House Bill hb1441

    Florida House of Representatives - 2002               HJR 1441

        By Representative Waters






  1                      House Joint Resolution

  2         A joint resolution proposing the creation of

  3         Section 20 of Article X of the State

  4         Constitution relating to the Florida Hurricane

  5         Catastrophe Fund.

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  7  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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  9         That the following creation of Section 20 of Article X

10  of the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be submitted

11  to the electors of this state for approval or rejection at the

12  next general election or at an earlier special election

13  specifically authorized by law for that purpose:

14                            ARTICLE X

15                          MISCELLANEOUS

16         SECTION 20.  Assets of the Florida Hurricane

17  Catastrophe Fund.--The assets of the Florida Hurricane

18  Catastrophe Fund, established by general law, shall be used

19  exclusively for paying catastrophic hurricane loss obligations

20  arising out of reimbursement contracts with insurers, paying

21  debt service on revenue bonds and financing arrangements

22  issued by or on behalf of the fund, reinsurance costs of the

23  fund, administrative expenses of the fund, and an annual

24  appropriation for hurricane loss mitigation programs. An

25  appropriation from the fund for hurricane loss mitigation

26  programs may not exceed an amount equal to thirty-five percent

27  of the fund's investment income from the fiscal year that

28  concluded two years before the effective date of the

29  appropriation. At least ten million dollars must be

30  appropriated annually, but any appropriation in excess of ten

31  million dollars must be approved by a vote of three-fifths of

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002               HJR 1441

    722-145-02






  1  the membership of each house of the legislature in a separate

  2  bill for that purpose only. This section does not limit the

  3  authority of the legislature to abolish or otherwise terminate

  4  the operations of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.

  5         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be

  6  placed on the ballot:

  7                     CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

  8                      ARTICLE X, SECTION 20

  9         FLORIDA HURRICANE CATASTROPHE FUND.--Proposing an

10  amendment to the State Constitution to limit the purposes for

11  which the fund's assets may be used and to provide that

12  appropriations for hurricane loss mitigation programs are

13  limited to 35 percent of the fund's investment income in the

14  next previous fiscal year in an amount of no less than $10

15  million, with any amount in excess of that figure subject to

16  an extraordinary vote of the Legislature.

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