HB 0171 2004
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the Joint Legislative Sales and Use Tax
3	Exemption and Exclusion Review Committee; creating s.
4	11.95, F.S.; creating the Joint Legislative Sales and Use
5	Tax Exemption and Exclusion Review Committee for the
6	purpose of reviewing exemptions from the general state
7	sales and use tax and exclusions of sales of services from
8	such taxation; providing for appointments to and
9	organization of the committee; specifying duties;
10	providing for reports; requiring continuing periodic
11	review of sales tax exemptions; providing an effective
12	date.
13
14	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16	Section 1. Section 11.95, Florida Statutes, is created to
17	read:
18	11.95 Joint Legislative Sales and Use Tax Exemption and
19	Exclusion Review Committee.--
20	(1) The Joint Legislative Sales and Use Tax Exemption and
21	Exclusion Review Committee is created to conduct comprehensive,
22	periodic reviews of all exemptions from the general state sales
23	and use tax and exclusions of sales of services from such
24	taxation. The committee shall consist of nine senators appointed
25	by the President of the Senate and nine representatives
26	appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The
27	terms of the members of the initial committee for each review
28	cycle shall commence upon appointment and shall run to the
29	general election preceding the organization of the next
30	Legislature. The terms of the members of subsequent committees
31	for each review cycle shall be for 2 years and shall run from
32	the organization of one Legislature to the general election
33	preceding the organization of the next Legislature. A vacancy
34	shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
35	During even-numbered years, the chair of the committee shall be
36	appointed by the President of the Senate, and the vice chair of
37	the committee shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of
38	Representatives. During odd-numbered years, the chair of the
39	committee shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of
40	Representatives, and the vice chair of the committee shall be
41	appointed by the President of the Senate.
42	(2) The committee for each review cycle shall have its
43	initial meeting no later than December 1 of the year of its
44	first regular session and thereafter as necessary at the call of
45	the chair at the time and place designated by the chair. A
46	quorum shall consist of a majority of the committee members from
47	each house. During the interim between regular sessions, the
48	committee may conduct its meetings through teleconferences or
49	other similar means.
50	(3) The committee shall be governed by joint rules adopted
51	by the Legislature pursuant to authority to adopt rules under s.
52	4, Art. III of the State Constitution.
53	(4) For purposes of this section, the term:
54	(a) "General state sales and use tax" means the sales and
55	use tax imposed under chapter 212.
56	(b) "Service" means a service within any of the following
57	service categories under the North American Industry
58	Classification System (NAICS):
59	1. Personal Services.
60	2. Professional Services.
61	3. Business Services.
62	4. Financial Services.
63	5. Media Services.
64	6. Entertainment and Sports Services.
65	7. Construction Services.
66	8. Institutional Services.
67	9. Transportation Services.
68	10. Health Services.
69	(5) The committee shall have the power and duty to conduct
70	a comprehensive review of all current exemptions from the
71	general state sales and use tax and the exclusion of sales of
72	services from such taxation. The committee shall establish
73	criteria by which each exemption or exclusion shall be
74	evaluated. In developing the evaluation criteria, the committee
75	shall consider the following principles of taxation:
76	(a) Equity.--The Florida tax system should treat
77	individuals equitably. It should impose similar tax burdens on
78	people in similar circumstances and should minimize
79	regressivity.
80	(b) Compliance.--The Florida tax system should facilitate
81	taxpayer compliance. It should be simple and easy to understand
82	so as to minimize compliance costs and increase the visibility
83	and awareness of the taxes being paid. Enforcement and
84	collection of tax revenues should be done in a fair, consistent,
85	professional, predictable, and cost-effective manner.
86	(c) Pro-competitiveness.--The Florida tax system should be
87	responsive to interstate and international competition in order
88	to encourage savings and investment in plants, equipment,
89	people, and technology in Florida.
90	(d) Neutrality.--The Florida tax system should affect
91	competitors uniformly and not become a tool for "social
92	engineering." It should minimize government involvement in
93	investment decisions, making any such involvement explicit, and
94	should minimize pyramiding.
95	(e) Stability.--The Florida tax system should produce
96	revenues in a stable and reliable manner that is sufficient to
97	fund appropriate governmental functions and expenditures.
98	(f) Integration.--The Florida tax system should balance
99	the need for integration of federal, state, and local taxation.
100	(g) Public purpose.--Any sales and use tax exemption or
101	exclusion under the Florida tax system should be based upon a
102	determination that the exemption or exclusion promotes an
103	important state interest, including, but not limited to,
104	economic development, job creation and retention, economic
105	diversification, and community revitalization.
106	(6) In conducting its review of each exemption from the
107	general state sales and use tax or the exclusion of the sale of
108	a service from such taxation, the committee shall make findings
109	of fact and recommend whether the exemption should be retained,
110	modified, or repealed or the exclusion should be retained or
111	eliminated. Each recommendation must be made by majority vote of
112	the committee members from each house. If a majority vote of the
113	committee members from each house cannot be achieved, the
114	committee must recommend that the exemption or exclusion be
115	retained. The findings of fact and recommendations of the
116	committee shall be made by reports to the President of the
117	Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
118	(7) The committee may use its discretion in determining
119	the order in which it reviews the exemptions and exclusions;
120	however, the committee should review approximately one-fifth of
121	the exemptions and exclusions each year of a 5-year review
122	period. For the initial 5-year review, the committee shall
123	submit, to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the
124	House of Representatives, its reports not later than 30 days
125	prior to each regular session in the years 2005, 2006, 2007,
126	2008, and 2009. The committee shall begin a new 5-year review
127	cycle of all exemptions from the general state sales and use tax
128	and all exclusions of sales of services from such taxation every
129	10 years following the termination of the previous review cycle.
130	For each subsequent 5-year review, the committee shall submit
131	its reports not later than 30 days prior to the regular session
132	of each year of that review period, beginning with the 10th year
133	after the year of the final report for the previous review.
134	(8) At the regular session following submission of each
135	annual report to the presiding officers of the Legislature, the
136	committee must file for introduction in both houses of the
137	Legislature bills presenting for reenactment, modification, or
138	repeal those exemptions from the general state sales and use tax
139	or any imposition of such taxation on sales of services that
140	were recommended by the committee in the report submitted
141	immediately prior to the session in which introduced. Each bill
142	filed by the committee must be restricted to a single exemption
143	or the imposition of the tax on a single service and must be
144	submitted to a vote of the members of the house of the
145	Legislature in which introduced no later than the eighth week of
146	the session in which introduced, unless the substance of the
147	bill has already been voted on by the members of the other house
148	of the Legislature in another bill during that session and
149	either passed or defeated. In addition, each bill filed by the
150	committee that receives a majority vote in the house of the
151	Legislature in which introduced must be submitted to a vote of
152	the members of the other house of the Legislature during that
153	session, unless the substance of the bill has already been voted
154	on by the members of the other house of the Legislature in
155	another bill during that session and either passed or defeated.
156	An exemption shall not be considered repealed if a bill
157	presenting the exemption for reenactment fails to become law.
158	(9) Nothing contained in this section shall preclude, or
159	be construed to limit, a legislator from filing for any
160	legislative session a bill proposing to modify, repeal, or enact
161	any exemption from the general state sales and use tax or the
162	imposition of such taxation on the sales of any service.
163	Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.