| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to Department of Revenue forms; amending |
| 3 | s. 195.022, F.S.; limiting the responsibility of the |
| 4 | Department of Revenue to furnish certain ad valorem tax |
| 5 | forms to specified local officials; requiring certain |
| 6 | counties to reproduce the forms; providing an effective |
| 7 | date. |
| 8 |
|
| 9 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 10 |
|
| 11 | Section 1. Section 195.022, Florida Statutes, as amended |
| 12 | by section 71 of chapter 2003-399, Laws of Florida, is amended |
| 13 | to read: |
| 14 | 195.022 Forms to be prescribed by Department of |
| 15 | Revenue.--The Department of Revenue shall prescribe and furnish |
| 16 | The Department of Revenue shall prescribe and furnish all forms |
| 17 | to be used by property appraisers, tax collectors, clerks of the |
| 18 | circuit court, and value adjustment boards in administering and |
| 19 | collecting ad valorem taxes. The department shall prescribe a |
| 20 | form for each purpose. For counties with a population of 100,000 |
| 21 | or less, the Department of Revenue shall furnish the forms. For |
| 22 | counties with a population greater than 100,000, the county |
| 23 | officer shall reproduce forms for distribution at the expense of |
| 24 | his or her office. A county officer may use a form other than |
| 25 | the form prescribed by the department, but only at the expense |
| 26 | of his or her office and upon obtaining written permission from |
| 27 | the executive director of the department; however, provided that |
| 28 | no county officer shall use a form the substantive content of |
| 29 | which is at variance with the form prescribed by the department |
| 30 | for the same or a similar purpose. If the executive director |
| 31 | finds good cause to grant such permission, he or she may do so. |
| 32 | The county officer may continue to use such approved form until |
| 33 | the law which specifies the form is amended or repealed or until |
| 34 | the officer receives written disapproval from the executive |
| 35 | director. Otherwise, all such officers and their employees shall |
| 36 | use the forms, and follow the instructions applicable to the |
| 37 | forms, which are prescribed furnished to them by the department. |
| 38 | The department, upon request of any property appraiser or, in |
| 39 | any event, at least once every 3 years, shall prescribe and |
| 40 | furnish such aerial photographs and nonproperty ownership maps |
| 41 | to the property appraisers as are necessary to ensure that all |
| 42 | real property within the state is properly listed on the roll. |
| 43 | All forms and maps furnished by the department shall be paid for |
| 44 | by the department as provided by law. All forms and maps and |
| 45 | instructions relating to their use shall be substantially |
| 46 | uniform throughout the state. An officer may employ supplemental |
| 47 | forms and maps, at the expense of his or her office, which he or |
| 48 | she deems expedient for the purpose of administering and |
| 49 | collecting ad valorem taxes. The forms required in ss. |
| 50 | 193.461(3)(a) and 196.011(1) for renewal purposes shall require |
| 51 | sufficient information for the property appraiser to evaluate |
| 52 | the changes in use since the prior year. If the property |
| 53 | appraiser determines, in the case of a taxpayer, that he or she |
| 54 | has insufficient current information upon which to approve the |
| 55 | exemption, or if the information on the renewal form is |
| 56 | inadequate for him or her to evaluate the taxable status of the |
| 57 | property, he or she may require the resubmission of an original |
| 58 | application. |
| 59 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004. |