Senate Bill sb2178c1
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Florida Senate - 2002 CS for SB 2178
By the Committee on Comprehensive Planning, Local and Military
Affairs; and Senator Laurent
316-2088-02
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to county emergency medical
3 service assessments; creating s. 125.271, F.S.;
4 defining the term "county" as used in this
5 section; providing for permanent qualification
6 for funding emergency medical services through
7 a special assessment levied as described in
8 this act; providing construction; providing for
9 the ratification and validation of certain
10 special assessments levied before the effective
11 date of this act; providing an effective date.
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13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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15 Section 1. Section 125.271, Florida Statutes, is
16 created to read:
17 125.271 Emergency medical services; county emergency
18 medical service assessments.--
19 (1) As used in this section, the term "county" means:
20 (a) A county that is within a rural area of critical
21 economic concern as designated by the Governor pursuant to s.
22 288.0656;
23 (b) A small county having a population of 75,000 or
24 fewer on the effective date of this act which has levied at
25 least 10 mills of ad valorem tax for the previous fiscal year;
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27 (c) A county that adopted an ordinance authorizing the
28 imposition of an assessment for emergency medical services
29 prior to January 1, 2002.
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Florida Senate - 2002 CS for SB 2178
316-2088-02
1 Once a county has qualified under this subsection, it always
2 retains the qualification.
3 (2) A county may fund the costs of emergency medical
4 services through the levy of a special assessment that
5 apportions the cost among the property based on a reasonable
6 methodology that charges a parcel in proportion to its
7 benefits.
8 (3) The authorization provided in this section shall
9 be construed to be general law authorization pursuant to ss. 1
10 and 9 of Art. VII of the State Constitution.
11 (4) All special assessments for emergency medical
12 services levied by a county prior to the effective date of
13 this section are ratified and validated in all respects if
14 they would have been valid had this section been in effect at
15 the time they were levied; however, this subsection shall not
16 validate assessments in counties with litigation challenging
17 the validity of an assessment pending on January 1, 2002.
18 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
19 law.
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Florida Senate - 2002 CS for SB 2178
316-2088-02
1 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
2 SB 2178
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4 This CS replaces the bill as filed, to create a new section of
law to allow certain counties to levy a special assessment to
5 fund Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Eligible counties
include counties within a rural area of critical economic
6 concern; a small county with a population of 75,000 or less on
the effective date of this act that has levied at least 10
7 mills of ad valorem tax for the previous fiscal year; or a
county which had adopted an ordinance authorizing the
8 imposition of an assessment for EMS prior to January 1, 2002.
The CS also ratifies special assessments for EMS levied by a
9 county as authorized by the act prior to the effective date of
the act; and includes language providing that the
10 authorization pursuant to ss. 1 and 9 of Art. VII, of the
State Constitution -- a tax authorized by general law.
11 Finally, the CS includes a provision clarifying that this
legislation will not validate assessments in counties with
12 litigation challenging the validity of an assessment pending
on January 1, 2002.
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