Florida Senate - 2018                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS/HB 7087, 1st Eng.
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì469030vÎ469030                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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                 Floor: WD/2R          .                                
             03/08/2018 03:01 PM       .                                
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       Senator Brandes moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Between lines 362 and 363
    4  insert:
    5         Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section
    6  125.0104, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
    7         125.0104 Tourist development tax; procedure for levying;
    8  authorized uses; referendum; enforcement.—
    9         (5) AUTHORIZED USES OF REVENUE.—
   10         (a) All tax revenues received pursuant to this section by a
   11  county imposing the tourist development tax shall be used by
   12  that county only after conducting an objective analysis of the
   13  proposed use of revenue which determines the long-term economic
   14  benefits to the county or subcounty special taxing district from
   15  incremental tourism will exceed the tax revenues expended, and
   16  shall be used for the following purposes only:
   17         1. To acquire, construct, extend, enlarge, remodel, repair,
   18  improve, maintain, operate, or promote one or more:
   19         a. Publicly owned and operated convention centers, sports
   20  stadiums, sports arenas, coliseums, or auditoriums within the
   21  boundaries of the county or subcounty special taxing district in
   22  which the tax is levied;
   23         b. Auditoriums that are publicly owned but are operated by
   24  organizations that are exempt from federal taxation pursuant to
   25  26 U.S.C. s. 501(c)(3) and open to the public, within the
   26  boundaries of the county or subcounty special taxing district in
   27  which the tax is levied; or
   28         c. Aquariums or museums that are publicly owned and
   29  operated or owned and operated by not-for-profit organizations
   30  and open to the public, within the boundaries of the county or
   31  subcounty special taxing district in which the tax is levied;
   32         2. To promote zoological parks that are publicly owned and
   33  operated or owned and operated by not-for-profit organizations
   34  and open to the public;
   35         3. To promote and advertise tourism in this state and
   36  nationally and internationally; however, if tax revenues are
   37  expended for an activity, service, venue, or event, the
   38  activity, service, venue, or event must have as one of its main
   39  purposes the attraction of tourists as evidenced by the
   40  promotion of the activity, service, venue, or event to tourists;
   41         4. To fund convention bureaus, tourist bureaus, tourist
   42  information centers, and news bureaus as county agencies or by
   43  contract with the chambers of commerce or similar associations
   44  in the county, which may include any indirect administrative
   45  costs for services performed by the county on behalf of the
   46  promotion agency; or
   47         5. To finance beach park facilities, or beach, channel,
   48  estuary, or lagoon improvement, maintenance, renourishment,
   49  restoration, and erosion control, including construction of
   50  beach groins and shoreline protection, enhancement, cleanup, or
   51  restoration of inland lakes and rivers to which there is public
   52  access as those uses relate to the physical preservation of the
   53  beach, shoreline, channel, estuary, lagoon, or inland lake or
   54  river. However, any funds identified by a county as the local
   55  matching source for beach renourishment, restoration, or erosion
   56  control projects included in the long-range budget plan of the
   57  state’s Beach Management Plan, pursuant to s. 161.091, or funds
   58  contractually obligated by a county in the financial plan for a
   59  federally authorized shore protection project may not be used or
   60  loaned for any other purpose. In counties of fewer than 100,000
   61  population, up to 10 percent of the revenues from the tourist
   62  development tax may be used for beach park facilities; or.
   63         6.To acquire, construct, extend, enlarge, remodel, repair,
   64  improve, maintain, operate, or finance public facilities within
   65  the boundaries of the county or subcounty special taxing
   66  district in which the tax is levied, if the public facilities
   67  are needed to increase tourist-related business activities in
   68  the county or subcounty special district and are recommended by
   69  the county tourist development council created pursuant to
   70  paragraph (4)(e). Tax revenues may be used for any related land
   71  acquisition, land improvement, design and engineering costs, and
   72  all other professional and related costs required to bring the
   73  public facilities into service. As used in this subparagraph,
   74  the term “public facilities” means major capital improvements
   75  that have a life expectancy of 5 or more years, including, but
   76  not limited to, transportation, sanitary sewer, solid waste,
   77  drainage, potable water, and pedestrian facilities. Tax revenues
   78  may be used for these purposes only if the following conditions
   79  are satisfied:
   80         a.In the county fiscal year immediately preceding the
   81  fiscal year in which the tax revenues were initially used for
   82  such purposes, at least $10 million in tourist development tax
   83  revenue was received;
   84         b.The county governing board approves the use for the
   85  proposed public facilities by a vote of at least two-thirds of
   86  its membership;
   87         c.No more than 70 percent of the cost of the proposed
   88  public facilities will be paid for with tourist development tax
   89  revenues, and sources of funding for the remaining cost are
   90  identified and confirmed by the county governing board; and
   91         d.An independent professional analysis, performed at the
   92  expense of the county tourist development council, demonstrates
   93  the positive impact of the infrastructure project on tourist
   94  related businesses in the county.
   95  
   96  Subparagraphs 1. and 2. may be implemented through service
   97  contracts and leases with lessees that have sufficient expertise
   98  or financial capability to operate such facilities.
   99  
  100  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  101  And the title is amended as follows:
  102         Delete line 6
  103  and insert:
  104         Revenue Trust Fund; amending s. 125.0104, F.S.; adding
  105         a requirement to conduct a certain analysis before a
  106         county that imposes the tourist development tax may
  107         use the tax revenues for authorized purposes;
  108         authorizing counties imposing the tax to use the tax
  109         revenues to finance channel, estuary, or lagoon
  110         improvements; authorizing such counties to use the tax
  111         revenues for the construction of beach groins;
  112         authorizing counties imposing the tax to use the tax
  113         revenues, under certain circumstances and subject to
  114         certain conditions and restrictions, for specified
  115         purposes and costs relating to public facilities;
  116         defining the term “public facilities”; specifying
  117         circumstances under which the tax revenues may be
  118         expended for such public facilities; amending s.
  119         159.621, F.S.;