

Nevada:

Las Vegas–Clark County Library District

New Hampshire: housing authorities (general law)

New Jersey:

New Jersey Turnpike Authority

New Mexico:

Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District

North Carolina: Research Triangle Regional Public Transit Authority (special act)

North Dakota:

Minot Park District

Oklahoma: public library systems (general law)

Oregon:

Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District

: East Providence Special Development District Commission (special act)

Rhode Island

South Carolina:

St. John's Fire District

South Dakota: television translator districts (general law)

Tennessee: utility districts (general law)

: Palacios Seawall Commission (special act)

Texas

Utah:

Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District

Vermont: Vermont Public Power Supply Authority (special act)

: Buchanan County Tourist Train Development Authority (special act)

Virginia

Washington: Independent

health districts

West Virginia: Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority

Wyoming: Solid Waste Disposal District

Baggs

All of the following examples have been found by the U.S. Census Bureau to be special districts.[42] See the Census of Governments Government Organization publications at a depository library or visit https://www.census.gov and select Governments Division.

District

Joint powers authority

Local government in the United States

Public-benefit nonprofit corporation

Friedman, L. M. A history of American law. (3rd). Simon & Schuster: New York. 2005.

Krane, D., Rigos, P. N., and Hill, M. B. Home rule in America: A fifty-state handbook. CQ Press. 2001.

Mergent's Municipal and Government Manual

Zimmerman, J. F. The New England town meeting. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1997.

Archived 2011-07-04 at the Wayback Machine

A Citizen's Guide to Special Districts in California

California Special Districts Association

Special Districts Association of Oregon

Oregon Special Districts Fact Sheets

U.S. Census Bureau

U.S. Census Bureau/Governments Organization/Volume 1

Government Accounting Standards Board

2006 Government Finance and Employment Classification Manual, U.S. Census Bureau

2007 Governments Integrated Directory, U.S. Census Bureau

Archived 2012-08-25 at the Wayback Machine

IRS tax-exempt bond information

Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington

Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Special District Accountability Program

State and Local Government Review - current and past issues

Bloomberg News

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Special Districts (HBO)