Florida Senate - 2014 CS for SB 66
By the Committee on Appropriations; and Senators Flores,
Margolis, and Bullard
576-03294-14 201466c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to discretionary sales surtaxes;
3 amending s. 212.055, F.S.; authorizing a county as
4 defined in s. 125.011(1), F.S., to levy a surtax up to
5 a specified amount for the benefit of a Florida
6 College System institution and a state university in
7 the county pursuant to an ordinance conditioned to
8 take effect upon approval in a county referendum;
9 requiring the ordinance to provide for a referendum
10 and be enacted within a specified period; providing
11 permissible uses of the surtax proceeds; providing
12 referendum requirements and procedures; requiring that
13 the proceeds from the surtax be transferred into a
14 specified account and managed in a specified manner;
15 establishing an oversight board with specified duties,
16 responsibilities, and requirements relating to the
17 expenditure of surtax proceeds; providing for the
18 appointment of members of the oversight board;
19 requiring that the board of trustees of each
20 institution receiving surtax proceeds prepare an
21 annual plan for submission to the oversight board for
22 approval; providing that state funding may not be
23 reduced because an institution receives surtax funds;
24 providing for the scheduled expiration of the surtax;
25 prohibiting certain counties from levying the surtax
26 within a specified period; providing an effective
27 date.
28
29 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
30
31 Section 1. Subsection (9) is added to section 212.055,
32 Florida Statutes, to read:
33 212.055 Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent;
34 authorization and use of proceeds.—It is the legislative intent
35 that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales
36 surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a
37 subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the
38 levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties
39 authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the
40 maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the
41 procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if
42 required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended;
43 and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide.
44 Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as
45 provided in s. 212.054.
46 (9) HIGHER EDUCATION SURTAX.—A county as defined in s.
47 125.011(1), pursuant to an ordinance that is conditioned to take
48 effect only upon approval by a majority vote of the electors of
49 the county voting in a referendum, may levy a surtax of up to
50 0.5 percent for the benefit of a Florida College System
51 institution and a state university as defined in s. 1000.21
52 which are located in the county.
53 (a) The ordinance must provide for a referendum to
54 implement the surtax. Such ordinance must be enacted by the
55 governing body of the county before June 1 of the year in which
56 the referendum is to be held. The referendum shall be scheduled
57 for the next available countywide election after June 1.
58 (b) The permissible uses of the surtax proceeds include
59 capital expenditures and infrastructure projects; fixed capital
60 costs associated with the construction, reconstruction,
61 renovation, maintenance, or improvement of facilities and
62 campuses that have a useful life expectancy of at least 5 years;
63 deferred maintenance; land improvement, design, and engineering
64 costs related thereto; and the expansion and enhancement of
65 facilities at all institution sites within the county. The
66 proceeds from the surtax may be used by a state university for
67 the land acquisition of parcels that are contiguous to its
68 existing main campus. The proceeds of the surtax must be set
69 aside and invested as permitted by law, with the principal and
70 income to be used for the purposes listed in this subsection as
71 administered by the board of trustees.
72 (c) The expense of holding the referendum may not be paid
73 with student fees or any public funds, but shall be paid only
74 with funds received from private sources or with college
75 auxiliary funds. The county must provide at least 30 days’
76 notice of the election as provided in s. 100.342.
77 (d) The referendum providing for the imposition of the
78 surtax must include a statement that provides a brief and
79 general description of the purposes for which the proceeds of
80 the surtax may be used, conform to the requirements of s.
81 101.161, and be placed on the ballot by the governing body of
82 the county. The following question shall be placed on the
83 ballot:
84
85 FOR THE. . . .CENTS TAX INCREASE
86 AGAINST THE. . . .CENTS TAX INCREASE
87
88 (e) Upon approval of the referendum, 90 percent of the
89 proceeds from the surtax must be transferred by the department
90 into a Florida Prime account managed by the State Board of
91 Administration and used only for the operation, maintenance, and
92 administration of the Florida College System institution within
93 that county and 10 percent of the proceeds from the surtax must
94 be transferred by the Department of Revenue into a Florida Prime
95 account managed by the State Board of Administration and used
96 only for the operation, maintenance, land acquisition, and
97 administration of the state university.
98 (f) Upon approval by referendum, an oversight board shall
99 be established to review and accept or amend expenditures of the
100 proceeds of the surtax and to review the plan prepared by the
101 boards of trustees pursuant to paragraph (g). The oversight
102 board shall meet at least quarterly. Meetings of the oversight
103 board are public meetings under s. 286.011. Minutes, including a
104 record of all votes cast, must be maintained for all meetings.
105 1. The board shall be composed of nine members appointed by
106 the Governor who are residents of the county and have an
107 outstanding reputation for professional ability with substantial
108 professional accomplishment in their fields, as follows:
109 a. One member from the county’s official economic
110 development organization that is designated by Enterprise
111 Florida, Inc.
112 b. One member with experience in higher education.
113 c. One member with experience in higher education
114 management.
115 d. One member who is a professional engineer.
116 e. One member who is a certified public accountant licensed
117 in this state.
118 f. One member who is an attorney licensed to practice law
119 in this state.
120 g. One member with experience in real estate development.
121 h. One member with experience in finance.
122 i. One member who is a professional architect.
123 2. Initial appointments to the oversight board shall be
124 made by the Governor within 60 days after the passage of the
125 referendum. Each member shall be appointed for a 4-year term and
126 may be reappointed. A vacancy on the board shall be filled for
127 the unexpired portion of the term in the same manner as the
128 original appointment.
129 (g) The Florida College System institution board of
130 trustees and the state university board of trustees shall
131 annually prepare plans that specify how each board of trustees
132 intends to allocate and expend the funds for the institutions’
133 upcoming fiscal year and submit such plans to the oversight
134 board for approval. All proposed spending plans to be considered
135 for approval must be presented at a quarterly meeting of the
136 oversight board and may not be considered for final approval
137 until the following scheduled quarterly meeting, which shall be
138 at least 90 days after the previous quarterly meeting.
139 (h) The annual apportionment of state funds for the support
140 of a state university and a Florida College System institution
141 allocated under general law may not be reduced because the
142 institutions have received funds pursuant to a sales surtax
143 levied under this subsection.
144 (i) A surtax imposed under this subsection expires 5 years
145 after the effective date of the surtax.
146 (j) A county that levies a surtax under this subsection may
147 not, for at least 20 years after expiration of the surtax,
148 propose another referendum for a surtax under this subsection.
149 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.