House Bill hb0939e1
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HB 939, First Engrossed/ntc
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the St. Augustine-St. Johns
3 County Airport Authority and the St.
4 Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority
5 District, a special taxing district in St.
6 Johns County; providing for codification of
7 special laws regarding special districts
8 pursuant to chapter 97-255, Laws of Florida;
9 providing legislative intent; codifying and
10 reenacting chapter 63-1853, Laws of Florida, as
11 amended; providing district status and
12 boundaries; providing powers; providing for
13 applicability of chapters 298 and 189, Florida
14 Statutes, and other general laws; providing an
15 Authority charter; providing for liberal
16 construction; providing a saving clause in the
17 event any provision of the act is deemed
18 invalid; repealing all prior special acts of
19 the Legislature relating to the St.
20 Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority;
21 providing an effective date.
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23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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25 Section 1. Intent.--Pursuant to chapter 97-255, Laws
26 of Florida, this act constitutes the codification of all
27 special acts relating to the St. Augustine-St. Johns County
28 Airport Authority. It is the intent of the Legislature in
29 enacting this law to provide a single, comprehensive special
30 act charter for the Authority, including all current
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1 legislative enactments and any additional authority granted by
2 this act.
3 Section 2. Codification.--Chapters 63-1853, 65-2169,
4 65-2172, 65-2175, 67-1983, 69-1535, 69-1541, 82-374, 83-507,
5 83-508, and 89-496, Laws of Florida, relating to the St.
6 Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority, are codified,
7 reenacted, amended, and repealed as herein provided.
8 Section 3. The St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport
9 Authority is re-created and the charter for such Authority is
10 re-created and reenacted to read:
11 Section 1. Status of the St. Augustine-St. Johns
12 County Airport Authority.--The St. Augustine-St. Johns County
13 Airport Authority is declared to be an independent special
14 district pursuant to chapter 189, Florida Statutes, as it may
15 be amended from time to time.
16 Section 2. Boundaries of the St. Augustine-St. Johns
17 County taxing district.--All lands lying within St. Johns
18 County, Florida, shall constitute the boundaries of the St.
19 Augustine-St. Johns County special taxing district.
20 Section 3. Minimum charter requirements.--In
21 accordance with section 189.404(3), Florida Statutes, the
22 following subsections constitute the charter of the St.
23 Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority:
24 (1) There is hereby created an authority to be known
25 as the St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority with
26 the power to sue and be sued and with the additional powers
27 specified herein.
28 (2) There is also created a special taxing district in
29 St. Johns County, which district shall be a body politic and
30 corporate and political subdivision of the state under the
31 name of "St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority
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1 District." The St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport
2 Authority shall be the governing body and shall exercise its
3 powers and jurisdiction within the territory of said district,
4 which shall comprise all of St. Johns County.
5 (3) The St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport
6 Authority shall be governed by a board of five members known
7 as the St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority board.
8 The expiration of each 4-year term for each seat is staggered,
9 such that two or three of the five seats are elected every 2
10 years. At the general election held prior to the expiration of
11 each of said terms, successors shall be elected by the
12 qualified electors residing within the boundaries of the St.
13 Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority District for a
14 term of 4 years, to expire the first Tuesday after the first
15 Monday in January following the election. Vacancies in office
16 shall be filled by appointment of the Governor and confirmed
17 by the Senate for the remainder of the unexpired terms. No
18 member of the St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority
19 board shall be an officer or employee of the City of St.
20 Augustine, St. Johns County, or the State of Florida, except
21 members of the militia or notaries public. Not more than two
22 of the members shall be persons who are primarily engaged in
23 the aviation business, and no person shall be eligible for
24 appointment or election as a board member except persons
25 residing within the boundaries of the St. Augustine-St. Johns
26 County Airport Authority District. The members constituting
27 the St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority board
28 shall select one of their number as chair, and the term of
29 office of the chair shall be 1 year. The members shall receive
30 no compensation for their services, but they are authorized to
31 be reimbursed for verified travel and other expenses, which
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1 shall be paid from the funds of the Authority. Three members
2 shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of conducting
3 business, exercising powers, and all other purposes. Notices
4 of election shall be given through the Office of the Secretary
5 of State, as provided by the general laws of the state.
6 Members of the St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport
7 Authority board shall be identified on such board by numbered
8 groups, and candidates for election to such board shall
9 qualify in particular groups, and otherwise as provided by the
10 laws of the state.
11 (4) The St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport
12 Authority is empowered to employ an executive director, a
13 legal counsel, and other such permanent or temporary
14 employees, including, but not limited to, technical experts,
15 secretaries, and clerical help, as may be needed to operate
16 the Authority. The St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport
17 Authority board is empowered to determine the qualifications,
18 duties, and compensation of said employees, the compensation
19 to be fixed by resolution of the members of the board and to
20 be paid from the income of the Authority.
21 (5) The St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport
22 Authority as hereby created is authorized and empowered to own
23 and acquire property by purchase, lease, lease-purchase,
24 eminent domain, gift, or transfer from the City of St.
25 Augustine, the United States of America, the State of Florida,
26 or any agencies thereof, and other entities or individuals,
27 and to acquire, construct, maintain, and operate airport
28 facilities, warehouses, hangars, repair facilities, seaplane
29 bases, and all other facilities incident to the operation of
30 airport facilities for both foreign and domestic air
31 transportation, either by land planes or seaplanes, including
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1 multimodal transportation facilities which interconnect with
2 the airport facility. The Authority is authorized and
3 empowered to own, acquire, and operate airplanes, seaplanes,
4 and lighter-than-air craft, and to engage in instruction in
5 aviation, research in aeronautical fields, and promotion of
6 aeronautical development. Property of the St. Augustine-St.
7 Johns County Airport Authority may be utilized for purposes
8 which are not related to aviation.
9 (6) The St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport
10 Authority is authorized and empowered to conduct activities
11 necessary to create and support a multimodal transportation
12 system to interconnect with and support the airport activities
13 and to serve the district and the region.
14 (7) The St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport
15 Authority shall have the right and power of eminent domain
16 over real and personal property and to maintain eminent domain
17 proceedings in the form and in the manner as prescribed by the
18 general laws of the state, provided that the power of eminent
19 domain shall be exercised to carry out the purposes of this
20 act.
21 (8) The St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport
22 Authority is authorized and empowered to enter into contracts
23 with any individual, corporation, or political subdivision or
24 agency of the state, and the United States of America, and to
25 enter into operating contracts or leases for facilities owned
26 by the Authority and any and all other contracts for
27 furthering the business, operation, and maintenance of the
28 facilities as herein provided, including the right to lease
29 any or all airport facilities and appurtenances to
30 individuals, corporations, or government entities. The
31 Authority is further authorized to fix and revise from time to
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1 time rates, fees, and other charges for the use of and for the
2 services furnished or to be furnished by any airport facility
3 owned or operated by the Authority. Such rates, fees, and
4 charges shall be fixed and revised so that the revenues of the
5 Authority, together with any other available funds, will be
6 sufficient at all times:
7 (a) To pay the costs, including salaries, for
8 maintaining, operating, and repairing the airport facilities
9 owned or operated by the Authority, including reserves for
10 such purposes.
11 (b) To pay the principal of and interest on all bonds
12 or revenue certificates issued by the Authority under the
13 provisions of this act as the same become due and payable and
14 to provide reserves therefor.
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16 Notwithstanding any of the foregoing provisions of this
17 section, the Authority may enter into contracts relating to
18 the use of or for the services furnished or to be furnished by
19 any airport facility, which contracts shall not be subject to
20 revision except in accordance with the terms of such
21 contracts.
22 (9) Within the limits of its budget, the St.
23 Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority is authorized to
24 borrow money and give its notes as evidence of indebtedness
25 therefor in order to carry out the purposes and authorizations
26 of this act.
27 (10) To carry out the purposes of this act, the
28 authority is authorized, for the purpose of construction,
29 acquiring, paying for, and improving its properties and
30 facilities, to raise moneys by the issuance and sale of
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1 revenue bonds or certificates or general obligation bonds or
2 combined revenue and general obligation bonds.
3 (a) Revenue bonds or certificates issued pursuant to
4 this act shall be payable from and secured by a pledge of all
5 or any part of the income, rents, and revenues derived by the
6 Authority from any of its properties or facilities now or
7 hereafter owned or operated by the Authority. The Authority
8 may further pledge its full faith and credit and taxing power
9 for the payment of such revenue bonds or certificates to the
10 full extent that the revenues derived from the operation of
11 the properties and facilities of the Authority are
12 insufficient for the payment of the principal of and interest
13 on and reserves for such revenue bonds or certificates,
14 provided that the issuance of such revenue bonds or
15 certificates, if the full faith and credit of the Authority
16 are pledged therefor, have been first approved by the
17 qualified electors residing in the district in the manner
18 provided in Section 12 of Article VII of the State
19 Constitution.
20 (b) The Authority may also issue its general
21 obligation bonds for the purposes aforesaid and may pledge its
22 full faith and credit and taxing power for the payment of the
23 principal of and interest on said bonds and reserves therefor
24 as the same become due, provided that the issuance of such
25 general obligation bonds has been first approved by the
26 qualified electors residing in the district in the manner
27 provided in Section 12 of Article VII of the State
28 Constitution.
29 (c) Any bond election of the qualified electors
30 residing in the district shall be called and held in the
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1 manner provided in the applicable Florida Statutes for the
2 holding of bond elections.
3 (d) After the issuance of any revenue bonds, which are
4 additionally secured by the full faith and credit of the
5 Authority as provided above, or of any general obligation
6 bonds, the Authority shall have the power and shall be
7 irrevocably obligated to levy ad valorem taxes on all taxable
8 property within the district to the full extent necessary to
9 pay the principal of and interest on and reserves for any
10 general obligation bonds issued, as the same mature and become
11 due, and to pay the principal of and interest on and reserves
12 therefor due on any revenue bonds or certificates to the full
13 extent that the revenues derived from the operation of the
14 Authority's properties and facilities are insufficient for the
15 payment thereof.
16 (e) Any of said revenue bonds or certificates or
17 general obligation bonds may be authorized by resolution or
18 resolutions adopted by the Authority, which may be adopted at
19 the same meeting at which they are introduced, by a majority
20 of all the members of the Authority then in office and need
21 not be published or posted. The bonds shall bear interests at
22 the rate or rates allowable by general law, may be in one or
23 more series, may bear such date or dates, may mature at such
24 time or times not exceeding 40 years from their respective
25 dates, may be payable in such medium of payment, at such place
26 or places within or without the state, may carry such
27 registration privileges, may be subject to such terms or prior
28 redemption, with or without premium, may be executed in such
29 manner, may contain such terms, covenants, and conditions, and
30 may be in such form, all as such resolution or subsequent
31 resolutions shall provide. The bonds may be sold or exchanged
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1 for refunding bonds or delivered to contractors in payment for
2 any part of the works or improvements financed by such bonds,
3 or delivered in exchange for any properties, either real,
4 personal, or mixed, including franchises, to be acquired for
5 such works or improvements, all at one time or in blocks from
6 time to time, in such manner and at such price or prices, as
7 the board of the Authority in its discretion shall determine
8 and in accordance with Florida Statutes.
9 (f) Pending the preparation of the definitive bonds,
10 interim certificates or receipts or temporary bonds in such
11 form and with such provisions as the Authority board may
12 determine may be issued to the purchaser or purchasers of the
13 bonds issued hereunder. The bonds and such interim
14 certificates or receipts or temporary bonds shall be fully
15 negotiable and shall be and constitute negotiable instruments
16 within the meaning of and for all purposes of the law merchant
17 and the negotiable-instruments law of the state.
18 (g) Said bonds may be issued to refund any obligations
19 therefor issued pursuant to this act or any other law to
20 finance the construction or acquisition of properties or
21 facilities of the Authority at or before the maturity of such
22 outstanding obligations, or for the combined purposes of
23 refunding such outstanding obligations and the construction or
24 acquisition of properties or facilities of the Authority.
25 (h) In the event the Authority issues revenue bonds or
26 certificates, whether payable from the revenues of the
27 properties and facilities of the Authority or secured by a
28 pledge of the full faith and credit of the Authority as
29 provided above, the Authority may make valid and legally
30 binding covenants with the holders of said revenue bonds or
31 certificates as to the purposes for which the proceeds of the
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1 revenue bonds or certificates may be applied and the securing,
2 use, and disposition thereof; the creation and maintenance of
3 reserve funds, the fixing, establishing, collection, and
4 maintenance of fees, rentals, or other charges for the use of
5 the services and facilities of the Authority; limitations or
6 restrictions on the issuance of additional revenue bonds or
7 other certificates payable from the revenues derived from the
8 properties and facilities of the Authority; the appointment of
9 a trustee to hold and apply any funds of the Authority; the
10 appointment of a receiver upon default of the Authority in the
11 payment of the principal of or interest on any such revenue
12 bonds or certificates or in the performance of any covenants
13 relating thereto; and such other and additional covenants as
14 is deemed necessary and desirable for the security of the
15 holders of such revenue bonds or certificates issued pursuant
16 to this act.
17 (i) All revenue bonds or certificates and general
18 obligation bonds issued hereunder shall be and constitute
19 legal investments for saving banks, banks, trust companies,
20 executors, administrators, trustees, guardians, and other
21 fiduciaries and for any board, body, agency, or
22 instrumentality of the state, or of any county, municipality,
23 or other political subdivision of the state, and shall be and
24 constitute securities which may be deposited by any bank or
25 trust company as security for the deposit of state, county,
26 municipal, and other public funds.
27 (j) All property of and all revenues derived from the
28 properties and facilities of the Authority shall be exempt
29 from all taxation by the state or by any county, municipality,
30 or other political subdivision thereof. Revenue bonds or
31 certificates and general obligation bonds issued pursuant to
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1 this act, shall, together with the income therefrom, be exempt
2 from all taxation by the state, or by any county,
3 municipality, or other political subdivision thereof.
4 (k) Whenever any debt has been incurred or bonds have
5 been issued by the St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport
6 Authority, the board shall determine annually by resolution
7 the amount necessary to be raised by taxation for the payment
8 of principal of and interest on any indebtedness or bonds
9 maturing in such year for such purposes. A certified copy of
10 the resolution shall be filed annually with the Board of
11 County Commissioners of St. Johns County and the board of
12 county commissioners shall order annually the property
13 appraiser to assess property in the district sufficient to pay
14 the principal of and interest on any indebtedness in said
15 year, together with any delinquency for prior years. The board
16 of county commissioners shall order annually the property
17 appraiser to assess and the tax collector to collect such
18 other taxes as may be certified to the board of county
19 commissioners by the board of the Authority, as authorized by
20 provisions of this act for other purposes.
21 (11) In addition to the powers enumerated above, the
22 Authority shall for general purposes have the authority to
23 levy an ad valorem tax on all taxable property situated within
24 the district, said ad valorem tax not to exceed .5 mill.
25 (12) The St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport
26 Authority shall have no power or authority to bind or commit
27 the City of St. Augustine, a municipal corporation, in any
28 manner directly or indirectly and the City of St. Augustine
29 shall not be liable or responsible in any manner for any of
30 the debts, liabilities, obligations, acts, or omissions of the
31 St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority, or any of
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1 its officers or employees. All persons dealing with the
2 Authority are hereby charged with full notice of this
3 limitation of its powers.
4 (13) The fiscal year of the St. Augustine-St. Johns
5 County Airport Authority shall be the same as that of St.
6 Johns County, being October 1 to September 30 of each year.
7 The St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority shall
8 maintain acceptable books of account reflecting all income and
9 expenditures and said books shall be open to reasonable public
10 inspection.
11 (a) In addition, the St. Augustine-St. Johns County
12 Airport Authority shall prepare a budget on or before the
13 first day of each fiscal year, and no money shall be spent or
14 obligations incurred by the board or Authority except in
15 accordance with the terms of the budget.
16 (b) An audit of the affairs of the Authority shall be
17 conducted annually by a certified public accountant and shall
18 be submitted to the state auditor for review in accordance
19 with the general laws of Florida.
20 (14) St. Johns County and the City of St. Augustine
21 are empowered to appropriate and contribute to the St.
22 Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority such sums of
23 money for the operating expenses of the Authority as the
24 commission of the city or the county may from year to year
25 determine necessary. Such sums of money so appropriated and
26 contributed by the city or the county shall be paid to the St.
27 Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority upon its
28 requisition. The City of St. Augustine and St. Johns County
29 are further authorized to convey by sale, lease, or gift any
30 city-owned or county-owned properties that the city or county
31 deems appropriate to convey to the Authority.
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1 (15) The St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport
2 Authority shall, with the consent of the City Commission of
3 St. Augustine, evidenced by resolution of the commission,
4 exercise any powers relating to aviation conferred upon
5 municipalities by general law, including the provisions of
6 chapter 332, Florida Statutes, known as the Airport Act of
7 1945.
8 Section 4. Liberal construction.--It is intended that
9 the provisions of this act be liberally construed for
10 accomplishing the work authorized and provided for or intended
11 to be provided for by this act and, where strict construction
12 would result in the defeat of the accomplishment of any part
13 of the work authorized by this act and a liberal construction
14 would permit or assist in the accomplishment of any part of
15 the work authorized by this act, the liberal construction
16 shall be chosen.
17 Section 5. Invalidity.--If any section, subsection,
18 sentence, clause, or phrase of this act is held to be
19 unconstitutional, such holding shall not affect the validity
20 of the remaining portions of the act, the Legislature hereby
21 declaring that it would have passed this act and each section,
22 subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase thereof irrespective
23 of any other separate section, subsection, sentence, clause,
24 or phrase thereof and irrespective of the fact that any one or
25 more other sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, or
26 phrases thereof may be declared unconstitutional.
27 Section 6. Repeal of prior special acts.--Chapters
28 63-1853, 65-2169, 65-2172, 65-2175, 67-1983, 69-1535, 69-1541,
29 82-374, 83-507, 83-508, and 89-496, Laws of Florida, relating
30 to the St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority are
31 repealed 10 days after the effective date of this act.
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1 Section 7. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
2 law.
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