Senate Bill sb0734

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    Florida Senate - 2004        (NP)                       SB 734

    By Senator Clary





    309-376-04

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to trust funds; re-creating the

  3         Florida Forever Trust Fund within the

  4         Department of Environmental Protection without

  5         modification; carrying forward current balances

  6         and continuing current sources and uses

  7         thereof; reenacting s. 259.1051, F.S., relating

  8         to the purposes and administration of the

  9         Florida Forever Trust Fund; providing an

10         effective date.

11  

12         WHEREAS, the Legislature wishes to extend the life of

13  the Florida Forever Trust Fund within the Department of

14  Environmental Protection, which after legislative review has

15  been found not to be exempt from Section 19(f), Article III of

16  the State Constitution, and

17         WHEREAS, the Legislature has reviewed the trust fund

18  and found that it continues to meet an important public

19  purpose, and

20         WHEREAS, the Legislature has found that existing public

21  policy concerning the trust fund sets adequate parameters for

22  its use and that the trust fund should be re-created, NOW,

23  THEREFORE,

24  

25  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

26  

27         Section 1.  (1)  The Florida Forever Trust Fund within

28  the Department of Environmental Protection, FLAIR number

29  37-2-348, is not exempt from automatic termination pursuant to

30  Section 19(f), Article III of the State Constitution and is

31  re-created.

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    Florida Senate - 2004        (NP)                       SB 734
    309-376-04




 1         (2)  All current balances of the trust fund are carried

 2  forward, and all current sources and uses of the trust fund

 3  are continued.

 4         Section 2.  Section 259.1051, Florida Statutes, is

 5  reenacted to read:

 6         259.1051  Florida Forever Trust Fund.--

 7         (1)  There is created the Florida Forever Trust Fund to

 8  carry out the purposes of ss. 259.032, 259.105, and 375.031.

 9  The Florida Forever Trust Fund shall be held and administered

10  by the Department of Environmental Protection. Proceeds from

11  the sale of bonds, except proceeds of refunding bonds, issued

12  under s. 215.618 and payable from moneys transferred to the

13  Land Acquisition Trust Fund under s. 201.15(1)(a), not to

14  exceed $3 billion, must be deposited into this trust fund to

15  be distributed and used as provided in s. 259.105(3). The bond

16  resolution adopted by the governing board of the Division of

17  Bond Finance of the State Board of Administration may provide

18  for additional provisions that govern the disbursement of the

19  bond proceeds.

20         (2)  The Department of Environmental Protection shall

21  distribute revenues from the Florida Forever Trust Fund only

22  to programs of state agencies or local governments as set out

23  in s. 259.105(3). Excluding distributions to the Save Our

24  Everglades Trust Fund, the distributions shall be spent by the

25  recipient within 90 days after the date on which the

26  Department of Environmental Protection initiates the transfer.

27         (3)  The Department of Environmental Protection shall

28  ensure that the proceeds from the sale of bonds issued under

29  s. 215.618 and payable from moneys transferred to the Land

30  Acquisition Trust Fund under s. 201.15(1)(a) shall be

31  administered and expended in a manner that ensures compliance

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    Florida Senate - 2004        (NP)                       SB 734
    309-376-04




 1  of each issue of bonds that are issued on the basis that

 2  interest thereon will be excluded from gross income for

 3  federal income tax purposes, with the applicable provisions of

 4  the United States Internal Revenue Code and the regulations

 5  promulgated thereunder, to the extent necessary to preserve

 6  the exclusion of interest on the bonds from gross income for

 7  federal income tax purposes. The Department of Environmental

 8  Protection shall administer the use and disbursement of the

 9  proceeds of such bonds or require that the use and

10  disbursement thereof be administered in a manner to implement

11  strategies to maximize any available benefits under the

12  applicable provisions of the United States Internal Revenue

13  Code or regulations promulgated thereunder, to the extent not

14  inconsistent with the purposes identified in s. 259.105(3).

15         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.

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18                          SENATE SUMMARY

19    Re-creates the Florida Forever Trust Fund within the
      Department of Environmental Protection.
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