Florida Senate - 2023                                     SB 740
       
       
        
       By Senator Brodeur
       
       
       
       
       
       10-00780-23                                            2023740__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Statewide Blue Ribbon Task
    3         Force on County Realignment; providing legislative
    4         findings; creating the Statewide Blue Ribbon Task
    5         Force on County Realignment within the Department of
    6         Economic Opportunity; requiring the task force to
    7         evaluate and consider specified items; specifying the
    8         composition of the task force appointed in a specified
    9         timeframe; specifying requirements for meetings;
   10         requiring the department to provide administrative and
   11         technical support; requiring that task force members
   12         serve without compensation; specifying that task force
   13         members are not entitled to certain reimbursement;
   14         requiring the task force to submit a report to the
   15         Governor and the Legislature by a certain date;
   16         specifying the minimum requirement for the report;
   17         providing for termination of the task force; providing
   18         an effective date.
   19          
   20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   21  
   22         Section 1. The Legislature finds that:
   23         (1) While the population has continued to shift throughout
   24  this state, county boundaries have been mostly unchanged since
   25  1925.
   26         (2) Counties are mandated by law to provide certain
   27  services for the benefit and protection of the public.
   28         (3) Local governments should perform at the highest level
   29  of efficiency and economy while providing the highest standards
   30  of governmental services to their citizens.
   31         (4) This state should review whether changing county
   32  boundaries to address population shifts would help local
   33  governments provide more efficient local services and more
   34  effective public administration.
   35         Section 2. (1) The Statewide Blue Ribbon Task Force on
   36  County Realignment, a task force as defined in s. 20.03(8),
   37  Florida Statutes, is created within the Department of Economic
   38  Opportunity to study and evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency,
   39  and value of realigning, contracting, or expanding county
   40  boundaries in this state. The task force shall evaluate whether
   41  realigning, contracting, or consolidating county boundaries
   42  would help better serve constituent needs, and whether services
   43  offered by counties, including services offered by
   44  constitutional officers, could better serve the overall
   45  population of the state through realignment. The task force
   46  should consider incentives, efficiencies of services, economies
   47  of scale of key services, and all realignment scenarios.
   48         (2) The task force is composed of all of the following
   49  members, to be appointed by September 1, 2023:
   50         (a) The secretary of the Department of Economic
   51  Opportunity, or his or her designee, who shall serve as chair of
   52  the task force.
   53         (b) Seven members appointed by the Governor, as follows:
   54         1. One sitting county commissioner from a large county with
   55  a population of at least 900,000.
   56         2. One sitting county commissioner from a medium-sized
   57  county with a population between 300,000 and 900,000.
   58         3. One sitting county commissioner from a small county with
   59  a population below 300,000.
   60         4. One taxpayer from a charter county.
   61         5. One taxpayer from a noncharter county.
   62         6. One taxpayer from a fiscally constrained county as
   63  defined in s. 218.67(1).
   64         7. One district school board member.
   65         (c) Two members appointed by the President of the Senate.
   66         (d) Two members appointed by the Speaker of the House of
   67  Representatives.
   68         (e) One representative of the Florida Association of
   69  Counties.
   70         (f) One representative of the Florida League of Cities.
   71         (g) One representative of the Florida Association for
   72  Constitutional Officers.
   73         (3) By October 1, 2023, the task force shall meet to
   74  establish procedures for the conduct of its business and to
   75  elect a vice chair. The task force shall meet at the call of the
   76  chair. A majority of the members of the task force constitutes a
   77  quorum, which is necessary for the purpose of voting on any
   78  action or recommendation of the task force. Administrative and
   79  technical support shall be provided by the Department of
   80  Economic Opportunity. Task force members shall serve without
   81  compensation and are not entitled to reimbursement for per diem
   82  or travel expenses from the state.
   83         (4) By October 1, 2024, the task force must submit a final
   84  report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
   85  Speaker of the House of Representatives. The report must, at a
   86  minimum, include recommendations for consideration by the
   87  Legislature.
   88         (5) The task force is terminated upon the submission of its
   89  final report.
   90         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.