ENROLLED HB 1449, Engrossed 1 2003 Legislature
   
1 A bill to be entitled
2          An act relating to Indian River and Brevard Counties;
3    codifying, amending, and reenacting special acts relating
4    to the Sebastian Inlet Tax District, an independent
5    special district; providing for a governing body;
6    providing powers and duties; providing for construction
7    and maintenance of an inlet between the Indian River and
8    the Atlantic Ocean; authorizing the levy of taxes;
9    providing severability; repealing chapters 7976 (1919),
10    8901 (1921), 12259 (1927), 18138 (1937), 18139 (1937),
11    22891 (1945), 63-910, 76-329, 78-470, 82-307, and 88-535,
12    Laws of Florida; providing an effective date.
13         
14          Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15         
16          Section 1. Pursuant to section 189.429, Florida Statutes,
17    this act constitutes the codification of all special acts
18    relating to the Sebastian Inlet Tax District, also known as the
19    Sebastian Inlet District. It is the intent of the Legislature in
20    enacting this law to provide a single, comprehensive special act
21    charter for the district, including all current legislative
22    authority granted to the district by its several legislative
23    enactments and any additional authority granted by this act.
24          Section 2. Chapters 7976 (1919), 8901 (1921), 12259
25    (1927), 18138 (1937), 18139 (1937), 22891 (1945), 63-910, 76-
26    329, 78-470, 82-307, and 88-535, Laws of Florida, are codified,
27    reenacted, amended, and repealed as herein provided.
28          Section 3. The Sebastian Inlet Tax District is reenacted,
29    and the charter for the district is re-created and reenacted to
30    read:
31          Section 1. A special taxing district is hereby created to
32    be known as the Sebastian Inlet Tax District, an independent
33    special district, to consist so much of Brevard and Indian River
34    Counties, Florida as is described and embraced in the following
35    boundaries, to-wit:
36         
37          All of the Third Commissioner's District of Brevard
38    County and that part of the Fourth Commissioner's
39    District of Brevard County, Florida, bounded on the north
40    by the township line between Township Twenty-five(25) ,
41    and Township Twenty-six (26) and all of that part of
42    Indian River County, Florida, which comprised and made up
43    the First Commissioner's District of Saint Lucie County,
44    Florida, as located and established upon the passage of
45    Chapter 7976, Laws of Florida, Special Acts of 1919
46    aforesaid.
47         
48          Section 2. A governing body of said Sebastian Inlet Tax
49    District, to be known and designated as the "Board of
50    Commissioners of Sebastian Inlet Tax District," shall be
51    composed of five members, who shall have been and shall be
52    elected as provided by law. Said governing body shall have all
53    the powers of a body corporate, including the power to sue and
54    be sued as a corporation in said name in any court; to contract;
55    to adopt and use a common seal and alter the same at pleasure;
56    to purchase or otherwise acquire, own, hold, lease, sell,
57    mortgage, and convey or otherwise dispose of such real estate
58    and personal property as said Board may deem proper to carry out
59    the purposes of this act; to appoint during its pleasure a Chief
60    Engineer, a Consulting Engineer, and such agents and employees
61    as said Board may require or deem advisable; and to borrow money
62    and to issue negotiable promissory notes or bonds therefor to
63    enable it to carry out the provisions of this act.
64          Section 3. (a) Members of the Board shall be elected at
65    the general election held in November of each even-numbered
66    year. The terms of office of such Board members shall be for 4
67    years and until their successors are duly elected and qualified.
68    Each member shall be a qualified elector and resident within the
69    District; however, three members, or a majority, of the Board
70    shall reside in the county within the District's boundaries with
71    the larger population. Two members shall reside in the other
72    county. All candidates for office shall stand for election in
73    all precincts of the District.
74          1. The terms of the Board members shall be staggered, with
75    three Board members standing for election in one general
76    election for a 4-year term, and two Board members shall be
77    elected 2 years later at the general election for a 4-year term.
78          2. Newly elected Board members shall take office at the
79    next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board, or, if that
80    meeting is not planned within 30 days after the election, then a
81    special meeting shall be called for the purpose of seating the
82    new members of the Board and providing them with an orientation.
83          (b) Board members shall be elected on a nonpartisan basis
84    by a majority of the qualified electors of the District voting
85    at the election to be held in both Indian River and Brevard
86    Counties as follows:
87          1. Any candidate for membership on the Board shall qualify
88    as provided by law. The ballots shall be in the form for
89    general elections as provided by law.
90          2. The election officials of each voting district or
91    precinct within the Sebastian Inlet Tax District shall conduct
92    the election of the members of the Board of Commissioners of the
93    District at the time of conducting such general election. Each
94    voter who is qualified to vote in each such general election in
95    the respective election districts or precincts situated within
96    the boundaries of the Sebastian Inlet Tax District and who
97    resides within the boundaries of such District shall be entitled
98    to cast a ballot for the election of members of the Board of
99    Commissioners of said Sebastian Inlet Tax District.
100          3. Upon the closing of the polls in each election district
101    or precinct, the officials conducting such elections shall tally
102    the votes cast for members of the Board of Commissioners of the
103    Sebastian Inlet Tax District. The vote shall be canvassed in the
104    manner provided by general law.
105          (c) Before he or she assumes office, each Board member
106    shall be required to give to the Sebastian Inlet Tax District a
107    good and sufficient surety bond in the sum of $2,000 conditioned
108    for the faithful performance of the duties of his or her office
109    and said bond to be approved by and filed with the Clerk of the
110    Circuit Court of Brevard County. Said bond shall be recorded in
111    the minutes of said Board of Commissioners of said Sebastian
112    Inlet Tax District. The failure of any person so elected as a
113    member of the Board of Commissioners of the Sebastian Inlet Tax
114    District to give such bond within 30 days after his or her
115    election as such shall create a vacancy as to such Board member.
116    In such event or in the event of any vacancy on said Board of
117    Commissioners of the Sebastian Inlet Tax District, whether by
118    resignation, death, removal from the District, or otherwise,
119    within 30 days after the existence of such vacancy, the Governor
120    of the State of Florida shall appoint a Board member as provided
121    by law to fill such vacancy, who shall serve for the remainder
122    of such expired term and who shall give bond as hereinbefore
123    provided.
124          (d) All meetings shall be open to the public. The Board
125    shall conduct all meetings in accordance with chapter 286,
126    Florida Statutes. In addition, notice of the meetings shall be
127    sent to the news media at least 7 days in advance, stating the
128    time, date, location, and purpose of the meeting. A majority of
129    the members may convene in special session when called by a
130    majority of the members or the chair. Actions taken at special
131    meetings shall have the same force and effect as if taken at a
132    regular meeting. Two days' written notice of the time and
133    purpose of a special meeting shall be given to all members and
134    the news media. The minutes of the meeting shall set forth the
135    facts regarding the procedure in calling the meeting and the
136    reason therefor and shall be signed either by the chair or by a
137    majority of the members. Upon due public notice, regular or
138    special meetings of the Board shall be held at any appropriate
139    public place in the District which is readily accessible to the
140    general public; however, at least 50 percent of the number of
141    meetings of the Board held each year shall be held in Indian
142    River County.
143          (e) All bookkeeping and accounting of the District shall
144    meet the requirements imposed by law for special districts.
145          (f) All purchasing and bidding shall be in accordance with
146    the procedures used by the Brevard County Board of
147    Commissioners.
148          Section 4. As soon as practicable after this act becomes a
149    law, the Board holding over or after they have been duly elected
150    or appointed and have qualified, they shall meet and organized
151    by the election, from among their number, of a chair, a vice-
152    chair, a secretary/treasurer. Three members of the Board shall
153    constitute a quorum. The affirmative vote of two members shall
154    be necessary to transact business. The chair and all members of
155    the said Board present shall vote at meetings of the Board as
156    provided by law.
157          Section 5. The members of the Board shall each receive the
158    sum of $3,600 per year commencing October 1, 2003. The salary
159    shall be paid in monthly installments as compensation for
160    serving on the Board, but Board members shall not be reimbursed
161    for any travel expenses inside the boundaries of the District.
162    The members of the Board shall be reimbursed for per diem and
163    travel expenses outside the boundaries of the District in
164    accordance with the law.
165          The members of the Board shall set their own compensation
166    for each fiscal year commencing October 1, 2004, provided the
167    Board shall not increase its members’ compensation for any
168    fiscal year by a percentage greater than the percentage the
169    Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers
170    (CPI-W) increased from the date of the commencement of the
171    fiscal year when the Board members last received an increase in
172    their compensation. In the event the U.S. Department of Labor no
173    longer publishes the Consumer Price Index, the Board must use a
174    similar published standard to set any increase in its
175    compensation.
176          Section 6. It shall be the duty of said Board of
177    Commissioners of Sebastian Inlet Tax District to construct,
178    improve, widen or deepen, and maintain the inlet between the
179    Indian River and the Atlantic Ocean. With character, manner of
180    construction of said inlet shall be determined by said Board of
181    Commissioners with the approval and recommendation of the Chief
182    Engineer, and said Board is further authorized to do all acts
183    and things proper, necessary, or convenient for the aforesaid
184    purposes. The opening and maintenance of such inlet or waterway
185    connecting the waters of the Atlantic Ocean with the waters of
186    the Indian River within the Sebastian Inlet Tax District are
187    hereby found and declared to be for public purposes and to be
188    necessary for the use of shipping and for transportation and for
189    the extension of commerce of the State of Florida and of said
190    District, and also to be necessary for the maintenance of the
191    health of the inhabitants of the territory embraced in the said
192    District and for the convenience, comfort, and welfare of the
193    said District and the inhabitants thereof. The District is
194    authorized to conduct such programs and projects as it finds
195    necessary or convenient for beach renourishment, erosion
196    control, environmental protection, navigation, boating,
197    recreation, and public safety for the operation and maintenance
198    of the inlet and the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Indian
199    River Lagoon adjacent thereto.
200          Section 7. The Board shall elect a Chief Engineer. The
201    depth, width, character, and manner of improvement and
202    construction of said inlet or waterway shall be determined by
203    said Board upon the approval and recommendation of the Chief
204    Engineer of the Board. The Board, in setting the depth of the
205    inlet, shall consider the impact on navigation from the
206    Intracoastal Waterway to the Atlantic Ocean.
207          Section 8. The said Board shall have the power and
208    authority to hold, control, and acquire by gift or purchase, for
209    the use of the District, any real or personal property and to
210    condemn any lands or easements needed for the purposes of the
211    District. Said Board is authorized to exercise the right of
212    eminent domain and institute and maintain condemnation
213    proceedings as prescribed by the laws of Florida.
214          Section 9. The Board of Commissioners of Sebastian Inlet
215    Tax District is hereby authorized and empowered to levy upon all
216    of the real and personal taxable property in said District a
217    special tax not exceeding 1 1/2 mills on the dollar for the year
218    1977, and for each and every year thereafter, to be used solely
219    for the purpose authorized and prescribed by this act. Said levy
220    shall be made each year, not later than September 30 of each
221    year by resolution of the Board, or a majority thereof, duly
222    entered at large upon its minutes. Certified copies of such
223    resolution executed in the name of the Board by its chair and
224    secretary and under its corporate seal shall be made and
225    delivered to the Board of County Commissioners of Indian River
226    County, to the Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County,
227    and to the Chief Financial Officer of the State of Florida not
228    later than September 30 of each and every year thereafter. It
229    shall be the duty of the Board of County Commissioners of Indian
230    River County and the Board of County Commissioners of Brevard
231    County to order the assessment and collection of taxes levied by
232    the Board of Commissioners of the District within the respective
233    counties in the manner provided by law for regular property
234    taxes in the county. Proceeds of such taxes shall be paid within
235    the time and in the manner prescribed by law to the treasurer of
236    the Board. All such taxes shall be held by the treasurer for
237    the credit of the Board and paid out by him or her as provided
238    herein.
239          Section 10. Said Board is hereby authorized and empowered,
240    in order to provide for the work prescribed by this act and to
241    pay the expenses incident to all such work or any other expense
242    necessary in carrying out the general purposes of this act, to
243    borrow money, temporarily, from time to time for a period of
244    time not exceeding 2 years at any one time, and to issue its
245    promissory notes therefor upon such terms and at such rates of
246    interest as said Board may deem advisable. Any note so made and
247    issued may be paid out of the proceeds of the bonds authorized
248    to be issued by this act or out of any other revenues or funds
249    of said Board, and said notes shall be a charge upon all of the
250    revenue and property of said Board. In case of an injury by
251    storm or otherwise to any of the works of this District, thereby
252    causing an emergency which must be met at once in order to
253    protect or reconstruct such works, said Board is authorized to
254    borrow money under the terms prescribed above in order to meet
255    such emergency.
256          Section 11. All work done under the provisions of this
257    act, both in construction and maintenance, shall be carried on
258    under the supervision of a competent Chief Engineer to be
259    employed by said Board, and no money shall be paid out for any
260    such work to any contractor or subcontractor until such work has
261    been inspected and approved by the Board's Chief Engineer.
262          Section 12. It shall be the duty of the Board of
263    Commissioners of Sebastian Inlet Tax District to use every
264    reasonable means to maintain, protect, and preserve any and all
265    of the works constructed by said Board, and for such purposes
266    the said Board is authorized to use funds derived from taxes
267    assessed and collected for Sebastian Inlet Tax District.
268          Section 13. Whoever shall willfully damage any ditch,
269    canal, levee, inlet, waterway, jetty, or other work established
270    or constructed under this act or who shall fill in or obstruct
271    the flow of water in any inlet, canal, or waterway, or remove
272    any earth, stone, or other material from the banks of any canal,
273    inlet, waterway, revetment, or ditch without having first
274    obtained permission in writing from said Board to remove such
275    material, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon
276    conviction thereof, shall be fined not exceeding $1,000 or
277    imprisoned in the county jail not longer than 6 months, or both
278    such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the Court.
279          Section 14. Any clause or section of this act which for
280    any reason may be declared invalid may be eliminated from this
281    act, and the remaining portion or portions shall be and remain
282    in full force and valid as if such invalid clause or section had
283    not been incorporated therein.
284          Section 15. The Chief Engineer, any Consulting Engineer,
285    and any agent or employee of the Board of Commissioners or
286    District may be removed at any time by the Board.
287          Section 16. All work performed and materials furnished for
288    the construction of said inlet and for the maintenance of said
289    inlet shall be let by contract in accordance with the general
290    laws of the State of Florida governing acquisition of
291    professional engineering services, the purchase of commodities,
292    and the construction and maintenance of public works. The Board
293    shall have the right to reject any and all bids. Each contractor
294    shall be required to give a surety bond in form and amount to be
295    approved by the Board, with a responsible surety company thereon
296    as surety. The Board, however, as a public authority, is
297    authorized to exempt any person entering into a contract with
298    the District for the construction of any buildings or public
299    works, or for the repair of any buildings or public works, from
300    the requirements for payment, performance, and surety bonds in
301    the manner and the amounts which are authorized by law for other
302    public authorities to exempt their contractors from bond
303    requirements.
304          In the event of an emergency, the Board of Commissioners of
305    Sebastian Inlet Tax District is authorized to spend a sum not to
306    exceed $15,000, utilizing the following procedure:
307          (a) The Board shall obtain at least three telephone bid
308    offers to perform such work or furnish such property from at
309    least three independent persons or business entities responsible
310    in the subject business endeavor under consideration; and
311          (b) The Board shall make a record of the offers. After
312    obtaining and recording such offers, the Board, with at least
313    three of five members concurring, shall award the contract to
314    the lowest responsible bidder of those solicited. The Board
315    shall then notify all local news media which commonly cover the
316    area within the District of the type and nature of the emergency
317    and what actions the Board has taken to rectify the emergency.
318          Section 17. The Board is authorized to vacate any easement
319    or transfer fee simple interest in any real property which it
320    holds to any unit of local, state, or federal government. Prior
321    to such vacation or transfer, the Board shall conduct a public
322    hearing and determine if it is in the public interest to
323    authorize the vacation or transfer. At such hearing, the Board
324    shall consider what effect, if any, the vacation or transfer
325    shall have on public access to the inlet for fishing and
326    recreation purposes and what action best serves the public
327    health, safety, and welfare.
328          Section 4. Chapters 7976 (1919), 8901 (1921), 12259
329    (1927), 18138 (1937), 18139 (1937), 22891 (1945), 63-910, 76-
330    329, 78-470, 82-307, and 88-535, Laws of Florida, are repealed.
331          Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.