Florida Senate - 2021                                    SB 1480
       
       
        
       By Senator Brodeur
       
       
       
       
       
       9-01577-21                                            20211480__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Land Acquisition Trust Fund;
    3         amending s. 201.15, F.S.; extending the date by which
    4         bonds issued to fund the Florida Forever Act are
    5         intended to be retired; providing an effective date.
    6          
    7  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
    8  
    9         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
   10  201.15, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   11         201.15 Distribution of taxes collected.—All taxes collected
   12  under this chapter are hereby pledged and shall be first made
   13  available to make payments when due on bonds issued pursuant to
   14  s. 215.618 or s. 215.619, or any other bonds authorized to be
   15  issued on a parity basis with such bonds. Such pledge and
   16  availability for the payment of these bonds shall have priority
   17  over any requirement for the payment of service charges or costs
   18  of collection and enforcement under this section. All taxes
   19  collected under this chapter, except taxes distributed to the
   20  Land Acquisition Trust Fund pursuant to subsections (1) and (2),
   21  are subject to the service charge imposed in s. 215.20(1).
   22  Before distribution pursuant to this section, the Department of
   23  Revenue shall deduct amounts necessary to pay the costs of the
   24  collection and enforcement of the tax levied by this chapter.
   25  The costs and service charge may not be levied against any
   26  portion of taxes pledged to debt service on bonds to the extent
   27  that the costs and service charge are required to pay any
   28  amounts relating to the bonds. All of the costs of the
   29  collection and enforcement of the tax levied by this chapter and
   30  the service charge shall be available and transferred to the
   31  extent necessary to pay debt service and any other amounts
   32  payable with respect to bonds authorized before January 1, 2017,
   33  secured by revenues distributed pursuant to this section. All
   34  taxes remaining after deduction of costs shall be distributed as
   35  follows:
   36         (3) Amounts on deposit in the Land Acquisition Trust Fund
   37  shall be used in the following order:
   38         (a) Payment of debt service or funding of debt service
   39  reserve funds, rebate obligations, or other amounts payable with
   40  respect to Florida Forever bonds issued pursuant to s. 215.618.
   41  The amount used for such purposes may not exceed $300 million in
   42  each fiscal year. It is the intent of the Legislature that all
   43  bonds issued to fund the Florida Forever Act be retired by
   44  December 31, 2054 2040. Except for bonds issued to refund
   45  previously issued bonds, no series of bonds may be issued
   46  pursuant to this paragraph unless such bonds are approved and
   47  the debt service for the remainder of the fiscal year in which
   48  the bonds are issued is specifically appropriated in the General
   49  Appropriations Act or other law with respect to bonds issued for
   50  the purposes of s. 373.4598.
   51  
   52  Bonds issued pursuant to s. 215.618 or s. 215.619 are equally
   53  and ratably secured by moneys distributable to the Land
   54  Acquisition Trust Fund.
   55         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.