HB 1419

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to Indian River Mosquito Control District,
3Indian River County; codifying, amending, reenacting, and
4repealing special acts relating to the district; fixing
5and prescribing the boundaries of said district; providing
6for the government and administration of the district;
7naming the commissioners thereof and providing for
8election of their successors; providing and defining the
9powers and purposes of such district and of the board of
10commissioners thereof; authorizing and empowering said
11board to construct and maintain canals, ditches, drains,
12and dikes and to fill depressions, lakes, ponds, or
13marshes in order to eliminate breeding places of
14mosquitoes and sandflies and to control and eradicate
15mosquitoes and sandflies; providing for spraying or
16otherwise disbursing substances and materials over the
17area of such district for the purpose of controlling and
18eradicating mosquitoes and sandflies and diseases
19transmitted by the same; authorizing said board to do any
20and all acts or things necessary for the control and
21complete elimination of mosquitoes and sandflies in said
22district; authorizing and providing for the levy and
23collection of taxes upon all the real and personal taxable
24property in said district for carrying out the purposes of
25this act; authorizing the borrowing by the board of
26commissioners of said district in any one tax year of a
27sum not to exceed 80 percent of the estimated taxes to be
28collected on behalf of said district within such year and
29to evidence the indebtedness represented by any money so
30borrowed by written obligation of the district and
31providing for the payment of interest thereon and for the
32repayment thereof prior to the borrowing of any further
33sums in any subsequent year; limiting the amount of taxes
34that may be so levied by said board upon the taxable
35property within such district; prohibiting injury to any
36works controlled under or in pursuance of this act, to be
37punishable as provided by general law; legalizing and
38validating the acts of the Indian River Mosquito Control
39District herewith abolished and making all contracts of
40said Indian River Mosquito Control District so abolished
41binding upon the new Indian River Mosquito Control
42District; authorizing and prescribing generally the powers
43and duties of the Board of Commissioners of said new
44Indian River Mosquito Control District; providing for
45severability; providing an effective date.
46
47Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
48
49     Section 1.  Pursuant to section 189.429, Florida Statutes,
50this act constitutes the codification of all special acts
51relating to the Indian River Mosquito Control District
52("district"), together with the decree creating and
53incorporating the district. It is the intent of the Legislature
54in enacting this law to provide a single, comprehensive special
55act charter for the district, including all current legislative
56authority granted to the district by its several legislative
57enactments, any additional authority granted by this act, and
58authority granted by applicable general law.
59     Section 2.  Chapters 11128 (1925), 14381 (1929), 20114
60(1939), 20494 (1941), 21048 (1941), 24600 (1947), 61-2278, 63-
611433, 73-497, 76-388, 78-531, and 91-337, Laws of Florida, are
62codified, reenacted, amended, and repealed as provided in this
63act.
64     Section 3.  The Indian River Mosquito Control District is
65re-created, and the charter for such district is re-created and
66reenacted to read:
67     Section 1.  The Indian River Mosquito Control District is
68re-created, and the special taxing district now existing and
69known and designated as Indian River Mosquito Control District,
70as created and incorporated by chapter 11128 (1925), Laws of
71Florida, as amended, is hereby abolished, and a new special
72taxing district in Indian River County, to be known and
73designated as Indian River Mosquito Control District, is hereby
74created, established, and incorporated to succeed said former
75special taxing district known and designated as Indian River
76Mosquito Control District, and which new special taxing district
77hereby created and incorporated, to be known as Indian River
78Mosquito Control District, shall embrace and include all that
79territory and area situated and being in Indian River County,
80within the following territorial boundaries, to wit:
81
82All that part of Indian River County, Florida, lying
83East of the following described line:
84
85Beginning at the South one-quarter corner of Section
8636, Township 33 South, Range 36 East, said point lying
87on the South Township line and the South boundary line
88of Indian River County, a political subdivision of the
89State of Florida; thence run North along the one-
90quarter Section lines of Sections 36 and 25, Township
9133 South, Range 36 East to the North line of Section
9225, Township 33 South, Range 36 East; thence run East
93along said North line of Section 25, Township 33
94South, Range 36 East to the Northeast corner of
95Section 25, said point lying on the Range line of
96Ranges 36 and 37; thence run North along the Range
97line to the intersection of the North right-of-way of
98State Road 60; thence run East along the said North
99right-of-way a distance of 732.15 feet to the East
100right-of-way of Lateral "S" Canal as shown on the plat
101of the Fellsmere Farms Company Subdivision of the
102Unsurveyed Township 32 South, Range 37 East, as
103recorded in Plat Book 2, Page 8, St. Lucie County
104Public Records; thence run North along said East
105right-of-way of Lateral "S" Canal to the intersection
106of the North boundary line of said Indian River County
107and the point of ending.
108
109All of which lands hereinabove described and the owners thereof
110shall be entitled to all benefits and subject to all burdens and
111obligations as prescribed and set forth herein.
112     Section 2.  The governing body of said Indian River
113Mosquito Control District shall be known and designated as the
114"Board of Commissioners of Indian River Mosquito Control
115District." Said governing body shall be composed of three
116members, and, until the next election, the following named
117persons shall be and are hereby designated to compose the Board
118of Commissioners of said Indian River Mosquito Control District:
119Janice Broda, Helen Glenn, and Keith D. Hedin. Said governing
120body shall have all the powers of a body corporate, including
121the power to sue and be sued as a corporation in said name in
122any court; to contract; to adopt and use a common seal and alter
123the same at pleasure; to purchase, hold, lease, and convey such
124real estate and personal property as said board may deem proper
125to carry out the purposes of this act; to appoint a chief
126engineer, a consulting engineer, and an attorney for said board
127and such other agents and employees as said board may require;
128to borrow money and to issue negotiable promissory notes or
129bonds therefor; and to enable it to carry out the provisions of
130this act. The persons herein named and designated shall serve as
131commissioners of said Indian River Mosquito Control District
132until their successors are elected and qualified. After 2000,
133and in subsequent general elections, the commissioners shall be
134elected in a nonpartisan election for 4-year terms so that one
135commissioner is elected at one general election by the highest
136number of votes cast and two commissioners are elected by the
137first and second highest number of votes cast at the next
138ensuing general election.
139     Section 3.  Each commissioner under this act, before he or
140she assumes office, shall be required to give to Indian River
141Mosquito Control District a good and sufficient surety bond in
142the sum of $5,000, conditioned for the faithful performance of
143the duties of his or her office, said bond to be approved by and
144filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Indian River
145County. Said bond shall also be recorded in the minutes of said
146Board of Commissioners of said Indian River Mosquito Control
147District. The failure of any person so elected as commissioner
148of Indian River Mosquito Control District within 30 days after
149his or her election to give bond shall create a vacancy as to
150such commissioner, and such vacancy shall be filled by the
151Governor appointing a person duly qualified to hold such office,
152which manner of filling such office shall obtain in the case of
153resignation, death, or removal from said district of any
154commissioner during his or her term of office. No person shall
155be qualified to hold office as a commissioner under this act
156unless such person shall be a duly qualified elector of said
157district.
158     Section 4.  As soon as practicable after each general
159election, the commissioners of Indian River Mosquito Control
160District, after their qualification as such, shall meet and
161organize by the election, from among their number, of a chair, a
162vice chair, and a secretary. Two members of the board shall
163constitute a quorum. The vote of two members shall be necessary
164to transact business. The chair and vice chair shall vote at all
165meetings of the board.
166     Section 5.  The commissioners under this act shall be paid
167for each day's service and for each mile actually traveled in
168going to and from the office of the Board of Commissioners of
169Indian River Mosquito Control District according to per diem
170compensation expense and mileage rates established from time to
171time for officials and employees of the state. The per diem
172herein provided for shall apply to services rendered for
173inspection of work performed for the district or other services
174under this act. Additionally, commissioners shall be compensated
175for regular duties, as provided by general law or special act,
176at the rate of $400 per month or such greater amount as may be
177permitted by general law or special act.
178     Section 6.  The board is hereby authorized to invest its
179funds from time to time in interest-bearing depositories as
180prescribed by Florida law.
181     Section 7.  Said board is hereby authorized and empowered
182to do any and all things necessary for the control and complete
183elimination of all species of mosquitoes and sandflies and
184diseases transmitted by the same in said district, and for this
185purpose is hereby authorized and empowered to construct and
186thereafter to maintain canals, ditches, drains, and dikes, and
187to fill in all depressions, lakes, and ponds or marshes that are
188the breeding places of mosquitoes and sandflies, insofar as said
189work does not interfere with the water supply of any city or
190community, and to employ engineers, scientists, helpers, and all
191other servants, agents, and employees as may be necessary for
192the purpose of controlling and eliminating all species of
193mosquitoes and sandflies in said district. Said board is hereby
194authorized and empowered to spray or otherwise disburse, or
195cause to be sprayed or otherwise disbursed, chemicals,
196substances, and materials of every nature upon and over the area
197of said district as shall be deemed necessary or desirable for
198the purpose of controlling and eliminating all species of
199mosquitoes and sandflies in said district, and for such purposes
200may contract for and purchase such chemicals, substances, and
201materials and may contract for the spraying or disbursing
202thereof over the area of said district or may employ such
203agents, servants, and employees for such purpose as the
204commissioners of said district may deem necessary or advisable;
205to do any and all things that may be necessary from the
206standpoint of public health and comfort to control or eliminate
207mosquitoes and sandflies or their larvae in said district; and
208to promulgate such rules and regulations not inconsistent with
209the provisions of this act and with any of the laws of said
210state which, in their judgment, may be necessary for the proper
211carrying into effect and enforcement of this act.
212     Section 8.  Said board shall have power and authority to
213hold, control, and acquire by gift or purchase such real or
214personal property, and to condemn such lands or easements, as
215may be necessary for the carrying out of any of the purposes of
216this act or for the material to be used for any of said
217purposes, and for the preservation of the works constructed or
218to be constructed by said board under this act. Said board is
219authorized to exercise the right of eminent domain for the use
220of said district, in the manner prescribed by law, over such
221lands, easements, rights-of-way, riparian rights, and personal
222property, whether public or private, that may be necessary for
223the purpose of said board in said construction, and the only
224prerequisite for the exercise of said power of eminent domain
225shall be the adoption by said board of a resolution specifying
226the property sought to be condemned and the purpose for which it
227is to be used. Said board is authorized to sell any real or
228personal property acquired or owned by it when the same shall be
229determined to be no longer useful to or suitable for the
230purposes of said board.
231     Section 9.  Said board is hereby authorized and empowered
232to purchase goods, supplies, or material for the use of said
233district without the necessity of advertising any notice or
234calling for bids regarding said purchase when the amount to be
235paid therefor by said district does not exceed $10,000, or when
236the goods, supplies, or materials to be purchased are obtainable
237from only one source or supplier.
238     Section 10.  Said board is hereby authorized and empowered
239to levy upon all the real and personal taxable property in said
240district a special tax not exceeding 10 mills on the dollar for
241the year 1947 and for each and every year thereafter, to be used
242solely in carrying out the purposes of this act. Said levy shall
243be made not later than the 15th of July of each year by
244resolution of said board, or a majority thereof, duly entered at
245large upon its minutes. A certified copy of such resolution
246executed in the name of said board by its chair and secretary
247and under its corporate seals shall be delivered or transmitted
248to the Board of County Commissioners of Indian River County, and
249a copy shall be transmitted by mail to the Chief Financial
250Officer not later than August 1 of each year. It shall be the
251duty of the Board of County Commissioners of Indian River County
252to order the property appraiser of said county to assess and the
253collector of said county to collect the amount of said tax so
254assessed by the Board of Commissioners of said district upon all
255the taxable property, real or personal, in said district at the
256rate of taxation adopted by said board for said year, but not
257exceeding 10 mills on the dollar and as specified in said
258resolution, and said levy shall be included in the warrant to
259the tax collector and the property appraiser which is attached
260to the assessment roll of taxes for said county each year. The
261property appraiser shall make such assessment and the tax
262collector shall collect such taxes so levied in the manner as
263other taxes are assessed and collected and shall pay the same
264when collected, within the time and in the manner prescribed by
265law for the payment of other taxes, to the secretary of said
266Board of Commissioners. It shall be the duty of said Chief
267Financial Officer to assess and levy on all the railroad lines
268and railroad property, telegraph lines and telegraph property,
269and telephone lines and telephone property the amount of every
270such levy herewith provided in this section, and as in the case
271of other state and county taxes, and said taxes so levied by the
272Chief Financial Officer shall be collected as provided for other
273similar taxes, and the proceeds thereof shall be remitted to the
274secretary of said board in the same manner as such remittances
275are made in the collection of other taxes. If any such taxes so
276assessed are not paid, the said property shall be sold by said
277tax collector and certificates issued and tax deeds issued in
278the same manner and under the same laws relating to the sales,
279issuance of certificates, and deeds with reference to all other
280state and county taxes. The Board of Commissioners of the Indian
281River Mosquito Control District is herewith authorized to borrow
282in any one tax year a sum not to exceed 80 percent of the
283estimated taxes to be collected on behalf of said district
284within such year and to evidence such loan made to said district
285by its tax anticipation note or notes bearing interest at a rate
286not to exceed 10 percent per annum, and which notes shall be
287payable at a time not greater than 1 year from the date of the
288borrowing of such moneys; the sums so borrowed shall be repaid
289out of the next taxes collected by said district to the extent
290necessary for the repayment thereof, together with such interest
291at a rate not to exceed 6 percent per annum; and no sums shall
292be borrowed as herewith provided in any subsequent year unless
293all moneys so borrowed in any preceding year shall have been
294entirely paid as to both principal and interest.
295     Section 11.  Said board is hereby required to secure and
296keep in force in companies duly authorized to do business in
297Florida insurance covering liability for property damage or
298bodily injury or death resulting therefrom to all persons and
299property by reason of the ownership, maintenance, operation, or
300use of any vehicle, dragline, dredge, tractor, and related
301equipment being used for and in the interest of the purpose of
302said board in amounts not less than $50,000 for bodily injury or
303death resulting therefrom to any one person, and not less than
304$100,000 for bodily injury or death resulting therefrom for any
305one accident, and not less than $25,000 for damage to property.
306     Section 12.  The title to and jurisdiction over all
307property of Indian River Mosquito Control District herewith
308abolished, of every kind, nature, or description, is herewith
309transferred to and vested in the new Indian River Mosquito
310Control District herewith created. All lawful debts or
311obligations of the old Indian River Mosquito Control District
312herewith abolished are herewith made the debts and obligations
313of the new district herewith created and all claims, demands, or
314credits held by said old district are herewith transferred to
315and made the claims, demands, and credits of said new district.
316No obligation or contract of said old district shall be impaired
317by this act, but rather all obligations or contracts of said old
318district are herewith made the obligations and contracts of the
319new district herewith created. All acts of the Board of
320Commissioners of the old Indian River Mosquito Control District
321herewith abolished and of the agents, servants, and employees of
322said Board of Commissioners of said old district and of said
323district are herewith ratified and confirmed.
324     Section 13.  Whoever shall willfully damage any ditch,
325canal, drain, dike, or other work established or constructed
326under this act or who shall willfully interfere with or injure
327any property, work, or facility established or constructed under
328this act or who shall willfully interfere with the acts of any
329commissioner of said district or any person lawfully authorized
330or employed by the Board of Commissioners of this district in
331carrying out the provisions of this act commits a misdemeanor
332and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as provided by
333general law.
334     Section 14.  (1)  The Board of Commissioners of the Indian
335River Mosquito Control District is hereby authorized, empowered,
336and permitted to provide for life, health, accident, and
337hospitalization insurance, or an annuity insurance, or all or
338any of such insurance for employees of said district, for the
339director or assistant director, or for members of said board, or
340for the families of such employees, for the family of the
341director or assistant director, or for the families of the
342members of the board, and to that end to enter into agreements
343with insurance companies to provide such insurance. The election
344to exercise the authority granted by this act shall be evidenced
345by resolution duly recorded in the minutes of the Board of
346Commissioners of Indian River Mosquito Control District.
347     (2)  The Board of Commissioners of Indian River Mosquito
348Control District is authorized to budget from and pay out of
349appropriate funds any portion of the cost of such insurance and
350to deduct from the wages of employees, the director and
351assistant director, and the members of the board who in writing
352make request for such insurance the balance of such cost and to
353pay or remit the same directly to the insurance company issuing
354such insurance.
355     (3)  The participation in such insurance by any employee,
356director or assistant director, or member of said board shall be
357entirely voluntary at all times. Any enrolled member of such
358insurance plan may, upon any pay day, withdraw or retire from
359such plan upon giving the Board of Commissioners written notice
360thereof and directing the discontinuance of deductions from
361wages in payment of such premiums.
362     Section 15.  In case any one or more of the sections or
363provisions of this act or the application of such sections or
364provisions to any situation, circumstance, or person shall for
365any reason be held to be unconstitutional, such
366unconstitutionality shall not affect any other sections or
367provisions to any other situation, circumstance, or person, and
368it is intended that this law shall be construed and applied as
369if such section or provision had not been included herein for
370any unconstitutional application.
371     Section 4.  Chapters 11128 (1925), 14381 (1929), 20114
372(1939), 20494 (1941), 21048 (1941), 24600 (1947), 61-2278, 63-
3731433, 73-497, 76-388, 78-531, and 91-337, Laws of Florida, are
374repealed.
375     Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.