Florida Senate - 2011                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 1460
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 471818                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/12/2011           .                                
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       The Committee on Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities
       (Fasano) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Subsection (4) of section 377.809, Florida
    6  Statutes, is amended, and subsections (5) through (8) are added
    7  to that section, to read:
    8         377.809 Energy Economic Zone Pilot Program.—
    9         (4) If the pilot project is ongoing, The Department of
   10  Community Affairs, with the assistance of the Office of Tourism,
   11  Trade, and Economic Development, shall submit a report to the
   12  Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
   13  House of Representatives by February 15, 2015 2012, evaluating
   14  whether the pilot program has demonstrated success. The report
   15  shall contain recommendations with regard to whether the program
   16  should be expanded for use by other local governments and
   17  whether state policies should be revised to encourage the goals
   18  of the program.
   19         (5) Beginning July 1, 2012, all the incentives and benefits
   20  provided to enterprise zones pursuant to state law shall be
   21  available to the energy economic zones designated by July 1,
   22  2010, pursuant to s. 377.809. In order to provide incentives, no
   23  later than March 1, 2012, each local governing body having
   24  jurisdiction over an energy economic zone shall, by local
   25  ordinance, establish boundaries of the energy economic zone,
   26  specify applicable energy-efficiency standards, and determine
   27  eligibility criteria for application of state and local
   28  incentives and benefits in the energy economic zone. However, in
   29  order to receive benefits provided under s. 288.106, a business
   30  must be a qualified target industry business under s. 288.106
   31  for state purposes. Boundaries may be revised by local
   32  ordinance. Such incentives and benefits include those in ss.
   33  220.181, 220.182, 212.08, 220.183, 624.5105, 212.096, and
   34  288.106 and the public utility discounts provided in s.
   35  290.007(8). The exemption provided in s. 212.08(5)(c) shall be
   36  for renewable energy as defined in s. 377.803(4). For purposes
   37  of this section, any applicable requirements for employee
   38  residency for higher refund or credit thresholds shall be based
   39  on employee residency in the energy economic zone or an
   40  enterprise zone. A business in an energy economic zone may also
   41  be eligible for funding under ss. 288.047 and 445.003, and a
   42  transportation project in an energy economic zone shall be
   43  provided priority in funding under s. 288.063. Other projects
   44  shall be given priority ranking to the extent practicable for
   45  grants administered under state energy programs.
   46         (6) Effective July 1, 2012, the total amount of state
   47  credits, refunds, and exemptions that may be provided by the
   48  governing body of each energy economic zone to eligible
   49  businesses for energy-economic-zone incentives pursuant to
   50  subsection (5) is $300,000 per designated energy economic zone
   51  in any state fiscal year. A credit or refund that is applied for
   52  after each $300,000 limit is reached shall be disallowed by the
   53  governing body of the energy economic zone. If the $300,000
   54  incentive cap is not fully used in any one state fiscal year by
   55  an energy economic zone, the unused amount under the cap may be
   56  carried forward for not more than 5 years. The local governing
   57  body having jurisdiction over the energy economic zone is
   58  responsible for allocating the incentives, for verifying that
   59  businesses receiving such incentives are eligible for the
   60  incentives provided, and for ensuring that the incentives
   61  provided do not exceed the cap for the state fiscal year.
   62         (7) Upon approving an incentive for an eligible business,
   63  the governing body having jurisdiction over the energy economic
   64  zone shall provide the taxpayer with a certificate indicating
   65  the eligible businesses’ name, federal identification number,
   66  date the incentive is provided, name of the energy economic
   67  zone, incentive type, and the incentive amount. The local
   68  governing body shall certify to the Department of Revenue or the
   69  Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development, whichever is
   70  applicable, which businesses or properties are eligible to
   71  receive any or all of the state incentives according to their
   72  statutory requirements. The governing body having jurisdiction
   73  over the energy economic zone shall provide a copy of the
   74  certificate to the Department of Revenue and the Office of
   75  Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development as notification that
   76  such incentives were approved for the specific eligible business
   77  or property. For incentives to be claimed against the sales and
   78  use tax under chapter 212, the Department of Revenue shall send,
   79  within 14 days after receipt, written instructions to an
   80  eligible business on how to claim the credit on a sales and use
   81  tax return initiated through an electronic data interchange. Any
   82  credit against the sales and use tax shall be deducted from any
   83  sales and use tax remitted by the dealer to the Department of
   84  Revenue by electronic funds transfer and may be deducted only on
   85  a sales and use tax return initiated through an electronic data
   86  interchange. The dealer shall separately state the credit on the
   87  electronic return. The net amount of tax due and payable must be
   88  remitted by electronic funds transfer. If the credit is larger
   89  than the amount owed on the sales and use tax return, such
   90  excess amounts may be carried forward for a period not to exceed
   91  12 months following the date the credit is initially claimed.
   92         (8) If all conditions are deemed met, the Office of
   93  Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development and the Department of
   94  Revenue may adopt emergency rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and
   95  120.54 to administer the provisions of this subsections (5)-(7).
   96  The emergency rules shall remain in effect for 6 months after
   97  the rules are adopted, and the rules may be renewed during the
   98  pendency of procedures to adopt permanent rules addressing the
   99  subject of the emergency rules.
  100         Section 2. Paragraph (u) is added to subsection (24) of
  101  section 380.06, Florida Statutes, to read:
  102         380.06 Developments of regional impact.—
  103         (24) STATUTORY EXEMPTIONS.—
  104         (u) Any development in an energy economic zone designated
  105  pursuant to s. 377.809, shall be exempt from this section upon
  106  approval of its local governing body.
  107  
  108  If a use is exempt from review as a development of regional
  109  impact under paragraphs (a)-(s), but will be part of a larger
  110  project that is subject to review as a development of regional
  111  impact, the impact of the exempt use must be included in the
  112  review of the larger project, unless such exempt use involves a
  113  development of regional impact that includes a landowner,
  114  tenant, or user that has entered into a funding agreement with
  115  the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development under the
  116  Innovation Incentive Program and the agreement contemplates a
  117  state award of at least $50 million.
  118         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.
  119  
  120  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  121         And the title is amended as follows:
  122         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  123  and insert:
  124                        A bill to be entitled                      
  125         An act relating to energy economic zones; amending s.
  126         377.809, F.S.; deleting an obsolete provision;
  127         revising the date by which the Department of Community
  128         Affairs, with the assistance of the Office of Tourism,
  129         Trade, and Economic Development, must submit a report
  130         to the Governor and Legislature evaluating whether the
  131         Energy Economic Zone Pilot Program has demonstrated
  132         success; requiring that all incentives and benefits
  133         provided to enterprise zones be made available to
  134         energy economic zones by a specified date; requiring
  135         each local governing body having jurisdiction over an
  136         energy economic zone to establish boundaries of the
  137         energy economic zone, specify applicable energy
  138         efficiency standards, and determine eligibility
  139         criteria for application of state and local incentives
  140         and benefits; requiring that a business be a qualified
  141         target industry business for state purposes; providing
  142         that boundaries may be revised by local ordinance;
  143         specifying the incentives and benefits; requiring that
  144         applicable requirements for employee residency for
  145         higher refund or credit thresholds be based on
  146         employee residency in the energy economic zone or an
  147         enterprise zone; providing that certain businesses are
  148         eligible for funding and other businesses have
  149         priority for funding; providing a cap on the total
  150         amount of state credits, refunds, and exemptions that
  151         may be provided to eligible businesses for energy
  152         economic-zone incentives; authorizing the unused
  153         amount of a credit to be carried forward for a limited
  154         period; providing that the local governing body having
  155         jurisdiction over the energy economic zone is
  156         responsible for allocating the incentives and
  157         verifying eligibility of businesses to receive
  158         incentives; requiring the governing body to provide
  159         the taxpayer with a certificate indicating
  160         eligibility; requiring the local governing body to
  161         certify to the Department of Revenue or the Office of
  162         Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development which
  163         businesses or properties are eligible to receive state
  164         incentives; requiring the Department of Revenue to
  165         send written instructions to the eligible businesses
  166         on claiming the credit on a sales and use tax return
  167         initiated through an electronic data interchange;
  168         authorizing the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
  169         Development and the Department of Revenue to adopt
  170         emergency rules; providing for renewal of the rules;
  171         amending s. 380.06, F.S.; providing that certain
  172         developments in an energy economic zone are exempt
  173         from review as a development of regional impact;
  174         providing an effective date.