Florida Senate - 2009                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1000
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 702050                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  03/26/2009           .                                
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       The Committee on Military Affairs and Domestic Security
       (Bennett) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Subsection (8) is added to section 212.055,
    6  Florida Statutes, to read:
    7         212.055 Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent;
    8  authorization and use of proceeds.—It is the legislative intent
    9  that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales
   10  surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a
   11  subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the
   12  levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties
   13  authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the
   14  maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the
   15  procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if
   16  required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended;
   17  and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide.
   18  Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as
   19  provided in s. 212.054.
   20         (8)EMERGENCY FIRE RESCUE SERVICES AND FACILITIES SURTAX.—
   21         (a)The governing authority of a county may, by ordinance,
   22  levy a discretionary sales surtax of up to 1 percent for
   23  emergency fire rescue services and facilities as provided in
   24  this subsection. As used in this subsection, the term “emergency
   25  fire rescue services” includes, but is not limited to, the
   26  preventing and extinguishing fires; protecting and saving life
   27  and property from fires or natural or intentional acts or
   28  disasters; enforcing municipal, county, or state fire prevention
   29  codes and laws pertaining to the prevention and control of
   30  fires; and providing prehospital emergency medical treatment.
   31         (b)If a surtax is levied under this subsection, the
   32  governing authority of the county shall designate an Interlocal
   33  Agreement Facilitator for emergency fire rescue services within
   34  the county for emergency fire rescue services within the county.
   35         (c)Upon the adoption of the ordinance, the levy of the
   36  surtax must be placed on the ballot by the governing authority
   37  of the county enacting the ordinance. The ordinance shall take
   38  effect if approved by a majority of the electors of the county
   39  voting in a referendum held for such purpose. The ballot for the
   40  referendum must conform to the requirements of s. 101.161. The
   41  interlocal agreement required under paragraph (e) is a condition
   42  precedent to holding the referendum.
   43         (d)Pursuant to s. 212.054(4), the proceeds of the
   44  discretionary sales surtax collected under this subsection, less
   45  an administrative fee that may be retained by the Department of
   46  Revenue, shall be distributed by the county to the participating
   47  jurisdictions that have entered into an interlocal agreement
   48  with the county under this subsection. The county may also
   49  charge an administrative fee for receiving and distributing the
   50  surtax collected under this subsection which may not exceed 2
   51  percent of the surtax collected.
   52         (e)The Interlocal Agreement Facilitator shall develop an
   53  interlocal agreement to be executed by the county governing
   54  authority and the participating jurisdictions, which are the
   55  governing bodies of municipalities, dependent special districts,
   56  independent special districts, or municipal service taxing units
   57  located within such county. The interlocal agreement shall only
   58  include a majority of the service providers in the county.
   59         1.The interlocal agreement must specify that:
   60         a.The amount of the surtax proceeds to be distributed by
   61  the county to each participating jurisdiction is based on the
   62  actual amounts collected within each participating jurisdiction
   63  as determined by the Department of Revenue’s population
   64  allocations in accordance with s. 218.62; or
   65         b.If a county has special fire control districts and
   66  rescue districts or a municipal service taxing unit within its
   67  boundary, the county shall distribute the surtax proceeds among
   68  the county and the participating municipalities or special fire
   69  control and rescue districts based on the proportion of each
   70  entity’s expenditures of ad valorem taxes and non-ad valorem
   71  assessments for fire control and emergency rescue services in
   72  each of the immediately preceding 5 fiscal years to the total of
   73  such expenditures for all participating entities.
   74         2.Each participating jurisdiction shall agree that if a
   75  participating jurisdiction is requested to provide personnel or
   76  equipment to any other service provider, on a long-term basis,
   77  the jurisdiction providing the service is entitled to payment
   78  from the requesting service provider from that provider’s share
   79  of the surtax proceeds for all costs of such equipment or
   80  personnel.
   81         (f)Upon the surtax taking effect and initiation of
   82  collections, a county and any participating jurisdiction
   83  entering into the interlocal agreement shall reduce the ad
   84  valorem tax levy and any non-ad valorem assessment for fire
   85  control and emergency rescue services in its next and subsequent
   86  budgets by the estimated amount of revenue provided by the
   87  surtax.
   88         (g)Use of surtax proceeds authorized under this subsection
   89  does not relieve a local government from complying with the
   90  provisions of chapter 200 and any related provision of law that
   91  establishes millage caps or limits undesignated budget reserves
   92  and procedures for establishing rollback rates for ad valorem
   93  taxes and budget adoption. If surtax collections exceed
   94  projected collections in any fiscal year, any surplus
   95  distribution must be used to further reduce ad valorem taxes in
   96  the next fiscal year. These proceeds shall be applied as a
   97  rebate to the final millage, after the TRIM notice is completed
   98  in accordance with this provision.
   99         (h)Municipalities, special fire control and rescue
  100  districts, and contract service providers that do not enter into
  101  an interlocal agreement are not entitled to receive a portion of
  102  the proceeds of the surtax collected under this subsection.
  103         (i)Sub-subparagraph (e)1.a. or subparagraph(e)2. do not
  104  apply if one or more of the participating jurisdictions are
  105  prohibited from providing the same level of service for
  106  prehospital emergency medical treatment within their boundaries
  107  as a result of a limitation on providing such services through
  108  an interlocal agreement with the county and one or more of the
  109  participating jurisdictions or any certificate of public
  110  convenience and necessity or its equivalent issued by the county
  111  is issued solely to a county department or dependent special
  112  districts of the county.
  113         (j)Surtax collections shall be initiated on January 1 of
  114  the year following a successful referendum in order to coincide
  115  with s. 212.054(5).
  116         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.
  117  
  118  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  119         And the title is amended as follows:
  120         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  121  and insert:
  122                        A bill to be entitled                      
  123         An act relating to discretionary sales surtaxes;
  124         amending s. 212.055, F.S.; authorizing certain
  125         counties to levy by ordinance a discretionary sales
  126         surtax for emergency fire rescue services and
  127         facilities under certain circumstances; providing for
  128         the designation of an Interlocal Agreement
  129         Facilitator; requiring a referendum; providing for
  130         distribution of surtax proceeds; authorizing an
  131         administrative fee; providing for interlocal
  132         agreements; providing agreement requirements;
  133         requiring a reduction in the budget for ad valorem tax
  134         levies and non-ad valorem assessments for emergency
  135         fire rescue service by the amount of the estimated
  136         surtax; requiring any surplus surtax revenues to be
  137         used to further reduce ad valorem taxes; prohibiting
  138         entities not entering into an interlocal agreement
  139         from receiving a portion of surtax proceeds; providing
  140         an effective date.