| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to professional sports franchises; |
| 3 | amending s. 288.1162, F.S.; providing additional |
| 4 | requirements with respect to certification as a facility |
| 5 | for a new professional sports franchise or a facility for |
| 6 | a retained professional sports franchise; providing for |
| 7 | repeal of the requirements by a specified date; providing |
| 8 | an effective date. |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Section 1. Subsection (7) of section 288.1162, Florida |
| 13 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 14 | 288.1162 Professional sports franchises; spring training |
| 15 | franchises; duties.-- |
| 16 | (7)(a) The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic |
| 17 | Development shall notify the Department of Revenue of any |
| 18 | facility certified as a facility for a new professional sports |
| 19 | franchise or a facility for a retained professional sports |
| 20 | franchise or as a facility for a retained spring training |
| 21 | franchise. The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic |
| 22 | Development shall certify no more than eight facilities as |
| 23 | facilities for a new professional sports franchise or as |
| 24 | facilities for a retained professional sports franchise and |
| 25 | shall certify at least five as facilities for retained spring |
| 26 | training franchises, including in such total any facilities |
| 27 | certified by the Department of Commerce before July 1, 1996. The |
| 28 | office may make no more than one certification for any facility. |
| 29 | The office may not certify funding for less than the requested |
| 30 | amount to any applicant certified as a facility for a retained |
| 31 | spring training franchise. |
| 32 | (b) The eighth certification of an applicant under this |
| 33 | section as a facility for a new professional sports franchise or |
| 34 | a facility for a retained professional sports franchise shall be |
| 35 | for a franchise that is a member of the National Basketball |
| 36 | Association, has been located within the state since 1987, and |
| 37 | has not been previously certified. This paragraph is repealed |
| 38 | July 1, 2010. |
| 39 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |