Florida Senate - 2018 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. CS for SB 1450 Ì9067626Î906762 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House Comm: RCS . 02/14/2018 . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development (Steube) recommended the following: 1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 2 3 Delete everything after the enacting clause 4 and insert: 5 Section 1. Section 212.099, Florida Statutes, is created to 6 read: 7 212.099 Sales tax refund for eligible job training 8 organizations.— 9 (1) As used in this section, the term: 10 (a) “Eligible job training organization” means an 11 organization that: 12 1. Is an exempt organization under s. 501(c)(3) of the 13 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; 14 2. Provides job training and employment services to low 15 income persons, as defined in s. 420.0004(11), individuals who 16 have workplace disadvantages, or individuals with barriers to 17 employment; and 18 3. Is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of 19 Rehabilitation Facilities. 20 (b) “Growth in employment hours” means the growth in the 21 number of hours worked by employees at the eligible job training 22 organization in the most recently completed state fiscal year 23 compared with the number of hours worked by employees at the 24 eligible job training organization in the state fiscal year 25 immediately prior to the most recently completed state fiscal 26 year. 27 (c) “Job training and employment services” means programs 28 and services that are provided to improve job readiness, assist 29 workers in gaining employment and adapting to the changing labor 30 market, and achieve worker success through self-sufficiency. 31 (2) An eligible job training organization is entitled to a 32 refund of 10 percent of the sales tax remitted to the department 33 during the most recently completed state fiscal year on its 34 sales of goods donated to the organization. The organization 35 must reserve the refund exclusively for use in any of the 36 following: 37 (a) Growth in employment hours; 38 (b) Job training and employment services to low-income 39 persons, as defined in s. 420.0004(11), individuals who have 40 workplace disadvantages, and individuals with barriers to 41 employment; or 42 (c) Job training and employment services for veterans. 43 (3) The total amount of refunds that the department may 44 issue under this section may not exceed $2 million in any state 45 fiscal year. Refunds must be granted on a first-come, first 46 served basis. 47 (4) An eligible job training organization seeking a refund 48 under this section must first submit an application to the 49 Department of Economic Opportunity by July 15, which sets forth 50 that the organization meets the requirements under paragraph 51 (1)(a) and that the refund will be used exclusively for the 52 purposes listed in subsection (2). The organization must submit 53 supporting information as prescribed by the Department of 54 Economic Opportunity by rule. 55 (5)(a) The Department of Economic Opportunity must verify 56 the application and notify the organization of its determination 57 within 15 days of receiving a complete application. The decision 58 of the Department of Economic Opportunity must be in writing or, 59 if agreed to by the applicant, electronic mail. 60 (b) If the Department of Economic Opportunity makes a 61 determination to approve the application, then the notice sent 62 to the eligible job training organization must include a 63 certification that the organization is eligible to receive a 64 refund of certain sales and use tax remitted under this chapter. 65 The Department of Economic Opportunity shall transmit a copy of 66 the notice and certification, if applicable, to the department. 67 (c) Upon the Department of Economic Opportunity’s issuance 68 of a certification, such certification remains in effect so long 69 as the eligible job training organization is in compliance with 70 the requirements of this section. 71 (6) An eligible job training organization certified under 72 this section must apply to the department between August 1 and 73 August 31 of each year to receive a refund. The first time that 74 an organization submits an application for a refund to the 75 department the application must be accompanied by a copy of the 76 certification. Subsequent applications by an organization do not 77 need to include the certification. The organization must submit 78 any information required by the department as part of the 79 application for the refund. 80 (7) For purposes of this section, an eligible job training 81 organization comprised of commonly owned and controlled entities 82 is deemed to be a single organization. 83 (8) By August 1 following each state fiscal year in which 84 an eligible job training organization received a refund pursuant 85 to subsection (2), the organization must provide a report to the 86 Department of Economic Opportunity about the use of such funds 87 as required in subsection (2). The report must include at least 88 all of the following: 89 (a) The amount of the refund used to create growth in 90 employment hours. 91 (b) The total growth in employment hours. 92 (c) The amount of the refund used for job training and 93 employment services. 94 (d) The number of individuals who participated in job 95 training and employment services at the eligible job training 96 organization. 97 (e) A statement declaring that the eligible job training 98 organization continues to meet the requirements of this section. 99 (9) Administration.— 100 (a) The Department of Economic Opportunity may adopt rules 101 to administer this section, including rules for the approval and 102 disapproval of applications. 103 (b) If the Department of Economic Opportunity determines 104 that an eligible job training organization no longer qualifies 105 for the refund under this section, the Department of Economic 106 Opportunity must notify the department immediately. The 107 department may not issue a refund after receiving such 108 notification. 109 (c) Notwithstanding s. 95.091(3)(a)6.b., the department may 110 audit any refund within 4 years after the date of which a refund 111 is granted. The overpayment of a refund or a refund issued to an 112 ineligible organization is subject to repayment and interest at 113 the rate calculated pursuant to s. 213.235. 114 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018. 115 116 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 117 And the title is amended as follows: 118 Delete everything before the enacting clause 119 and insert: 120 A bill to be entitled 121 An act relating to a sales tax refund for eligible job 122 training organizations; creating s. 212.099, F.S.; 123 providing definitions; authorizing eligible 124 organizations to receive a refund of a specified 125 amount of certain sales taxes collected if such amount 126 is used for certain purposes; specifying the annual 127 maximum allowable tax refund for such organizations; 128 providing requirements for receiving the refund; 129 authorizing the Department of Economic Opportunity to 130 certify organizations; authorizing the Department of 131 Revenue to audit, within a certain timeframe, any 132 refund issued; providing the applicable interest rate 133 on overpayments and payments to ineligible 134 organizations; providing that an eligible organization 135 comprised of commonly owned and controlled entities is 136 a single organization; requiring eligible 137 organizations to provide a report to the Department of 138 Economic Opportunity; providing an effective date.