Senate Bill 0114

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    Florida Senate - 2000                                   SB 114

    By Senators Kirkpatrick, Holzendorf and Mitchell





    5-140-00

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to discretionary sales

  3         surtaxes; amending s. 212.055, F.S.; revising

  4         the population requirements for levying the

  5         small county surtax; providing an effective

  6         date.

  7

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

  9

10         Section 1.  Subsection (3) of section 212.055, Florida

11  Statutes, is amended to read:

12         212.055  Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative

13  intent; authorization and use of proceeds.--It is the

14  legislative intent that any authorization for imposition of a

15  discretionary sales surtax shall be published in the Florida

16  Statutes as a subsection of this section, irrespective of the

17  duration of the levy.  Each enactment shall specify the types

18  of counties authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be

19  imposed; the maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed,

20  if any; the procedure which must be followed to secure voter

21  approval, if required; the purpose for which the proceeds may

22  be expended; and such other requirements as the Legislature

23  may provide.  Taxable transactions and administrative

24  procedures shall be as provided in s. 212.054.

25         (3)  SMALL COUNTY SURTAX.--

26         (a)  The governing authority in each county that has a

27  population of 50,000 or less on April 1, 1992, or a population

28  of 75,000 or less on October 1, 2000, may levy a discretionary

29  sales surtax of 0.5 percent or 1 percent.  The levy of the

30  surtax must shall be pursuant to ordinance enacted by an

31  extraordinary vote of the members of the county governing

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    Florida Senate - 2000                                   SB 114
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  1  authority if the surtax revenues are expended for operating

  2  purposes.  If the surtax revenues are expended for the purpose

  3  of servicing bond indebtedness, the surtax shall be approved

  4  by a majority of the electors of the county voting in a

  5  referendum on the surtax.

  6         (b)  A statement that includes a brief general

  7  description of the projects to be funded by the surtax and

  8  conforms to the requirements of s. 101.161 shall be placed on

  9  the ballot by the governing authority of any county that

10  enacts an ordinance calling for a referendum on the levy of

11  the surtax for the purpose of servicing bond indebtedness.

12  The following question shall be placed on the ballot:

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14        ....FOR the               ....-cent sales tax

15        ....AGAINST the           ....-cent sales tax

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17         (c)  Pursuant to s. 212.054(4), the proceeds of the

18  surtax levied under this subsection must shall be distributed

19  to the county and the municipalities within the county in

20  which the surtax was collected, according to:

21         1.  An interlocal agreement between the county

22  governing authority and the governing bodies of the

23  municipalities representing a majority of the county's

24  municipal population, which agreement may include a school

25  district with the consent of the county governing authority

26  and the governing bodies of the municipalities representing a

27  majority of the county's municipal population; or

28         2.  If there is no interlocal agreement, according to

29  the formula provided in s. 218.62.

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    Florida Senate - 2000                                   SB 114
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  1  Any change in the distribution formula shall take effect on

  2  the first day of any month that begins at least 60 days after

  3  written notification of that change has been made to the

  4  department.

  5         (d)1.  If the surtax is levied pursuant to a

  6  referendum, the proceeds of the surtax and any interest

  7  accrued thereto may be expended by the school district or

  8  within the county and municipalities within the county, or, in

  9  the case of a negotiated joint county agreement, within

10  another county, for the purpose of servicing bond indebtedness

11  to finance, plan, and construct infrastructure and to acquire

12  land for public recreation or conservation or protection of

13  natural resources.  However, if the surtax is levied pursuant

14  to an ordinance approved by an extraordinary vote of the

15  members of the county governing authority, the proceeds and

16  any interest accrued thereto may be used for operational

17  expenses of any infrastructure or for any public purpose

18  authorized in the ordinance under which the surtax is levied.

19         2.  As used in For the purposes of this paragraph, the

20  term "infrastructure" means any fixed capital expenditure or

21  fixed capital costs associated with the construction,

22  reconstruction, or improvement of public facilities that have

23  a life expectancy of 5 or more years and any land acquisition,

24  land improvement, design, and engineering costs related

25  thereto.

26         (e)  A school district, county, or municipality that

27  receives proceeds under this subsection following a referendum

28  may pledge the proceeds for the purpose of servicing new bond

29  indebtedness incurred pursuant to law. Local governments may

30  use the services of the Division of Bond Finance pursuant to

31  the State Bond Act to issue any bonds through the provisions

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    Florida Senate - 2000                                   SB 114
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  1  of this subsection.  A jurisdiction may not issue bonds

  2  pursuant to this subsection more frequently than once per

  3  year.  A county and municipality may join together to issue

  4  bonds authorized by this subsection.

  5         (f)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this

  6  section, a county shall not levy local option sales surtaxes

  7  authorized in this subsection and subsections (2), (4), (5),

  8  and (6) in excess of a combined rate of 1 percent.

  9         Section 2.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2000.

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12                          SENATE SUMMARY

13    Allows small counties that have a population of 75,000 or
      less on October 1, 2000, to levy the discretionary
14    small-county sales surtax.

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