CS/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	a provision relating to authorization under general law
12	for the authority to pay insurance premiums for insurance
13	benefits to its board members; deleting other provisions
14	to conform to changes made by the act; providing for a
15	referendum; providing effective dates.
16
17	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19	Section 1.  Section 1, and sections 3 and 8 of section 3,
20	of chapter 2001-325, Laws of Florida, are amended to read:
21	Section 1.  Pursuant to section 189.429, Florida Statutes,
22	this act constitutes the codification of all special acts
23	relating to Pinellas Park Water Management District Authority.
24	It is the intent of the Legislature to provide a single,
25	comprehensive special act charter for the authority including
26	all current legislative authority granted to it by its several
27	legislative enactments and any additional authority granted by
28	this act and chapter 189, Florida Statutes, as it may be amended
29	from time to time. It is further the intent of this act to
30	preserve all authority powers, including the power to annually
31	assess and levy against the taxable property in the district a
32	tax not to exceed 1.5 3 mills on the dollar of assessed
33	valuation.
34	Section 3.  Pinellas Park Water Management District
35	Authority.-
36	(1)  The Pinellas Park Water Management District Authority
37	was created as the Pinellas Park Water Management District by
38	special act of the Legislature in 1975. Its charter may be
39	amended only by special act of the Legislature. The authority
40	shall be housed within the City of Pinellas Park for
41	administrative purposes.
42	(2)  The governing body of the authority shall consist of
43	five three members, serving and selected as provided herein.
44	Three members shall be selected by the Mayor and City Council of
45	the City of Pinellas Park from the members of the council, one
46	member shall be selected by the Mayor and City Council of the
47	City of St. Petersburg from among the members of the council,
48	Two members shall be appointed by the City Council of Pinellas
49	Park and one member shall be selected appointed by the Pinellas
50	County Board of County Commissioners from the members of the
51	commission. The term of each appointed member shall be for 4 3
52	years, or the balance of the member's term as mayor, city
53	council member, or county commission member under the Charter of
54	the City of Pinellas Park, the Charter of Pinellas County, or
55	the Charter of the City of St. Petersburg, respectively. Each
56	selected appointed member shall hold office until his or her
57	successor has been selected appointed and qualified. A vacancy
58	occurring during a term shall be filled only for the balance of
59	the unexpired term. If any selection is not made by the
60	municipality as provided herein, the county commissioners shall
61	appoint an eligible person to the authority with like effect as
62	if the selection were made by the municipality. Any member of
63	the authority shall be eligible for reappointment.
64	(3)  Each appointed member of the authority shall be a
65	person who is a qualified elector of the district with an
66	outstanding reputation for civic pride, interest, integrity,
67	responsibility, and business ability. No person who is an
68	officer or employee of any city or of the county in any
69	capacity, except elected officials, shall be an appointed member
70	of the authority.
71	(3)(4)  The authority shall annually elect one of its
72	members as chair of the authority and one as a vice chair. At
73	the same time, a secretary and treasurer shall be elected who
74	may or may not be members of the authority, and they shall serve
75	at the will of the authority. The treasurer shall post a good
76	and sufficient surety bond in an amount approved by the Board of
77	County Commissioners. Three Two members shall constitute a
78	quorum and the vote of two members shall be necessary for any
79	action taken by the authority. No vacancy in the authority shall
80	impair the right of a quorum of the authority to exercise all of
81	the rights and perform all of the duties of the authority. Upon
82	the effective date of his or her appointment or, as soon
83	thereafter as possible, each appointed member of the authority
84	shall enter upon his or her duties.
85	(4)(5)  The district may shall appoint an engineer who
86	shall be a person of recognized ability and experience to serve
87	at the pleasure of the authority. The district may also appoint
88	or employ such employees as may be necessary for the proper
89	performance of its duties and functions, and may determine the
90	qualifications and fix the compensation of such persons; also,
91	the authority may contract for the services of attorneys,
92	engineers, consultants, and agents for any purpose of the
93	authority, including engineering, management feasibility, and
94	other studies concerning the acquisition, construction,
95	extension, operation, maintenance, regulation, consolidation,
96	and financing of the system in the area.
97	(5)(6)  Members of the authority shall be entitled to
98	receive from the authority their traveling and other necessary
99	expenses incurred in connection with the business of the
100	authority, as provided in section 112.061, Florida Statutes, but
101	they shall receive no salaries or other compensation, with the
102	exception of the benefits described in subsection (7). During
103	the unexpired term of any member of the authority, that member
104	may be removed for misconduct, malfeasance, misfeasance, or
105	nonfeasance in office by a two-thirds vote of both appointing
106	governing bodies.
107	(7)  In accordance with section 112.08, Florida Statutes,
108	the authority may provide and pay all or part of the premiums
109	out of its available funds for insurance benefits to its board
110	members that are equivalent to the insurance benefits provided
111	to the authority's employees under the authority's group
112	insurance plan.
113	Section 8.  Independent special district taxation.-The
114	Pinellas Park Water Management District shall be deemed an
115	independent special district and is authorized to levy ad
116	valorem tax on the taxable real property in the district at a
117	rate sufficient to produce an amount that may be necessary for
118	the purposes of this act, not to exceed 1.5 3 mills, provided
119	such millage limit is approved by a vote of the electors who are
120	not wholly exempt from taxation. Property taxes determined and
121	levied under this section shall be certified by the authority to
122	the county auditor, extended, assessed, and collected in like
123	manner as provided by law for regular property taxes for the
124	county or municipalities and in accordance with chapter 200,
125	Florida Statutes. The proceeds under this section shall be
126	remitted by the tax collector to the treasurer of the authority
127	who shall credit them to the funds of the authority for use of
128	the purposes of this law. At any time after making a tax levy
129	under this section and certifying the same to the county, the
130	authority may issue tax anticipation notes of indebtedness in
131	anticipation of the collection of such taxes. If property in the
132	district is not receiving or will not receive any benefit from
133	the district's works or activities, such property may be removed
134	from the district by amendment to section 5 of the district's
135	enabling act, pursuant to the requirements of section 11.02,
136	Florida Statutes, and section 10, Article III of the State
137	Constitution.
138	Section 2.  The amendments to section 1, and section 8 of
139	section 3, of chapter 2001-325, Laws of Florida, which lower the
140	cap on the levy of ad valorem taxation to 1.5 mills shall take
141	effect only upon approval to lower the millage cap by a majority
142	vote of those qualified electors of the Pinellas Park Water
143	Management District Authority voting in a referendum to be held
144	by the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners in
145	conjunction with the November 2010 general election. The
146	question presented to the electors voting in that referendum
147	shall be expressed as an option to approve either the lowering
148	of the millage cap to 1.5 mills or the retaining of the current
149	millage cap of 3 mills.
150	Section 3.  Except as otherwise provided by this act, this
151	act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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