Florida Senate - 2015 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. CS for SB 1102 Ì3661389Î366138 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House Comm: WD . 04/13/2015 . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Committee on Finance and Tax (Soto) recommended the following: 1 Senate Amendment 2 3 Delete lines 71 - 206 4 and insert: 5 (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 6 (a) “Authority” means an entity created under s. 7 163.01(7)(g), Florida Statutes, which provides public utility 8 services and whose membership consists of at least three 9 counties. The term includes any successor to the powers and 10 functions of such an entity. The term also includes any local 11 agency as defined herein. 12 (b) “Cost,” as applied to a utility project or a portion of 13 a utility project financed under this section, means: 14 1. Any part of the expense of constructing, renovating, or 15 acquiring lands, structures, real or personal property, rights, 16 rights-of-way, franchises, easements, and interests acquired or 17 used for a utility project; 18 2. The expense of demolishing or removing any buildings or 19 structures on acquired land, including the expense of acquiring 20 any lands to which the buildings or structures may be moved, and 21 the cost of all machinery and equipment used for the demolition 22 or removal; 23 3. Finance charges; 24 4. Interest, as determined by the authority; 25 5. Provisions for working capital and debt service 26 reserves; 27 6. Expenses for extensions, enlargements, additions, 28 replacements, renovations, and improvements; 29 7. Expenses for architectural, engineering, financial, 30 accounting, and legal services, plans, specifications, 31 estimates, and administration; or 32 8. Any other expenses necessary or incidental to 33 determining the feasibility of constructing a utility project or 34 incidental to the construction, acquisition, or financing of a 35 utility project. 36 (c) “Customer” means a person receiving water or wastewater 37 service from a publicly owned utility. 38 (d) “Finance” or “financing” includes refinancing. 39 (e) “Financing cost” means: 40 1. Interest and redemption premiums that are payable on 41 utility cost containment bonds; 42 2. The cost of retiring the principal of utility cost 43 containment bonds, whether at maturity, including acceleration 44 of maturity upon an event of default, or upon redemption, 45 including sinking fund redemption; 46 3. The cost related to issuing or servicing utility cost 47 containment bonds, including any payment under an interest rate 48 swap agreement and any type of fee; 49 4. A payment or expense associated with a bond insurance 50 policy; financial guaranty; contract, agreement, or other credit 51 or liquidity enhancement for bonds; or contract, agreement, or 52 other financial agreement entered into in connection with 53 utility cost containment bonds; 54 5. Any coverage charges; or 55 6. The funding of one or more reserve accounts relating to 56 utility cost containment bonds. 57 (f) “Financing resolution” means a resolution adopted by 58 the governing body of an authority which provides for the 59 financing or refinancing of a utility project with utility cost 60 containment bonds and which imposes a utility project charge in 61 connection with the utility cost containment bonds in accordance 62 with subsection (4). A financing resolution may be separate from 63 a resolution authorizing the issuance of the bonds. 64 (g) “Governing body” means the body that governs a local 65 agency. 66 (h) “Local agency” means a member of the authority, or an 67 agency or subdivision of that member, which is sponsoring or 68 refinancing a utility project, or any municipality, county, 69 authority, special district, public corporation, regional water 70 authority, or other governmental entity of the state which is 71 sponsoring or refinancing a utility project. 72 (i) “Public utility services” means water or wastewater 73 services provided by a publicly owned utility. The term does not 74 include communications services, as defined in s. 202.11, 75 Florida Statutes, Internet access services, or information 76 services. 77 (j) “Publicly owned utility” means a utility providing 78 retail or wholesale water or wastewater services which is owned 79 and operated by a local agency. The term includes any successor 80 to the powers and functions of such a utility. 81 (k) “Revenue” means income and receipts of the authority 82 related to the financing of utility projects and issuance of 83 utility cost containment bonds, including any of the following: 84 1. Bond purchase agreements; 85 2. Bonds acquired by the authority; 86 3. Installment sales agreements and other revenue-producing 87 agreements entered into by the authority; 88 4. Utility projects financed or refinanced by the 89 authority; 90 5. Grants and other sources of income; 91 6. Moneys paid by a local agency; 92 7. Interlocal agreements with a local agency, including all 93 service agreements; or 94 8. Interest or other income from any investment of money in 95 any fund or account established for the payment of principal, 96 interest, or premiums on utility cost containment bonds, or the 97 deposit of proceeds of utility cost containment bonds. 98 (l) “Utility cost containment bonds” means bonds, notes, 99 commercial paper, variable rate securities, and any other 100 evidence of indebtedness issued by an authority, the proceeds of 101 which are used directly or indirectly to pay or reimburse a 102 local agency or its publicly owned utility for the costs of a 103 utility project, which are secured by a pledge of, and are 104 payable from, utility project property. 105 (m) “Utility project” means the acquisition, construction, 106 installation, retrofitting, rebuilding, or other addition to or 107 improvement of any equipment, device, structure, process, 108 facility, technology, rights, or property located within or 109 outside this state which is used in connection with the 110 operations of a publicly owned utility. 111 (n) “Utility project charge” means a charge levied on 112 customers of a publicly owned utility to pay the financing costs 113 of utility cost containment bonds issued under subsection (4). 114 The term includes any adjustments to the utility project charge 115 under subsection (5). 116 (o) “Utility project property” means the property right 117 created pursuant to subsection (6). The term does not include 118 any interest in a customer’s real or personal property but 119 includes the right, title, and interest of an authority in any 120 of the following: 121 1. The financing resolution, the utility project charge, 122 and any adjustment to the utility project charge established in 123 accordance with subsection (5); 124 2. The financing costs of the utility cost containment 125 bonds and all revenues, and all collections, claims, payments, 126 moneys, or proceeds for, or arising from, the utility project 127 charge; or 128 3. All rights to obtain adjustments to the utility project 129 charge pursuant to subsection (5). 130 (3) UTILITY PROJECTS.— 131 (a) A local agency that owns and operates a publicly owned 132 utility may, on its own initiative or by application to an 133 intergovernmental entity that qualifies as an authority under 134 this act, finance the costs of a utility project using the 135 proceeds of utility cost containment bonds. If the local agency 136 applies to a qualified intergovernmental authority, the local 137 agency’s application shall specify the utility project to be 138 financed by the utility cost containment bonds and the maximum 139 principal amount, the maximum interest rate, and the maximum 140 stated terms of the utility cost containment bonds. 141 (b) A local agency may not finance a utility project under 142 this section, either on its own initiative or by application to 143 a qualified intergovernmental authority, unless the governing 144 body has determined, in a duly noticed public meeting,