HB 1467

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to Pinellas Park Water Management District
3	Authority, Pinellas County; amending chapter 2001-325,
4	Laws of Florida; reducing the ad valorem millage cap,
5	subject to a referendum; specifying that the authority is
6	housed within the City of Pinellas Park for administrative
7	purposes; increasing and revising membership of the
8	authority; increasing the term for each member; deleting
9	provisions requiring a secretary and treasurer to be
10	elected and the treasurer to post a surety bond; deleting
11	other provisions to conform to changes made by the act;
12	providing for a referendum; providing effective dates.
13
14	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16	Section 1.  Section 1, and sections 3 and 8 of section 3,
17	of chapter 2001-325, Laws of Florida, are amended to read:
18	Section 1.  Pursuant to section 189.429, Florida Statutes,
19	this act constitutes the codification of all special acts
20	relating to Pinellas Park Water Management District Authority.
21	It is the intent of the Legislature to provide a single,
22	comprehensive special act charter for the authority including
23	all current legislative authority granted to it by its several
24	legislative enactments and any additional authority granted by
25	this act and chapter 189, Florida Statutes, as it may be amended
26	from time to time. It is further the intent of this act to
27	preserve all authority powers, including the power to annually
28	assess and levy against the taxable property in the district a
29	tax not to exceed 1.5 3 mills on the dollar of assessed
30	valuation.
31	Section 3.  Pinellas Park Water Management District
32	Authority.-
33	(1)  The Pinellas Park Water Management District Authority
34	was created as the Pinellas Park Water Management District by
35	special act of the Legislature in 1975. Its charter may be
36	amended only by special act of the Legislature. The authority
37	shall be housed within the City of Pinellas Park for
38	administrative purposes.
39	(2)  The governing body of the authority shall consist of
40	five three members, serving and selected as provided herein.
41	Three members shall be selected by the Mayor and City Council of
42	the City of Pinellas Park from the members of the council, one
43	member shall be selected by the Mayor and City Council of the
44	City of St. Petersburg from among the members of the council,
45	Two members shall be appointed by the City Council of Pinellas
46	Park and one member shall be selected appointed by the Pinellas
47	County Board of County Commissioners from the members of the
48	commission. The term of each appointed member shall be for 4 3
49	years, or the balance of the member's term as mayor, city
50	council member, or county commission member under the Charter of
51	the City of Pinellas Park, the Charter of Pinellas County, or
52	the Charter of the City of St. Petersburg, respectively. Each
53	selected appointed member shall hold office until his or her
54	successor has been selected appointed and qualified. A vacancy
55	occurring during a term shall be filled only for the balance of
56	the unexpired term. If any selection is not made by the
57	municipality as provided herein, the county commissioners shall
58	appoint an eligible person to the authority with like effect as
59	if the selection were made by the municipality. Any member of
60	the authority shall be eligible for reappointment.
61	(3)  Each appointed member of the authority shall be a
62	person who is a qualified elector of the district with an
63	outstanding reputation for civic pride, interest, integrity,
64	responsibility, and business ability. No person who is an
65	officer or employee of any city or of the county in any
66	capacity, except elected officials, shall be an appointed member
67	of the authority.
68	(3)(4)  The authority shall annually elect one of its
69	members as chair of the authority and one as a vice chair. At
70	the same time, a secretary and treasurer shall be elected who
71	may or may not be members of the authority, and they shall serve
72	at the will of the authority. The treasurer shall post a good
73	and sufficient surety bond in an amount approved by the Board of
74	County Commissioners. Three Two members shall constitute a
75	quorum and the vote of two members shall be necessary for any
76	action taken by the authority. No vacancy in the authority shall
77	impair the right of a quorum of the authority to exercise all of
78	the rights and perform all of the duties of the authority. Upon
79	the effective date of his or her appointment or, as soon
80	thereafter as possible, each appointed member of the authority
81	shall enter upon his or her duties.
82	(4)(5)  The district may shall appoint an engineer who
83	shall be a person of recognized ability and experience to serve
84	at the pleasure of the authority. The district may also appoint
85	or employ such employees as may be necessary for the proper
86	performance of its duties and functions, and may determine the
87	qualifications and fix the compensation of such persons; also,
88	the authority may contract for the services of attorneys,
89	engineers, consultants, and agents for any purpose of the
90	authority, including engineering, management feasibility, and
91	other studies concerning the acquisition, construction,
92	extension, operation, maintenance, regulation, consolidation,
93	and financing of the system in the area.
94	(5)(6)  Members of the authority shall be entitled to
95	receive from the authority their traveling and other necessary
96	expenses incurred in connection with the business of the
97	authority, as provided in section 112.061, Florida Statutes, but
98	they shall receive no salaries or other compensation, with the
99	exception of the benefits described in subsection (6) (7).
100	During the unexpired term of any member of the authority, that
101	member may be removed for misconduct, malfeasance, misfeasance,
102	or nonfeasance in office by a two-thirds vote of both appointing
103	governing bodies.
104	(6)(7)  Words importing singular number shall include the
105	plural number in each case and vice versa, and the words
106	importing persons shall include firms and corporations.
107	Section 8.  Independent special district taxation.-The
108	Pinellas Park Water Management District shall be deemed an
109	independent special district and is authorized to levy ad
110	valorem tax on the taxable real property in the district at a
111	rate sufficient to produce an amount that may be necessary for
112	the purposes of this act, not to exceed 1.5 3 mills, provided
113	such millage limit is approved by a vote of the electors who are
114	not wholly exempt from taxation. Property taxes determined and
115	levied under this section shall be certified by the authority to
116	the county auditor, extended, assessed, and collected in like
117	manner as provided by law for regular property taxes for the
118	county or municipalities and in accordance with chapter 200,
119	Florida Statutes. The proceeds under this section shall be
120	remitted by the tax collector to the treasurer of the authority
121	who shall credit them to the funds of the authority for use of
122	the purposes of this law. At any time after making a tax levy
123	under this section and certifying the same to the county, the
124	authority may issue tax anticipation notes of indebtedness in
125	anticipation of the collection of such taxes. If property in the
126	district is not receiving or will not receive any benefit from
127	the district's works or activities, such property may be removed
128	from the district by amendment to section 5 of the district's
129	enabling act, pursuant to the requirements of section 11.02,
130	Florida Statutes, and section 10, Article III of the State
131	Constitution.
132	Section 2.  The amendments to section 1, and section 8 of
133	section 3, of chapter 2001-325, Laws of Florida, which lower the
134	cap on the levy of ad valorem taxation to 1.5 mills shall take
135	effect only upon approval to lower the millage cap by a majority
136	vote of those qualified electors of the Pinellas Park Water
137	Management District Authority voting in a referendum to be held
138	by the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners in
139	conjunction with the November 2010 general election. The
140	question presented to the electors voting in that referendum
141	shall be expressed as an option to approve either the lowering
142	of the millage cap to 1.5 mills or the retaining of the current
143	millage cap of 3 mills.
144	Section 3.  Except as otherwise provided by this act, this
145	act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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