Senate Bill sb2484

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2484

    By Senator Baker





    20-1033-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the water management

  3         districts; amending s. 373.503, F.S.; providing

  4         that a water management district's millage rate

  5         is subject to annual authorization by the

  6         Legislature; requiring the Legislature to

  7         annually review a water management district's

  8         millage rate; requiring the Legislature to

  9         annually set the revenue authorized to be

10         raised by each water management district from

11         ad valorem taxes; amending s. 373.536, F.S.;

12         providing that a water management district's

13         fiscal year begins July 1; providing a timeline

14         for a water management district's budget

15         submission; providing for implementation;

16         providing an effective date.

17  

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

19  

20         Section 1.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section

21  373.503, Florida Statutes, is amended, present subsection (5)

22  of that section is redesignated as subsection (6), and a new

23  subsection (5) is added to that section, to read:

24         373.503  Manner of taxation.--

25         (3)(a)  Subject to the annual authorization to levy ad

26  valorem taxes pursuant to subsection (5), the districts may

27  levy ad valorem taxes on property within the district solely

28  for the purposes of this chapter and of chapter 25270, 1949,

29  Laws of Florida, as amended, and chapter 61-691, Laws of

30  Florida, as amended. The authority to levy ad valorem taxes as

31  provided in this act shall commence with the year 1977.

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2484
    20-1033-06




 1  However, the taxes levied for 1977 by the governing boards

 2  pursuant to this section shall be prorated to ensure that no

 3  such taxes will be levied for the first 4 days of the tax

 4  year, which days will fall prior to the effective date of the

 5  amendment to s. 9(b), Art. VII of the State Constitution,

 6  which was approved March 9, 1976.  When appropriate, taxes

 7  levied by each governing board may be separated by the

 8  governing board into a millage necessary for the purposes of

 9  the district and a millage necessary for financing basin

10  functions specified in s. 373.0695. Beginning with the taxing

11  year 1977, and Notwithstanding the provisions of any other

12  general or special law to the contrary and subject to the

13  annual authorization to levy ad valorem taxes pursuant to

14  subsection (5), the maximum total millage rate for district

15  and basin purposes shall be:

16         1.  Northwest Florida Water Management District:  0.05

17  mill.

18         2.  Suwannee River Water Management District:  0.75

19  mill.

20         3.  St. Johns River Water Management District:  0.6

21  mill.

22         4.  Southwest Florida Water Management District:  1.0

23  mill.

24         5.  South Florida Water Management District:  0.80

25  mill.

26         (5)  In order to ensure that the taxes authorized by

27  this chapter continue to be in proportion to the benefits

28  derived by the several parcels of real estate within the

29  districts to which territories are annexed and transferred,

30  the Legislature shall annually review the authorized millage

31  rate for each district and annually set the amount of revenue

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2484
    20-1033-06




 1  authorized to be raised by each district from the taxes

 2  authorized by this chapter.

 3         Section 2.  Subsections (1) and (2) and paragraphs (c),

 4  (e), and (f) of subsection (5) of section 373.536, Florida

 5  Statutes, are amended to read:

 6         373.536  District budget and hearing thereon.--

 7         (1)  FISCAL YEAR.--The fiscal year of districts created

 8  under the provisions of this chapter shall extend from July

 9  October 1 of one year through June September 30 of the

10  following year.

11         (2)  BUDGET SUBMITTAL.--The budget officer of the

12  district shall, on or before March 30 July 15 of each year,

13  submit for consideration by the governing board of the

14  district a tentative budget for the district covering its

15  proposed operations and funding requirements for the ensuing

16  fiscal year.

17         (5)  TENTATIVE BUDGET CONTENTS AND SUBMISSION; REVIEW

18  AND APPROVAL.--

19         (c)  Each water management district shall, by April 15

20  August 1 of each year, submit for review a tentative budget to

21  the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the

22  House of Representatives, the chairs of all legislative

23  committees and subcommittees with substantive or fiscal

24  jurisdiction over water management districts, as determined by

25  the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of

26  Representatives as applicable, the secretary of the

27  department, and the governing body of each county in which the

28  district has jurisdiction or derives any funds for the

29  operations of the district.

30         (e)  By May 15 September 5 of the year in which the

31  budget is submitted, the House and Senate appropriations

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2484
    20-1033-06




 1  chairs may transmit to each district comments and objections

 2  to the proposed budgets.  Each district governing board shall

 3  include a response to such comments and objections in the

 4  record of the governing board meeting where final adoption of

 5  the budget takes place, and the record of this meeting shall

 6  be transmitted to the Executive Office of the Governor, the

 7  department, and the chairs of the House and Senate

 8  appropriations committees.

 9         (f)  The Executive Office of the Governor shall

10  annually, on or before September December 15, file with the

11  Legislature a report that summarizes its review of the water

12  management districts' tentative budgets and displays the

13  adopted budget allocations by program area. The report must

14  identify the districts that are not in compliance with the

15  reporting requirements of this section. State funds shall be

16  withheld from a water management district that fails to comply

17  with these reporting requirements.

18         Section 3.  For the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 fiscal

19  years and notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the water

20  management districts shall budget and plan for their fiscal

21  business to accommodate the change in the fiscal year required

22  by this act.

23         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.

24  

25            *****************************************

26                          SENATE SUMMARY

27    Requires that the Legislature annually review the millage
      rates of the water management districts and set the
28    revenue to be raised. Provides for the fiscal year for
      the water management districts to begin on July 1.
29    Revises the dates for reviewing and submitting budgets in
      order to conform to the change in the fiscal year.
30  

31  

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