| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the North Springs Improvement District, |
| 3 | Broward County; amending chapter 2005-341, Laws of |
| 4 | Florida; providing for popular election of the board of |
| 5 | supervisors; increasing the amount of monthly compensation |
| 6 | for members of the board of supervisors; increasing the |
| 7 | minimum contract bid amount and providing additional |
| 8 | requirements for procurement of goods or services; |
| 9 | providing an effective date. |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Section 1. Sections 8 and 47 of section 3 of chapter 2005- |
| 14 | 341, Laws of Florida, are amended, subsection (11) is added to |
| 15 | section 4 and subsection (9) is added to section 5 of that |
| 16 | section, to read: |
| 17 | Section 4. Definitions.--Unless the context shall indicate |
| 18 | otherwise, the following words as used in this act shall have |
| 19 | the following meanings: |
| 20 | (11) "Qualified elector" means any person at least 18 |
| 21 | years of age who is a citizen of the United States, a legal |
| 22 | resident of the state and of the district and who registers to |
| 23 | vote with the Supervisor of Elections of Broward County. |
| 24 | Section 5. Board; election; organization; terms of office; |
| 25 | quorum; report and minutes.-- |
| 26 | (9)(a) The board of supervisors may, upon vote of a |
| 27 | majority of the board, determine to convert to a board of |
| 28 | supervisors elected by the qualified electors of the district. |
| 29 | Upon the call of an election for such purpose by the board as |
| 30 | provided in paragraph (b), election of the board by the |
| 31 | qualified electors shall thereafter be the exclusive method for |
| 32 | the election of the members of the board of supervisors. |
| 33 | (b) Upon vote of the board of supervisors pursuant to |
| 34 | paragraph (a), the board shall call an election at which the |
| 35 | members of the board of supervisors will be elected. Such |
| 36 | election shall be held in conjunction with the next general |
| 37 | election in November. Candidates may qualify for the offices of |
| 38 | board of supervisors seat 1, seat 2, and seat 3, each elected at |
| 39 | large within the district. A candidate qualifying for election |
| 40 | to seat 1 must be an elector and resident of the City of |
| 41 | Parkland. A candidate qualifying for election to seat 2 must be |
| 42 | an elector and resident of the City of Coral Springs. A |
| 43 | candidate qualifying for election to seat 3 must be an elector |
| 44 | and resident of the district. Each board member shall be elected |
| 45 | by the qualified electors of the district for a term of 4 years, |
| 46 | except that, at the first such election, the two members elected |
| 47 | to seat 1 and seat 2 shall be elected for a term of 4 years, and |
| 48 | the member elected to seat 3 shall be elected for a term of 2 |
| 49 | years. Thereafter, there shall be an election held every 2 years |
| 50 | for membership on the board of supervisors and all members shall |
| 51 | be elected for terms of 4 years each. The candidate receiving |
| 52 | the most votes for each seat shall be elected. All elected board |
| 53 | members must be qualified electors of the district. |
| 54 | (c) Elections of board members by qualified electors held |
| 55 | pursuant to this subsection shall be nonpartisan and shall be |
| 56 | conducted in the manner prescribed by law for holding general |
| 57 | elections. Board members shall assume the office on the second |
| 58 | Tuesday following their election. |
| 59 | (d) Candidates seeking election to office by qualified |
| 60 | electors under this subsection shall conduct their campaigns in |
| 61 | accordance with the provisions of chapter 106, Florida Statutes, |
| 62 | and shall file qualifying papers and qualify for individual |
| 63 | seats in accordance with section 99.061, Florida Statutes. |
| 64 | Candidates shall pay a qualifying fee, which shall consist of a |
| 65 | filing fee and election assessment or, as an alternative, shall |
| 66 | file a petition signed by not less than 1 percent of the |
| 67 | qualified electors of the district, and take the oath required |
| 68 | in section 99.021, Florida Statutes, with the Supervisor of |
| 69 | Elections of Broward County. The amount of the filing fee is 3 |
| 70 | percent of $4,800. The amount of the election assessment is 1 |
| 71 | percent of $4,800. The filing fee and election assessment shall |
| 72 | be distributed as provided in section 105.031 (3), Florida |
| 73 | Statutes. |
| 74 | (e) The Supervisor of Elections of Broward County shall |
| 75 | appoint the inspectors and clerks of elections, prepare and |
| 76 | furnish the ballots, designate polling places, and canvass the |
| 77 | returns of the election of board members by qualified electors. |
| 78 | The county canvassing board shall declare and certify the |
| 79 | results of the election. |
| 80 | (f) The provisions of subsections (3), (4), (5), (6), and |
| 81 | (7) shall apply to a board of supervisors elected pursuant to |
| 82 | this subsection. |
| 83 | Section 8. Compensation of board.--Each supervisor is |
| 84 | entitled to receive for his or her services an amount not to |
| 85 | exceed $400 $200 per meeting of the board of supervisors, not to |
| 86 | exceed $4,800 per year per supervisor month. In addition, each |
| 87 | supervisor shall receive reasonable traveling expenses incurred |
| 88 | in connection with district business for attending the place of |
| 89 | meeting from his or her residence. Unless the board by |
| 90 | resolution otherwise provides, Such traveling expenses may not |
| 91 | be in excess of the amounts provided by law for state and county |
| 92 | officials. |
| 93 | Section 47. Bids required.-- |
| 94 | (1) No contract shall be let by the board for any goods, |
| 95 | supplies, or materials to be purchased when the amount thereof |
| 96 | to be paid by the district shall exceed the amount provided in |
| 97 | section 287.017, Florida Statutes, for category four, unless |
| 98 | notice of bids shall be advertised once in a newspaper in |
| 99 | general circulation in the county and in the district. The |
| 100 | board, if seeking to construct or improve a public building, |
| 101 | structure, or other public works, shall comply with the bidding |
| 102 | procedures of section 255.20, Florida Statutes, and other |
| 103 | applicable general law. In each case, the bid of the lowest |
| 104 | responsive and responsible bidder shall be accepted unless all |
| 105 | bids are rejected because the bids are too high, or the board |
| 106 | determines it is in the best interests of the district to reject |
| 107 | all bids. The board may require the bidders to furnish bonds |
| 108 | with a responsible surety to be approved by the board. Nothing |
| 109 | in this section shall prevent the board from undertaking and |
| 110 | performing the construction, operation, and maintenance of any |
| 111 | project or facility authorized by this act by the employment of |
| 112 | labor, material, and machinery. |
| 113 | (2) The provisions of the Consultants' Competitive |
| 114 | Negotiation Act, section 287.055, Florida Statutes, apply to |
| 115 | contracts for engineering, architecture, landscape architecture, |
| 116 | or registered surveying and mapping services let by the board. |
| 117 | (3) Contracts for maintenance services for any district |
| 118 | facility or project shall be subject to competitive bidding |
| 119 | requirements when the amount thereof to be paid by the district |
| 120 | exceeds the amount provided in section 287.017, Florida |
| 121 | Statutes, for category four. The district shall adopt rules, |
| 122 | policies, or procedures establishing competitive bidding |
| 123 | procedures for maintenance services. Contracts for other |
| 124 | services shall not be subject to competitive bidding unless the |
| 125 | district adopts a rule, policy, or procedure applying |
| 126 | competitive bidding procedures to said contracts. |
| 127 | (4) The district may apply to the Department of Management |
| 128 | Services, or entity succeeding to the duties of such department, |
| 129 | to purchase commodities and contractual services from purchasing |
| 130 | agreements established and state term contracts procured |
| 131 | pursuant to section 287.057, Florida Statutes, by such |
| 132 | department, as provided in section 287.056, Florida Statutes. No |
| 133 | contract shall be let by the board for the construction or |
| 134 | maintenance of any project authorized by this act, nor shall any |
| 135 | goods, supplies, or materials be purchased when the amount |
| 136 | thereof to be paid by said district shall exceed $4,000, unless |
| 137 | notice of bids shall be advertised once a week for 2 consecutive |
| 138 | weeks in a newspaper published in Broward County and in general |
| 139 | circulation within the district, and in each case the bid of the |
| 140 | lowest responsible bidder shall be accepted, unless all bids are |
| 141 | rejected because the bids are too high. The board may require |
| 142 | the bidders to furnish bond with responsible surety to be |
| 143 | approved by the board. Nothing in this section shall prevent the |
| 144 | board from undertaking and performing the construction, |
| 145 | operation, and maintenance of any project or facility authorized |
| 146 | by this act, by the employment of labor, material, and |
| 147 | machinery. |
| 148 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |