HJR 1263

1	House Joint Resolution
2	A joint resolution proposing an amendment to Section 1 and
3	the creation of Section 19 of Article VII of the State
4	Constitution to limit state and local government revenues
5	and require voter approval of new taxes and fees.
6
7	Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
8
9	That the following amendment to Section 1 and the creation
10	of Section 19 of Article VII of the State Constitution are
11	agreed to and shall be submitted to the electors of this state
12	for approval or rejection at the next general election or at an
13	earlier special election specifically authorized by law for that
14	purpose:
15	ARTICLE VII
16	FINANCE AND TAXATION
17	SECTION 1.  Taxation; appropriations; state expenses; state
18	revenue limitation.--
19	(a)  No tax shall be levied except in pursuance of law. No
20	state ad valorem taxes shall be levied upon real estate or
21	tangible personal property. All other forms of taxation shall be
22	preempted to the state except as provided by general law.
23	(b)  Motor vehicles, boats, airplanes, trailers, trailer
24	coaches and mobile homes, as defined by law, shall be subject to
25	a license tax for their operation in the amounts and for the
26	purposes prescribed by law, but shall not be subject to ad
27	valorem taxes.
28	(c)  No money shall be drawn from the treasury except in
29	pursuance of appropriation made by law.
30	(d)  Provision shall be made by law for raising sufficient
31	revenue to defray the expenses of the state for each fiscal
32	period.
33	(e)  Except as provided herein, state revenues collected
34	for any fiscal year shall be limited to state revenues allowed
35	under this subsection for the prior fiscal year plus an
36	adjustment for growth. As used in this subsection, "growth"
37	means an amount equal to the average annual rate of growth in
38	Florida personal income over the most recent twenty quarters
39	times the state revenues allowed under this subsection for the
40	prior fiscal year. For the 1995-1996 fiscal year, the state
41	revenues allowed under this subsection for the prior fiscal year
42	shall equal the state revenues collected for the 1994-1995
43	fiscal year. Florida personal income shall be determined by the
44	legislature, from information available from the United States
45	Department of Commerce or its successor on the first day of
46	February prior to the beginning of the fiscal year. State
47	revenues collected for any fiscal year in excess of this
48	limitation shall be transferred to the budget stabilization fund
49	until the fund reaches the maximum balance specified in Section
50	19(g) of Article III, and thereafter shall be refunded to
51	taxpayers as provided by general law. State revenues allowed
52	under this subsection for any fiscal year may be increased by a
53	two-thirds vote of the membership of each house of the
54	legislature in a separate bill that contains no other subject
55	and that sets forth the dollar amount by which the state
56	revenues allowed will be increased. The vote may not be taken
57	less than seventy-two hours after the third reading of the bill.
58	For purposes of this subsection, "state revenues" means taxes,
59	fees, licenses, and charges for services imposed by the
60	legislature on individuals, businesses, or agencies outside
61	state government. However, "state revenues" does not include:
62	revenues that are necessary to meet the requirements set forth
63	in documents authorizing the issuance of bonds by the state;
64	revenues that are used to provide matching funds for the federal
65	Medicaid program with the exception of the revenues used to
66	support the Public Medical Assistance Trust Fund or its
67	successor program and with the exception of state matching funds
68	used to fund elective expansions made after July 1, 1994;
69	proceeds from the state lottery returned as prizes; receipts of
70	the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund; balances carried forward
71	from prior fiscal years; taxes, licenses, fees, and charges for
72	services imposed by local, regional, or school district
73	governing bodies; or revenue from taxes, licenses, fees, and
74	charges for services required to be imposed by any amendment or
75	revision to this constitution after July 1, 1994. An adjustment
76	to the revenue limitation shall be made by general law to
77	reflect the fiscal impact of transfers of responsibility for the
78	funding of governmental functions between the state and other
79	levels of government. The legislature shall, by general law,
80	prescribe procedures necessary to administer this subsection.
81	SECTION 19.  State and local revenue limits.--
82	(a)  DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term:
83	(1)  "Fiscal year" means the applicable fiscal year for the
84	state or a local government.
85	(2)  "Growth" means an amount equal to a government's
86	revenues collected in the 2010-2011 fiscal year multiplied for
87	each subsequent fiscal year by the combined rate of inflation
88	and rate of population change. For school districts, enrollment
89	changes shall be used in lieu of population changes.
90	(3)  "Local government" means a county, municipality,
91	school district, or special district that has the authority to
92	impose ad valorem taxes. Any municipal service taxing or benefit
93	unit of a county and any special district dependent to a county
94	shall be included in that county government. Any municipal
95	service taxing or benefit unit of a municipality and any special
96	district dependent to a municipality shall be included in that
97	municipality. The term does not include any special district
98	established at the request of or with the consent of all
99	landowners in the district for the purpose of providing
100	infrastructure or services to land located within the district.
101	(4)  "Local government revenues" means taxes, fees,
102	assessments, licenses, fines, and charges for services imposed
103	by a local government on individuals, businesses, or another
104	local government. However, the term does not include: proceeds
105	from the issuance of bonds, gifts, federal funds, collections
106	for another government, pension contributions by employees and
107	pension fund earnings, emergency reserve transfers, damage
108	awards, and property sales.
109	(5)  "Rate of enrollment change" means the percentage
110	change in each school district's student enrollment as reported
111	by each school district. The stated percentages shall be
112	established annually in the manner prescribed by general law,
113	and shall be based on a comparison of the average of the school
114	district's enrollment for the most recent two consecutive
115	calendar years.
116	(6)  "Rate of inflation" means the percentage change in the
117	Consumer Price Index for all urban wage earners and clerical
118	workers for the south region, or a successor index, for the
119	preceding calendar year as calculated by the United States
120	Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. The stated
121	percentages shall be established annually in the manner
122	prescribed by general law, and shall be based on a comparison of
123	the average of the Consumer Price Index during the most recent
124	two consecutive calendar years.
125	(7)  "Rate of population change" means the percentage
126	change in population within the boundaries of the state or a
127	local government as estimated by the United States Census
128	Bureau. The stated percentages shall be established annually in
129	the manner prescribed by general law, and shall be based on a
130	comparison of the average of the Census Bureau estimates for the
131	most recent two consecutive calendar years.
132	(8)  "State revenues" means taxes, fees, assessments,
133	licenses, fines, and charges for services imposed by the
134	legislature or executive branch agencies on individuals,
135	businesses, or agencies outside state government. However, the
136	term does not include: proceeds from the issuance of bonds,
137	proceeds from the state lottery returned as prizes, receipts of
138	the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund and Citizens Property
139	Insurance Corporation or their successor entities, tuition and
140	fees charged to students by public universities and community
141	colleges, gifts, federal funds, collections for another
142	government, pension contributions by employees and pension fund
143	earnings, budget stabilization fund transfers, damage awards,
144	and property sales.
145	(b)  STATE AND LOCAL REVENUE LIMIT.--Except as provided in
146	this section, state revenues collected by the state and local
147	government and revenues collected by each local government for
148	any fiscal year shall be limited to revenues collected in the
149	2010-2011 fiscal year plus an annual adjustment for growth.
150	(c)  PROPERTY TAX REVENUE LIMIT.--The annual percentage
151	change in each local government's property tax revenue may not
152	exceed property tax revenue in the prior calendar year plus
153	annual local growth, adjusted for property tax revenue changes
154	approved by vote of the electors of the respective local
155	governments.
156	(d)  REVENUE RELATING TO BONDS.--Fiscal year revenue of the
157	state or a local government does not include the proceeds from
158	the issuance of bonds. However, the debt service on bonds shall
159	decrease the revenue limit by the amount of the annual debt
160	service.
161	(e)  VOTER APPROVAL TO EXCEED REVENUE LIMITS.--State and
162	local governments may not impose taxes, fees, licenses, fines,
163	or charges for services expected to exceed the revenue limit, as
164	projected by the state and local governments at the adoption of
165	their respective budgets for the fiscal year. Revenue collected
166	in excess of the revenue limit may not be spent without approval
167	of the majority of electors residing within the boundaries of
168	the applicable government.
169	(1)  State revenue collected in any fiscal year in excess
170	of the revenue limit shall be transferred to the budget
171	stabilization fund specified in Section 19(g) of Article III
172	until the fund reaches the maximum amount specified in that
173	section. Additional excess revenue shall be held in a separate
174	cash reserve, with such excess revenue and any investment income
175	thereon treated as revenue in the first or second fiscal year
176	after the collection of those revenues, as prescribed by general
177	law.
178	(2)  Revenue collected by a local government in excess of
179	the revenue limit in any fiscal year shall be transferred to a
180	budget stabilization fund, if such fund has been created by the
181	applicable local government, until the fund reaches a maximum of
182	3 percent of the last completed fiscal year's revenue
183	collection. Additional excess revenue, or revenue collected in
184	excess of the revenue limit by a local government that does not
185	create a budget stabilization fund, shall be held in a separate
186	cash reserve, with such excess revenue and any investment income
187	thereon treated as revenue in the first or second fiscal year
188	after the collection of those excess revenues, as prescribed by
189	general law.
190	(3)  The legislature shall provide criteria for withdrawing
191	funds from budget stabilization funds created by local
192	governments only for the purpose of covering revenue shortfalls
193	of the general revenue fund or for providing funding in an
194	emergency in which substantial harm occurs to the population or
195	to property within the boundaries of a local government, as
196	prescribed by general law. Expenditure of budget stabilization
197	funds for emergency purposes shall require a declaration of a
198	state of emergency by the Governor and a two-thirds majority
199	vote of the members of the legislature or governing body of a
200	local government by a recorded roll call vote. Funds may not be
201	withdrawn for any purpose other than those specified in this
202	subsection.
203	(f)  EMERGENCY TAXES.--
204	(1)  Emergency taxes may be assessed under conditions set
205	forth in this subsection. Emergency tax revenue shall be spent
206	only after emergency reserves are depleted. Revenues from
207	emergency taxes shall be refunded within 180 days after the
208	emergency terminates if the revenues were not spent on the
209	emergency. This subsection does not grant any new taxing powers
210	and prohibits emergency property taxes.
211	(2)  Emergency taxes may not be levied unless the Governor
212	declares a state of emergency and the taxes are approved by a
213	two-thirds vote of the membership of each house of the
214	legislature or governing body of a local government. The vote of
215	each member of the legislature or governing body of the local
216	government must be recorded.
217	(3)  An emergency tax that is not approved by a vote of the
218	electors of a local government on the next election date
219	occurring 60 days or more after the declaration shall terminate
220	on or before the last day of the month in which the election is
221	held.
222	(4)  As used in this subsection, the term "emergency" does
223	not include economic conditions, revenue shortfalls, or salary
224	and fringe benefit increases.
225	(g)  REVENUE LIMITS FOR NEW LOCAL GOVERNMENT.--Local
226	governments created after November 2, 2010, shall be subject to
227	this section, as prescribed by general law.
228	(h)  BALLOT ISSUE TO EXCEED A REVENUE LIMIT.--A ballot
229	issue for authorization to exceed a revenue limit must state the
230	amount by which the state or local government proposes to exceed
231	the limit in each fiscal year. The ballot issue must also state
232	the date on which the authority to exceed a revenue limit
233	expires. Such date must be the last day of the fiscal year.
234	(i)  REVENUE LIMIT ADJUSTMENT.--The legislature may provide
235	by general law for adjustments to revenue limits to reflect the
236	fiscal impact of the following events occurring after January 4,
237	2011:
238	(1)  A change in federal or state law which increases or
239	decreases state or local government responsibility for the
240	funding of governmental functions; or
241	(2)  A transfer of the responsibility to fund a government
242	function to the state or a local government.
243	(j)  VOTER APPROVAL OF NEW REVENUE SOURCES.--The state and
244	local governments must receive advance approval by a two-thirds
245	vote of the electors voting on a measure in the state or local
246	government to:
247	(1)  Impose a new tax, fee, assessment, or charge for
248	services; or
249	(2)  Incur multiple-year direct or indirect debt or other
250	financial obligations without having adequate present cash
251	reserves pledged irrevocably and held for payments in all future
252	fiscal years, except to refinance bonded debt at a lower
253	interest rate or to add new employees to a pension plans.
254	(k)  CONSTRUCTION.--This section shall be interpreted in a
255	manner that reasonably restrains most of the growth of state and
256	local governments. This section supersedes any conflicting
257	provisions of the State Constitution in effect prior to the
258	effective date of this section.
259	(l)  EFFECTIVE DATE.--This section shall take effect upon
260	approval by the electors. During the 2011 regular session of the
261	legislature, the legislature shall adopt implementing
262	legislation with an effective date of July 1, 2011.
263	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be
264	placed on the ballot:
265	CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
266	ARTICLE VII, SECTION 1
267	ARTICLE VII, SECTION 19
268	STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVENUES LIMITATIONS; VOTER
269	APPROVAL OF NEW TAXES AND FEES.--Proposing amendments to the
270	State Constitution to replace the existing state revenue limit
271	based on Florida personal income growth with new state and local
272	government revenue limits based on inflation and population
273	changes; limit property tax revenues based on changes in local
274	growth and enrollment changes in school districts; require
275	revenues collected in excess of revenue limits to be deposited
276	into budget stabilization funds, used to reduce future taxes, or
277	refunded to taxpayers; authorize voters to permit the collection
278	of revenues in excess of the revenue limit; authorize the
279	Legislature and the governing body of a local government to
280	approve taxes by a supermajority vote for certain emergencies;
281	prohibit the state or a local government, without first
282	obtaining approval by a supermajority vote of the electors, from
283	imposing new taxes, fees, assessments, or charges for services
284	or incurring multi-year debts or financial obligations without
285	adequate cash reserves; and provide an effective date.

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