| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the discretionary surtax on documents; |
| 3 | amending s. 3, ch. 83-220, Laws of Florida, as amended; |
| 4 | extending a future repeal date of provisions authorizing |
| 5 | counties to levy a discretionary surtax on documents; |
| 6 | amending s. 201.031, F.S.; expanding requirements for |
| 7 | counties levying the discretionary surtax to include |
| 8 | auditing, housing plan, and annual reporting requirements; |
| 9 | limiting the percentage of surtax revenues that may be |
| 10 | used for administrative costs; specifying a minimum amount |
| 11 | of surtax revenues to be used for housing for certain low- |
| 12 | income and moderate-income families; providing an |
| 13 | effective date. |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Section 1. Section 3 of chapter 83-220, Laws of Florida, |
| 18 | as amended by section 1 of chapter 84-270, Laws of Florida, and |
| 19 | section 1 of chapter 89-252, Laws of Florida, is amended to |
| 20 | read: |
| 21 | Section 3. Sections 1 and 2 of chapter 83-220, Laws of |
| 22 | Florida, as amended by this act, are repealed effective October |
| 23 | 1, 2031 2011. |
| 24 | Section 2. Section 201.031, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 25 | to read: |
| 26 | 201.031 Discretionary surtax; administration and |
| 27 | collection; Housing Assistance Loan Trust Fund; reporting |
| 28 | requirements.-- |
| 29 | (1) Each county, as defined by s. 125.011(1), may levy, |
| 30 | subject to the provisions of s. 125.0167, a discretionary surtax |
| 31 | on documents taxable under the provisions of s. 201.02, except |
| 32 | that there shall be no surtax on any document pursuant to which |
| 33 | the interest granted, assigned, transferred, or conveyed |
| 34 | involves only a single-family residence. The Such single-family |
| 35 | residence may be a condominium unit, a unit held through stock |
| 36 | ownership or membership representing a proprietary interest in a |
| 37 | corporation owning a fee or a leasehold initially in excess of |
| 38 | 98 years, or a detached dwelling. |
| 39 | (2) All provisions of chapter 201, except s. 201.15, shall |
| 40 | apply to the surtax. The Department of Revenue shall pay to the |
| 41 | governing authority of the county which levies the surtax all |
| 42 | taxes, penalties, and interest collected under this section less |
| 43 | any costs of administration. |
| 44 | (3) Each county that which levies the surtax shall: |
| 45 | (a) Include in the financial report required under s. |
| 46 | 218.32 information showing the revenues and the expenses of the |
| 47 | trust fund for the fiscal year. |
| 48 | (b) Retain an independent outside auditor to conduct a |
| 49 | financial audit of surtax revenues and expenditures annually, |
| 50 | the cost of which may not be considered an administrative cost. |
| 51 | (c) Adopt, by resolution of its governing body, a housing |
| 52 | plan every 3 years that includes provisions substantially |
| 53 | similar to the plans required in s. 420.9075(1). |
| 54 | (d) Require, by resolution of its governing body, that the |
| 55 | staff or entity that has administrative authority for |
| 56 | implementing the housing plan prepare and submit to the county's |
| 57 | governing body an annual report substantially similar to the |
| 58 | annual report required in s. 420.9075(10). |
| 59 | (4) No more than 10 percent of surtax revenues collected |
| 60 | by the Department of Revenue and remitted to the county in any |
| 61 | fiscal year may be used for administrative costs. |
| 62 | (5) At least 50 percent of the revenues collected shall be |
| 63 | used to finance construction, rehabilitation, or purchase of |
| 64 | housing for extremely-low-income, very-low-income, low-income, |
| 65 | and moderate-income families as provided in s. 420.0004. |
| 66 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |