HB 737

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to tax benefits related to catastrophic
3	emergencies; amending s. 212.055, F.S.; including as
4	infrastructure any fixed capital expenditure or fixed
5	capital outlay associated with the improvement of certain
6	private facilities made available as public shelters or
7	staging areas for emergency response equipment during
8	emergencies declared by the state or local government;
9	limiting improvements to those necessary to meet current
10	standards for public emergency evacuation shelters;
11	requiring the owner to enter into a written contract with
12	the local government providing improvement funding;
13	providing an effective date.
14
15	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17	Section 1.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section
18	212.055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read.
19	212.055  Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent;
20	authorization and use of proceeds.--It is the legislative intent
21	that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales
22	surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a
23	subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the
24	levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties
25	authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the
26	maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the
27	procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if
28	required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended;
29	and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide.
30	Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as
31	provided in s. 212.054.
32	(2)  LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE SURTAX.--
33	(d)1.  The proceeds of the surtax authorized by this
34	subsection and any interest accrued thereto shall be expended by
35	the school district or within the county and municipalities
36	within the county, or, in the case of a negotiated joint county
37	agreement, within another county, to finance, plan, and
38	construct infrastructure and to acquire land for public
39	recreation or conservation or protection of natural resources
40	and to finance the closure of county-owned or municipally owned
41	solid waste landfills that are already closed or are required to
42	close by order of the Department of Environmental Protection.
43	Any use of such proceeds or interest for purposes of landfill
44	closure prior to July 1, 1993, is ratified. Neither the proceeds
45	nor any interest accrued thereto shall be used for operational
46	expenses of any infrastructure, except that any county with a
47	population of less than 75,000 that is required to close a
48	landfill by order of the Department of Environmental Protection
49	may use the proceeds or any interest accrued thereto for long-
50	term maintenance costs associated with landfill closure.
51	Counties, as defined in s. 125.011(1), and charter counties may,
52	in addition, use the proceeds and any interest accrued thereto
53	to retire or service indebtedness incurred for bonds issued
54	prior to July 1, 1987, for infrastructure purposes, and for
55	bonds subsequently issued to refund such bonds. Any use of such
56	proceeds or interest for purposes of retiring or servicing
57	indebtedness incurred for such refunding bonds prior to July 1,
58	1999, is ratified.
59	2.  For the purposes of this paragraph, the term
60	"infrastructure" means:
61	a.  Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay
62	associated with the construction, reconstruction, or improvement
63	of public facilities that which have a life expectancy of 5 or
64	more years and any land acquisition, land improvement, design,
65	and engineering costs related thereto.
66	b.  A fire department vehicle, an emergency medical service
67	vehicle, a sheriff's office vehicle, a police department
68	vehicle, or any other vehicle, and such equipment necessary to
69	outfit the vehicle for its official use or equipment that has a
70	life expectancy of at least 5 years.
71	c.  Any expenditure for the construction, lease, or
72	maintenance of, or provision of utilities or security for,
73	facilities as defined in s. 29.008.
74	d.  Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay
75	associated with the improvement of private facilities that have
76	a life expectancy of 5 or more years and that the owner agrees
77	to make available for use on a temporary basis as needed by a
78	local government as a public emergency shelter or a staging area
79	for emergency response equipment during an emergency officially
80	declared by the state or by the local government under s.
81	252.38. Such improvements under this sub-subparagraph are
82	limited to those necessary to comply with current standards for
83	public emergency evacuation shelters. The owner shall enter into
84	a written contract with the local government providing the
85	improvement funding to make such private facility available to
86	the public for purposes of emergency shelter at no cost to the
87	local government for a minimum period of 10 years after
88	completion of the improvement, with the provision that such
89	obligation will transfer to any subsequent owner until the end
90	of the minimum period.
91	3.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection,
92	a discretionary sales surtax imposed or extended after the
93	effective date of this act may provide for an amount not to
94	exceed 15 percent of the local option sales surtax proceeds to
95	be allocated for deposit to a trust fund within the county's
96	accounts created for the purpose of funding economic development
97	projects of a general public purpose targeted to improve local
98	economies, including the funding of operational costs and
99	incentives related to such economic development. The ballot
100	statement must indicate the intention to make an allocation
101	under the authority of this subparagraph.
102	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

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