CS/HB 653

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the Corporate Income Tax Credit
3	Scholarship Program; amending s. 220.187, F.S.; providing
4	legislative findings; revising program purposes; providing
5	that siblings of certain students are eligible for
6	participation in the program; revising provisions
7	authorizing the total amount of tax credits that may be
8	granted and deleting the reservation of a portion thereof;
9	revising authorized uses of scholarship funds; revising
10	provisions relating to expenditure of contributions
11	received by a scholarship-funding organization during a
12	state fiscal year; authorizing expenditure of
13	contributions for administrative expenses; correcting a
14	cross-reference; revising scholarship amounts and
15	providing for adjustments in future scholarship amounts;
16	revising requirements relating to verification of student
17	attendance for purposes of scholarship payment; providing
18	for preservation of credits under certain circumstances;
19	providing an effective date.
20
21	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23	Section 1.  Subsections (1) and (3), paragraph (b) of
24	subsection (5), paragraphs (d) and (i) of subsection (6),
25	paragraph (c) of subsection (8), and paragraphs (a) and (c) of
26	subsection (11) of section 220.187, Florida Statutes, are
27	amended, and a new subsection (14) is added to that section, to
28	read:
29	220.187  Credits for contributions to nonprofit
30	scholarship-funding organizations.--
31	(1)  FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.--
32	(a)  The Legislature finds that:
33	1.  It has the inherent power to determine subjects of
34	taxation for general or particular public purposes.
35	2.  Expanding educational opportunities and improving the
36	quality of educational services within the state are valid
37	public purposes that the Legislature may promote using its
38	sovereign power to determine subjects of taxation and exemptions
39	from taxation.
40	3.  Ensuring that all parents, regardless of means, may
41	exercise and enjoy their basic right to educate their children
42	as they see fit is a valid public purpose that the Legislature
43	may promote using its sovereign power to determine subjects of
44	taxation and exemptions from taxation.
45	4.  Expanded educational opportunities and the healthy
46	competition they promote are critical to improving the quality
47	of education in the state and to ensuring that all children
48	receive the high-quality education to which they are entitled.
49	(b)  The purpose of this section is to:
50	1.(a)  Enable taxpayers to make Encourage private,
51	voluntary contributions to nonprofit scholarship-funding
52	organizations in order to promote the general welfare.
53	2.  Provide taxpayers who wish to help parents with limited
54	resources exercise their basic right to educate their children
55	as they see fit with a means to do so.
56	3.(b)  Promote the general welfare by expanding Expand
57	educational opportunities for children of families that have
58	limited financial resources.
59	4.(c)  Enable children in this state to achieve a greater
60	level of excellence in their education.
61	5.  Improve the quality of education in this state, both by
62	expanding educational opportunities for children and by creating
63	incentives for schools to achieve excellence.
64	(3)  PROGRAM; SCHOLARSHIP ELIGIBILITY.--The Corporate
65	Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program is established. A student
66	is eligible for a corporate income tax credit scholarship if the
67	student qualifies for free or reduced-price school lunches under
68	the National School Lunch Act and:
69	(a)  Was counted as a full-time equivalent student during
70	the previous state fiscal year for purposes of state per-student
71	funding;
72	(b)  Received a scholarship from an eligible nonprofit
73	scholarship-funding organization or from the State of Florida
74	during the previous school year; or
75	(c)  Is eligible to enter kindergarten or first grade.
76
77	Contingent upon available funds, a student may continue in the
78	scholarship program as long as the student's household family
79	income level does not exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty
80	level. A sibling of a student who is continuing in the program
81	and resides in the same household as the student shall also be
82	eligible as a first-time corporate income tax credit scholarship
83	recipient as long as the student's and sibling's household
84	income level does not exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty
85	level.
86	(5)  AUTHORIZATION TO GRANT SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING TAX
87	CREDITS; LIMITATIONS ON INDIVIDUAL AND TOTAL CREDITS.--
88	(b)  The total amount of tax credits and carryforward of
89	tax credits which may be granted each state fiscal year under
90	this section is:
91	1.  Through June 30, 2008, $88 million.
92	2.  Through June 30, 2009, $118 million.
93	3.  Through June 30, 2010, $148 million.
94	4.  Through June 30, 2011, $178 million.
95	5.  Through June 30, 2012, $208 million.
96	6.  Beginning July 1, 2012, and thereafter, $238 million.
97	At least 1 percent of the total statewide amount authorized for
98	the tax credit shall be reserved for taxpayers who meet the
99	definition of a small business provided in s. 288.703(1) at the
100	time of application.
101	(6)  OBLIGATIONS OF ELIGIBLE NONPROFIT SCHOLARSHIP-FUNDING
102	ORGANIZATIONS.--An eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding
103	organization:
104	(d)  Must provide scholarships, from eligible
105	contributions, to eligible students for the cost of:
106	1.  Tuition and fees or textbook expenses for, or
107	transportation to, an eligible private school. At least 75
108	percent of the scholarship funding must be used to pay tuition
109	expenses; or
110	2.  Transportation expenses to a Florida public school that
111	is located outside the district in which the student resides or
112	to a lab school as defined in s. 1002.32.
113	(i)  May use up to 3 percent of eligible contributions
114	received during the state fiscal year in which such
115	contributions are collected for administrative expenses that are
116	incurred by the organization under this section. The
117	scholarship-funding organization must expend for annual or
118	partial-year scholarships an amount equal to or greater than 75
119	percent of the net eligible contributions remaining after
120	administrative expenses during the state fiscal year in which
121	such contributions are collected. No more than 25 percent of
122	such net eligible contributions may be carried forward to the
123	following state fiscal year. Any amounts carried forward shall
124	be expended for Must obligate, in the same fiscal year in which
125	the contribution was received, 100 percent of the eligible
126	contribution to provide annual or partial-year scholarships;
127	however, up to 25 percent of the total contribution may be
128	carried forward for expenditure in the following state fiscal
129	year. A scholarship-funding organization must, before granting a
130	scholarship for an academic year, document each scholarship
131	student's eligibility for that academic year. A scholarship-
132	funding organization may not grant multiyear scholarships in one
133	approval process. No portion of eligible contributions may be
134	used for administrative expenses. All interest accrued from
135	contributions must be used for scholarships.
136
137	Any and all information and documentation provided to the
138	Department of Education and the Auditor General relating to the
139	identity of a taxpayer that provides an eligible contribution
140	under this section shall remain confidential at all times in
141	accordance with s. 213.053.
142	(8)  PRIVATE SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY AND OBLIGATIONS.--An
143	eligible private school may be sectarian or nonsectarian and
144	must:
145	(c)  Be academically accountable to the parent for meeting
146	the educational needs of the student by:
147	1.  At a minimum, annually providing to the parent a
148	written explanation of the student's progress.
149	2.  Annually administering or making provision for students
150	participating in the scholarship program to take one of the
151	nationally norm-referenced tests identified by the Department of
152	Education. Students with disabilities for whom standardized
153	testing is not appropriate are exempt from this requirement. A
154	participating private school must report a student's scores to
155	the parent and to the independent research organization selected
156	by the Department of Education as described in paragraph (9)(j).
157	3.  Cooperating with the scholarship student whose parent
158	chooses to have the student participate in the statewide
159	assessments pursuant to s. 1008.22 1008.32.
160
161	The inability of a private school to meet the requirements of
162	this subsection shall constitute a basis for the ineligibility
163	of the private school to participate in the scholarship program
164	as determined by the Department of Education.
165	(11)  SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT AND PAYMENT.--
166	(a)  The amount of a scholarship provided to any student
167	for any single school year by an eligible nonprofit scholarship-
168	funding organization from eligible contributions shall be for
169	total costs authorized under paragraph (6)(d), not to exceed the
170	following annual limits:
171	1. Three thousand seven hundred fifty dollars For a
172	scholarship awarded to a student enrolled in an eligible private
173	school:
174	a.  Three thousand nine hundred fifty dollars during the
175	2008-2009 state fiscal year.
176	b.  Sixty percent of the statewide average total funds per
177	unweighted full-time equivalent funding amount as determined in
178	the Florida Education Finance Program calculation that is
179	incorporated by reference in the General Appropriations Act, or
180	any subsequent special appropriations act, for the 2009-2010
181	state fiscal year and each state fiscal year thereafter.
182	2.  Five hundred dollars for a scholarship awarded to a
183	student enrolled in a Florida public school that is located
184	outside the district in which the student resides or in a lab
185	school as defined in s. 1002.32.
186	(c)  An eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization
187	shall obtain verification from the private school of a student's
188	continued attendance at the school for prior to each period
189	covered by a scholarship payment.
190	(14)  PRESERVATION OF CREDIT.--If any provision or portion
191	of subsection (5) or the application thereof to any person or
192	circumstance is held unconstitutional by any court or is
193	otherwise declared invalid, the unconstitutionality or
194	invalidity shall not affect any credit earned under subsection
195	(5) by any taxpayer with respect to any contribution paid to an
196	eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization before the
197	date of a determination of unconstitutionality or invalidity.
198	Such credit shall be allowed at such time and in such a manner
199	as if a determination of unconstitutionality or invalidity had
200	not been made, provided that nothing in this subsection by
201	itself or in combination with any other provision of law shall
202	result in the allowance of any credit to any taxpayer in excess
203	of one dollar of credit for each dollar paid to an eligible
204	nonprofit scholarship-funding organization.
205	Section 2.  This act shall take effect June 30, 2008.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.