HB 1159

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic
3Center Authority; codifying, amending, repealing, and
4reenacting the authority's special acts; providing for
5planning, developing, operating, and maintaining a
6comprehensive complex of civic, governmental, educational,
7recreational, convention, and entertainment facilities;
8providing for the method and manner of the election,
9selection, and terms of membership of the authority;
10providing powers, functions, privileges, duties, and
11responsibilities of the authority; providing for the
12issuance of bonds; providing for the rights and remedies
13of bondholders; providing for the sources of revenues to
14the authority; naming the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic
15Center; authorizing the Division of Alcoholic Beverages
16and Tobacco of the Department of Business and Professional
17Regulation to issue a beverage license to the authority or
18its designee; providing severability; repealing chapters
1972-605, 77-480, 79-502, and 81-494, Laws of Florida;
20providing an effective date.
21
22Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24     Section 1.  Pursuant to section 189.429, Florida Statutes,
25this act constitutes the codification of all special acts
26relating to the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center Authority.
27It is the intent of the Legislature to provide a single,
28comprehensive special act charter for the authority, including
29all current legislative enactments as herein provided and any
30additional authority granted by this act and chapter 189,
31Florida Statutes, as the same may be amended from time to time.
32It is further the intent of this act to preserve all authority
33of the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center Authority.
34     Section 2.  Chapters 72-605, 77-480, 79-502, and 81-494,
35Laws of Florida, relating to the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic
36Center Authority, are codified, reenacted, amended, and repealed
37as herein provided.
38     Section 3.  The charter of the Tallahassee-Leon County
39Civic Center Authority is re-created and reenacted to read:
40     Section 1.  The Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center
41Authority, hereinafter referred to as the authority, a local
42public agency, politic and corporate, is created for the purpose
43of planning, developing, operating, and maintaining a
44comprehensive complex of civic, governmental, educational,
45recreational, convention, and entertainment facilities for the
46use and enjoyment of the citizens of Leon County and the state.
47It is the finding of the Legislature that said purposes are
48essential public purposes.
49     Section 2.  (1)  The authority shall consist of a ten-
50member board composed of the chair of the Leon County Board of
51County Commissioners, or his or her designee; one other member
52of the county commission, or his or her designee; the Mayor of
53the City of Tallahassee, or his or her designee; one member of
54the city commission, or his or her designee; the President of
55Florida State University, or his or her designee; the President
56of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, or his or her
57designee; the President of the Student Government Association of
58Florida State University, or his or her designee; the President
59of the Student Government Association of Florida Agricultural
60and Mechanical University, or his or her designee; one member
61appointed by the County Commission of Leon County for an initial
62term of 4 years; and one member appointed by the Tallahassee
63City Commission for an initial term of 4 years. Each succeeding
64appointment by the county and city commissions shall be for
65terms of 4 years.
66     (2)  Upon the death or resignation of any member of the
67authority, a successor shall be appointed by the board for the
68unexpired term. The members shall not be entitled to any
69compensation for their duties except for actual expenses
70necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties.
71     (3)  Each member shall serve until his or her successor
72shall be appointed. A majority of the members of the authority
73shall constitute a quorum. A vacancy in the authority shall not
74impair the rights of a quorum to exercise all the rights and
75perform all the duties of the authority.
76     (4)  The authority shall elect one of its members as chair,
77one as vice chair, and one as secretary-treasurer.
78     Section 3.  The following words and terms are defined as
79follows:
80     (1)  ?City? means the City of Tallahassee.
81     (2)  ?County? means Leon County.
82     (3)  ?Authority? means the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic
83Center Authority.
84     (4)  ?Civic, governmental, educational, recreational,
85convention, and entertainment facilities? means and includes
86facilities for all types of civic, governmental, educational,
87recreational, convention, and entertainment purposes, including,
88but not limited to, facilities for accommodating conferences,
89meetings, conventions, citizens' and taxpayers? gatherings,
90exhibitions, sporting events, dances, shows, plays, games, and
91like events.
92     (5)  ?Cost,? as applied to any facility, means and includes
93all expenses as may be necessary or incident to acquisition,
94construction, or financing.
95     Section 4.  The authority is hereby authorized and
96empowered:
97     (1)  To sue and be sued.
98     (2)  To contract.
99     (3)  To adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and
100the conduct of its business.
101     (4)  To adopt an official seal.
102     (5)  To purchase, acquire, develop, construct, improve,
103relocate, equip, maintain, and operate any auditorium, stadium,
104coliseum, or other similar facility, including motor vehicle
105parking therefor, which may be used in conjunction with the
106facility.
107     (6)  To make a comprehensive, long-range master plan for
108the overall orderly development of a civic center complex, to
109develop detailed plans for specific facilities within the
110aforesaid master plan in close coordination with the
111Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department, and to obtain
112necessary feasibility and other reports and studies by and
113through the Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department.
114     (7)  To acquire by grant, purchase, lease, gift, devise, or
115condemnation all property, real or personal, or any estate,
116easement, franchise, or interest therein necessary, desirable,
117or convenient for the purposes of this act, which land shall be
118adjacent and contiguous to the civic center complex; to sell,
119lease, rent, transfer, or otherwise dispose of any property or
120any part thereof or interest therein; and to exercise all of its
121powers and authority with respect thereto.
122     (8)  To borrow money and issue negotiable bonds, and to
123provide for the rights of the holders thereof, and to secure the
124payment of said bonds by a pledge of all or any portion of the
125revenues and other moneys legally available therefor, and, in
126general, to provide for the security of the bonds and the rights
127and remedies of the holders thereof.
128     (9)  To fix and collect rates, rentals, fees, and charges
129for the use of any and all facilities owned by the authority,
130including, but not limited to, recreational, convention,
131entertainment, and parking facilities of the authority.
132     (10)  To contract for the operation of food and beverage,
133parking, and other concessions relating to the operation of the
134recreational, convention, and entertainment facilities of the
135authority.
136     (11)  To make and enter into all contracts and agreements
137and execute all instruments necessary or incidental to the
138performance of the duties imposed and the execution of the
139powers granted under this act and to employ such consulting
140services, engineers, superintendents, managers, construction and
141financial experts and attorneys, and such employees and agents
142as may, in the judgment of the authority, be deemed necessary
143and fix their compensation.
144     (12)  To cooperate with and contract with the government of
145the United States or the state, or any agency or instrumentality
146of either thereof, or with any municipality, district, private
147corporation, copartnership, association, or individual in
148carrying out the powers granted in this act.
149     (13)  To accept gifts of money or property, real or
150personal, from any individual or the federal, state, county, or
151municipal government.
152     (14)  To have and exercise the right and sovereign power of
153eminent domain and to do all acts or things necessary or proper
154to carry out the powers expressly granted in this act.
155     Section 5.  (1)  The authority is hereby authorized to
156issue bonds from time to time in such principal amount as in the
157opinion of the authority shall be necessary to provide
158sufficient moneys for achieving its lawful purposes. Bonds shall
159be authorized by resolution of the members of the authority and
160shall bear such date or dates; mature at such time or times, not
161to exceed 40 years; bear interest at such rate or rates as shall
162be determined by the authority,; be payable solely from all
163revenues and income of the authority, including the receipts
164from lease rentals and appropriations from the United States,
165the state, or any political subdivision thereof, in such medium
166of payment and at such place or places; be subject to such terms
167of redemption; and be entitled to such priorities of lien on the
168revenues and other available moneys as such resolution may
169provide. The bonds shall be executed either by manual or
170facsimile signature by such officers as the authority shall
171determine. Such bonds shall have the seal of the authority
172affixed or imprinted thereon. The bonds shall be sold at public
173or private sale and upon such terms and conditions as the
174authority deems in the best public interest.
175     (2)  The authority may enter into any deeds of trust,
176indentures, or other agreements with any bank or trust company
177within or without the state as security for such bonds and may,
178under such agreements, assign and pledge all or any of the
179revenues and other available moneys pursuant to the terms of
180this act. Such deed of trust, indenture, or other agreement may
181contain such provisions as are customary in such instrument or
182as the authority may authorize, including, but not limited to,
183provisions as to:
184     (a)  The pledging of all or any part of the revenues or
185other moneys lawfully available therefor.
186     (b)  The application of funds and the safeguarding of funds
187on hand or on deposit.
188     (c)  The rights and remedies of the trustees and the
189holders of the bonds.
190     (d)  The terms and provisions of the bonds or the
191resolutions authorizing the issuance of the same.
192     (e)  Any other or additional matters of like or different
193character that in any way may affect the security or protection
194of the bonds.
195     (3)  The bonds issued pursuant to this act are hereby
196declared to be negotiable instruments and shall have all the
197qualities and incidents of negotiable instruments under the law
198merchant and the negotiable instruments law of the state.
199     Section 6.  The boundaries of the Tallahassee-Leon County
200Civic Center Authority shall be coexistent with the boundaries
201of Leon County.
202     Section 7.  The Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center is
203hereby named the ?Donald L. Tucker Civic Center? in recognition
204of the untiring and unselfish efforts of Donald L. Tucker in his
205years of service as a representative of the district
206encompassing Tallahassee and Leon County and in recognition and
207appreciation of the invaluable service he has provided to his
208constituency and to the state by his efforts in bringing about
209the construction of this civic center.
210     Section 8.  The authority is authorized and directed to
211erect suitable markers, which shall include a marker over the
212main entrance of the center, reflecting the name of the civic
213center as described in section 7.
214     Section 9.  In addition to any licenses that may be issued
215under the provisions of the beverage law of the state, the
216Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco of the Department of
217Business and Professional Regulation is hereby authorized to
218issue a special license or special licenses to qualified
219applicants consisting of the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic
220Center Authority, or its designee, for use within the confines
221of the 20-acre civic center complex located within the City of
222Tallahassee and known as the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center;
223however, any such license issued pursuant to this act shall only
224permit the licensee to sell alcoholic beverages for on-premises
225consumption.
226     Section 10.  The provisions of this act are severable, and
227it is the intent of the Legislature to confer the whole or any
228part of the powers herein provided for. If any of the provisions
229of this act or any of the powers granted by this act are held
230unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, the
231decision of the court shall not affect or impair any of the
232remaining provisions of this act or any of the remaining powers
233granted by this act.
234     Section 4.  Chapters 72-605, 77-480, 79-502, and 81-494,
235Laws of Florida, are repealed.
236     Section 5.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.


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