Senate Bill 0712e1

    SB 712                                   First Engrossed (ntc)



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to municipalities; amending s.

  3         166.021, F.S.; providing legislative findings;

  4         authorizing municipal governing bodies to

  5         expend public funds to attract and retain

  6         business enterprises; specifying that such use

  7         of public funds constitutes a public purpose

  8         and defining the economic development

  9         activities that qualify as such public purpose;

10         providing an effective date.

11

12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

13

14         Section 1.  Subsection (9) is added to section 166.021,

15  Florida Statutes, to read:

16         166.021  Powers.--

17         (9)(a)  The Legislature finds and declares that this

18  state faces increasing competition from other states and other

19  countries for the location and retention of private

20  enterprises within its borders.  Furthermore, the Legislature

21  finds that there is a need to enhance and expand economic

22  activity in the municipalities of this state by attracting and

23  retaining manufacturing development, business enterprise

24  management, and other activities conducive to economic

25  promotion, in order to provide a stronger, more balanced, and

26  stable economy in the state, to enhance and preserve

27  purchasing power and employment opportunities for the

28  residents of this state, and to improve the welfare and

29  competitive position of the state.  The Legislature declares

30  that it is necessary and in the public interest to facilitate

31


                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    SB 712                                   First Engrossed (ntc)



  1  the growth and creation of business enterprises in the

  2  municipalities of the state.

  3         (b)  The governing body of a municipality may expend

  4  public funds to attract and retain business enterprises, and

  5  the use of public funds toward the achievement of such

  6  economic development goals constitutes a public purpose.  The

  7  provisions of this chapter which confer powers and duties on

  8  the governing body of a municipality, including any powers not

  9  specifically prohibited by law which can be exercised by the

10  governing body of a municipality, shall be liberally construed

11  in order to effectively carry out the purposes of this

12  subsection.

13         (c)  For the purposes of this subsection, it

14  constitutes a public purpose to expend public funds for

15  economic development activities, including, but not limited

16  to, developing or improving local infrastructure, issuing

17  bonds to finance or refinance the cost of capital projects for

18  industrial or manufacturing plants, leasing or conveying real

19  property, and making grants to private enterprises for the

20  expansion of businesses existing in the community or the

21  attraction of new businesses to the community.

22         (d)  Nothing contained in this subsection shall be

23  construed as a limitation on the home rule powers granted by

24  the State Constitution for municipalities.

25         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

26  law.

27

28

29

30

31


                                  2