1. (a) Within 12 months after certification of the description of the lands to be included within the proposed district, and before any groundwater management district shall be organized, a petition shall be circulated by the steering committee and filed with the secretary of state after being signed by not less than 50 eligible voters or 50% of the eligible voters of the district, whichever is the smaller.

2. (b) The petition shall set forth:

   1. (1) The proposed name of the district, which name shall end with the words "groundwater management district No. ______." It shall be the duty of the secretary of state to assign a number to each such district in the order in which petitions for organizations are received in his or her office.
   2. (2) A description of the lands to be included within the proposed district identified by township, range, and section numbers and fractions thereof, and other areas as appropriate and a map showing the contiguous lands to be included in the district.
   3. (3) A statement of the purposes for which the district is to be organized.
   4. (4) A statement of the number of persons that will constitute the elected board of directors of the district, which shall be an uneven number of not less than three or more than 15.
   5. (5) The names and addresses of the persons who constitute the steering committee.
   6. (6) A prayer for the organization and incorporation of the district.
   7. (7) Any other matter deemed essential by the steering committee.

3. (c) The petition shall be in substantially the following form:

   PETITION

L. 1972, ch. 386, § 4; L. 1974, ch. 454, § 1; L. 2004, ch. 101, § 149; July 1.