| 1 | The Local Government Council recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to the Merritt Island Public Library |
| 7 | District, Brevard County; codifying, amending, reenacting, |
| 8 | and repealing chapters 65-1289, 72-477, 76-330, 82-263, |
| 9 | and 94-449, Laws of Florida, relating to the district; |
| 10 | providing boundaries; providing for appointment of a |
| 11 | library board; prescribing its duties, powers, and |
| 12 | authority; providing for raising funds by taxation; |
| 13 | providing a method of levying, collecting, and disbursing |
| 14 | such funds; providing an effective date. |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Section 1. Pursuant to section 189.429, Florida Statutes, |
| 19 | this act constitutes the codification of all special acts |
| 20 | relating to the Merritt Island Public Library District. It is |
| 21 | the intent of the Legislature in enacting this law to provide a |
| 22 | single, comprehensive special act charter for the Merritt Island |
| 23 | Public Library District, including all current legislative |
| 24 | authority granted to the Merritt Island Public Library District |
| 25 | by its several legislative enactments and additional authority |
| 26 | granted by this act. |
| 27 | Section 2. Chapters 65-1289, 72-477, 76-330, 82-263, and |
| 28 | 94-449, Laws of Florida, are codified, amended, reenacted, and |
| 29 | repealed as herein provided. |
| 30 | Section 3. The Merritt Island Public Library District is |
| 31 | re-created and reenacted to read: |
| 32 | Section 1. All that part of Merritt Island, Florida, |
| 33 | bounded and as described as: |
| 34 |
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| 35 | All that part of Merritt Island, lying South of the |
| 36 | southerly boundary line of the Merritt Island |
| 37 | Launching area, National Aeronautics and Space |
| 38 | Administration, and bounded on the East by the waters |
| 39 | of the Banana River, and on the West by the waters of |
| 40 | the Indian River, excepting therefrom the lands of the |
| 41 | Port Canaveral Authority, |
| 42 |
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| 43 | is created into a library district to be known as the Merritt |
| 44 | Island Public Library District, hereinafter referred to as "the |
| 45 | district." |
| 46 | Section 2. The Governor is authorized to appoint fifteen |
| 47 | residents of the district as the Merritt Island library district |
| 48 | board, hereinafter referred to as the "library board." The |
| 49 | members of the library board shall, subject to the following, |
| 50 | serve terms of 3 years each, unless removed for cause by the |
| 51 | Governor. The first library board, however, shall consist of |
| 52 | five members appointed for 3 years, five members appointed for 2 |
| 53 | years, and five members appointed for 1 year. Subsequent |
| 54 | appointments or reappointments shall be for a period of 3 years. |
| 55 | The library board members shall receive no compensation and must |
| 56 | reside within the area designated in section 1. The library |
| 57 | board members shall be appointed by the Governor and assume |
| 58 | their duties within a reasonable time after this act becomes a |
| 59 | law. |
| 60 | Section 3. Within 10 days after the appointment and |
| 61 | qualification of the members of the library board, the members |
| 62 | shall meet and elect from their number a chair, first vice |
| 63 | chair, second vice chair, recording secretary, corresponding |
| 64 | secretary, and treasurer, provided, however, that the same |
| 65 | member may be both secretary and treasurer. |
| 66 | Section 4. The library board shall meet each year and |
| 67 | prepare a budget of proposed expenditures for the ensuing year. |
| 68 | The meeting must be held on a date that conforms to, and does |
| 69 | not conflict with, the requirements of section 200.065, Florida |
| 70 | Statutes. Each year, a public hearing within the district must |
| 71 | also be held after notice has been published at least once, to |
| 72 | give residents living within the district an opportunity to |
| 73 | review the proposed budget. The budget shall be funded by the |
| 74 | imposition of a tax not to exceed one-half of 1 mill on the real |
| 75 | and tangible personal property within the district less all such |
| 76 | property exempt from taxation by the constitution or statutes of |
| 77 | the state, and the use thereof shall be limited to the library |
| 78 | purposes within the district. If, at the public hearing, a |
| 79 | request for a rehearing is made and granted, the rehearing must |
| 80 | be held on a date that conforms to, and does not conflict with, |
| 81 | the requirements of section 200.065, Florida Statutes. |
| 82 | Section 5. The adoption by the library board of an annual |
| 83 | budget for the library district pursuant to section 4 shall be |
| 84 | accepted by the Brevard County board of commissioners and/or the |
| 85 | Brevard County Tax Assessor and a millage assessment on the real |
| 86 | and tangible personal property within the library district shall |
| 87 | be made in order to produce the requirements set forth in said |
| 88 | budget, provided, however, that in no event shall the assessment |
| 89 | be in excess of one-half of 1 mill. The tax receipts shall be |
| 90 | limited for library purposes within the district. |
| 91 | Section 6. The library board shall constitute a body |
| 92 | politic and body corporate; it shall have perpetual existence; |
| 93 | it shall adopt and use a common seal and may alter the same; it |
| 94 | may contract and be contracted with; and it may sue and be sued |
| 95 | in its corporate name. It shall have the additional powers to |
| 96 | acquire by grant, purchase, lease, devise, gift, or bequest, or |
| 97 | in any other manner, real property, personal property, or any |
| 98 | estate or interest therein, and to improve, maintain, sell, |
| 99 | lease, mortgage, or otherwise encumber the same, or any part |
| 100 | thereof, or any interest therein, upon such terms and conditions |
| 101 | as the board shall fix and determine, and said determination |
| 102 | shall be deemed conclusive, except in case of fraud or gross |
| 103 | abuse of discretion; and to plan, build, construct, repair, fix, |
| 104 | purchase, sell, mortgage, encumber, furnish, equip, supply, |
| 105 | operate, manage, maintain, and conduct a library, and any |
| 106 | facilities, buildings, and structures related to and customarily |
| 107 | used, conducted, or operated in conjunction with a library. |
| 108 | Section 7. Warrants for the payment of labor, equipment, |
| 109 | property, or other expenses of the library board, and in |
| 110 | carrying into effect this act and its purposes, shall be payable |
| 111 | by the treasurer of the library board on accounts and vouchers |
| 112 | in the manner approved by the library board. |
| 113 | Section 8. (1) If taxes as provided for shall have been |
| 114 | collected by the tax collector of Brevard County, he or she |
| 115 | shall, on or before the 10th day of each month, report to the |
| 116 | secretary of the board the collections made for the preceding |
| 117 | month and remit the same to the treasurer of the library board |
| 118 | and take a receipt for the same from the treasurer. The tax |
| 119 | collector shall be relieved from all other liability as to the |
| 120 | amount paid the treasurer of the library board. |
| 121 | (2) The taxes provided for shall be assessed and collected |
| 122 | in the same manner and form as provided for the assessment and |
| 123 | collection of county taxes and a reasonable charge may be made |
| 124 | by the tax assessor and the tax collector for assessing and |
| 125 | collecting the same. |
| 126 | Section 9. The chair and treasurer of the library board, |
| 127 | when entering upon their duties, shall give a sufficient bond to |
| 128 | the Governor in the sum of $10,000 each for the faithful |
| 129 | performance of their duties. The premium for the bonds shall be |
| 130 | paid by the district. The library board shall designate a |
| 131 | depository or depositories for the funds of the library board |
| 132 | and shall establish by resolution of the library board the |
| 133 | method and authority under which such funds may be withdrawn |
| 134 | from such depository or depositories; however, no fewer than two |
| 135 | signatures are required on any checks drawn on the funds of the |
| 136 | library board and one signature must be that of either the |
| 137 | treasurer or the chair. |
| 138 | Section 10. The treasurer shall, before April 11 of each |
| 139 | year, make his or her semiannual report of the receipt and |
| 140 | expenditures of the funds of the district to the library board. |
| 141 | Before October 11 of each year, the treasurer shall make his or |
| 142 | her annual report of receipts and expenditures of the funds of |
| 143 | the district to the library board. The reports shall be in |
| 144 | writing, setting forth the amount of money received, from whom |
| 145 | received, itemized amounts of expenditures, and to whom paid and |
| 146 | for what payment is made. At the time of making the report to |
| 147 | the library board the treasurer shall also file a copy of the |
| 148 | report with the Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County. |
| 149 | Section 11. This act shall be liberally construed to |
| 150 | promote the purposes for which it is intended. |
| 151 | Section 12. In the event that any part of this act shall |
| 152 | be held void for any reason, the determinations shall not affect |
| 153 | any other part thereof. |
| 154 | Section 13. The library board shall keep accurate minutes |
| 155 | of its meetings and proceedings, and the minutes shall be open |
| 156 | to public inspection at all reasonable times at the premises or |
| 157 | office of the library board. All meetings of the library board |
| 158 | shall be open to the public and all meetings shall be held |
| 159 | within the district. |
| 160 | Section 14. Under the authority of s. 2, Art. XII, and s. |
| 161 | 9(b), Art. VII, of the State Constitution, the provisions of |
| 162 | sections 200.071, 200.091, and 200.141, Florida Statutes, are |
| 163 | hereby declared to be inapplicable to the Merritt Island Public |
| 164 | Library District, and said statutory provisions shall not affect |
| 165 | the power of the Merritt Island Public Library District to levy, |
| 166 | assess, collect, and enforce ad valorem taxes as provided under |
| 167 | all general, special, or local laws relating to said district. |
| 168 | Section 4. Chapters 65-1289, 72-477, 76-330, 82-263, and |
| 169 | 94-449, Laws of Florida, are repealed. |
| 170 | Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |