Florida Senate - 2011 SB 1234
By Senator Smith
29-00916-11 20111234__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to a special assessment for law
3 enforcement services; creating s. 166.212, F.S.;
4 authorizing a municipality to impose a special
5 assessment to fund the costs of providing law
6 enforcement services; making the imposition of the
7 assessment contingent upon adoption of an ordinance
8 approved by the governing body of a municipality and a
9 reduction in the municipality’s ad valorem millage;
10 limiting the maximum millage reduction required;
11 specifying the rolled-back rate for the calculation of
12 a future increase in ad valorem millage; providing for
13 the construction of the act as a general law
14 authorizing taxation by a municipality; providing an
15 effective date.
16
17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19 Section 1. Section 166.212, Florida Statutes, is created to
20 read:
21 166.212 Special assessment for law enforcement services.—
22 (1) GENERAL.—A municipality may impose a special assessment
23 to fund a portion or all of its costs of providing law
24 enforcement services if the governing body of the municipality:
25 (a) Adopts an ordinance imposing the special assessment
26 which apportions the cost of law enforcement services among the
27 parcels of real property in the municipality in reasonable
28 proportion to the benefit received by each parcel; and
29 (b) Reduces its ad valorem millage as provided in this
30 section.
31 (2) APPORTIONMENT METHODOLOGY.—The methodology used to
32 determine the benefit that a parcel of property derives from law
33 enforcement services may be based on all of the following:
34 (a) The size, in square feet, of structures on the parcel.
35 (b) The location of the parcel.
36 (c) The use of the parcel.
37 (d) The projected amount of time that the municipal law
38 enforcement agency will spend protecting the property, grouped
39 by neighborhood, zone, or category of use. This may include the
40 projected amount of time that will be spent responding to calls
41 for law enforcement services and the projected amount of time
42 law enforcement officers will spend on patrols or regulating
43 traffic on the streets that provide access to the property.
44 (e) The value of the real property that is served or
45 protected, including the value of each structure on the property
46 and its contents. However, this factor may not be used as the
47 sole or a major factor in determining the benefit of law
48 enforcement services to a parcel of property.
49 (f) Any other factor that may reasonably be used to
50 determine the benefit of law enforcement services to a parcel of
51 property.
52 (3) REDUCTION IN AD VALOREM MILLAGE.—
53 (a) For the initial fiscal year in which a municipality
54 implements the special assessment, the municipality must reduce
55 its ad valorem millage by the millage that would be required to
56 collect revenue equal to the revenue that is forecast to be
57 collected from the special assessment. After the initial year of
58 implementation, the assessment shall be increased only in the
59 same manner prescribed for the increase of ad valorem revenue in
60 s. 200.065.
61 (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), a municipality is not
62 required to reduce its millage, excluding millage approved by a
63 vote of the electors and millage pledged to repay bonds, by more
64 than 75 percent.
65 (c) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), a municipality is not
66 required to reduce its millage, excluding millage approved by a
67 vote of the electors and millage pledged to repay bonds, by more
68 than 50 percent if the resolution imposing the special
69 assessment is approved by a two-thirds vote of the governing
70 body of the municipality.
71 (4) FUTURE AD VALOREM MILLAGE INCREASES.—For purposes of s.
72 200.065, the rolled-back rate for the fiscal year immediately
73 after the year in which a municipality implements the special
74 assessment is the millage imposed for the year that the special
75 assessment is implemented, adjusted for the change in per capita
76 personal income.
77 (5) CONSTRUCTION OF THIS SECTION.—The authorization
78 provided in this section shall be construed to be general law
79 authorizing a municipality to levy taxes under ss. 1 and 9, Art.
80 VII of the State Constitution.
81 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.