Senate Bill sb2336

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 2336

    By Senator Bennett





    21-192A-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to tax benefits related to

  3         catastrophic emergencies; amending s. 212.055,

  4         F.S.; defining the term "public facilities" to

  5         include certain private facilities used as

  6         public shelters or staging areas for

  7         emergency-response equipment during emergencies

  8         declared by the state or local government;

  9         including such facilities as infrastructure

10         that may be financed through the local

11         government infrastructure surtax; amending s.

12         212.03, F.S.; providing that the temporary

13         rental or lease of residential quarters to

14         individuals who have been displaced by a

15         hurricane or other catastrophic disaster is not

16         subject to the transient rentals tax under this

17         section; providing for refunds of sales tax

18         paid on temporary rentals by individuals who

19         were displaced by a hurricane during 2004;

20         providing for rulemaking by the Department of

21         Revenue; providing an effective date.

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

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25         Section 1.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section

26  212.055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read.

27         212.055  Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative

28  intent; authorization and use of proceeds.--It is the

29  legislative intent that any authorization for imposition of a

30  discretionary sales surtax shall be published in the Florida

31  Statutes as a subsection of this section, irrespective of the

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 2336
    21-192A-05




 1  duration of the levy.  Each enactment shall specify the types

 2  of counties authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be

 3  imposed; the maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed,

 4  if any; the procedure which must be followed to secure voter

 5  approval, if required; the purpose for which the proceeds may

 6  be expended; and such other requirements as the Legislature

 7  may provide.  Taxable transactions and administrative

 8  procedures shall be as provided in s. 212.054.

 9         (2)  LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE SURTAX.--

10         (d)1.  The proceeds of the surtax authorized by this

11  subsection and any interest accrued thereto shall be expended

12  by the school district or within the county and municipalities

13  within the county, or, in the case of a negotiated joint

14  county agreement, within another county, to finance, plan, and

15  construct infrastructure and to acquire land for public

16  recreation or conservation or protection of natural resources

17  and to finance the closure of county-owned or municipally

18  owned solid waste landfills that are already closed or are

19  required to close by order of the Department of Environmental

20  Protection. Any use of such proceeds or interest for purposes

21  of landfill closure prior to July 1, 1993, is ratified.

22  Neither the proceeds nor any interest accrued thereto shall be

23  used for operational expenses of any infrastructure, except

24  that any county with a population of less than 75,000 that is

25  required to close a landfill by order of the Department of

26  Environmental Protection may use the proceeds or any interest

27  accrued thereto for long-term maintenance costs associated

28  with landfill closure. Counties, as defined in s. 125.011(1),

29  and charter counties may, in addition, use the proceeds and

30  any interest accrued thereto to retire or service indebtedness

31  incurred for bonds issued prior to July 1, 1987, for

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 2336
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 1  infrastructure purposes, and for bonds subsequently issued to

 2  refund such bonds. Any use of such proceeds or interest for

 3  purposes of retiring or servicing indebtedness incurred for

 4  such refunding bonds prior to July 1, 1999, is ratified.

 5         2.  For the purposes of this paragraph, the term

 6  "infrastructure" means:

 7         a.  Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital

 8  outlay associated with the construction, reconstruction, or

 9  improvement of public facilities that which have a life

10  expectancy of 5 or more years and any land acquisition, land

11  improvement, design, and engineering costs related thereto. As

12  used in this sub-subparagraph, the term "public facilities"

13  includes private facilities used on a temporary basis from

14  time to time by a local government as an emergency public

15  shelter or a staging area for emergency response equipment

16  during an emergency officially declared by the state or by the

17  local government under s. 252.38.

18         b.  A fire department vehicle, an emergency medical

19  service vehicle, a sheriff's office vehicle, a police

20  department vehicle, or any other vehicle, and such equipment

21  necessary to outfit the vehicle for its official use or

22  equipment that has a life expectancy of at least 5 years.

23         c.  Any expenditure for the construction, lease, or

24  maintenance of, or provision of utilities or security for,

25  facilities as defined in s. 29.008.

26         3.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this

27  subsection, a discretionary sales surtax imposed or extended

28  after the effective date of this act may provide for an amount

29  not to exceed 15 percent of the local option sales surtax

30  proceeds to be allocated for deposit to a trust fund within

31  the county's accounts created for the purpose of funding

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 2336
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 1  economic development projects of a general public purpose

 2  targeted to improve local economies, including the funding of

 3  operational costs and incentives related to such economic

 4  development. The ballot statement must indicate the intention

 5  to make an allocation under the authority of this

 6  subparagraph.

 7         Section 2.  Subsection (1) of section 212.03, Florida

 8  Statutes, is amended to read:

 9         212.03  Transient rentals tax; rate, procedure,

10  enforcement, exemptions.--

11         (1)  It is hereby declared to be the legislative intent

12  that every person is exercising a taxable privilege who

13  engages in the business of renting, leasing, letting, or

14  granting a license to use any living quarters or sleeping or

15  housekeeping accommodations in, from, or a part of, or in

16  connection with any hotel, apartment house, roominghouse, or

17  tourist or trailer camp. However, any person who rents,

18  leases, lets, or grants a license to others to use, occupy, or

19  enter upon any living quarters or sleeping or housekeeping

20  accommodations in apartment houses, roominghouses, tourist

21  camps, or trailer camps, and who exclusively enters into a

22  bona fide written agreement for continuous residence for

23  longer than 6 months in duration at such property is not

24  exercising a taxable privilege. Moreover, a person who rents,

25  leases, lets, or grants a license to use, occupy, or enter

26  upon any living quarters or sleeping or housekeeping

27  accommodations in apartment houses, roominghouses, tourist

28  camps, or trailer camps to an individual who has been

29  displaced from his or her usual housing due to a hurricane or

30  other catastrophic disaster is not exercising a taxable

31  privilege if the displaced individual provides to his or her

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 2336
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 1  landlord such proof as the Department of Revenue requires, by

 2  rule, that such a catastrophe is the cause of the individual's

 3  need for temporary housing. For the exercise of such taxable

 4  privilege, a tax is hereby levied in an amount equal to 6

 5  percent of and on the total rental charged for such living

 6  quarters or sleeping or housekeeping accommodations by the

 7  person charging or collecting the rental. Such tax shall apply

 8  to hotels, apartment houses, roominghouses, or tourist or

 9  trailer camps whether or not there is in connection with any

10  of the same any dining rooms, cafes, or other places where

11  meals or lunches are sold or served to guests.

12         Section 3.  An individual who rented or leased any

13  living quarters or sleeping or housekeeping accommodations as

14  described in section 212.03, Florida Statutes, as a

15  consequence of being displaced from his or her usual housing

16  due to a hurricane that occurred in this state during the year

17  2004 is entitled to a refund of the sales tax that the

18  individual paid on such a rental. The individual must make

19  application for the refund to the Department of Revenue on a

20  form provided by the department and must include with the

21  application such proof as the department requires by rule.

22         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 2336
    21-192A-05




 1            *****************************************

 2                          SENATE SUMMARY

 3    Provides tax benefits related to catastrophic
      emergencies. Defines the term "public facilities" to
 4    include certain private facilities used as public
      shelters or staging areas for emergency-response
 5    equipment during emergencies declared by the state or
      local government. Includes such facilities as
 6    infrastructure that may be financed through the local
      government infrastructure surtax. Provides that the
 7    temporary rental or lease of residential quarters to
      individuals who have been displaced by a hurricane or
 8    other catastrophic disaster is not subject to the
      transient rentals tax. Provides for refunds of sales tax
 9    paid on temporary rentals by individuals who were
      displaced by a hurricane during 2004. Provides for
10    rulemaking by the Department of Revenue.

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