| 1 | The Committee on Education K-20 recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to the district school tax; amending s. |
| 7 | 1011.71, F.S.; continuing indefinitely a provision, |
| 8 | previously applicable only in the 2003-2004 fiscal year, |
| 9 | which allows a specified tax levy to be used to offset the |
| 10 | cost of school buses purchased through contracts with |
| 11 | private providers; amending s. 200.065, F.S., relating to |
| 12 | the method of fixing millage, to conform; providing an |
| 13 | effective date. |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Section 1. Paragraph (i) is added to subsection (2) of |
| 18 | section 1011.71, Florida Statutes, and paragraph (a) of |
| 19 | subsection (5) of said section is amended, to read: |
| 20 | 1011.71 District school tax.-- |
| 21 | (2) In addition to the maximum millage levy as provided in |
| 22 | subsection (1), each school board may levy not more than 2 mills |
| 23 | against the taxable value for school purposes to fund: |
| 24 | (i) Payment of the cost of school buses when a school |
| 25 | district contracts with a private entity to provide student |
| 26 | transportation services if the district meets the requirements |
| 27 | of this paragraph. |
| 28 | 1. The district's contract must require that the private |
| 29 | entity purchase, lease-purchase, or lease, and operate and |
| 30 | maintain, one or more school buses of a specific type and size |
| 31 | that meet the requirements of s. 1006.25. |
| 32 | 2. Each such school bus must be used for the daily |
| 33 | transportation of public school students in the manner required |
| 34 | by the school district. |
| 35 | 3. Annual payment for each such school bus may not exceed |
| 36 | 10 percent of the purchase price of the state pool bid. |
| 37 | 4. The proposed expenditure of the funds for this purpose |
| 38 | must have been included in the district school board's notice of |
| 39 | proposed tax for school capital outlay as provided in s. |
| 40 | 200.065(9). |
| 41 |
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| 42 | Violations of these expenditure provisions shall result in an |
| 43 | equal dollar reduction in the Florida Education Finance Program |
| 44 | (FEFP) funds for the violating district in the fiscal year |
| 45 | following the audit citation. |
| 46 | (5)(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that, by July |
| 47 | 1, 2003, revenue generated by the millage levy authorized by |
| 48 | subsection (2) should be used only for the costs of |
| 49 | construction, renovation, remodeling, maintenance, and repair of |
| 50 | the educational plant; for the purchase, lease, or lease- |
| 51 | purchase of equipment, educational plants, and construction |
| 52 | materials directly related to the delivery of student |
| 53 | instruction; for the rental or lease of existing buildings, or |
| 54 | space within existing buildings, originally constructed or used |
| 55 | for purposes other than education, for conversion to use as |
| 56 | educational facilities; for the opening day collection for the |
| 57 | library media center of a new school; for the purchase, lease- |
| 58 | purchase, or lease of school buses or the payment to a private |
| 59 | entity to offset the cost of school buses pursuant to paragraph |
| 60 | (2)(i); and for servicing of payments related to certificates of |
| 61 | participation issued for any purpose prior to the effective date |
| 62 | of this act. Costs associated with the lease-purchase of |
| 63 | equipment, educational plants, and school buses may include the |
| 64 | issuance of certificates of participation on or after the |
| 65 | effective date of this act and the servicing of payments related |
| 66 | to certificates so issued. For purposes of this section, |
| 67 | "maintenance and repair" is defined in s. 1013.01. |
| 68 |
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| 69 | A district that violates these expenditure restrictions shall |
| 70 | have an equal dollar reduction in funds appropriated to the |
| 71 | district under s. 1011.62 in the fiscal year following the audit |
| 72 | citation. The expenditure restrictions do not apply to any |
| 73 | school district that certifies to the Commissioner of Education |
| 74 | that all of the district's instructional space needs for the |
| 75 | next 5 years can be met from capital outlay sources that the |
| 76 | district reasonably expects to receive during the next 5 years |
| 77 | or from alternative scheduling or construction, leasing, |
| 78 | rezoning, or technological methodologies that exhibit sound |
| 79 | management. |
| 80 | Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (9) of section |
| 81 | 200.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 82 | 200.065 Method of fixing millage.-- |
| 83 | (9)(a) In addition to the notice required in subsection |
| 84 | (3), a district school board shall publish a second notice of |
| 85 | intent to levy additional taxes under s. 1011.71(2). Such notice |
| 86 | shall specify the projects or number of school buses anticipated |
| 87 | to be funded by such additional taxes and shall be published in |
| 88 | the size, within the time periods, adjacent to, and in |
| 89 | substantial conformity with the advertisement required under |
| 90 | subsection (3). The projects shall be listed in priority within |
| 91 | each category as follows: construction and remodeling; |
| 92 | maintenance, renovation, and repair; motor vehicle purchases; |
| 93 | new and replacement equipment; payments for educational |
| 94 | facilities and sites due under a lease-purchase agreement; |
| 95 | payments for renting and leasing educational facilities and |
| 96 | sites; payments of loans approved pursuant to ss. 1011.14 and |
| 97 | 1011.15; payment of costs of compliance with environmental |
| 98 | statutes and regulations; and payment of costs of leasing |
| 99 | relocatable educational facilities; and payments to private |
| 100 | entities to offset the cost of school buses pursuant to s. |
| 101 | 1011.71(2)(i). The additional notice shall be in the following |
| 102 | form, except that if the district school board is proposing to |
| 103 | levy the same millage under s. 1011.71(2) which it levied in the |
| 104 | prior year, the words "continue to" shall be inserted before the |
| 105 | word "impose" in the first sentence, and except that the second |
| 106 | sentence of the second paragraph shall be deleted if the |
| 107 | district is advertising pursuant to paragraph (3)(e): |
| 108 |
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| 109 | NOTICE OF TAX FOR SCHOOL |
| 110 | CAPITAL OUTLAY |
| 111 |
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| 112 | The . . . (name of school district) . . . will soon |
| 113 | consider a measure to impose a . . . (number) . . . mill |
| 114 | property tax for the capital outlay projects listed herein. |
| 115 | This tax is in addition to the school board's proposed tax |
| 116 | of . . . (number) . . . mills for operating expenses and is |
| 117 | proposed solely at the discretion of the school board. THE |
| 118 | PROPOSED COMBINED SCHOOL BOARD TAX INCREASE FOR BOTH OPERATING |
| 119 | EXPENSES AND CAPITAL OUTLAY IS SHOWN IN THE ADJACENT NOTICE. |
| 120 | The capital outlay tax will generate approximately $ . . . |
| 121 | (amount) . . . , to be used for the following projects: |
| 122 | . . . (list of capital outlay projects) . . . |
| 123 |
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| 124 | All concerned citizens are invited to a public hearing to |
| 125 | be held on . . . (date and time) . . . at . . . (meeting |
| 126 | place) . . . . |
| 127 | A DECISION on the proposed CAPITAL OUTLAY TAXES will be |
| 128 | made at this hearing. |
| 129 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004. |