Senate Bill sb2614c1
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Florida Senate - 2004 CS for SB 2614
By the Committee on Education; and Senator Diaz de la Portilla
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1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to charter travel to terrorist
3 states; creating s. 288.857, F.S.; providing a
4 short title; providing legislative intent;
5 providing definitions; providing for the levy
6 of a security assessment of charter
7 transportation for trips originating in this
8 state and arriving in an identified terrorist
9 state; providing for the rate of the
10 assessment; providing requirements and
11 procedures with respect thereto; requiring any
12 university or community college within the
13 State University System or the Florida
14 Community College System that organizes or
15 directs the organization of a cultural or
16 educational trip utilizing charter
17 transportation to any terrorist state to
18 provide the Department of Education with
19 specified information; specifying exemptions to
20 the act; providing for the adoption of rules;
21 providing the adoption of emergency rules;
22 providing for length of effectiveness of such
23 rules; requiring assessment to be accompanied
24 by form prescribed by the Department of
25 Revenue; providing severability; providing an
26 effective date.
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28 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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30 Section 1. Section 288.857, Florida Statutes, is
31 created to read:
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Florida Senate - 2004 CS for SB 2614
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1 288.857 Security assessment for chartered
2 transportation to terrorist states.--
3 (1) SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the
4 "Commerce with Terrorist States Act."
5 (2) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--The Legislature finds that
6 there are increased safety concerns associated with
7 transportation between this state and terrorist states and
8 that travel to terrorist states raises issues related to
9 security and to the prevention of a response to possible
10 terrorist acts. The Legislature further finds that persons or
11 entities who transport persons to terrorist states may
12 directly impact the economic stability and public security of
13 this state. Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to
14 offset costs related to transportation to terrorist states
15 which originates in this state. It is not the intent of the
16 Legislature to impact the official business of government
17 employees or the duties of any personnel of the United States
18 Armed Services.
19 (3) DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term:
20 (a) "Terrorist state" means any state, country, or
21 nation presently deemed a state sponsor of terrorism by the
22 United States Department of State. For the purposes of this
23 act, the Department of Revenue shall document those states or
24 nations identified as state sponsors of terrorism by the
25 United States Department of State, shall specify in rule those
26 states or nations deemed state sponsors of terrorism by the
27 United States Department of State, and shall annually update
28 the list of states or nation to the most current list of the
29 United States Department of State.
30 (b) "Assessable transaction or incident" means payment
31 by a passenger for travel on a charter vessel.
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Florida Senate - 2004 CS for SB 2614
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1 (c) "Charter aircraft" means any form of aircraft
2 hired for exclusive temporary use by a single traveler or
3 group of travelers.
4 (d) "Charter transportation" means travel via charter
5 aircraft or charter vessel when the aircraft or vessel is
6 hired for exclusive temporary use by a single traveler or
7 group of travelers.
8 (e) "Charter vessel" means any form of watercraft
9 hired for exclusive temporary use by a single traveler or
10 group of travelers.
11 (f) "Directly carries or transports" means to conduct
12 a single continuous charter flight or charter vessel voyage
13 that originates from any location in this state and arrives in
14 a terrorist state identified under paragraph (a). For purposes
15 of this definition, temporary stops of less than 8 hours do
16 not disqualify a charter flight or charter vessel voyage from
17 being considered a continuous flight or voyage.
18 (4) SECURITY ASSESSMENT.--
19 (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that every
20 person or entity who directly transports persons via charter
21 aircraft or charter vessel from this state to a terrorist
22 state is exercising an assessable privilege.
23 (b)1. For exercising this privilege, a security
24 assessment is levied on charter aircraft on each take-off at
25 the rate of $100, irrespective of the charter aircraft size,
26 and an additional charge of $0.04 per thousand pounds of
27 landed aircraft weight.
28 2. For charter vessels exercising this privilege, a
29 security assessment is levied on each assessable transaction
30 or incident, which assessment is due and payable at the rate
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Florida Senate - 2004 CS for SB 2614
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1 of 10 percent on the total consideration received or to be
2 received by any person for performing the service.
3 (c) The security assessment shall be in addition to
4 the total amount of the consideration for the service, shall
5 be charged by the person receiving the consideration, and
6 shall be payable by the person at the time he or she receives
7 the consideration. The person shall remit the assessment to
8 the Department of Revenue. The proceeds of the security
9 assessment, less the administrative costs, shall be
10 transferred by the Department of Revenue into the State
11 Homeland Security Trust Fund. For the purposes of this
12 section, "proceeds" of the assessment means all funds
13 collected and received by the department hereunder, including
14 interest and penalties on delinquent fees. The amount deducted
15 for the costs of administration must not exceed 3 percent of
16 the total revenues collected hereunder and may include only
17 those costs reasonably attributable to the fee.
18 (d) This security assessment is in addition to other
19 taxes or assessments, whether levied in the form of excise,
20 license, or privilege taxes, and is in addition to all other
21 fees and taxes levied.
22 (e) The Department of Revenue shall administer,
23 collect, and enforce the security assessment authorized under
24 this section according to the same procedures used in the
25 administration, collection, and enforcement of the general
26 state sales tax imposed under chapter 212, except as provided
27 in this section. The provisions of chapter 212 regarding the
28 authority to audit and make assessments, keeping of books and
29 records, and interest and penalties on delinquent fees apply.
30 The fee shall not be included in the computation of estimated
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1 taxes under s. 212.11, nor shall the dealer's credit for
2 collecting taxes or fees in s. 212.12 apply to this fee.
3 (5) MANDATORY TRAVEL INFORMATION.--Any university or
4 community college within the State University System or the
5 Florida Community College System that organizes or directs the
6 organization of a cultural or educational trip using charter
7 transportation to any terrorist state shall provide the
8 Department of Education, no later than 30 days before the
9 commencement of the trip, the following information:
10 (a) A passenger list of individuals participating in
11 the trip, including the name and address of each individual
12 and the enrollment or employment status of each individual in
13 the applicable state university or community college.
14 (b) A detailed itinerary of the trip being organized,
15 including hotel and restaurant accommodations, planned
16 excursions, and scheduled meetings with governmental
17 authorities or individuals or organizations not affiliated
18 with the government of the host nation.
19 (c) A complete accounting of all costs associated with
20 the trip and a complete accounting of the use or deposit of
21 all moneys received in payment for the trip.
22 (d) The certificates of incorporation of any entity or
23 entities contracted to organize or facilitate the trip or the
24 names and other pertinent identifying information with respect
25 to any third-party entity or entities being contracted to
26 organize or facilitate the trip.
27 (6) EXEMPTIONS.--The provisions of this act do not
28 apply to:
29 (a) Any person operating by contract with a federal
30 authority or an authority of the State of Florida.
31 (b) Any person in performance of active military duty.
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1 (7) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.--The Department of Education
2 and the Department of Revenue may adopt rules to administer
3 this section.
4 Section 2. The executive director of the Department of
5 Revenue may, and all conditions are deemed met, adopt
6 emergency rules under sections 120.536(1) and 120.54(4),
7 Florida Statutes, to implement this section. Notwithstanding
8 any other law, the emergency rules shall remain effective for
9 6 months after the date of adoption and may be renewed during
10 the pendency of procedures to adopt rules addressing the
11 subject of the emergency rules.
12 Section 3. Payment of the assessment shall be
13 accompanied by the form as the Department of Revenue may
14 prescribe.
15 Section 4. If any provision of this act or its
16 application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
17 invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of
18 the act which can be given effect without the invalid
19 provision or application, and to this end the provisions of
20 this act are severable.
21 Section 5. This act shall take effect January 1, 2005.
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Florida Senate - 2004 CS for SB 2614
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1 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
2 SB 2614
3
4 Requires the Department of Revenue to annually update the list
of terrorist states specified under the bill.
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Provides that payment by a passenger for travel on a charter
6 vessel will constitute an assessable transaction or incident
for purposes of the bill's provisions.
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Provides, with respect to charter aircraft, that a security
8 assessment will be levied on each take-off at a rate of $100,
with an additional charge based on the weight of the aircraft.
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Provides for administrative costs to be retained by the
10 Department of Revenue in connection with collecting security
assessments and provides a cap for those costs.
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Provides that proceeds of the assessment will include all
12 funds collected and received by the Department of Revenue,
including interest and penalties.
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Requires the Department of Revenue to administer, collect and
14 enforce the security assessment according to procedures set
forth in chapter 212, F.S., with certain exceptions.
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Requires universities and colleges to provide travel
16 information only to the Department of Education, not to the
Department of Law Enforcement.
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Deletes rulemaking authority for the Department of Business
18 and Professional Regulation.
19 Permits the Department of Revenue to adopt emergency rules to
implement the section in accordance with applicable law.
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Provides for the Department of Revenue to adopt a form to
21 accompany payment of the security assessment.
22 Changes the effective date of the bill from July 1, 2004 to
January 1, 2005.
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