Florida Senate - 2012                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 1392
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 207918                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: WD            .                                
                  02/09/2012           .                                
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       The Committee on Budget Subcommittee on Finance and Tax (Norman)
       recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Paragraph (hhh) is added to subsection (7) of
    6  section 212.08, Florida Statutes, to read:
    7         212.08 Sales, rental, use, consumption, distribution, and
    8  storage tax; specified exemptions.—The sale at retail, the
    9  rental, the use, the consumption, the distribution, and the
   10  storage to be used or consumed in this state of the following
   11  are hereby specifically exempt from the tax imposed by this
   12  chapter.
   13         (7) MISCELLANEOUS EXEMPTIONS.—Exemptions provided to any
   14  entity by this chapter do not inure to any transaction that is
   15  otherwise taxable under this chapter when payment is made by a
   16  representative or employee of the entity by any means,
   17  including, but not limited to, cash, check, or credit card, even
   18  when that representative or employee is subsequently reimbursed
   19  by the entity. In addition, exemptions provided to any entity by
   20  this subsection do not inure to any transaction that is
   21  otherwise taxable under this chapter unless the entity has
   22  obtained a sales tax exemption certificate from the department
   23  or the entity obtains or provides other documentation as
   24  required by the department. Eligible purchases or leases made
   25  with such a certificate must be in strict compliance with this
   26  subsection and departmental rules, and any person who makes an
   27  exempt purchase with a certificate that is not in strict
   28  compliance with this subsection and the rules is liable for and
   29  shall pay the tax. The department may adopt rules to administer
   30  this subsection.
   31         (hhh) Accessible vehicles.—The sale or lease of accessible
   32  taxicabs is exempt from the tax imposed by this chapter. As used
   33  in this paragraph, the term “accessible taxicab” means a
   34  chauffeur-driven taxi, limousine, sedan, van, or other passenger
   35  vehicle where the operator and the motor vehicle are hired and
   36  used for the transportation of persons for compensation, and
   37  which transports eight passengers or fewer and is equipped with
   38  a lift or ramp designed specifically to transport physically
   39  disabled persons or contains any other device designed to permit
   40  access to and enable the transportation of physically disabled
   41  persons, including persons who use wheelchairs, motorized
   42  wheelchairs, or similar mobility aids; complies with the
   43  accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities
   44  Act of 1990, 49 C.F.R., ss. 38.23, 38.25, and 38.31, as amended,
   45  whether or not such regulations would apply under federal law;
   46  and meets all applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards
   47  and regulations adopted thereunder. If such equipment is
   48  installed through an aftermarket conversion of a stock vehicle,
   49  only the value of the conversion is exempt from the tax imposed
   50  by this chapter.
   51         Section 2. (1) The Office of Program Policy Analysis and
   52  Government Accountability shall conduct a study, in conjunction
   53  with local governmental agencies responsible for regulating
   54  taxicabs, if applicable, and local transportation service
   55  providers, to determine the availability of accessible taxicabs
   56  operating in metropolitan and tourist-destination areas.
   57         (2) Specifically, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and
   58  Government Accountability shall collect the following
   59  information:
   60         (a) The number of accessible taxicabs and other accessible
   61  vehicles that are available in the counties being studied,
   62  including the total percentage of accessible taxicabs and other
   63  accessible vehicles relative to the entire fleet of taxicabs.
   64         (b) The availability of accessible taxicabs and other
   65  accessible vehicles at airports and seaports, including the
   66  average wait times for passengers needing such vehicles.
   67         (c) A synopsis of any recent appellate court decisions
   68  related to availability of accessible taxicabs and the potential
   69  effect of such decisions on persons desiring accessible vehicles
   70  in this state.
   71         (d) How major cities in Florida compare to other cities
   72  around the country of comparable population and demographics in
   73  terms of the number of complaints filed with local regulators
   74  regarding the unavailability of accessible taxicab service.
   75         (e) Information concerning cooperative agreements in this
   76  state between smaller taxi vendors and larger taxi vendors who
   77  act as partners in order to satisfy demand for accessible
   78  transportation.
   79         (3) The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
   80  Accountability shall issue a final report and present
   81  recommendations to the Legislature for planning and providing
   82  funding for the provision of accessible vehicles. The report
   83  shall be submitted to the President of the Senate and the
   84  Speaker of the House of Representatives by February 1, 2013.
   85         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.
   86  
   87  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   88         And the title is amended as follows:
   89         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   90  and insert:
   91                        A bill to be entitled                      
   92         An act relating to transportation accessibility;
   93         amending s. 212.08, F.S.; providing a tax exemption
   94         for the sale or lease of accessible vehicles;
   95         providing a definition; requiring the Office of
   96         Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
   97         to conduct a study to determine the availability of
   98         accessible taxicabs operating in metropolitan and
   99         tourist-destination areas of the state; describing the
  100         information to be collected in the study; requiring
  101         the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
  102         Accountability to include recommendations in its final
  103         report for consideration by the Legislature; providing
  104         an effective date.