Senate Bill 2498

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    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 2498

    By Senators Klein and King





    28-1317A-00                                        See HB 1573

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to tax on sales, use, and other

  3         transactions; providing intent; amending s.

  4         212.08, F.S.; revising the exemption for

  5         machinery and equipment used in silicon

  6         technology production and research and

  7         development, to include machinery and equipment

  8         used by health technology facilities to produce

  9         health technology products, and machinery and

10         equipment used in research and development or

11         manufacturing in a health technology facility;

12         providing a definition; providing an effective

13         date.

14

15         WHEREAS, Enterprise Florida, Inc., has a sector

16  strategy devoted to Florida's health technology industry, and

17         WHEREAS, the health technology industry represents a

18  valued and growing sector of Florida's economy, and

19         WHEREAS, this industry employs over 250,000 Floridians

20  at a high average wage, and

21         WHEREAS, this industry is dominated by small employers

22  and entrepreneurs that look to the state, its communities,

23  economic development organizations, and community colleges and

24  universities to provide an environment that will nurture its

25  development, and

26         WHEREAS, this industry improves the quality of life for

27  all Floridians, and

28         WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature recognizes the

29  importance of this industry to our state, NOW, THEREFORE,

30

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

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    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 2498
    28-1317A-00                                        See HB 1573




  1         Section 1.  Legislative intent.--It is the intent of

  2  the Legislature to encourage and facilitate the location and

  3  expansion of the state's health technology industry.  This

  4  industry sector creates high-wage, value-added jobs which

  5  strengthen and diversify the state's economy.

  6         Section 2.  Paragraph (j) of subsection (5) of section

  7  212.08, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

  8         212.08  Sales, rental, use, consumption, distribution,

  9  and storage tax; specified exemptions.--The sale at retail,

10  the rental, the use, the consumption, the distribution, and

11  the storage to be used or consumed in this state of the

12  following are hereby specifically exempt from the tax imposed

13  by this chapter.

14         (5)  EXEMPTIONS; ACCOUNT OF USE.--

15         (j)  Machinery and equipment used in health technology

16  and silicon technology production and research and

17  development.--

18         1.  Industrial machinery and equipment purchased for

19  use in silicon technology facilities certified under

20  subparagraph 5. to manufacture, process, compound, or produce

21  health technology or silicon technology products for sale or

22  for use by these facilities are exempt from the tax imposed by

23  this chapter.

24         2.  Machinery and equipment are exempt from the tax

25  imposed by this chapter if purchased for use predominately in

26  research and development or manufacturing in a health

27  technology facility certified under subparagraph 5., or if

28  purchased for use predominately in silicon wafer research and

29  development activities in a silicon technology research and

30  development facility certified under subparagraph 5.

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






    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 2498
    28-1317A-00                                        See HB 1573




  1         3.  In addition to meeting the criteria mandated by

  2  subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 2., a business must be

  3  certified by the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic

  4  Development as authorized in this paragraph in order to

  5  qualify for exemption under this paragraph.

  6         4.  For items purchased tax exempt pursuant to this

  7  paragraph, possession of a written certification from the

  8  purchaser, certifying the purchaser's entitlement to exemption

  9  pursuant to this paragraph, relieves the seller of the

10  responsibility of collecting the tax on the sale of such

11  items, and the department shall look solely to the purchaser

12  for recovery of tax if it determines that the purchaser was

13  not entitled to the exemption.

14         5.a.  To be eligible to receive the exemption provided

15  by subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 2., a qualifying business

16  entity shall apply to Enterprise Florida, Inc. The application

17  shall be developed by the Office of Tourism, Trade, and

18  Economic Development in consultation with Enterprise Florida,

19  Inc.

20         b.  Enterprise Florida, Inc., shall review each

21  submitted application and information and determine whether or

22  not the application is complete within 5 working days. Once an

23  application is complete, Enterprise Florida, Inc., shall,

24  within 10 working days, evaluate the application and recommend

25  approval or disapproval of the application to the Office of

26  Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development.

27         c.  Upon receipt of the application and recommendation

28  from Enterprise Florida, Inc., the Office of Tourism, Trade,

29  and Economic Development shall certify within 5 working days

30  those applicants who are found to meet the requirements of

31  this section and notify the applicant, Enterprise Florida,

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    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 2498
    28-1317A-00                                        See HB 1573




  1  Inc., and the department of the certification. If the Office

  2  of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development finds that the

  3  applicant does not meet the requirements of this section, it

  4  shall notify the applicant and Enterprise Florida, Inc.,

  5  within 10 working days that the application for certification

  6  has been denied and the reasons for denial. The Office of

  7  Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development has final approval

  8  authority for certification under this section.

  9         6.a.  A business certified to receive this exemption

10  may apply once each year for the exemption.

11         b.  The first claim submitted by a business may include

12  all eligible expenditures made after the date the business was

13  certified.

14         c.  To apply for the annual exemption, the business

15  shall submit a claim to the Office of Tourism, Trade, and

16  Economic Development, which claim indicates and documents the

17  sales and use taxes otherwise payable on eligible machinery

18  and equipment. The claim must also indicate, for program

19  evaluation purposes only, the average number of full-time

20  equivalent employees at the facility over the preceding

21  calendar year, the average wage and benefits paid to those

22  employees over the preceding calendar year, and the total

23  investment made in real and tangible personal property over

24  the preceding calendar year or, for the first claim submitted,

25  since the date of certification. The department shall assist

26  the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development in

27  evaluating and verifying information provided in the

28  application for exemption.

29         d.  The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic

30  Development may use the information reported on the claims for

31  evaluation purposes only and shall prepare an annual report on

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    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 2498
    28-1317A-00                                        See HB 1573




  1  the exemption program and its cost and impact. The annual

  2  report for the preceding fiscal year shall be submitted to the

  3  Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the

  4  House of Representatives by September 30 of each fiscal year.

  5  This report may be submitted in conjunction with the annual

  6  report required in s. 288.095(3)(c).

  7         7.  A business certified to receive this exemption may

  8  elect to designate one or more state universities or community

  9  colleges as recipients of up to 100 percent of the amount of

10  the exemption for which they may qualify. To receive these

11  funds, the institution must agree to match the funds so earned

12  with equivalent cash, programs, services, or other in-kind

13  support on a one-to-one basis in the pursuit of research and

14  development projects as requested by the certified business.

15  The rights to any patents, royalties, or real or intellectual

16  property must be vested in the business unless otherwise

17  agreed to by the business and the university or community

18  college.

19         8.  As used in this paragraph, the term:

20         a.  "Predominately" means at least 50 percent of the

21  time in qualifying research and development.

22         b.  "Research and development" means basic and applied

23  research in the science or engineering, as well as the design,

24  development, and testing of prototypes or processes of new or

25  improved products. Research and development does not include

26  market research, routine consumer product testing, sales

27  research, research in the social sciences or psychology,

28  nontechnological activities, or technical services.

29         c.  "Silicon technology products" means raw silicon

30  wafers that are transformed into semiconductor memory or logic

31  wafers, including wafers containing mixed memory and logic

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






    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 2498
    28-1317A-00                                        See HB 1573




  1  circuits; related assembly and test operations; active-matrix

  2  flat panel displays; semiconductor chips; and related silicon

  3  technology products as determined by the Office of Tourism,

  4  Trade, and Economic Development.

  5         d.  "Health technology products" means drugs; surgical,

  6  medical, and dental instruments and supplies; ophthalmic

  7  goods; laboratory apparatus; laboratory analytical

  8  instruments; optical instruments and lenses; and related

  9  health technology products as determined by the Office of

10  Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development.

11         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.

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14                       LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY

15    Revises the exemption from the tax on sales, use, and
      other transactions for machinery and equipment used in
16    silicon technology production and research and
      development, to include machinery and equipment used by
17    health technology facilities to produce health technology
      products, and machinery and equipment used in research
18    and development or manufacturing in a health technology
      facility.
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