| 1 | The Local Government Council recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to the local government infrastructure |
| 7 | surtax; amending s. 212.055, F.S.; requiring a ballot |
| 8 | summary to disclose certain fiscal information under |
| 9 | certain circumstances; limiting a prohibition against |
| 10 | using surtax proceeds for infrastructure operating |
| 11 | expenses to a certain percentage of the proceeds; |
| 12 | authorizing the use of a portion of surtax revenues to |
| 13 | supplant or replace certain revenue sources and related |
| 14 | debt or make certain land purchases under certain |
| 15 | circumstances; requiring a corresponding reduction in |
| 16 | property taxes under certain circumstances; providing an |
| 17 | effective date. |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 20 |
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| 21 | Section 1. Paragraphs (b) and (d) of subsection (2) of |
| 22 | section 212.055, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraph |
| 23 | (i) is added to that subsection, to read: |
| 24 | 212.055 Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent; |
| 25 | authorization and use of proceeds.--It is the legislative intent |
| 26 | that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales |
| 27 | surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a |
| 28 | subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the |
| 29 | levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties |
| 30 | authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the |
| 31 | maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the |
| 32 | procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if |
| 33 | required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended; |
| 34 | and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide. |
| 35 | Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as |
| 36 | provided in s. 212.054. |
| 37 | (2) LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE SURTAX.-- |
| 38 | (b) A statement which includes a brief general description |
| 39 | of the projects to be funded by the surtax and which conforms to |
| 40 | the requirements of s. 101.161 shall be placed on the ballot by |
| 41 | the governing authority of any county which enacts an ordinance |
| 42 | calling for a referendum on the levy of the surtax or in which |
| 43 | the governing bodies of the municipalities representing a |
| 44 | majority of the county's population adopt uniform resolutions |
| 45 | calling for a referendum on the surtax. If, in addition to the |
| 46 | other uses authorized for the surtax, a county, municipality, or |
| 47 | school district proposes to use surtax proceeds to replace or |
| 48 | supplant existing ad valorem taxes or existing user fees as |
| 49 | provided in paragraph (i) or to fund operating expenses of |
| 50 | infrastructure as provided in subparagraph (d)1., or both, the |
| 51 | ballot summary shall also provide an estimate of the amount of |
| 52 | the reduction in ad valorem taxes or user fees or the amount of |
| 53 | infrastructure operating expenses. The following question shall |
| 54 | be placed on the ballot: |
| 55 |
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| | | _____FOR the | _____-cent sales tax |
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| 56 |
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| | | _____AGAINST the | _____-cent sales tax |
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| 57 |
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| 58 | (d)1. The proceeds of the surtax authorized by this |
| 59 | subsection and any interest accrued thereto shall be expended by |
| 60 | the school district or within the county and municipalities |
| 61 | within the county, or, in the case of a negotiated joint county |
| 62 | agreement, within another county, to finance, plan, and |
| 63 | construct infrastructure and to acquire land for public |
| 64 | recreation or conservation or protection of natural resources |
| 65 | and to finance the closure of county-owned or municipally owned |
| 66 | solid waste landfills that are already closed or are required to |
| 67 | close by order of the Department of Environmental Protection. |
| 68 | Any use of such proceeds or interest for purposes of landfill |
| 69 | closure prior to July 1, 1993, is ratified. Neither the proceeds |
| 70 | nor any interest accrued thereto in excess of 10 percent of the |
| 71 | proceeds shall be used for operational expenses of any |
| 72 | infrastructure, except that any county with a population of less |
| 73 | than 75,000 that is required to close a landfill by order of the |
| 74 | Department of Environmental Protection may use the proceeds or |
| 75 | any interest accrued thereto for long-term maintenance costs |
| 76 | associated with landfill closure. Counties, as defined in s. |
| 77 | 125.011(1), and charter counties may, in addition, use the |
| 78 | proceeds and any interest accrued thereto to retire or service |
| 79 | indebtedness incurred for bonds issued prior to July 1, 1987, |
| 80 | for infrastructure purposes, and for bonds subsequently issued |
| 81 | to refund such bonds. Any use of such proceeds or interest for |
| 82 | purposes of retiring or servicing indebtedness incurred for such |
| 83 | refunding bonds prior to July 1, 1999, is ratified. |
| 84 | 2. For the purposes of this paragraph, "infrastructure" |
| 85 | means: |
| 86 | a. Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay |
| 87 | associated with the construction, reconstruction, or improvement |
| 88 | of public facilities which have a life expectancy of 5 or more |
| 89 | years and any land acquisition, land improvement, design, and |
| 90 | engineering costs related thereto. |
| 91 | b. A fire department vehicle, an emergency medical service |
| 92 | vehicle, a sheriff's office vehicle, a police department |
| 93 | vehicle, or any other vehicle, and such equipment necessary to |
| 94 | outfit the vehicle for its official use or equipment that has a |
| 95 | life expectancy of at least 5 years. |
| 96 | c. Any expenditure for the construction, lease, or |
| 97 | maintenance of, or provision of utilities or security for, |
| 98 | facilities as defined in s. 29.008. |
| 99 | 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, |
| 100 | a discretionary sales surtax imposed or extended after the |
| 101 | effective date of this act may provide for an amount not to |
| 102 | exceed 15 percent of the local option sales surtax proceeds to |
| 103 | be allocated for deposit to a trust fund within the county's |
| 104 | accounts created for the purpose of funding economic development |
| 105 | projects of a general public purpose targeted to improve local |
| 106 | economies, including the funding of operational costs and |
| 107 | incentives related to such economic development. The ballot |
| 108 | statement must indicate the intention to make an allocation |
| 109 | under the authority of this subparagraph. |
| 110 | (i) A school district, county, or municipality may use up |
| 111 | to 35 percent of the proceeds to replace or supplant existing |
| 112 | property tax levies, and any debt related to such levies, or |
| 113 | user fees that have been imposed specifically for the purpose of |
| 114 | providing infrastructure as defined in subparagraph (d)2., or to |
| 115 | purchase environmentally sensitive lands. In the year following |
| 116 | the imposition of the surtax, a county, municipality, or school |
| 117 | district that uses a portion of the proceeds of the surtax to |
| 118 | replace or supplant existing property tax levies or for |
| 119 | operating expenses of infrastructure as provided in subparagraph |
| 120 | (d)1. shall reduce property taxes by the amount of the proceeds |
| 121 | used for those purposes. |
| 122 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |