1. The board of supervisors of any drainage or levee district heretofore organized or that may be hereafter organized in any circuit court or the county commission of any drainage or levee district heretofore organized or that may be hereafter organized in any county commission of this state, whether said original district has been reorganized in whole or in part, or whether said district in whole or in part has elected to be reorganized under sections 242.010 to 242.690, or the board of directors of any district organized or reorganized under sections 245.285 to 245.545, whenever in the judgment of such board or court or county commission, as the case may be, it is advisable and for the best interest of the landowners of any such district, may, unless a majority of the owners owning a majority of the acres of land within said district shall, at the hearing herein provided for, object to said proceedings, from time to time as may be necessary, to refund all or any part of its bond indebtedness by taking up and exchanging such of its outstanding bonds as the holders thereof may be willing to surrender, and issue in lieu thereof new bonds of such district payable at such longer time, not exceeding forty years from their date, as such district may determine and the holders of the outstanding bonds are willing to accept.

2. Such refunding bonds shall not exceed in the aggregate the amount of bonds refunded thereby and they shall bear interest at a rate not exceeding the same rate as the bonds refunded, which interest shall be payable semiannually and said refunding bonds when issued may be exchanged for the outstanding bonds, if the holders thereof so agree, or said refunding bonds may be sold for not less than ninety-five cents on the dollar and accrued interest, and the proceeds of the sale of said bonds shall be used solely in the payment of the outstanding bonds and the cost, expense and discount incident to the issuing of such refunding bonds.

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3. In the event refunding bonds are issued, any landowner shall have the right at any time within two weeks after the order providing for their issue is made in which to pay the full amount of uncollected principal tax or assessment chargeable to his land for the payment of bonds proposed to be refunded and his lands shall thereby be released from the tax or assessment for the payment of the refunding bonds, but shall remain subject to additional taxes, if any, that may be levied by such district pursuant to law. Unless and until refunding bonds shall have been authorized and issued, the rate of tax or assessment or amount of assessment applicable to the bonds to be refunded shall not be reduced.

4. Notice shall be given by such board or court or county commission to the landowners, persons and corporations owning any interest in any lands or other property assessed in said district of its intention to refund said bonds by inserting a notice in a weekly newspaper published in each county in which the lands in said district may lie; there shall be two insertions of said notice in said weekly paper or papers, the last insertion to be not less than five days prior to the hearing; such hearing to be held before such board or court or county commission, as the case may be, at such convenient place as may be designated by such board or court or county commission.

5. The notice to all parties interested will be sufficient if substantially in the following form:

6. When the bonds of any such district are refunded pursuant to the authority hereby conferred, the collection of the corresponding installment of taxes or assessments for the payment of the original bonds shall be deferred for a like period. It shall be the duty of the district issuing such refunding bonds to make proper provisions for their payment in like manner as is required in the case of the issuance of original bonds by the act under which such district is or shall be incorporated, and the holder of such refunding bonds shall have the same rights as are given the holders of bonds under the act or acts under which such districts are respectively incorporated. Any landowner failing to avail himself of the privilege conferred by this section of paying in full the unpaid principal tax or assessment against his land shall not be heard to complain by reason of additional interest to be collected from his lands by reason of the extension of the bonds. Taxes or assessments levied for the payment of refunding bonds shall be secured by the same lien as other taxes of such district.

7. No proceedings shall be required for the issuance of refunding bonds other than those provided by this section and all powers necessary to be exercised by such district in order to carry out the provisions of this section are hereby conferred upon such districts. The powers conferred by this section may be exercised by any drainage or levee district heretofore or hereafter organized under any law in this state and shall apply to bonds of such districts whether heretofore or hereafter issued; provided further, that in the event any district shall avail itself of the provisions of this section and desires to issue refunding bonds extending beyond the charter life of said district, the issuing of said bonds shall automatically extend the charter life of such district for a period of twenty years beyond the date of the last maturing refunding bond so issued.