| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to impact fees; creating s. 163.31801, |
| 3 | F.S.; creating the "Impact Fee Act"; providing legislative |
| 4 | intent; providing definitions; requiring that an impact |
| 5 | fee meet certain specified requirements; authorizing a |
| 6 | local government to adopt an ordinance levying an impact |
| 7 | fee as authorized by law in order to fund the |
| 8 | infrastructure necessitated by new growth; providing for |
| 9 | public notice before an ordinance levying an impact fee is |
| 10 | enacted; requiring that an ordinance levying an impact fee |
| 11 | specify certain criteria used in calculating and imposing |
| 12 | the impact fee; requiring that an ordinance levying an |
| 13 | impact fee specify certain requirements for the use of |
| 14 | revenue from an impact fee; requiring that an ordinance |
| 15 | levying an impact fee provide a process for refunding an |
| 16 | impact fee; authorizing an ordinance levying an impact fee |
| 17 | to provide certain credits; authorizing an ordinance |
| 18 | levying an impact fee to exempt all or part of a |
| 19 | development from an impact fee; providing certain dates |
| 20 | for compliance; providing an effective date. |
| 21 |
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| 22 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 23 |
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| 24 | Section 1. Section 163.31801, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 25 | to read: |
| 26 | 163.31801 Impact fees; short title; intent; definitions; |
| 27 | ordinances levying impact fees.-- |
| 28 | (1) This section may be cited as the "Impact Fee Act." |
| 29 | (2) The Legislature finds that impact fees are an |
| 30 | important source of revenue for a local government to use in |
| 31 | funding the infrastructure necessitated by new growth. The |
| 32 | Legislature further finds that impact fees are an outgrowth of |
| 33 | the home rule power of a local government to provide certain |
| 34 | services within its jurisdiction. Due to the increased reliance |
| 35 | of local governments on impact fees, it is the intent of the |
| 36 | Legislature to ensure that impact fees throughout the state are |
| 37 | used to maintain adequate public facilities, represent a |
| 38 | proportionate share of the cost of each public facility, and |
| 39 | promote orderly growth and development. |
| 40 | (3) As used in this section, the term: |
| 41 | (a) "Capital outlay project" means the buildings, |
| 42 | equipment, and structures that are built, installed, or |
| 43 | established to serve the need for infrastructure in a new or |
| 44 | expanded development, including, but not limited to, |
| 45 | transportation, sanitary sewer, solid waste, drainage, potable |
| 46 | water, education, parks, and recreational projects. |
| 47 | (b) "Impact fee" means a total or partial reimbursement to |
| 48 | a local government for the cost of the additional public |
| 49 | facilities or services necessitated by new development or the |
| 50 | expansion of existing development. |
| 51 | (c) "Local government" means a county, municipality, or |
| 52 | special district that is authorized by its enabling legislation |
| 53 | or by general law to impose an impact fee. |
| 54 | (d) "Public notice" means notice as required by s. |
| 55 | 125.66(2) for a county, s. 166.041(3)(a) for a municipality, or |
| 56 | s. 189.417 for a special district. The procedures for public |
| 57 | notice which are required in this section are established as the |
| 58 | minimum procedures for public notice. |
| 59 | (e) "Rational nexus" means a reasonable connection. |
| 60 | (4) An impact fee must: |
| 61 | (a) Be a one-time charge, although partial payments may be |
| 62 | collected at certain times over the course of the development |
| 63 | process. |
| 64 | (b) Be used for capital outlay projects only. Operating |
| 65 | costs and infrastructure deficiencies may not be funded by the |
| 66 | revenue from the impact fee. |
| 67 | (c) Represent a proportionate share of the cost of the |
| 68 | capital outlay project that is needed to serve the new |
| 69 | development. |
| 70 | (5) A local government is authorized by its home rule |
| 71 | power to adopt an ordinance levying an impact fee within its |
| 72 | jurisdiction in order to fund the need for infrastructure |
| 73 | created by new development or the expansion of existing |
| 74 | development. A special district may levy an impact fee only if |
| 75 | it is authorized to do so by general law. |
| 76 | (6) Before enacting an ordinance levying an impact fee, a |
| 77 | county, municipality, or special district must give public |
| 78 | notice of the proposed enactment. |
| 79 | (7) The ordinance levying an impact fee must: |
| 80 | (a) Specify the geographical area to be served by the |
| 81 | collection of the impact fee. |
| 82 | (b) Specify that there is a rational nexus between the |
| 83 | anticipated need for the capital outlay project and the growth |
| 84 | generated by the new development. |
| 85 | (c) Specify that there is a rational nexus between the |
| 86 | anticipated use of the revenue that is collected from the impact |
| 87 | fee and the benefits that will accrue to the new development |
| 88 | upon completion of the capital outlay project. |
| 89 | (d) Specify the criteria and methodology used to calculate |
| 90 | the amount of the impact fee and the assumptions on which they |
| 91 | are based. |
| 92 | (e) Demonstrate that the impact fee does not exceed a |
| 93 | proportionate share of the cost of the capital outlay project or |
| 94 | system improvement needed to serve the new development. |
| 95 | (f) Specify certain times during the development process |
| 96 | when partial payments of the impact fee are due. |
| 97 | (g) Require that the revenue from the impact fee is spent |
| 98 | only on the capital outlay project for which the fee was |
| 99 | collected. |
| 100 | (h) Specify that the revenue from the impact fee that is |
| 101 | collected by a local government shall be deposited into an |
| 102 | interest-bearing account. The interest from the account shall |
| 103 | also be used only for the capital outlay project. |
| 104 | (i) Specify that the revenue from the impact fee and |
| 105 | disbursement shall be accounted for and reported separately from |
| 106 | other governmental sources of revenue. The accounting and |
| 107 | reporting of the revenue from an impact fee shall be available |
| 108 | for audit pursuant to s. 218.39. |
| 109 | (j) Provide a process for refunding an impact fee that was |
| 110 | not expended on or encumbered for the capital outlay project for |
| 111 | which it was collected within a reasonable amount of time, not |
| 112 | to exceed 8 years following the date of the adoption of the |
| 113 | ordinance. A refund may be required after the time for |
| 114 | construction of the capital outlay project has expired. An |
| 115 | ordinance levying an impact fee must specify who is entitled to |
| 116 | the refund, whether it is the developer, the property owner of |
| 117 | record at the time of the refund, or some other individual or |
| 118 | entity. |
| 119 | (8) An ordinance levying an impact fee may provide credits |
| 120 | for outside funding sources, improvements initiated by |
| 121 | developers, in-kind contributions, and local tax payments that |
| 122 | fund capital improvements. |
| 123 | (9) An ordinance levying an impact fee may exempt all or |
| 124 | part of a development from the impact fee. The ordinance must |
| 125 | specify the criteria used in determining an exemption and the |
| 126 | alternative source of revenue which will offset the fee that is |
| 127 | exempted. |
| 128 | (10) An ordinance levying an impact fee which is enacted |
| 129 | before July 1, 2006, need not comply with the provisions of this |
| 130 | section until July 1, 2008. |
| 131 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |