Senate Bill sb2178er

    ENROLLED

    2002 Legislature                                CS for SB 2178



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  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;

26  or

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




    ENROLLED

    2002 Legislature                                CS for SB 2178



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