Florida Senate - 2016                             CS for SB 1100
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senator Brandes
       
       578-03651-16                                          20161100c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to local tax referenda; amending s.
    3         212.055, F.S.; specifying the times when local
    4         government discretionary sales surtax referenda may be
    5         held; requiring the approval of a specified percentage
    6         of electors voting in a referendum election to adopt
    7         or amend a local government discretionary sales
    8         surtax; providing an effective date.
    9          
   10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   11  
   12         Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1), paragraph (a)
   13  of subsection (2), paragraph (a) of subsection (3), subsections
   14  (4) and (5), paragraph (a) of subsection (6), paragraph (a) of
   15  subsection (7), and paragraph (b) of subsection (8) of section
   16  212.055, Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (9) is
   17  added to that section, to read:
   18         212.055 Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent;
   19  authorization and use of proceeds.—It is the legislative intent
   20  that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales
   21  surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a
   22  subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the
   23  levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties
   24  authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the
   25  maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the
   26  procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if
   27  required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended;
   28  and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide.
   29  Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as
   30  provided in s. 212.054.
   31         (1) CHARTER COUNTY AND REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
   32  SURTAX.—
   33         (c) The proposal to adopt a discretionary sales surtax as
   34  provided in this subsection and to create a trust fund within
   35  the county accounts shall be placed on the ballot in accordance
   36  with law and must be approved in a referendum as set forth in
   37  subsection (9) at a time to be set at the discretion of the
   38  governing body.
   39         (2) LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE SURTAX.—
   40         (a)1. The governing authority in each county may levy a
   41  discretionary sales surtax of 0.5 percent or 1 percent. The levy
   42  of the surtax shall be pursuant to ordinance enacted by a
   43  majority of the members of the county governing authority and
   44  approved by a majority of the electors of the county, as set
   45  forth in subsection (9), voting in a referendum on the surtax.
   46  If the governing bodies of the municipalities representing a
   47  majority of the county’s population adopt uniform resolutions
   48  establishing the rate of the surtax and calling for a referendum
   49  on the surtax, the levy of the surtax shall be placed on the
   50  ballot and shall take effect if approved by a majority of the
   51  electors of the county, as set forth in subsection (9), voting
   52  in the referendum on the surtax.
   53         2. If the surtax was levied pursuant to a referendum held
   54  before July 1, 1993, the surtax may not be levied beyond the
   55  time established in the ordinance, or, if the ordinance did not
   56  limit the period of the levy, the surtax may not be levied for
   57  more than 15 years. The levy of such surtax may be extended only
   58  by approval of a majority of the electors of the county, as set
   59  forth in subsection (9), voting in a referendum on the surtax.
   60         (3) SMALL COUNTY SURTAX.—
   61         (a) The governing authority in each county that has a
   62  population of 50,000 or fewer less on April 1, 1992, may levy a
   63  discretionary sales surtax of 0.5 percent or 1 percent. The levy
   64  of the surtax shall be pursuant to ordinance enacted by an
   65  extraordinary vote of the members of the county governing
   66  authority if the surtax revenues are expended for operating
   67  purposes. If the surtax revenues are expended for the purpose of
   68  servicing bond indebtedness, the surtax shall be approved by a
   69  majority of the electors of the county, as set forth in
   70  subsection (9), voting in a referendum on the surtax.
   71         (4) INDIGENT CARE AND TRAUMA CENTER SURTAX.—
   72         (a)1. The governing body in each county the government of
   73  which is not consolidated with that of one or more
   74  municipalities, which has a population of at least 800,000
   75  residents and is not authorized to levy a surtax under
   76  subsection (5), may levy, pursuant to an ordinance either
   77  approved by an extraordinary vote of the governing body or
   78  conditioned to take effect only upon approval by a majority vote
   79  of the electors of the county, as set forth in subsection (9),
   80  voting in a referendum, a discretionary sales surtax at a rate
   81  that may not exceed 0.5 percent.
   82         2. If the ordinance is conditioned on a referendum, a
   83  statement that includes a brief and general description of the
   84  purposes to be funded by the surtax and that conforms to the
   85  requirements of s. 101.161 shall be placed on the ballot by the
   86  governing body of the county. The following questions shall be
   87  placed on the ballot:
   88                       FOR THE. . . .CENTS TAX                     
   89                     AGAINST THE. . . .CENTS TAX                   
   90         3. The ordinance adopted by the governing body providing
   91  for the imposition of the surtax shall set forth a plan for
   92  providing health care services to qualified residents, as
   93  defined in subparagraph 4. Such plan and subsequent amendments
   94  to it shall fund a broad range of health care services for both
   95  indigent persons and the medically poor, including, but not
   96  limited to, primary care and preventive care as well as hospital
   97  care. The plan must also address the services to be provided by
   98  the Level I trauma center. It shall emphasize a continuity of
   99  care in the most cost-effective setting, taking into
  100  consideration both a high quality of care and geographic access.
  101  Where consistent with these objectives, it shall include,
  102  without limitation, services rendered by physicians, clinics,
  103  community hospitals, mental health centers, and alternative
  104  delivery sites, as well as at least one regional referral
  105  hospital where appropriate. It shall provide that agreements
  106  negotiated between the county and providers, including hospitals
  107  with a Level I trauma center, will include reimbursement
  108  methodologies that take into account the cost of services
  109  rendered to eligible patients, recognize hospitals that render a
  110  disproportionate share of indigent care, provide other
  111  incentives to promote the delivery of charity care, promote the
  112  advancement of technology in medical services, recognize the
  113  level of responsiveness to medical needs in trauma cases, and
  114  require cost containment including, but not limited to, case
  115  management. It must also provide that any hospitals that are
  116  owned and operated by government entities on May 21, 1991, must,
  117  as a condition of receiving funds under this subsection, afford
  118  public access equal to that provided under s. 286.011 as to
  119  meetings of the governing board, the subject of which is
  120  budgeting resources for the rendition of charity care as that
  121  term is defined in the Florida Hospital Uniform Reporting System
  122  (FHURS) manual referenced in s. 408.07. The plan shall also
  123  include innovative health care programs that provide cost
  124  effective alternatives to traditional methods of service
  125  delivery and funding.
  126         4. For the purpose of this paragraph, the term “qualified
  127  resident” means residents of the authorizing county who are:
  128         a. Qualified as indigent persons as certified by the
  129  authorizing county;
  130         b. Certified by the authorizing county as meeting the
  131  definition of the medically poor, defined as persons having
  132  insufficient income, resources, and assets to provide the needed
  133  medical care without using resources required to meet basic
  134  needs for shelter, food, clothing, and personal expenses; or not
  135  being eligible for any other state or federal program, or having
  136  medical needs that are not covered by any such program; or
  137  having insufficient third-party insurance coverage. In all
  138  cases, the authorizing county is intended to serve as the payor
  139  of last resort; or
  140         c. Participating in innovative, cost-effective programs
  141  approved by the authorizing county.
  142         5. Moneys collected pursuant to this paragraph remain the
  143  property of the state and shall be distributed by the Department
  144  of Revenue on a regular and periodic basis to the clerk of the
  145  circuit court as ex officio custodian of the funds of the
  146  authorizing county. The clerk of the circuit court shall:
  147         a. Maintain the moneys in an indigent health care trust
  148  fund;
  149         b. Invest any funds held on deposit in the trust fund
  150  pursuant to general law;
  151         c. Disburse the funds, including any interest earned, to
  152  any provider of health care services, as provided in
  153  subparagraphs 3. and 4., upon directive from the authorizing
  154  county. However, if a county has a population of at least
  155  800,000 residents and has levied the surtax authorized in this
  156  paragraph, notwithstanding any directive from the authorizing
  157  county, on October 1 of each calendar year, the clerk of the
  158  court shall issue a check in the amount of $6.5 million to a
  159  hospital in its jurisdiction that has a Level I trauma center or
  160  shall issue a check in the amount of $3.5 million to a hospital
  161  in its jurisdiction that has a Level I trauma center if that
  162  county enacts and implements a hospital lien law in accordance
  163  with chapter 98-499, Laws of Florida. The issuance of the checks
  164  on October 1 of each year is provided in recognition of the
  165  Level I trauma center status and shall be in addition to the
  166  base contract amount received during fiscal year 1999-2000 and
  167  any additional amount negotiated to the base contract. If the
  168  hospital receiving funds for its Level I trauma center status
  169  requests such funds to be used to generate federal matching
  170  funds under Medicaid, the clerk of the court shall instead issue
  171  a check to the Agency for Health Care Administration to
  172  accomplish that purpose to the extent that it is allowed through
  173  the General Appropriations Act; and
  174         d. Prepare on a biennial basis an audit of the trust fund
  175  specified in sub-subparagraph a. Commencing February 1, 2004,
  176  such audit shall be delivered to the governing body and to the
  177  chair of the legislative delegation of each authorizing county.
  178         6. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a
  179  county shall not levy local option sales surtaxes authorized in
  180  this paragraph and subsections (2) and (3) in excess of a
  181  combined rate of 1 percent.
  182         (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
  183  the governing body in each county the government of which is not
  184  consolidated with that of one or more municipalities and which
  185  has a population of fewer less than 800,000 residents, may levy,
  186  by ordinance subject to approval by a majority of the electors
  187  of the county, as set forth in subsection (9), voting in a
  188  referendum, a discretionary sales surtax at a rate that may not
  189  exceed 0.25 percent for the sole purpose of funding trauma
  190  services provided by a trauma center licensed pursuant to
  191  chapter 395.
  192         1. A statement that includes a brief and general
  193  description of the purposes to be funded by the surtax and that
  194  conforms to the requirements of s. 101.161 shall be placed on
  195  the ballot by the governing body of the county. The following
  196  shall be placed on the ballot:
  197                       FOR THE. . . .CENTS TAX                     
  198                     AGAINST THE. . . .CENTS TAX                   
  199         2. The ordinance adopted by the governing body of the
  200  county providing for the imposition of the surtax shall set
  201  forth a plan for providing trauma services to trauma victims
  202  presenting in the trauma service area in which such county is
  203  located.
  204         3. Moneys collected pursuant to this paragraph remain the
  205  property of the state and shall be distributed by the Department
  206  of Revenue on a regular and periodic basis to the clerk of the
  207  circuit court as ex officio custodian of the funds of the
  208  authorizing county. The clerk of the circuit court shall:
  209         a. Maintain the moneys in a trauma services trust fund.
  210         b. Invest any funds held on deposit in the trust fund
  211  pursuant to general law.
  212         c. Disburse the funds, including any interest earned on
  213  such funds, to the trauma center in its trauma service area, as
  214  provided in the plan set forth pursuant to subparagraph 2., upon
  215  directive from the authorizing county. If the trauma center
  216  receiving funds requests such funds be used to generate federal
  217  matching funds under Medicaid, the custodian of the funds shall
  218  instead issue a check to the Agency for Health Care
  219  Administration to accomplish that purpose to the extent that the
  220  agency is allowed through the General Appropriations Act.
  221         d. Prepare on a biennial basis an audit of the trauma
  222  services trust fund specified in sub-subparagraph a., to be
  223  delivered to the authorizing county.
  224         4. A discretionary sales surtax imposed pursuant to this
  225  paragraph shall expire 4 years after the effective date of the
  226  surtax, unless reenacted by ordinance subject to approval by a
  227  majority of the electors of the county, as set forth in
  228  subsection (9), voting in a subsequent referendum.
  229         5. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a
  230  county shall not levy local option sales surtaxes authorized in
  231  this paragraph and subsections (2) and (3) in excess of a
  232  combined rate of 1 percent.
  233         (5) COUNTY PUBLIC HOSPITAL SURTAX.—Any county as defined in
  234  s. 125.011(1) may levy the surtax authorized in this subsection
  235  pursuant to an ordinance either approved by extraordinary vote
  236  of the county commission or conditioned to take effect only upon
  237  approval by a majority vote of the electors of the county, as
  238  set forth in subsection (9), voting in a referendum. In a county
  239  as defined in s. 125.011(1), for the purposes of this
  240  subsection, “county public general hospital” means a general
  241  hospital as defined in s. 395.002 which is owned, operated,
  242  maintained, or governed by the county or its agency, authority,
  243  or public health trust.
  244         (a) The rate shall be 0.5 percent.
  245         (b) If the ordinance is conditioned on a referendum, the
  246  proposal to adopt the county public hospital surtax shall be
  247  placed on the ballot in accordance with subsection (9) law at a
  248  time to be set at the discretion of the governing body. The
  249  referendum question on the ballot shall include a brief general
  250  description of the health care services to be funded by the
  251  surtax.
  252         (c) Proceeds from the surtax shall be:
  253         1. Deposited by the county in a special fund, set aside
  254  from other county funds, to be used only for the operation,
  255  maintenance, and administration of the county public general
  256  hospital; and
  257         2. Remitted promptly by the county to the agency,
  258  authority, or public health trust created by law which
  259  administers or operates the county public general hospital.
  260         (d) Except as provided in subparagraphs 1. and 2., the
  261  county must continue to contribute each year an amount equal to
  262  at least 80 percent of that percentage of the total county
  263  budget appropriated for the operation, administration, and
  264  maintenance of the county public general hospital from the
  265  county’s general revenues in the fiscal year of the county
  266  ending September 30, 1991:
  267         1. Twenty-five percent of such amount must be remitted to a
  268  governing board, agency, or authority that is wholly independent
  269  from the public health trust, agency, or authority responsible
  270  for the county public general hospital, to be used solely for
  271  the purpose of funding the plan for indigent health care
  272  services provided for in paragraph (e);
  273         2. However, in the first year of the plan, a total of $10
  274  million shall be remitted to such governing board, agency, or
  275  authority, to be used solely for the purpose of funding the plan
  276  for indigent health care services provided for in paragraph (e),
  277  and in the second year of the plan, a total of $15 million shall
  278  be so remitted and used.
  279         (e) A governing board, agency, or authority shall be
  280  chartered by the county commission upon this act becoming law.
  281  The governing board, agency, or authority shall adopt and
  282  implement a health care plan for indigent health care services.
  283  The governing board, agency, or authority shall consist of no
  284  more than seven and no fewer than five members appointed by the
  285  county commission. The members of the governing board, agency,
  286  or authority shall be at least 18 years of age and residents of
  287  the county. No member may be employed by or affiliated with a
  288  health care provider or the public health trust, agency, or
  289  authority responsible for the county public general hospital.
  290  The following community organizations shall each appoint a
  291  representative to a nominating committee: the South Florida
  292  Hospital and Healthcare Association, the Miami-Dade County
  293  Public Health Trust, the Dade County Medical Association, the
  294  Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, and the Mayor of Miami-Dade
  295  County. This committee shall nominate between 10 and 14 county
  296  citizens for the governing board, agency, or authority. The
  297  slate shall be presented to the county commission and the county
  298  commission shall confirm the top five to seven nominees,
  299  depending on the size of the governing board. Until such time as
  300  the governing board, agency, or authority is created, the funds
  301  provided for in subparagraph (d)2. shall be placed in a
  302  restricted account set aside from other county funds and not
  303  disbursed by the county for any other purpose.
  304         1. The plan shall divide the county into a minimum of four
  305  and maximum of six service areas, with no more than one
  306  participant hospital per service area. The county public general
  307  hospital shall be designated as the provider for one of the
  308  service areas. Services shall be provided through participants’
  309  primary acute care facilities.
  310         2. The plan and subsequent amendments to it shall fund a
  311  defined range of health care services for both indigent persons
  312  and the medically poor, including primary care, preventive care,
  313  hospital emergency room care, and hospital care necessary to
  314  stabilize the patient. For the purposes of this section,
  315  “stabilization” means stabilization as defined in s.
  316  397.311(41). Where consistent with these objectives, the plan
  317  may include services rendered by physicians, clinics, community
  318  hospitals, and alternative delivery sites, as well as at least
  319  one regional referral hospital per service area. The plan shall
  320  provide that agreements negotiated between the governing board,
  321  agency, or authority and providers shall recognize hospitals
  322  that render a disproportionate share of indigent care, provide
  323  other incentives to promote the delivery of charity care to draw
  324  down federal funds where appropriate, and require cost
  325  containment, including, but not limited to, case management.
  326  From the funds specified in subparagraphs (d)1. and 2. for
  327  indigent health care services, service providers shall receive
  328  reimbursement at a Medicaid rate to be determined by the
  329  governing board, agency, or authority created pursuant to this
  330  paragraph for the initial emergency room visit, and a per-member
  331  per-month fee or capitation for those members enrolled in their
  332  service area, as compensation for the services rendered
  333  following the initial emergency visit. Except for provisions of
  334  emergency services, upon determination of eligibility,
  335  enrollment shall be deemed to have occurred at the time services
  336  were rendered. The provisions for specific reimbursement of
  337  emergency services shall be repealed on July 1, 2001, unless
  338  otherwise reenacted by the Legislature. The capitation amount or
  339  rate shall be determined prior to program implementation by an
  340  independent actuarial consultant. In no event shall such
  341  reimbursement rates exceed the Medicaid rate. The plan must also
  342  provide that any hospitals owned and operated by government
  343  entities on or after the effective date of this act must, as a
  344  condition of receiving funds under this subsection, afford
  345  public access equal to that provided under s. 286.011 as to any
  346  meeting of the governing board, agency, or authority the subject
  347  of which is budgeting resources for the retention of charity
  348  care, as that term is defined in the rules of the Agency for
  349  Health Care Administration. The plan shall also include
  350  innovative health care programs that provide cost-effective
  351  alternatives to traditional methods of service and delivery
  352  funding.
  353         3. The plan’s benefits shall be made available to all
  354  county residents currently eligible to receive health care
  355  services as indigents or medically poor as defined in paragraph
  356  (4)(d).
  357         4. Eligible residents who participate in the health care
  358  plan shall receive coverage for a period of 12 months or the
  359  period extending from the time of enrollment to the end of the
  360  current fiscal year, per enrollment period, whichever is less.
  361         5. At the end of each fiscal year, the governing board,
  362  agency, or authority shall prepare an audit that reviews the
  363  budget of the plan, delivery of services, and quality of
  364  services, and makes recommendations to increase the plan’s
  365  efficiency. The audit shall take into account participant
  366  hospital satisfaction with the plan and assess the amount of
  367  poststabilization patient transfers requested, and accepted or
  368  denied, by the county public general hospital.
  369         (f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a
  370  county may not levy local option sales surtaxes authorized in
  371  this subsection and subsections (2) and (3) in excess of a
  372  combined rate of 1 percent.
  373         (6) SCHOOL CAPITAL OUTLAY SURTAX.—
  374         (a) The school board in each county may levy, pursuant to
  375  resolution conditioned to take effect only upon approval by a
  376  majority vote of the electors of the county, as set forth in
  377  subsection (9), voting in a referendum, a discretionary sales
  378  surtax at a rate that may not exceed 0.5 percent.
  379         (7) VOTER-APPROVED INDIGENT CARE SURTAX.—
  380         (a)1. The governing body in each county that has a
  381  population of fewer than 800,000 residents may levy an indigent
  382  care surtax pursuant to an ordinance conditioned to take effect
  383  only upon approval by a majority vote of the electors of the
  384  county, as set forth in subsection (9), voting in a referendum.
  385  The surtax may be levied at a rate not to exceed 0.5 percent,
  386  except that if a publicly supported medical school is located in
  387  the county, the rate shall not exceed 1 percent.
  388         2. Notwithstanding subparagraph 1., the governing body of
  389  any county that has a population of fewer than 50,000 residents
  390  may levy an indigent care surtax pursuant to an ordinance
  391  conditioned to take effect only upon approval by a majority vote
  392  of the electors of the county, as set forth in subsection (9),
  393  voting in a referendum. The surtax may be levied at a rate not
  394  to exceed 1 percent.
  395         (8) EMERGENCY FIRE RESCUE SERVICES AND FACILITIES SURTAX.—
  396         (b) Upon the adoption of the ordinance, the levy of the
  397  surtax must be placed on the ballot by the governing authority
  398  of the county enacting the ordinance. The ordinance will take
  399  effect if approved by a majority of the electors of the county,
  400  as set forth in subsection (9), voting in a referendum held for
  401  such purpose. The referendum shall be placed on the ballot of a
  402  regularly scheduled election. The ballot for the referendum must
  403  conform to the requirements of s. 101.161.
  404         (9) DATES FOR REFERENDA; VOTER APPROVAL THRESHOLDS.-A
  405  referendum to adopt or amend a local government discretionary
  406  sales surtax under this section may not be held during a special
  407  election. A referendum under this section held at a presidential
  408  preference primary election as provided in s. 103.101 or at a
  409  primary election as defined by s. 97.021 requires the approval
  410  of at least 60 percent of the voters voting on the ballot
  411  question for passage. A referendum under this section held at a
  412  general election as defined by s. 97.021 requires the approval
  413  of a majority of the voters voting on the ballot question for
  414  passage.
  415         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.