Florida Senate - 2009 CS for SB 2248 By the Committee on Transportation; and Senator Hill 596-03415-09 20092248c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to the taxation of public-private 3 transportation facilities; amending s. 334.30, F.S.; 4 exempting certain public-private transportation 5 facilities from certain specified taxes and special 6 assessments; excluding certain taxes from such 7 exemption; providing an effective date. 8 9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 10 11 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 334.30, Florida 12 Statutes, is amended to read: 13 334.30 Public-private transportation facilities.—The 14 Legislature finds and declares that there is a public need for 15 the rapid construction of safe and efficient transportation 16 facilities for the purpose of traveling within the state, and 17 that it is in the public’s interest to provide for the 18 construction of additional safe, convenient, and economical 19 transportation facilities. 20 (1) The department may receive or solicit proposals and, 21 with legislative approval as evidenced by approval of the 22 project in the department’s work program, enter into agreements 23 with private entities, or consortia thereof, for the building, 24 operation, ownership, or financing of transportation facilities. 25 The department may advance projects programmed in the adopted 5 26 year work program or projects increasing transportation capacity 27 and greater than $500 million in the 10-year Strategic 28 Intermodal Plan using funds provided by public-private 29 partnerships or private entities to be reimbursed from 30 department funds for the project as programmed in the adopted 31 work program. The department shall by rule establish an 32 application fee for the submission of unsolicited proposals 33 under this section. The fee must be sufficient to pay the costs 34 of evaluating the proposals. The department may engage the 35 services of private consultants to assist in the evaluation. 36 Before approval, the department must determine that the proposed 37 project: 38 (a) Is in the public’s best interest; 39 (b) Would not require state funds to be used unless the 40 project is on the State Highway System; 41 (c) Would have adequate safeguards in place to ensure that 42 no additional costs or service disruptions would be realized by 43 the traveling public and residents of the state in the event of 44 default or cancellation of the agreement by the department; 45 (d) Would have adequate safeguards in place to ensure that 46 the department or the private entity has the opportunity to add 47 capacity to the proposed project and other transportation 48 facilities serving similar origins and destinations; and 49 (e) Would be owned by the department upon completion or 50 termination of the agreement. 51 52 The department shall ensure that all reasonable costs to the 53 state, related to transportation facilities that are not part of 54 the State Highway System, are borne by the private entity. The 55 department shall also ensure that all reasonable costs to the 56 state and substantially affected local governments and 57 utilities, related to the private transportation facility, are 58 borne by the private entity for transportation facilities that 59 are owned by private entities. For projects on the State Highway 60 System, the department may use state resources to participate in 61 funding and financing the project as provided for under the 62 department’s enabling legislation. Because the Legislature 63 recognizes the private entities or consortia thereof would 64 perform a governmental or public purpose or function, the 65 transportation facilities, together with any interest of, 66 revenues received by, and payments made to the state by any 67 private entities or consortia thereof, and together with any 68 such agreements, are exempt from all taxes and special 69 assessments of the state or any city, town, county, special 70 district, or political subdivision of the state, including 71 without limitation, ad valorem taxes, to the extent the property 72 is owned by the state or other government entity, documentary 73 stamp taxes, intangible taxes, and any sales taxes; but excluded 74 from such exemption are any applicable corporate taxes, 75 unemployment compensation taxes, any taxes due as a result of 76 subleases, sublicenses, or retail sales agreements, and any 77 sales tax due on the sale of tangible personal property. 78 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.