Florida Senate - 2009                             CS for SB 1000
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Military Affairs and Domestic Security; and
       Senators Fasano, Aronberg, Deutch, and Ring
       
       
       
       583-03509-09                                          20091000c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to discretionary sales surtaxes;
    3         amending s. 212.055, F.S.; authorizing certain
    4         counties to levy by ordinance a discretionary sales
    5         surtax for emergency fire rescue services and
    6         facilities under certain circumstances; providing for
    7         the designation of an Interlocal Agreement
    8         Facilitator; requiring a referendum; providing for
    9         distribution of surtax proceeds; authorizing an
   10         administrative fee; providing for interlocal
   11         agreements; providing agreement requirements;
   12         requiring a reduction in the budget for ad valorem tax
   13         levies and non-ad valorem assessments for emergency
   14         fire rescue service by the amount of the estimated
   15         surtax; requiring any surplus surtax revenues to be
   16         used to further reduce ad valorem taxes; prohibiting
   17         entities not entering into an interlocal agreement
   18         from receiving a portion of surtax proceeds; providing
   19         an effective date.
   20  
   21  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   22  
   23         Section 1. Subsection (8) is added to section 212.055,
   24  Florida Statutes, to read:
   25         212.055 Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent;
   26  authorization and use of proceeds.—It is the legislative intent
   27  that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales
   28  surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a
   29  subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the
   30  levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties
   31  authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the
   32  maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the
   33  procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if
   34  required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended;
   35  and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide.
   36  Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as
   37  provided in s. 212.054.
   38         (8)EMERGENCY FIRE RESCUE SERVICES AND FACILITIES SURTAX.—
   39         (a)The governing authority of a county may, by ordinance,
   40  levy a discretionary sales surtax of up to 1 percent for
   41  emergency fire rescue services and facilities as provided in
   42  this subsection. As used in this subsection, the term “emergency
   43  fire rescue services” includes, but is not limited to, the
   44  preventing and extinguishing fires; protecting and saving life
   45  and property from fires or natural or intentional acts or
   46  disasters; enforcing municipal, county, or state fire prevention
   47  codes and laws pertaining to the prevention and control of
   48  fires; and providing prehospital emergency medical treatment.
   49         (b)If a surtax is levied under this subsection, the
   50  governing authority of the county shall designate an Interlocal
   51  Agreement Facilitator for emergency fire rescue services within
   52  the county for emergency fire rescue services within the county.
   53         (c)Upon the adoption of the ordinance, the levy of the
   54  surtax must be placed on the ballot by the governing authority
   55  of the county enacting the ordinance. The ordinance shall take
   56  effect if approved by a majority of the electors of the county
   57  voting in a referendum held for such purpose. The ballot for the
   58  referendum must conform to the requirements of s. 101.161. The
   59  interlocal agreement required under paragraph (e) is a condition
   60  precedent to holding the referendum.
   61         (d)Pursuant to s. 212.054(4), the proceeds of the
   62  discretionary sales surtax collected under this subsection, less
   63  an administrative fee that may be retained by the Department of
   64  Revenue, shall be distributed by the county to the participating
   65  jurisdictions that have entered into an interlocal agreement
   66  with the county under this subsection. The county may also
   67  charge an administrative fee for receiving and distributing the
   68  surtax collected under this subsection which may not exceed 2
   69  percent of the surtax collected.
   70         (e)The Interlocal Agreement Facilitator shall develop an
   71  interlocal agreement to be executed by the county governing
   72  authority and the participating jurisdictions, which are the
   73  governing bodies of municipalities, dependent special districts,
   74  independent special districts, or municipal service taxing units
   75  located within such county. The interlocal agreement shall only
   76  include a majority of the service providers in the county.
   77         1.The interlocal agreement must specify that:
   78         a.The amount of the surtax proceeds to be distributed by
   79  the county to each participating jurisdiction is based on the
   80  actual amounts collected within each participating jurisdiction
   81  as determined by the Department of Revenue’s population
   82  allocations in accordance with s. 218.62; or
   83         b.If a county has special fire control districts and
   84  rescue districts or a municipal service taxing unit within its
   85  boundary, the county shall distribute the surtax proceeds among
   86  the county and the participating municipalities or special fire
   87  control and rescue districts based on the proportion of each
   88  entity’s expenditures of ad valorem taxes and non-ad valorem
   89  assessments for fire control and emergency rescue services in
   90  each of the immediately preceding 5 fiscal years to the total of
   91  such expenditures for all participating entities.
   92         2.Each participating jurisdiction shall agree that if a
   93  participating jurisdiction is requested to provide personnel or
   94  equipment to any other service provider, on a long-term basis,
   95  the jurisdiction providing the service is entitled to payment
   96  from the requesting service provider from that provider’s share
   97  of the surtax proceeds for all costs of such equipment or
   98  personnel.
   99         (f)Upon the surtax taking effect and initiation of
  100  collections, a county and any participating jurisdiction
  101  entering into the interlocal agreement shall reduce the ad
  102  valorem tax levy and any non-ad valorem assessment for fire
  103  control and emergency rescue services in its next and subsequent
  104  budgets by the estimated amount of revenue provided by the
  105  surtax.
  106         (g)Use of surtax proceeds authorized under this subsection
  107  does not relieve a local government from complying with the
  108  provisions of chapter 200 and any related provision of law that
  109  establishes millage caps or limits undesignated budget reserves
  110  and procedures for establishing rollback rates for ad valorem
  111  taxes and budget adoption. If surtax collections exceed
  112  projected collections in any fiscal year, any surplus
  113  distribution must be used to further reduce ad valorem taxes in
  114  the next fiscal year. These proceeds shall be applied as a
  115  rebate to the final millage, after the TRIM notice is completed
  116  in accordance with this provision.
  117         (h)Municipalities, special fire control and rescue
  118  districts, and contract service providers that do not enter into
  119  an interlocal agreement are not entitled to receive a portion of
  120  the proceeds of the surtax collected under this subsection.
  121         (i)Sub-subparagraph (e)1.a. or subparagraph (e)2. do not
  122  apply if one or more of the participating jurisdictions are
  123  prohibited from providing the same level of service for
  124  prehospital emergency medical treatment within their boundaries
  125  as a result of a limitation on providing such services through
  126  an interlocal agreement with the county and one or more of the
  127  participating jurisdictions or any certificate of public
  128  convenience and necessity or its equivalent issued by the county
  129  is issued solely to a county department or dependent special
  130  districts of the county.
  131         (j)Surtax collections shall be initiated on January 1 of
  132  the year following a successful referendum in order to coincide
  133  with s. 212.054(5).
  134         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.