House Bill hb0049B

    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                HB 49-B

        By Representatives Rubio and Lacasa






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to local governments in a state

  3         of financial emergency; amending s. 218.503,

  4         F.S.; specifying the municipalities that may

  5         impose a surcharge on the gross revenues of

  6         certain parking facilities; providing an

  7         effective date.

  8

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

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11         Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 218.503, Florida

12  Statutes, is reenacted, and subsection (5) of said section is

13  amended, to read:

14         218.503  Determination of financial emergency.--

15         (1)  A local governmental entity is in a state of

16  financial emergency when any of the following conditions

17  occurs:

18         (a)  Failure within the same fiscal year in which due

19  to pay short-term loans from banks or failure to make bond

20  debt service payments when due.

21         (b)  Failure to transfer at the appropriate time, due

22  to lack of funds:

23         1.  Taxes withheld on the income of employees; or

24         2.  Employer and employee contributions for:

25         a.  Federal social security; or

26         b.  Any pension, retirement, or benefit plan of an

27  employee.

28         (c)  Failure for one pay period to pay, due to lack of

29  funds:

30         1.  Wages and salaries owed to employees; or

31         2.  Retirement benefits owed to former employees.

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






    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                HB 49-B

    736-124-01






  1         (d)  An unreserved or total fund balance or retained

  2  earnings deficit for which sufficient resources of the local

  3  governmental entity are not available to cover the deficit for

  4  2 successive years.

  5         (e)  Noncompliance of the local government retirement

  6  system with actuarial conditions provided by law.

  7         (5)(a)  The governing authority of any municipality

  8  having with a resident population of 300,000 or more on or

  9  after April 1, 1999, and which has been declared in a state of

10  financial emergency pursuant to this section within the

11  previous 2 fiscal years may impose a discretionary per-vehicle

12  surcharge of up to 20 percent on the gross revenues of the

13  sale, lease, or rental of space at parking facilities within

14  the municipality which that are open for use to the general

15  public.

16         (b)  A municipal governing authority that imposes the

17  surcharge authorized by this subsection may use the proceeds

18  of such surcharge for the following purposes only:

19         1.  No less than 60 percent and no more than 80 percent

20  of the surcharge proceeds shall be used by the governing

21  authority to reduce its ad valorem tax millage rate or to

22  reduce or eliminate non-ad valorem assessments.

23         2.  A portion of the balance of the surcharge proceeds

24  shall be used by the governing authority to increase its

25  budget reserves; however, the governing authority shall not

26  reduce the amount it allocates for budget reserves from other

27  sources below the amount allocated for reserves in the fiscal

28  year prior to the year in which the surcharge is initially

29  imposed. When a 15-percent budget reserve is achieved, based

30  on the average gross revenue for the most recent 3 prior

31  fiscal years, the remaining proceeds from this subparagraph

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                HB 49-B

    736-124-01






  1  shall be used for the payment of annual debt service related

  2  to outstanding obligations backed or secured by a covenant to

  3  budget and appropriate from non-ad valorem revenues.

  4         (c)  This subsection expires is repealed on June 30,

  5  2006.

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

  7  law.

  8

  9            *****************************************

10                       LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY

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      Specifies the municipalities that may impose a surcharge
12    on the gross revenues of the sale, lease, or rental of
      space at parking facilities within the municipality which
13    are open for use by the general public.

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