Senate Bill sb1508c1

    Florida Senate - 2006                           CS for SB 1508

    By the Committee on Government Efficiency Appropriations; and
    Senator Haridopolos




    593-1909-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to property taxes; amending s.

  3         200.071, F.S.; authorizing counties to cap

  4         annual growth in ad valorem tax revenues by

  5         charter if approved by a three-fifths vote of

  6         the electorate; providing requirements and

  7         limitations; providing an exception;

  8         prohibiting ad valorem tax levies by counties

  9         in excess of amounts specified in the county

10         charter; prohibiting ad valorem tax levies by

11         counties through municipal service taxing units

12         in excess of amounts specified in the ordinance

13         establishing the unit; providing an effective

14         date.

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

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18         Section 1.  Subsections (1) and (3) of section 200.071,

19  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

20         200.071  Limitation of millage; counties.--

21         (1)(a)  Except as otherwise provided herein, no ad

22  valorem tax millage shall be levied against real property and

23  tangible personal property by counties in excess of 10 mills

24  or the ad valorem tax millage calculated pursuant to paragraph

25  (b), whichever is less, except for voted levies.

26         (b)  A county may cap, through a provision in its

27  charter, the annual growth in ad valorem tax revenues if

28  approved by a three-fifths vote of the electorate of the

29  county. Any such cap may not restrict the annual growth at a

30  rate below the lesser of 3 percent or the Consumer Price Index

31  as defined in s. 193.155(1)(b). Any such cap specified in a

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    Florida Senate - 2006                           CS for SB 1508
    593-1909-06




 1  county charter must allow for the cap to be overcome by a

 2  finding of necessity due to emergency or critical need by a

 3  super-majority vote of the county commission. In applying the

 4  increase or growth cap, the county shall compute a millage

 5  rate that, exclusive of new construction, additions to

 6  structures, deletions, increases in the value of improvements

 7  that have undergone a substantial rehabilitation and that

 8  increased the assessed value of such improvements by at least

 9  100 percent, and property added due to geographic boundary

10  changes, will provide the same ad valorem tax revenue for each

11  taxing authority as was levied during the prior year. That

12  rate shall be subject to any cap in growth or increase of ad

13  valorem revenues established by county charter. In preparing a

14  budget for submittal to the county commission, and

15  notwithstanding any other provision of law contrary to this

16  section, each charter officer shall comply with any cap in

17  growth established by the county.

18         (3)  Any county which, through a municipal service

19  taxing unit, provides services or facilities of the kind or

20  type commonly provided by municipalities, may levy, in

21  addition to the millages otherwise provided in this section,

22  against real property and tangible personal property within

23  each such municipal service taxing unit an ad valorem tax

24  millage not in excess of 10 mills, or the ad valorem tax

25  millage specified in the ordinance establishing the municipal

26  service taxing unit, whichever is less, to pay for such

27  services or facilities provided with the funds obtained

28  through such levy within such municipal service taxing unit.

29         Section 2.  This act shall take effect January 1, 2007.

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    Florida Senate - 2006                           CS for SB 1508
    593-1909-06




 1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 2                             SB 1508

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 4  This committee substitute clarifies that a charter county may
    limit the growth of its property tax revenues by limiting its
 5  millage rate to the rate that raises the amount of revenue
    allowed by the growth rate cap set in the charter. It requires
 6  that the referendum capping the growth of property tax revenue
    must be approved by a 3/5 vote and it strikes the requirement
 7  that the budgets of constitutional officers of the county
    comply with the growth cap.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.