| 1 | Representative(s) Saunders offered the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Substitute Amendment for Amendment (357355) (with ballot |
| 4 | statement and title amendments) |
| 5 | Remove line(s) 375-484 and insert: |
| 6 | (d) The legislature shall not pass any law that would |
| 7 | increase the statewide required local effort millage rate from |
| 8 | the prior year for school districts except by an affirmative |
| 9 | vote of at least two-thirds of the membership of each house of |
| 10 | the legislature. |
| 11 | ARTICLE VIII |
| 12 | LOCAL GOVERNMENT |
| 13 | SECTION 1. Counties.-- |
| 14 | (a) POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS. The state shall be divided by |
| 15 | law into political subdivisions called counties. Counties may be |
| 16 | created, abolished or changed by law, with provision for payment |
| 17 | or apportionment of the public debt. |
| 18 | (b) COUNTY FUNDS. The care, custody and method of |
| 19 | disbursing county funds shall be provided by general law. |
| 20 | (c) GOVERNMENT. Pursuant to general or special law, a |
| 21 | county government may be established by charter which shall be |
| 22 | adopted, amended or repealed only upon vote of the electors of |
| 23 | the county in a special election called for that purpose. |
| 24 | (d) COUNTY OFFICERS. There shall be elected by the |
| 25 | electors of each county, for terms of four years, a sheriff, a |
| 26 | tax collector, a property appraiser, a supervisor of elections, |
| 27 | and a clerk of the circuit court; except, when provided by |
| 28 | county charter or special law approved by vote of the electors |
| 29 | of the county, any county officer other than a property |
| 30 | appraiser may be chosen in another manner therein specified, or |
| 31 | any county office other than the office of property appraiser |
| 32 | may be abolished when all the duties of the office prescribed by |
| 33 | general law are transferred to another office. When not |
| 34 | otherwise provided by county charter or special law approved by |
| 35 | vote of the electors, the clerk of the circuit court shall be ex |
| 36 | officio clerk of the board of county commissioners, auditor, |
| 37 | recorder and custodian of all county funds. |
| 38 | (e) COMMISSIONERS. Except when otherwise provided by |
| 39 | county charter, the governing body of each county shall be a |
| 40 | board of county commissioners composed of five or seven members |
| 41 | serving staggered terms of four years. After each decennial |
| 42 | census the board of county commissioners shall divide the county |
| 43 | into districts of contiguous territory as nearly equal in |
| 44 | population as practicable. One commissioner residing in each |
| 45 | district shall be elected as provided by law. |
| 46 | (f) NON-CHARTER GOVERNMENT. Counties not operating under |
| 47 | county charters shall have such power of self-government as is |
| 48 | provided by general or special law. The board of county |
| 49 | commissioners of a county not operating under a charter may |
| 50 | enact, in a manner prescribed by general law, county ordinances |
| 51 | not inconsistent with general or special law, but an ordinance |
| 52 | in conflict with a municipal ordinance shall not be effective |
| 53 | within the municipality to the extent of such conflict. |
| 54 | (g) CHARTER GOVERNMENT. Counties operating under county |
| 55 | charters shall have all powers of local self-government not |
| 56 | inconsistent with general law, or with special law approved by |
| 57 | vote of the electors. The governing body of a county operating |
| 58 | under a charter may enact county ordinances not inconsistent |
| 59 | with general law. The charter shall provide which shall prevail |
| 60 | in the event of conflict between county and municipal |
| 61 | ordinances. |
| 62 | (h) TAXES; LIMITATION. Property situate within |
| 63 | municipalities shall not be subject to taxation for services |
| 64 | rendered by the county exclusively for the benefit of the |
| 65 | property or residents in unincorporated areas. |
| 66 | (i) COUNTY ORDINANCES. Each county ordinance shall be |
| 67 | filed with the custodian of state records and shall become |
| 68 | effective at such time thereafter as is provided by general law. |
| 69 | (j) VIOLATION OF ORDINANCES. Persons violating county |
| 70 | ordinances shall be prosecuted and punished as provided by law. |
| 71 | (k) COUNTY SEAT. In every county there shall be a county |
| 72 | seat at which shall be located the principal offices and |
| 73 | permanent records of all county officers. The county seat may |
| 74 | not be moved except as provided by general law. Branch offices |
| 75 | for the conduct of county business may be established elsewhere |
| 76 | in the county by resolution of the governing body of the county |
| 77 | in the manner prescribed by law. No instrument shall be deemed |
| 78 | recorded until filed at the county seat, or a branch office |
| 79 | designated by the governing body of the county for the recording |
| 80 | of instruments, according to law. |
| 81 | ARTICLE XII |
| 82 | SCHEDULE |
| 83 | SECTION 27. Elected property appraisers; application.--The |
| 84 | requirement in Section 1(d) of Article VIII for a property |
| 85 | appraiser to be elected by the electors of the county shall |
| 86 | apply in each county, including each charter county, regardless |
| 87 | of whether the charter was adopted pursuant to Section 1(g) of |
| 88 | Article VIII or pursuant to Section 9, Section 10, Section 11, |
| 89 | or Section 24 of Article VIII of the Constitution of 1885, as |
| 90 | amended and incorporated by reference in Section 6(e) of Article |
| 91 | VIII. Any county that does not have an elected property |
| 92 | appraiser on the effective date of the amendment to Section 1 of |
| 93 | Article VIII of this constitution shall provide for electing a |
| 94 | property appraiser at the next general election as provided by |
| 95 | general law. |
| 96 | SECTION 28. Property tax exemptions and ad valorem tax |
| 97 | limitations.--The amendments to Sections 3, 4, 6, and 9 of |
| 98 | Article VII, providing a $25,000 exemption from ad valorem |
| 99 | taxation for tangible personal property, providing an additional |
| 100 | $25,000 homestead exemption, authorizing the transfer of the |
| 101 | accrued benefit from the limitation on the assessment of |
| 102 | homestead property, providing an additional homestead exemption |
| 103 | for first-time homestead property owners, providing a complete |
| 104 | homestead exemption for low-income seniors, providing for |
| 105 | assessing rent-restricted affordable housing and commercial and |
| 106 | public-access waterfront property pursuant to general law, |
| 107 | limiting annual increases in assessments of nonhomestead real |
| 108 | property, requiring the legislature to limit the authority of |
| 109 | counties, municipalities, and special districts to increase ad |
| 110 | valorem taxes, and requiring a supermajority vote of the |
| 111 | Legislature to increase school ad valorem millage rates; the |
| 112 | amendment to Section 1 of Article VIII, requiring property |
| 113 | appraisers to be elected; and the creation of Section 27 of this |
| 114 | Article, providing for election of county property appraisers, |
| 115 | and this section, if submitted to the electors of this state for |
| 116 | approval or rejection at a special election authorized by law to |
| 117 | be held on January 29, 2008, shall take effect upon approval by |
| 118 | the electors and shall operate retroactively to January 1, 2008, |
| 119 | or, if submitted to the electors of this state for approval or |
| 120 | rejection at the next general election, shall take effect |
| 121 | January 1 of the year following such general election. |
| 122 |
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| 123 |
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| 124 | == B A L L O T S T A T E M E N T A M E N D M E N T == |
| 125 | Remove line(s) 509-562 and insert: |
| 126 | taxes, 10) requires a supermajority vote of the Legislature to |
| 127 | increase school ad valorem millage rates, and 11) requires all |
| 128 | county property appraisers to be elected. |
| 129 | In more detail, this revision: |
| 130 | 1. Increases the homestead exemption by providing an |
| 131 | additional $25,000 homestead exemption for the portion of the |
| 132 | assessed value above $50,000 up to $75,000. This exemption does |
| 133 | not apply to school taxes. |
| 134 | 2. Exempts certain low-income seniors from ad valorem tax |
| 135 | on their homes. Persons 65 or older whose household income is |
| 136 | less than $23,604, adjusted annually for inflation, will be |
| 137 | totally exempt from ad valorem taxes, including school taxes, on |
| 138 | their homestead property. |
| 139 | 3. Provides an increased exemption for first-time Florida |
| 140 | homebuyers beginning in 2008. First-time homebuyers in Florida |
| 141 | who qualify for homestead exemption will be eligible for an |
| 142 | additional exemption equal to 25 percent of the assessed value |
| 143 | of their new home, not to exceed 25 percent of the county median |
| 144 | homestead just value for the prior year. The amount of the |
| 145 | exemption will decrease each year by the amount of the home's |
| 146 | Save Our Homes benefit. When the amount of the home's Save Our |
| 147 | Homes benefit meets or exceeds this exemption, the exemption is |
| 148 | lost. This exemption also is available to 2007 first-time |
| 149 | homebuyers who qualify for homestead exemption January 1, 2008. |
| 150 | This exemption does not apply to school taxes. |
| 151 | 4. Provides for the transfer of accumulated Save Our Homes |
| 152 | benefits. Homestead property owners will be able to transfer |
| 153 | their Save Our Homes benefit to a new homestead within two years |
| 154 | of relinquishing their previous homestead exemption; except, if |
| 155 | the new homestead is established on January 1, 2008, the |
| 156 | previous homestead must have been relinquished in 2007. If the |
| 157 | new homestead has a higher just value than the old one, the |
| 158 | entire benefit can be transferred; if the new homestead has a |
| 159 | lower just value, the amount of benefit transferred will be |
| 160 | reduced in proportion of the just value of the new homestead to |
| 161 | the just value of the old homestead. The transferred benefit may |
| 162 | not exceed $1 million. This provision does not apply to school |
| 163 | taxes. |
| 164 | 5. Provides for assessing certain rent-restricted |
| 165 | affordable housing property as provided by general law. This |
| 166 | provision will not apply to school taxes. |
| 167 | 6. Provides for assessing certain waterfront property used |
| 168 | for commercial fishing, commercial water-dependent activities, |
| 169 | and public access as provided by general law. This provision |
| 170 | will not apply to school taxes. |
| 171 | 7. Limits increases in assessments each year for all |
| 172 | property other than homestead property to the lower of 3 percent |
| 173 | or the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index. |
| 174 | 8. Authorizes an exemption from ad valorem taxes of |
| 175 | $25,000 of assessed value of tangible personal property. This |
| 176 | provision applies to all tax levies. |
| 177 | 9. Requires the Legislature to limit the authority of |
| 178 | counties, municipalities, and special districts to increase ad |
| 179 | valorem taxes. |
| 180 | 10. Requires a supermajority vote of the Legislature to |
| 181 | exceed a prior year's statewide required local effort millage |
| 182 | rate for school districts. |
| 183 | 11. Requires each county to have an elected property |
| 184 |
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| 185 | ======= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ======= |
| 186 | Between lines 17 and 18, insert: |
| 187 | to require a supermajority vote of the Legislature to exceed a |
| 188 | prior year's statewide required local effort millage rate for |
| 189 | school districts, |