Senate Bill sb1018c1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
    Florida Senate - 2006                           CS for SB 1018

    By the Committee on Domestic Security; and Senator Bennett





    583-1710-06

  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.; including as infrastructure any fixed

  5         capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay

  6         associated with the improvement of certain

  7         private facilities that the owner agrees to

  8         make available as a public emergency shelter or

  9         staging area for emergency response equipment

10         during emergencies declared by the state or

11         local government; requiring that improvements

12         be limited to those necessary to meet current

13         standards for public emergency evacuation

14         shelters; requiring the owner to enter into a

15         written contract with the local government

16         providing improvement funding; amending s.

17         212.03, F.S.; providing that the temporary

18         rental or lease of residential quarters to

19         individuals who have been displaced by a

20         hurricane or other catastrophic disaster is not

21         subject to the transient rentals tax under this

22         section; providing for rulemaking by the

23         Department of Revenue; providing an effective

24         date.

25  

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

27  

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

29  212.055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read.

30         212.055  Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative

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

                                  1

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






    Florida Senate - 2006                           CS for SB 1018
    583-1710-06




 1  legislative intent that any authorization for imposition of a

 2  discretionary sales surtax shall be published in the Florida

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

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

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

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

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

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

 9  be expended; and such other requirements as the Legislature

10  may provide.  Taxable transactions and administrative

11  procedures shall be as provided in s. 212.054.

12         (2)  LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE SURTAX.--

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

14  subsection and any interest accrued thereto shall be expended

15  by the school district or within the county and municipalities

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

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

18  construct infrastructure and to acquire land for public

19  recreation or conservation or protection of natural resources

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

21  owned solid waste landfills that are already closed or are

22  required to close by order of the Department of Environmental

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

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

25  Neither the proceeds nor any interest accrued thereto shall be

26  used for operational expenses of any infrastructure, except

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

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

29  Environmental Protection may use the proceeds or any interest

30  accrued thereto for long-term maintenance costs associated

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

                                  2

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






    Florida Senate - 2006                           CS for SB 1018
    583-1710-06




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

 2  any interest accrued thereto to retire or service indebtedness

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

 4  infrastructure purposes, and for bonds subsequently issued to

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

 6  purposes of retiring or servicing indebtedness incurred for

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

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

 9  "infrastructure" means:

10         a.  Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital

11  outlay associated with the construction, reconstruction, or

12  improvement of public facilities that which have a life

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

14  improvement, design, and engineering costs related thereto.

15         b.  A fire department vehicle, an emergency medical

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

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

18  necessary to outfit the vehicle for its official use or

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

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

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

22  facilities as defined in s. 29.008.

23         d.  Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital

24  outlay associated with the improvement of private facilities

25  that have a life expectancy of 5 or more years and that the

26  owner agrees to make available for use on a temporary basis as

27  needed by a local government as a public emergency shelter or

28  a staging area for emergency response equipment during an

29  emergency officially declared by the state or by the local

30  government under s. 252.38. Such improvements under this

31  subsection are limited to those necessary to comply with

                                  3

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






    Florida Senate - 2006                           CS for SB 1018
    583-1710-06




 1  current standards for public emergency evacuation shelters.

 2  The owner shall enter into a written contract with the local

 3  government providing the improvement funding to make such

 4  private facility available to the public for purposes of

 5  emergency shelter at no cost to the local government for a

 6  minimum period of 10 years after completion of the

 7  improvement, with the provision that such obligation will

 8  transfer to any subsequent owner until the end of the minimum

 9  period.

10         3.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this

11  subsection, a discretionary sales surtax imposed or extended

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

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

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

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

16  economic development projects of a general public purpose

17  targeted to improve local economies, including the funding of

18  operational costs and incentives related to such economic

19  development. The ballot statement must indicate the intention

20  to make an allocation under the authority of this

21  subparagraph.

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

23  Statutes, is amended to read:

24         212.03  Transient rentals tax; rate, procedure,

25  enforcement, exemptions.--

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

27  that every person is exercising a taxable privilege who

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

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

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

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

                                  4

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






    Florida Senate - 2006                           CS for SB 1018
    583-1710-06




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

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

 3  enter upon any living quarters or sleeping or housekeeping

 4  accommodations in apartment houses, roominghouses, tourist

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

 6  bona fide written agreement for continuous residence for

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

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

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

10  upon any living quarters or sleeping or housekeeping

11  accommodations in apartment houses, roominghouses, tourist

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

13  displaced from his or her permanent residence, as defined in

14  s. 196.012, due to a hurricane or other catastrophic disaster,

15  as defined in s. 252.34, occurring in this state is not

16  exercising a taxable privilege if the displaced individual

17  provides to his or her landlord such proof as the Department

18  of Revenue requires, by rule, that such a catastrophe is the

19  cause of the individual's need for temporary housing. For the

20  exercise of such taxable privilege, a tax is hereby levied in

21  an amount equal to 6 percent of and on the total rental

22  charged for such living quarters or sleeping or housekeeping

23  accommodations by the person charging or collecting the

24  rental. Such tax shall apply to hotels, apartment houses,

25  roominghouses, or tourist or trailer camps whether or not

26  there is in connection with any of the same any dining rooms,

27  cafes, or other places where meals or lunches are sold or

28  served to guests.

29         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

30  

31  

                                  5

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






    Florida Senate - 2006                           CS for SB 1018
    583-1710-06




 1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 2                         Senate Bill 1018

 3                                 

 4  The committee substitute provides limitations on Local
    Government Infrastructure Surtax funds expended to improve
 5  private facilities for use as temporary public emergency
    shelters. Such funds shall only be used to bring a private
 6  facility up to current public emergency shelter standards. In
    return for this funding the owner agrees to enter into a
 7  contract to make the facility available as a temporary public
    emergency shelter as needed by local government for a minimum
 8  period of 10 years. Temporary use of the facility will be at
    no cost to the local government and the obligation must
 9  transfer to any subsequent owner until completion of the
    minimum period.
10  
    The committee substitute inserts language to precisely define
11  the terms "permanent residence" and "catastrophic disaster" by
    reference to other sections of Florida Statutes thereby
12  clarifying who may be eligible for exemption from the
    Transient Rentals Tax.
13  

14  

15  

16  

17  

18  

19  

20  

21  

22  

23  

24  

25  

26  

27  

28  

29  

30  

31  

                                  6

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