| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to Broward County; providing for |
| 3 | appointment of the membership of the Broward County |
| 4 | Tourist Development Council; specifying requirements for |
| 5 | the council members; providing for duties, |
| 6 | responsibilities, and procedures of the council; providing |
| 7 | for superseding certain provisions of general law; |
| 8 | providing an effective date. |
| 9 |
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| 10 | WHEREAS, Broward County is the second most populous county |
| 11 | in Florida, is served by a charter government, and contains |
| 12 | thirty-one municipalities, and |
| 13 | WHEREAS, Broward County has experienced exceptional growth |
| 14 | over the past 26 years and its population presently exceeds |
| 15 | 1,800,000 residents, and |
| 16 | WHEREAS, an increase in members of the Broward County |
| 17 | Tourist Development Council, as provided in this act, is |
| 18 | required by such factors, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 19 |
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| 20 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 21 |
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| 22 | Section 1. Broward County Tourist Development Council.-- |
| 23 | (1) Notwithstanding s. 125.0104(4), Florida Statutes, if |
| 24 | the Broward County Board of County Commissioners levies and |
| 25 | imposes a tourist development tax under s. 125.0104, Florida |
| 26 | Statutes, the board shall appoint an advisory council to be |
| 27 | known as the "Broward County Tourist Development Council." The |
| 28 | council shall be established by ordinance and composed of 11 |
| 29 | members who shall be appointed by the Broward County Board of |
| 30 | County Commissioners. The Mayor of the Broward County Board of |
| 31 | County Commissioners or any other member of the commission as |
| 32 | designated by the mayor shall serve on the council. Two members |
| 33 | of the council shall be elected municipal officials, at least |
| 34 | one of whom shall be from the most populous municipality in the |
| 35 | county. Six members of the council shall be persons who are |
| 36 | involved in the tourist industry and who have demonstrated an |
| 37 | interest in tourist development, of which members not less than |
| 38 | three nor more than four shall be owners or operators of motels, |
| 39 | hotels, recreational vehicle parks, or other tourist |
| 40 | accommodations in the county and subject to the tax. The tenth |
| 41 | member shall be nominated from the membership of the State Road |
| 42 | 7 Collaborative and the eleventh member shall be a minority |
| 43 | person who is involved in the tourism industry. All members of |
| 44 | the council shall be electors of Broward County. The Broward |
| 45 | County Board of County Commissioners shall have the option of |
| 46 | designating the chair of the council or allowing the council to |
| 47 | elect a chair. The chair shall be appointed or elected annually |
| 48 | and may be reelected or reappointed. The members of the council |
| 49 | shall serve for staggered terms of 4 years. The terms of office |
| 50 | of the original members shall be prescribed in the resolution |
| 51 | required under s. 125.0104(4)(b), Florida Statutes. The council |
| 52 | shall meet at least once each quarter and, from time to time, |
| 53 | shall make recommendations to the county governing board for the |
| 54 | effective operation of the special projects or for uses of the |
| 55 | tourist development tax revenue and perform such other duties as |
| 56 | may be prescribed by county ordinance or resolution. The council |
| 57 | shall continuously review expenditures of revenues from the |
| 58 | tourist development trust fund and shall receive, at least |
| 59 | quarterly, expenditure reports from the county governing board |
| 60 | or its designee. Expenditures that the council believes to be |
| 61 | unauthorized shall be reported to the Broward County Board of |
| 62 | County Commissioners and the Department of Revenue. The |
| 63 | commission and the department shall review the findings of the |
| 64 | council and take appropriate administrative or judicial action |
| 65 | to ensure compliance with this section. The changes in the |
| 66 | composition of the membership of the tourist development council |
| 67 | mandated by this act shall not cause the interruption of the |
| 68 | current term of any person who is a member of a council on the |
| 69 | effective date of this act. |
| 70 | (2) Except as provided in this section, the Broward County |
| 71 | Tourist Development Council shall have all the duties, |
| 72 | responsibilities, and procedures as provided for tourist |
| 73 | development councils by general law. |
| 74 | Section 2. This act supersedes the provisions of s. |
| 75 | 125.0104, Florida Statutes, for Broward County to the extent of |
| 76 | any conflict. |
| 77 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |