(1) The members within a district, whose total lands compose 25% or more of the private forest land which comprise the district, may file a petition with the department requesting that the district be discontinued. The petition shall identify the provisions to be taken for the payment of outstanding debt and the disposition of district property.

  (2) The department may conduct public hearings to assist it in its consideration of the petition. Within 60 days after a petition has been filed, the board shall give notice for the holding of a referendum upon the issue of the discontinuance of a district. All members of the district shall be eligible to vote in the referendum pursuant to the schedule in section 50131(3).

  (3) The board shall publish the results of the referendum. If a majority of the votes cast are in favor of discontinuing a district, the department shall determine that the district will be discontinued. Even if a majority of the votes cast are not in favor of discontinuing a district, the department may determine that the district not continue in existence. If the department determines that the district shall continue, it shall record that determination and deny the petition. If the department determines that a district shall be discontinued, it shall record its determination and certify its decision to the board of the district. In making its determination, the department shall consider the economic and administrative feasibility of the continuation of a district, the extent of outstanding debt of the district, the attitudes of the members within the district, the number of members eligible to vote in the referendum who voted, the proportion of the votes cast in favor of the discontinuance of the district to the total number of votes cast, and other economic and social factors which may be relevant to the determination.

  (4) Upon receipt from the department of a certification of a determination that a district shall be discontinued, the board shall proceed to terminate the affairs of the district. The board shall provide for the payment of all outstanding debt and for the disposition of district property to the state. The board shall thereafter file an application with the secretary of state for the discontinuance of the district. The application shall identify the action taken to provide for the payment of all outstanding debt and for the disposition of district property. The secretary of state shall issue a certificate of dissolution to the board of the district which specifies the effective date of discontinuance and shall record the certificate in the appropriate book of record.

  (5) Each contract, bond, or other obligation to which a district is a party shall remain in force and effect for the period provided in the contract, bond, or other indebtedness. If a district is discontinued, the department shall be substituted for the district as a party to each contract entered into by the district, except the department is not responsible for any coupon or bond issued by a district under this part. The department is entitled to all benefits and subject to all responsibilities under each contract for which it is substituted as a party and has the same right to perform, to require performance, to sue and be sued, and to modify or terminate the contract by mutual consent or otherwise, as the board of a district would have had.

  (6) The department shall not entertain a petition for the discontinuance of a district, or make determination pursuant to a petition under this section, more often than once every 2 years.