| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to revenue administration; amending s. |
| 3 | 195.002, F.S.; authorizing payment of salaries and |
| 4 | benefits for certain employees associated with certain |
| 5 | schools; amending s. 195.022, F.S.; requiring all counties |
| 6 | to reproduce department forms at county expense; |
| 7 | specifying requirements of the department and property |
| 8 | appraisers for payment of expenses of furnishing |
| 9 | photographs and maps; authorizing the department to incur |
| 10 | certain expenses and charge fees equal to such expenses; |
| 11 | providing for deposit of such fees into the Certification |
| 12 | Program Trust Fund; providing for separate accounts in the |
| 13 | fund for certain purposes; providing for department use of |
| 14 | such funds for certain expenses; amending s. 195.087, |
| 15 | F.S.; requiring property appraisers to pay certain fees |
| 16 | for aerial photographs and certain maps; 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. Subsection (2) of section 195.002, Florida |
| 22 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 23 | 195.002 Supervision by Department of Revenue.-- |
| 24 | (2) In furtherance of its duty to conduct schools to |
| 25 | upgrade assessment skills and collection skills, the department |
| 26 | may establish by rule committees on admissions and |
| 27 | certification. Additionally, the department may incur reasonable |
| 28 | expenses for hiring instructors, travel, office operations, |
| 29 | certificates of completion, badges or awards, and food service |
| 30 | incidental to conducting such schools, salaries and benefits of |
| 31 | department employees whose duties are directly associated with |
| 32 | developing and conducting such schools, and for administering |
| 33 | any certification program under s. 145.10 or s. 145.11. The |
| 34 | department may charge a tuition fee and an examination fee to |
| 35 | any person who attends such a school and may charge a fee to |
| 36 | certify or recertify any person under such a program. The |
| 37 | department shall deposit such fees into the Certification |
| 38 | Program Trust Fund which is created in the State Treasury. There |
| 39 | shall be separate school accounts and program accounts in the |
| 40 | trust fund for property appraisers and for tax collectors. The |
| 41 | department shall use money in the fund to pay such expenses. |
| 42 | Section 2. Section 195.022, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 43 | to read: |
| 44 | 195.022 Forms to be prescribed by Department of |
| 45 | Revenue.--The Department of Revenue shall prescribe all forms to |
| 46 | be used by property appraisers, tax collectors, clerks of the |
| 47 | circuit court, and value adjustment boards in administering and |
| 48 | collecting ad valorem taxes. The department shall prescribe a |
| 49 | form for each purpose. For counties with a population of 100,000 |
| 50 | or fewer, the Department of Revenue shall furnish the forms. For |
| 51 | counties with a population greater than 100,000, The county |
| 52 | officer shall reproduce forms for distribution at the expense of |
| 53 | his or her office. A county officer may use a form other than |
| 54 | the form prescribed by the department upon obtaining written |
| 55 | permission from the executive director of the department; |
| 56 | however, no county officer shall use a form the substantive |
| 57 | content of which is at variance with the form prescribed by the |
| 58 | department for the same or a similar purpose. If the executive |
| 59 | director finds good cause to grant such permission he or she may |
| 60 | do so. The county officer may continue to use such approved form |
| 61 | until the law which specifies the form is amended or repealed or |
| 62 | until the officer receives written disapproval from the |
| 63 | executive director. Otherwise, all such officers and their |
| 64 | employees shall use the forms, and follow the instructions |
| 65 | applicable to the forms, which are prescribed by the department. |
| 66 | The department, upon request of any property appraiser or, in |
| 67 | any event, at least once every 3 years, shall prescribe and |
| 68 | furnish such aerial photographs and nonproperty ownership maps |
| 69 | to the property appraisers as are necessary to ensure that all |
| 70 | real property within the state is properly listed on the roll. |
| 71 | All photographs and maps furnished to counties with a population |
| 72 | of 25,000 or fewer shall be paid for by the department as |
| 73 | provided by law. For counties with a population greater than |
| 74 | 25,000, the department shall furnish such items at the property |
| 75 | appraiser's expense. The department may incur reasonable |
| 76 | expenses for procuring aerial photographs and nonproperty |
| 77 | ownership maps and may charge a fee to the respective property |
| 78 | appraiser equal to the cost incurred. The department shall |
| 79 | deposit such fees into the Certification Program Trust Fund, |
| 80 | created pursuant to s. 195.002. There shall be a separate |
| 81 | account in the trust fund for the aid and assistance activity of |
| 82 | providing aerial photographs and nonproperty ownership maps to |
| 83 | property appraisers. The department shall use money in the fund |
| 84 | to pay such expenses. All forms and maps furnished by the |
| 85 | department shall be paid for by the department as provided by |
| 86 | law. All forms and maps and instructions relating to their use |
| 87 | shall be substantially uniform throughout the state. An officer |
| 88 | may employ supplemental forms and maps, at the expense of his or |
| 89 | her office, which he or she deems expedient for the purpose of |
| 90 | administering and collecting ad valorem taxes. The forms |
| 91 | required in ss. 193.461(3)(a) and 196.011(1) for renewal |
| 92 | purposes shall require sufficient information for the property |
| 93 | appraiser to evaluate the changes in use since the prior year. |
| 94 | If the property appraiser determines, in the case of a taxpayer, |
| 95 | that he or she has insufficient current information upon which |
| 96 | to approve the exemption, or if the information on the renewal |
| 97 | form is inadequate for him or her to evaluate the taxable status |
| 98 | of the property, he or she may require the resubmission of an |
| 99 | original application. |
| 100 | Section 3. Subsection (4) of section 195.087, Florida |
| 101 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 102 | 195.087 Property appraisers and tax collectors to submit |
| 103 | budgets to Department of Revenue.-- |
| 104 | (4) The property appraisers and tax collectors of this |
| 105 | state are hereby authorized to pay any fee established by the |
| 106 | department for attendance by an employee at a school established |
| 107 | and conducted by the department pursuant to s. 195.002. Further, |
| 108 | the travel and per diem expenses of such employee may be paid as |
| 109 | set forth in s. 112.061. Property appraisers shall pay any fee |
| 110 | established by the department for aerial photographs and |
| 111 | nonproperty ownership maps provided by the department, that are |
| 112 | not paid for by the department, pursuant to s. 195.022. |
| 113 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |