Senate Bill sb0612

    Florida Senate - 2006                                   SB 612

    By Senator Siplin





    19-191-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the tourist development tax;

  3         amending s. 125.0104, F.S., the "Local Option

  4         Tourist Development Act"; revising the

  5         permissible uses of proceeds from the tax;

  6         allowing a specified percentage of the tax

  7         proceeds to be used for economic development

  8         activities in the county; providing an

  9         effective date.

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

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13         Section 1.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section

14  125.0104, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

15         (5)  AUTHORIZED USES OF REVENUE.--

16         (a)  All tax revenues received pursuant to this section

17  by a county imposing the tourist development tax shall be used

18  by that county for the following purposes only:

19         1.  To acquire, construct, extend, enlarge, remodel,

20  repair, improve, maintain, operate, or promote one or more

21  publicly owned and operated convention centers, sports

22  stadiums, sports arenas, coliseums, or auditoriums, or museums

23  that are publicly owned and operated or owned and operated by

24  not-for-profit organizations and open to the public, within

25  the boundaries of the county or subcounty special taxing

26  district in which the tax is levied. Tax revenues received

27  pursuant to this section may also be used for promotion of

28  zoological parks that are publicly owned and operated or owned

29  and operated by not-for-profit organizations and open to the

30  public. However, these purposes may be implemented through

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                   SB 612
    19-191-06




 1  service contracts and leases with lessees with sufficient

 2  expertise or financial capability to operate such facilities;

 3         2.  To promote and advertise tourism in the State of

 4  Florida and nationally and internationally; however, if tax

 5  revenues are expended for an activity, service, venue, or

 6  event, the activity, service, venue, or event shall have as

 7  one of its main purposes the attraction of tourists as

 8  evidenced by the promotion of the activity, service, venue, or

 9  event to tourists;

10         3.  To fund convention bureaus, tourist bureaus,

11  tourist information centers, and news bureaus as county

12  agencies or by contract with the chambers of commerce or

13  similar associations in the county, which may include any

14  indirect administrative costs for services performed by the

15  county on behalf of the promotion agency. However, no more

16  than 2 percent of the revenues from the tourist development

17  tax may be used for county economic development activities as

18  described in s. 125.045; or

19         4.  To finance beach park facilities or beach

20  improvement, maintenance, renourishment, restoration, and

21  erosion control, including shoreline protection, enhancement,

22  cleanup, or restoration of inland lakes and rivers to which

23  there is public access as those uses relate to the physical

24  preservation of the beach, shoreline, or inland lake or river.

25  However, any funds identified by a county as the local

26  matching source for beach renourishment, restoration, or

27  erosion control projects included in the long-range budget

28  plan of the state's Beach Management Plan, pursuant to s.

29  161.091, or funds contractually obligated by a county in the

30  financial plan for a federally authorized shore protection

31  project may not be used or loaned for any other purpose. In

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                   SB 612
    19-191-06




 1  counties of less than 100,000 population, no more than 10

 2  percent of the revenues from the tourist development tax may

 3  be used for beach park facilities.

 4         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

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 7                          SENATE SUMMARY

 8    Allows up to 2 percent of the proceeds from the tourist
      development tax to be used for economic development
 9    activities in the county.

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