Florida Senate - 2013 SENATOR AMENDMENT Bill No. CS for CS for CS for SB 306 Barcode 402070 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House . . . Floor: WD/2R . 04/29/2013 05:08 PM . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Senator Bradley moved the following: 1 Senate Amendment 2 3 Delete lines 396 - 612 4 and insert: 5 (f) “Signature event” means a sports event with significant 6 export factor potential. For purposes of this paragraph, the 7 term “export factor” means the attraction of economic activity 8 or growth into the state which otherwise would not have 9 occurred. Examples of signature events may include, but are not 10 limited to: 11 1. National Football League Super Bowls. 12 2. Professional sports All-Star games. 13 3. International sporting events and tournaments. 14 4. Professional automobile race championships or Formula 1 15 Grand Prix. 16 5. The establishment of a new professional sports franchise 17 in this state. 18 (g) “State sales taxes generated by sales at the facility” 19 means state sales taxes imposed under chapter 212 generated by 20 admissions to the facility or by sales made by vendors at the 21 facility who are accessible to persons attending events 22 occurring at the facility. 23 (3) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to provide 24 applicants state funding under s. 212.20(6)(d)6.e. for the 25 public purpose of constructing, reconstructing, renovating, or 26 improving a facility. 27 (4) APPLICATION AND APPROVAL PROCESS.— 28 (a) The department shall establish the procedures and 29 application forms deemed necessary pursuant to the requirements 30 of this section. The department may notify an applicant of any 31 additional required or incomplete information necessary to 32 evaluate an application. 33 (b) The annual application period is from June 1 through 34 November 1. 35 (c) Within 60 days after receipt of a completed 36 application, the department shall complete its evaluation of the 37 application as provided under subsection (5) and notify the 38 applicant in writing of the department’s decision to recommend 39 approval of the applicant by the Legislature or to deny the 40 application. 41 (d) Annually by February 1, the department shall rank the 42 applicants and shall provide to the Legislature the list of the 43 recommended applicants in ranked order of projects most likely 44 to positively impact the state based on required criteria 45 established in this section. The list must include the 46 department’s evaluation of the applicant. 47 (e) A recommended applicant’s request for funding must be 48 approved by the Legislature by general law. 49 1. An application by a unit of local government which is 50 approved by the Legislature and subsequently certified by the 51 department remains certified for the duration of the 52 beneficiary’s agreement with the applicant or for 30 years, 53 whichever is less, provided the certified applicant has an 54 agreement with a beneficiary at the time of initial 55 certification by the department. 56 2. An application by a beneficiary which is approved by the 57 Legislature and subsequently certified by the department remains 58 certified for the duration of the beneficiary’s agreement with 59 the unit of local government that owns the underlying property 60 or for 30 years, whichever is less, provided the certified 61 applicant has an agreement with the unit of local government at 62 the time of initial certification by the department. 63 3. An applicant that is previously certified pursuant to 64 this section does not need legislative approval each year to 65 receive state funding. 66 (f) An applicant that is recommended by the department but 67 is not approved by the Legislature may reapply and update any 68 information in the original application as required by the 69 department. 70 (g) The department may recommend no more than one 71 distribution under this section for any applicant, facility, or 72 beneficiary at a time. 73 (5) EVALUATION PROCESS.— 74 (a) Before recommending an applicant to receive a state 75 distribution under s. 212.20(6)(d)6.e., the department must 76 verify that: 77 1. The applicant or beneficiary is responsible for the 78 construction, reconstruction, renovation, or improvement of a 79 facility. 80 2. If the applicant is also the beneficiary, a unit of 81 local government holds title to the property on which the 82 facility and project are located. 83 3. The project for which the applicant is seeking state 84 funding has not commenced construction. 85 4. If the applicant is a unit of local government in whose 86 jurisdiction the facility will be located, the unit of local 87 government has an exclusive intent agreement to negotiate in 88 this state with the beneficiary. 89 5.a. The unit of local government in whose jurisdiction the 90 facility will be located supports the application for state 91 funds. Such support must be verified by the adoption of a 92 resolution after a public hearing that the project serves a 93 public purpose. 94 b. If the unit of local government is required to pass a 95 resolution by a majority plus one vote by the local government’s 96 governing body and to hold a referendum for approval pursuant to 97 s. 125.0104(3)(n)2., such resolution and referendum must 98 affirmatively pass for the applicant to receive state funding 99 under this section. 100 6. The applicant or beneficiary has not previously 101 defaulted or failed to meet any statutory requirements of a 102 previous state-administered sports-related program under s. 103 288.1162, s. 288.11621, or s. 288.1168. 104 7. The applicant or beneficiary has sufficiently 105 demonstrated a commitment to employ residents of this state, 106 contract with Florida-based firms, and purchase locally 107 available building materials to the greatest extent possible. 108 8. If the applicant is a unit of local government, the 109 applicant has a certified copy of a signed agreement with a 110 beneficiary for the use of the facility. If the applicant is a 111 beneficiary, the beneficiary must enter into an agreement with 112 the department. The applicant’s or beneficiary’s agreement must 113 also require the following: 114 a. The beneficiary must reimburse the state for state funds 115 that have been distributed and will be distributed if the 116 beneficiary relocates before the agreement expires. 117 b. The beneficiary must pay for signage or advertising 118 within the facility. The signage or advertising must be placed 119 in a prominent location as close to the field of play or 120 competition as is practical, displayed consistent with signage 121 or advertising in the same location and like value, and must 122 feature Florida advertising approved by the Florida Tourism 123 Industry Marketing Corporation. 124 9. The project will commence within 12 months after 125 receiving state funds. 126 (b) The department shall competitively evaluate and rank 127 applicants that submit applications for state funding which are 128 received during the application period using the following 129 criteria to evaluate the applicant’s ability to positively 130 impact the state: 131 1. The proposed use of state funds. 132 2. The length of time that a beneficiary has agreed to use 133 the facility. 134 3. The percentage of total project funds provided by the 135 applicant and the percentage of total project funds provided by 136 the beneficiary. 137 4. The number and type of signature events the facility is 138 likely to attract during the duration of the agreement with the 139 beneficiary. 140 5. The anticipated increase in average annual ticket sales 141 and attendance at the facility due to the project. 142 6. The potential to attract out-of-state visitors to the 143 facility. 144 7. The length of time a beneficiary has been in the state 145 or partnered with the unit of local government. 146 8. The multiuse capabilities of the facility. 147 9. The facility’s projected employment of residents of this 148 state, contracts with Florida-based firms, and purchases of 149 locally available building materials. 150 10. The amount of private and local financial or in-kind 151 contributions to the project. 152 11. The amount of positive advertising or media coverage 153 the facility generates. 154 (6) DISTRIBUTION.— 155 (a) The department shall determine the annual distribution 156 amount an applicant may receive based on the total cost of the 157 project. 158 1. If the total project cost is $200 million or greater, 159 the applicant is eligible to receive annual distributions equal 160 to the new incremental state sales taxes generated by sales at 161 the facility during 12 months as provided under paragraph (b)2., 162 up to $3 million. 163 2. If the total project cost is at least $100 million but 164 less than $200 million, the applicant is eligible to receive 165 annual distributions equal to the new incremental state sales 166 taxes generated by sales at the facility during 12 months as 167 provided under paragraph (b)2., up to $2 million. 168 3. If the total project cost is less than $100 million, the 169 applicant is eligible to receive annual distributions equal to 170 the new incremental state sales taxes generated by sales at the 171 facility during 12 months as provided under paragraph (b)2., up 172 to $666,660. 173 4. If the total project cost is at least $100 million but 174 less than $200 million and the facility is publicly owned and 175 located in a county that operates under a consolidated 176 government, the applicant is eligible to receive a sales tax 177 rebate equal to $2 million annually if sales tax growth has 178 averaged a minimum of 3 percent annually in the 15 years prior 179 to application and an independent analysis projects an average 180 annual growth of at least 3 percent annually going forward. 181 (b) At the time of initial evaluation and review by the 182 department pursuant to subsection (5), the applicant must 183 provide an analysis by an independent certified public 184 accountant which demonstrates: 185 1. The amount of state sales taxes generated by sales at 186 the facility during the 12-month period immediately prior to the 187 beginning of the application period. This amount is the 188 baseline. 189 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (a)4., 190 the expected amount of new incremental state sales taxes 191 generated by sales at the facility above the baseline which will 192 be generated as a result of the project. 193 (c) The independent analysis provided in paragraph (b) must 194 be verified by the department. 195 (d) The Department of Revenue shall begin distributions 196 within 45 days after notification of initial certification from 197 the department. 198 (e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (a)4., 199 the department must consult with the Department of Revenue and 200 the Office of Economic and Demographic Research to develop a 201 standard calculation for estimating new incremental state sales 202 taxes generated by sales at the facility and adjustments to 203 distributions. 204 (f) In any 12-month period when total distributions for all 205 certified applicants equal $13 million, the department may not 206 certify new distributions for any additional applicants. 207 (7) CONTRACT.—An applicant approved by the Legislature and 208 certified by the department must enter into a contract with the 209 department which: 210 (a) Specifies the terms of the state’s investment. 211 (b) States the criteria that the certified applicant must 212 meet in order to remain certified. 213 (c) Requires the applicant to submit the independent 214 analysis required under subsection (6) and an annual independent 215 analysis. 216 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (6)(a)4., 217 the applicant must agree to submit to the department, beginning 218 12 months after completion of a project or 12 months after the 219 first four annual distributions, whichever is earlier, an annual 220 analysis by an independent certified public accountant 221 demonstrating the actual amount of new incremental state sales 222 taxes generated by sales at the facility during the previous 12 223 month period. The applicant shall certify to the department a 224 comparison of the actual amount of state sales taxes generated 225 by sales at the facility during the previous 12-month period to 226 the baseline under subparagraph (6)(b)1. 227 2. The applicant must submit the certification within 60 228 days after the end of the previous 12-month period. The 229 department shall verify the analysis. 230 (d) Specifies information that the certified applicant must 231 report to the department. 232 (e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph 233 (6)(a)4., requires the applicant to reimburse the state for the