Florida Senate - 2015              PROPOSED COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
       Bill No. CS for SB 118
       
       
       
       
       
                               Ì454494DÎ454494                          
       
       594-04031-15                                                    
       Proposed Committee Substitute by the Committee on Fiscal Policy
       (Appropriations Subcommittee on Education)
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to voluntary contributions for public
    3         education facilities; creating s. 215.165, F.S.;
    4         authorizing a participating business that registers
    5         with the Department of Revenue to solicit and collect
    6         contributions from its customers for the construction
    7         and maintenance of public education facilities;
    8         providing registration requirements; requiring the
    9         department to issue a certificate and taxpayer
   10         identification number to a participating business;
   11         requiring a participating business to file a return
   12         and remit contributions to the department within a
   13         specified timeframe; requiring the department to
   14         deposit contributions into the Public Education
   15         Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund;
   16         authorizing the department to adopt rules establishing
   17         forms and procedures; providing that certain
   18         provisions of law regarding the authority to audit and
   19         make assessments and the maintenance of books and
   20         records apply to the collection and remittance of
   21         voluntary contributions; providing that certain
   22         provisions of law regarding interest and penalties,
   23         estimated tax liability, and a dealer’s credit for
   24         collections do not apply to such collections and
   25         remittances; authorizing the department to conduct an
   26         audit of voluntary contributions or undertake
   27         enforcement proceedings under certain circumstances;
   28         requiring the department to provide written
   29         notification to a participating business if the
   30         department finds during an audit that voluntary
   31         contributions were not remitted; providing for the
   32         remittance of unremitted contributions without penalty
   33         or interest within a specified period; providing for
   34         penalties and interest on contributions that are not
   35         remitted within the specified period; authorizing
   36         participating businesses to deduct a specified
   37         percentage of the voluntary contributions collected to
   38         compensate themselves for certain expenses; amending
   39         s. 1013.65, F.S.; including voluntary contributions as
   40         a source of funding for the Public Education Capital
   41         Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund; authorizing the
   42         executive director of the department to adopt
   43         emergency rules; providing that such rules are
   44         effective for a specified period; providing for
   45         expiration; providing an effective date.
   46          
   47  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   48  
   49         Section 1. Section 215.165, Florida Statutes, is created to
   50  read:
   51         215.165 Voluntary contributions for public education
   52  facilities.—A business that registers with the Department of
   53  Revenue as a participating business may solicit and collect
   54  voluntary contributions from its customers for the construction
   55  and maintenance of public education facilities. Such
   56  contributions may be solicited and collected through any means,
   57  including point-of-sale transactions and monthly customer
   58  invoices.
   59         (1) To register as a participating business, the business
   60  must provide the department with its name, physical address,
   61  mailing address, telephone number, e-mail address, and federal
   62  employer identification number. Upon receipt of this
   63  information, the department shall issue to the participating
   64  business a certificate indicating that the business is
   65  registered with the department for the collection of voluntary
   66  contributions and providing a taxpayer identification number to
   67  be used by the business for returns under this section. The
   68  department may issue this certificate electronically or by
   69  United States mail.
   70         (2) By the 20th day of each month that immediately follows
   71  a month in which voluntary contributions were collected, a
   72  participating business shall file a return with, and remit the
   73  contributions collected during the prior month to, the
   74  department. If the 20th day is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal
   75  holiday, the return and voluntary contributions are due on the
   76  next business day. A participating business may file a return
   77  that is initiated by electronic means and may remit voluntary
   78  contributions by electronic funds transfer. A return is not
   79  required for a period in which voluntary contributions were not
   80  collected. A participating business may correct an error in a
   81  prior remittance by adjusting the amount remitted on a future
   82  return.
   83         (3)(a)A participating business shall provide the following
   84  information on each return:
   85         1.The information required under subsection (1).
   86         2. The taxpayer identification number issued by the
   87  department.
   88         3.The amount of voluntary contributions collected and the
   89  amount of any adjustment to such contributions.
   90         4.The amount of voluntary contributions being remitted.
   91         (b) If the department receives a return from a business
   92  that has not registered as a participating business, the
   93  department shall deposit the voluntary contributions pursuant to
   94  subsection (4) and shall register the business as a
   95  participating business with the information included on the
   96  return.
   97         (4) The department shall deposit voluntary contributions
   98  remitted under this section into the Public Education Capital
   99  Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund.
  100         (5) The department may adopt rules to establish forms and
  101  procedures for filing returns and remitting voluntary
  102  contributions, which may include the use of existing or new
  103  forms.
  104         (6) The provisions of chapter 212 regarding the authority
  105  to audit and make assessments and the maintenance of books and
  106  records apply to the collection and remittance of voluntary
  107  contributions by participating businesses under this section.
  108  The provisions of chapters 212 and 213 regarding interest and
  109  penalties, estimated tax liability, and a dealer’s credit for
  110  collecting taxes or fees do not apply to such collections and
  111  remittances, except as provided in paragraphs (a) and (b). The
  112  department may not conduct an audit of voluntary contributions
  113  or undertake enforcement proceedings under this subsection
  114  unless the participating business is otherwise undergoing an
  115  audit for another area of tax.
  116         (a) If the department engages in an audit of a
  117  participating business under this subsection and finds that
  118  voluntary contributions received by the participating business
  119  were not remitted to the department, the department shall
  120  provide written notification to the participating business of
  121  the deficiency. The participating business may remit the
  122  unremitted contributions to the department at any time up to 90
  123  days after the department provides written notification of the
  124  deficiency without incurring any penalty or interest on the
  125  unremitted contributions. If the unremitted contributions are
  126  not provided to the department for deposit within the 90-day
  127  period, the unremitted amount is subject to the penalty imposed
  128  under s. 212.12 and interest imposed under s. 213.235, beginning
  129  with the 91st day and continuing until the collected amounts are
  130  remitted. For purposes of this subsection, the administrative
  131  collection processing fee imposed under s. 213.24 does not
  132  apply.
  133         (b) For the purpose of compensating participating
  134  businesses for the maintenance of books and records, the filing
  135  of returns, and the proper accounting and remitting of
  136  contributions, participating businesses collecting voluntary
  137  contributions under this section may deduct 2.5 percent of the
  138  amount of voluntary contributions remitted to the department.
  139         Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
  140  1013.65, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  141         1013.65 Educational and ancillary plant construction funds;
  142  Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund;
  143  allocation of funds.—
  144         (2)(a) The Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service
  145  Trust Fund shall be comprised of the following sources, which
  146  are hereby appropriated to the trust fund:
  147         1. Proceeds, premiums, and accrued interest from the sale
  148  of public education bonds and that portion of the revenues
  149  accruing from the gross receipts tax as provided by s. 9(a)(2),
  150  Art. XII of the State Constitution, as amended, interest on
  151  investments, and federal interest subsidies.
  152         2. General revenue funds appropriated to the fund for
  153  educational capital outlay purposes.
  154         3. All capital outlay funds previously appropriated and
  155  certified forward pursuant to s. 216.301.
  156         4.Deposits from voluntary contributions collected pursuant
  157  to s. 215.165.
  158         Section 3. (1) The executive director of the Department of
  159  Revenue is authorized, and all conditions are deemed to be met,
  160  to adopt emergency rules pursuant to s. 120.54(4), Florida
  161  Statutes, for the purpose of implementing this act.
  162         (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, emergency
  163  rules adopted pursuant to subsection (1) are effective for 6
  164  months after adoption and may be renewed during the pendency of
  165  procedures to adopt permanent rules addressing the subject of
  166  the emergency rules.
  167         (3) This section expires July 1, 2018.
  168         Section 4. This act shall take effect January 1, 2016.