| 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 assessment |
| 5 | to fund the costs of providing law enforcement services; |
| 6 | making the imposition of the assessment contingent upon |
| 7 | adoption of an ordinance approved by the governing body of |
| 8 | a municipality and a reduction in the municipality's ad |
| 9 | valorem millage; limiting the maximum millage reduction |
| 10 | required; specifying the rolled-back rate for the |
| 11 | calculation of a future increase in ad valorem millage; |
| 12 | providing for the construction of the act as a general law |
| 13 | authorizing taxation by a municipality; providing an |
| 14 | effective date. |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Section 1. Section 166.212, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 19 | to read: |
| 20 | 166.212 Special assessment for law enforcement services.- |
| 21 | (1) GENERAL.-A municipality may impose a special |
| 22 | assessment to fund a portion or all of its costs of providing |
| 23 | law enforcement services if the governing body of the |
| 24 | 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 |
| 72 | s. 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. |
| 82 |
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