Florida Senate - 2020                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for SB 666
       
       
       
       
       
       
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                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/27/2020           .                                
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       The Committee on Rules (Mayfield) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with directory and title amendments)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 93 - 150
    4  and insert:
    5  shall have experience in finance be bankers who have been
    6  selected by the Governor from a list of bankers who were
    7  nominated by Enterprise Florida, Inc., and one of the directors
    8  shall have experience in be an economic development specialist.
    9         (3)(a)1. A director may not receive compensation for his or
   10  her services, but is entitled to necessary expenses, including
   11  travel expenses, incurred in the discharge of his or her duties.
   12  Each appointed director shall hold office until his or her
   13  successor has been appointed.
   14         2. Directors are subject to ss. 112.313(1)-(8), (10), (12),
   15  and (15); 112.3135; and 112.3143(2). For purposes of applying
   16  ss. 112.313(1)-(8), (10), (12), and (15); 112.3135; and
   17  112.3143(2) to activities of directors, directors shall be
   18  considered public officers and the corporation shall be
   19  considered their agency.
   20         (b) The powers of the corporation shall be exercised by the
   21  directors thereof. A majority of the directors constitutes a
   22  quorum for the purposes of conducting business and exercising
   23  the powers of the corporation and for all other purposes.
   24  Meetings of the directors may be conducted by teleconference.
   25  Action may be taken by the corporation upon a vote of a majority
   26  of the directors present, unless in any case the bylaws require
   27  a larger number. Any person may be appointed as director if he
   28  or she resides, or is engaged in business, which means owning a
   29  business, practicing a profession, or performing a service for
   30  compensation or serving as an officer or director of a
   31  corporation or other business entity so engaged, within the
   32  state.
   33         (c) The directors of the corporation shall annually elect,
   34  by a majority vote, one of their members as chair and one as
   35  vice chair. The corporation may employ a president, technical
   36  experts, and such other agents and employees, permanent and
   37  temporary, as it requires and determine their qualifications,
   38  duties, and compensation. For such legal services as it
   39  requires, the corporation may employ or retain its own counsel
   40  and legal staff.
   41         (4) The board may remove an appointed a director for
   42  inefficiency, neglect of duty, or misconduct in office. Such
   43  director may be removed only after a hearing and only if he or
   44  she has been given a copy of the charges at least 10 days before
   45  such hearing and has had an opportunity to be heard in person or
   46  by counsel. The removal of a director shall create a vacancy on
   47  the board which shall be filled pursuant to subsection (2).
   48         (5)This section is repealed July 1, 2023, and July 1 of
   49  every fourth year thereafter, unless reviewed and saved from
   50  repeal by the Legislature.
   51         Section 1. In order to implement the changes made by this
   52  act to s. 288.9604, Florida Statutes, the chair and vice chair
   53  of the board of directors of the Florida Development Finance
   54  Corporation as of June 30, 2020, shall serve as regular members
   55  beginning July 1, 2020. Nothing in this act may be construed to
   56  affect the terms of the directors serving on the board on July
   57  1, 2020.
   58         Section 2. Subsection (3) is added to section 288.9605,
   59  Florida Statutes, to read:
   60         288.9605 Corporation powers.—
   61         (3) Documents, agreements, and instruments executed by the
   62  corporation may be executed and delivered in accordance with the
   63  Electronic Signature Act of 1996.
   64         Section 3. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 288.9606,
   65  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   66         288.9606 Issue of revenue bonds.—
   67         (1) When authorized by a public agency pursuant to s.
   68  163.01(7), the corporation has power in its corporate capacity,
   69  in its discretion, to issue revenue bonds or other evidences of
   70  indebtedness which a public agency has the power to issue, from
   71  time to time to finance the undertaking of any purpose of this
   72  act, including, without limiting the generality thereof, the
   73  payment of principal and interest upon any advances for surveys
   74  and plans or preliminary loans, and has the power to issue
   75  refunding bonds for the payment or retirement of bonds
   76  previously issued. Bonds issued pursuant to this section shall
   77  bear the name “Florida Development Finance Corporation Revenue
   78  Bonds.” The security for such bonds may be based upon such
   79  revenues as are legally available. In anticipation of the sale
   80  of such revenue bonds, the corporation may issue bond
   81  anticipation notes and may renew such notes from time to time,
   82  but the maximum maturity of any such note, including renewals
   83  thereof, may not exceed 5 years from the date of issuance of the
   84  original note. Such notes shall be paid from any revenues of the
   85  corporation available therefor and not otherwise pledged or from
   86  the proceeds of sale of the revenue bonds in anticipation of
   87  which they were issued. Any bond, note, or other form of
   88  indebtedness issued pursuant to this act may not exceed 35 years
   89  from their respective dates of issuance shall mature no later
   90  than the end of the 30th fiscal year after the fiscal year in
   91  which the bond, note, or other form of indebtedness was issued.
   92         (2) Bonds issued under this section do not constitute an
   93  indebtedness within the meaning of any constitutional or
   94  statutory debt limitation or restriction, and are not subject to
   95  the provisions of any other law or charter relating to the
   96  authorization, issuance, or sale of bonds. Bonds issued under
   97  the provisions of this act are declared to be for an essential
   98  public and governmental purpose. Bonds issued under this act,
   99  the interest on which is exempt from income taxes of the United
  100  States, together with interest thereon and income therefrom, are
  101  exempted from all taxes, except those taxes imposed by chapter
  102  220, on interest, income, or profits on debt obligations owned
  103  by corporations, pursuant to s. 159.31. Bonds issued under this
  104  part are not a debt, liability, or obligation of the state or
  105  any subdivision thereof, or a pledge of faith and credit of the
  106  corporation or of the state or of any such political subdivision
  107  thereof, but are payable solely from the revenues provided
  108  therefor. Each bond issued under this part shall contain on the
  109  face thereof a statement to the effect that the corporation is
  110  not obligated to pay the same or interest thereon from the
  111  revenues and proceeds pledged therefor, and that the faith and
  112  credit or the taxing power of the corporation or of the state or
  113  of any political subdivision thereof is not pledged to the
  114  payment of the principal of or the interest on such bonds.
  115         Section 4. Section 288.9610, Florida Statutes, is amended
  116  to read:
  117         288.9610 Annual reports of Florida Development Finance
  118  Corporation.—On or before 90 days after the close of the Florida
  119  Development Finance Corporation’s fiscal year, the corporation
  120  shall submit to the Governor, the Legislature, the Auditor
  121  General, the Department of Economic Opportunity, and the
  122  governing body of each public entity for which the corporation
  123  issues revenue bonds pursuant to s. 288.9606 or with which it
  124  has entered into an interlocal agreement a complete and detailed
  125  report setting forth:
  126         (1) The results of any audit conducted pursuant to s.
  127  11.45.
  128         (2) The activities, operations, and accomplishments of the
  129  Florida Development Finance Corporation, including the number of
  130  businesses assisted by the corporation.
  131         (3) Its assets, liabilities, income, and operating expenses
  132  at the end of its most recent fiscal year, including a
  133  description of all of its outstanding revenue bonds.
  134         Section 5. Section 288.9619, Florida Statutes, is created
  135  to read:
  136         288.9619Conflicts of interest.—If any director has a
  137  direct or indirect interest associated with any party to an
  138  application on which the corporation has taken or will take
  139  action in exercising its power for the issuance of revenue bonds
  140  or other evidences of indebtedness, such interest must be
  141  publicly disclosed to the corporation and set forth in the
  142  minutes of the corporation. The director that has such interest
  143  may not participate in any action by the corporation with
  144  respect to such party and application.
  145  
  146  ====== D I R E C T O R Y  C L A U S E  A M E N D M E N T ======
  147  And the directory clause is amended as follows:
  148         Delete lines 74 - 75
  149  and insert:
  150         Section 6. Subsections (2), (3), and (4) of section
  151  288.9604, Florida
  152  
  153  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  154  And the title is amended as follows:
  155         Delete lines 22 - 28
  156  and insert:
  157         conforming changes; authorizing meetings of the
  158         directors to be conducted by teleconference; providing
  159         for future repeals; requiring the chair and vice chair
  160         of the board of directors of the corporation to serve
  161         as regular members of the board after a specified
  162         date; providing construction; amending s. 288.9605,
  163         F.S.; providing for the electronic execution and
  164         delivery of certain documents executed by the
  165         corporation; amending s. 288.9606, F.S.; prohibiting
  166         certain bonds, notes, and other forms of indebtedness
  167         from exceeding a specified amount of time; specifying
  168         that certain bonds are payable solely from certain
  169         revenues; providing requirements for such bonds;
  170         amending s. 288.9610, F.S.; revising the entities to
  171         which the corporation is required to submit an annual
  172         report containing specified information; creating s.
  173         288.9619, F.S.; requiring that certain conflicts of
  174         interest be publicly disclosed to the corporation and
  175         set forth in the corporation’s minutes; prohibiting a
  176         director with a conflict of interest from taking
  177         certain actions; providing an