The Florida Senate

1011.71  District school tax.--

(1)  If the district school tax is not provided in the General Appropriations Act or the substantive bill implementing the General Appropriations Act, each district school board desiring to participate in the state allocation of funds for current operation as prescribed by s. 1011.62(11) shall levy on the taxable value for school purposes of the district, exclusive of millage voted under the provisions of s. 9(b) or s. 12, Art. VII of the State Constitution, a millage rate not to exceed the amount certified by the commissioner as the minimum millage rate necessary to provide the district required local effort for the current year, pursuant to s. 1011.62(4)(a)1. In addition to the required local effort millage levy, each district school board may levy a nonvoted current operating discretionary millage. The Legislature shall prescribe annually in the appropriations act the maximum amount of millage a district may levy.

(2)  In addition to the maximum millage levy as provided in subsection (1), each school board may levy not more than 2 mills against the taxable value for school purposes for district schools, including charter schools at the discretion of the school board, to fund:

(a)  New construction and remodeling projects, as set forth in s. 1013.64(3)(b) and (6)(b) and included in the district's educational plant survey pursuant to s. 1013.31, without regard to prioritization, sites and site improvement or expansion to new sites, existing sites, auxiliary facilities, athletic facilities, or ancillary facilities.

(b)  Maintenance, renovation, and repair of existing school plants or of leased facilities to correct deficiencies pursuant to s. 1013.15(2).

(c)  The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of school buses.

(d)  The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of new and replacement equipment.

(e)  Payments for educational facilities and sites due under a lease-purchase agreement entered into by a district school board pursuant to s. 1003.02(1)(f) or s. 1013.15(2), not exceeding, in the aggregate, an amount equal to three-fourths of the proceeds from the millage levied by a district school board pursuant to this subsection.

(f)  Payment of loans approved pursuant to ss. 1011.14 and 1011.15

(g)  Payment of costs directly related to complying with state and federal environmental statutes, rules, and regulations governing school facilities.

(h)  Payment of costs of leasing relocatable educational facilities, of renting or leasing educational facilities and sites pursuant to s. 1013.15(2), or of renting or leasing buildings or space within existing buildings pursuant to s. 1013.15(4).

(i)  Payment of the cost of school buses when a school district contracts with a private entity to provide student transportation services if the district meets the requirements of this paragraph.

1.  The district's contract must require that the private entity purchase, lease-purchase, or lease, and operate and maintain, one or more school buses of a specific type and size that meet the requirements of s. 1006.25

2.  Each such school bus must be used for the daily transportation of public school students in the manner required by the school district.

3.  Annual payment for each such school bus may not exceed 10 percent of the purchase price of the state pool bid.

4.  The proposed expenditure of the funds for this purpose must have been included in the district school board's notice of proposed tax for school capital outlay as provided in s. 200.065(10).

(j)  Payment of the cost of the opening day collection for the library media center of a new school.

(3)  A school district that has met the reduction requirements regarding class size for the current year pursuant to s. 1003.03, has received an unqualified opinion on its financial statements for the preceding 3 years, has no material weaknesses or instances of material noncompliance noted in an audit for the preceding 3 years, and certifies to the Commissioner of Education that all of the district's instructional space needs for the next 5 years can be met from capital outlay sources that the district reasonably expects to receive during the next 5 years from local revenues and from currently appropriated state facilities funding or from alternative scheduling or construction, leasing, rezoning, or technological methodologies that exhibit sound management may expend revenue generated by the millage levy authorized by subsection (2) to fund, in addition to expenditures authorized in paragraphs (2)(a)-(j), the following:

(a)  The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of driver's education vehicles; motor vehicles used for the maintenance or operation of plants and equipment; security vehicles; or vehicles used in storing or distributing materials and equipment.

(b)  Payment of the cost of premiums for property and casualty insurance necessary to insure school district educational and ancillary plants. Operating revenues that are made available through the payment of property and casualty insurance premiums from revenues generated under this subsection may be expended only for nonrecurring operational expenditures of the school district.

(4)  Violations of the expenditure provisions in subsection (2) or subsection (3) shall result in an equal dollar reduction in the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) funds for the violating district in the fiscal year following the audit citation.

(5)  These taxes shall be certified, assessed, and collected as prescribed in s. 1011.04 and shall be expended as provided by law.

(6)  Nothing in s. 1011.62(4)(a)1. shall in any way be construed to increase the maximum school millage levies as provided for in subsection (1).

(7)  In addition to the maximum millage levied under this section and the General Appropriations Act, a school district may levy, by local referendum or in a general election, additional millage for school operational purposes up to an amount that, when combined with nonvoted millage levied under this section, does not exceed the 10-mill limit established in s. 9(b), Art. VII of the State Constitution. Any such levy shall be for a maximum of 4 years and shall be counted as part of the 10-mill limit established in s. 9(b), Art. VII of the State Constitution. Millage elections conducted under the authority granted pursuant to this section are subject to s. 1011.73 Funds generated by such additional millage do not become a part of the calculation of the Florida Education Finance Program total potential funds in 2001-2002 or any subsequent year and must not be incorporated in the calculation of any hold-harmless or other component of the Florida Education Finance Program formula in any year. If an increase in required local effort, when added to existing millage levied under the 10-mill limit, would result in a combined millage in excess of the 10-mill limit, any millage levied pursuant to this subsection shall be considered to be required local effort to the extent that the district millage would otherwise exceed the 10-mill limit.

History.--s. 28, ch. 2002-296; s. 663, ch. 2002-387; ss. 17, 18, ch. 2003-399; s. 1, ch. 2004-346; s. 7, ch. 2006-27; s. 54, ch. 2006-74; s. 9, ch. 2006-190; s. 178, ch. 2007-5; s. 4, ch. 2007-59; s. 4, ch. 2007-194; ss. 7, 33, ch. 2007-321.