Senate Bill 1940c1

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 1940

    By the Committee on Comprehensive Planning, Local and Military
    Affairs; and Senator Kurth




    316-1874-99

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to spring training franchise

  3         facilities; amending s. 125.0104, F.S.;

  4         defining the term "retained spring training

  5         franchise"; providing that the additional local

  6         option tourist development taxes presently

  7         authorized to finance the construction or

  8         renovation of a professional sports franchise

  9         facility may also be used to finance the

10         acquisition, construction, or renovation of a

11         retained spring training franchise facility;

12         correcting a reference; providing for an

13         appropriation under certain conditions;

14         providing an effective date.

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

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18         Section 1.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (2), paragraphs

19  (l) and (n) of subsection (3), and paragraph (d) of subsection

20  (5) of section 125.0104, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement,

21  are amended to read:

22         125.0104  Tourist development tax; procedure for

23  levying; authorized uses; referendum; enforcement.--

24         (2)  APPLICATION; DEFINITIONS.--

25         (b)  Definitions.--For purposes of this section:

26         1.  "Promotion" means marketing or advertising designed

27  to increase tourist-related business activities.

28         2.  "Tourist" means a person who participates in trade

29  or recreation activities outside the county of his or her

30  permanent residence or who rents or leases transient

31  accommodations as described in paragraph (3)(a).

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 1940
    316-1874-99




  1         3.  "Retained spring training franchise" means a spring

  2  training franchise that had a location in this state on or

  3  before December 31, 1998, and that has continuously remained

  4  at that location for at least the 10 years preceding that

  5  date.

  6         (3)  TAXABLE PRIVILEGES; EXEMPTIONS; LEVY; RATE.--

  7         (l)  In addition to any other tax which is imposed

  8  pursuant to this section, a county may impose up to an

  9  additional 1-percent tax on the exercise of the privilege

10  described in paragraph (a) by majority vote of the governing

11  board of the county in order to:

12         1.  Pay the debt service on bonds issued to finance the

13  construction, reconstruction, or renovation of a professional

14  sports franchise facility, or the acquisition, construction,

15  reconstruction, or renovation of a retained spring training

16  franchise facility, either publicly owned and operated, or

17  publicly owned and operated by the owner of a professional

18  sports franchise or other lessee with sufficient expertise or

19  financial capability to operate such facility, and to pay the

20  planning and design costs incurred prior to the issuance of

21  such bonds.

22         2.  Pay the debt service on bonds issued to finance the

23  construction, reconstruction, or renovation of a convention

24  center, and to pay the planning and design costs incurred

25  prior to the issuance of such bonds.

26         3.  Pay the operation and maintenance costs of a

27  convention center for a period of up to 10 years. Only

28  counties that have elected to levy the tax for the purposes

29  authorized in subparagraph 2. may use the tax for the purposes

30  enumerated in this subparagraph.

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 1940
    316-1874-99




  1  The provision of paragraph (b) which prohibits any county

  2  authorized to levy a convention development tax pursuant to s.

  3  212.0305 from levying more than the 2-percent tax authorized

  4  by this section, and the provisions of paragraphs (4)(a)

  5  through (d), shall not apply to the additional tax authorized

  6  in this paragraph. The effective date of the levy and

  7  imposition of the tax authorized under this paragraph shall be

  8  the first day of the second month following approval of the

  9  ordinance by the governing board or the first day of any

10  subsequent month as may be specified in the ordinance.  A

11  certified copy of such ordinance shall be furnished by the

12  county to the Department of Revenue within 10 days after

13  approval of such ordinance.

14         (n)  In addition to any other tax that is imposed under

15  this section, a county that has imposed the tax under

16  paragraph (l) may impose an additional tax that is no greater

17  than 1 percent on the exercise of the privilege described in

18  paragraph (a) by a majority plus one vote of the membership of

19  the board of county commissioners in order to pay the debt

20  service on bonds issued to finance:

21         1.  The construction, reconstruction, or renovation of

22  a facility either publicly owned and operated, or publicly

23  owned and operated by the owner of a professional sports

24  franchise or other lessee with sufficient expertise or

25  financial capability to operate such facility, and to pay the

26  planning and design costs incurred prior to the issuance of

27  such bonds for a new professional sports franchise as defined

28  in s. 288.1162.

29         2.  The acquisition, construction, reconstruction, or

30  renovation of a facility either publicly owned and operated,

31  or publicly owned and operated by the owner of a professional

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 1940
    316-1874-99




  1  sports franchise or other lessee with sufficient expertise or

  2  financial capability to operate such facility, and to pay the

  3  planning and design costs incurred prior to the issuance of

  4  such bonds for a retained spring training franchise.

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  6  A county that imposes the tax authorized in this paragraph may

  7  not expend any ad valorem tax revenues for the acquisition,

  8  construction, reconstruction, or renovation of that facility.

  9  The provision of paragraph (b) which prohibits any county

10  authorized to levy a convention development tax pursuant to s.

11  212.0305 from levying more than the 2-percent tax authorized

12  by this section shall not apply to the additional tax

13  authorized by this paragraph in counties which levy convention

14  development taxes pursuant to s. 212.0305(4)(a). Subsection

15  (4) does not apply to the adoption of the additional tax

16  authorized in this paragraph. The effective date of the levy

17  and imposition of the tax authorized under this paragraph is

18  the first day of the second month following approval of the

19  ordinance by the board of county commissioners or the first

20  day of any subsequent month specified in the ordinance. A

21  certified copy of such ordinance shall be furnished by the

22  county to the Department of Revenue within 10 days after

23  approval of the ordinance.

24         (5)  AUTHORIZED USES OF REVENUE.--

25         (d)  Any use of the local option tourist development

26  tax revenues collected pursuant to this section for a purpose

27  not expressly authorized by paragraph (3)(l) or paragraph

28  (3)(n)(o) or paragraph (a), paragraph (b), or paragraph (c) of

29  this subsection is expressly prohibited.

30         Section 2.  There is appropriated to any county from

31  the General Revenue Fund $7.5 million to be used for the

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 1940
    316-1874-99




  1  acquisition, construction, reconstruction, or renovation of

  2  any privately owned spring training franchise facility, with

  3  half of the funds in fiscal year 1999-2000 and the remaining

  4  half in fiscal year 2000-2001. No funds shall be released

  5  until the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development

  6  determines that a unit of local government, as defined in

  7  section 218.369, Florida Statutes, is responsible for the

  8  acquisition, construction, management, or operation of the

  9  spring training franchise facility or holds title to the

10  property on which the retained spring training facility is

11  located; that the applicant has a verified copy of a signed

12  agreement with a retained spring training franchise for the

13  use of the facility for a term of at least 15 years; that the

14  applicant has a financial commitment to provide 50 percent or

15  more of the funds required by an agreement for the use of the

16  facility by the retained spring training franchise; and that

17  the applicant has projections, verified by the Office of

18  Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development, which demonstrate

19  that the retained facility will attract a paid attendance of

20  at least 50,000 annually.

21         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 1940
    316-1874-99




  1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
  2                         Senate Bill 1940

  3

  4  The CS differs from the bill in the following ways:

  5  Deletes sections 2 and 3, which provided a monthly
    distribution from state sales taxes for qualified retained
  6  spring training franchise facilities;

  7  Includes a definition of retained spring training franchise in
    s. 125.0104, F.S.;
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    Appropriates to any county from General Revenue $7.5 million,
  9  under certain conditions, to be used for the acquisition,
    construction, reconstruction, or renovation of any privately
10  owned spring traiing franchise facility.

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