(a) As used in Section 1091, “remote interest” also includes a person who has a financial interest in a contract, if all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The agency of which the person is a board member is a special district serving a population of less than 5,000 that is a landowner voter district, as defined in Section 56050, that does not distribute water for any domestic use.

(2) The contract is for either of the following:

(A) The maintenance or repair of the district’s property or facilities provided that the need for maintenance or repair services has been widely advertised. The contract will result in materially less expense to the district than the expense that would have resulted under reasonably available alternatives and review of those alternatives is documented in records available for public inspection.

(B) The acquisition of property that the governing board of the district has determined is necessary for the district to carry out its functions at a price not exceeding the value of the property, as determined in a record available for public inspection by an appraiser who is a member of a recognized organization of appraisers.

(3) The person did not participate in the formulation of the contract on behalf of the district.

(4) At a public meeting, the governing body of the district, after review of written documentation, determines that the property acquisition or maintenance and repair services cannot otherwise be obtained at a reasonable price and that the contract is in the best interests of the district, and adopts a resolution stating why the contract is necessary and in the best interests of the district.

(b) If a party to any proceeding challenges any fact or matter required by paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of subdivision (a) to qualify as a remote interest under subdivision (a), the district shall bear the burden of proving this fact or matter.

(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 183, Sec. 132. Effective January 1, 2005.)