Florida Senate - 2021 CS for CS for SB 750
By the Committees on Finance and Tax; and Community Affairs; and
Senator Gruters
593-03639-21 2021750c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to impact fees; amending s. 163.31801,
3 F.S.; defining the terms “infrastructure” and “public
4 facilities”; requiring local governments and special
5 districts to credit against the collection of impact
6 fees any contribution that relates to the improvement
7 of public facilities or infrastructure; providing
8 conditions under which credits may not be applied;
9 providing limitations on impact fee increases;
10 providing for retroactive operation; requiring
11 specified entities to submit an affidavit attesting
12 that impact fees were appropriately collected and
13 expended; requiring school districts to report
14 specified information regarding impact fees; providing
15 an effective date.
16
17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19 Section 1. Present subsections (3) through (11) of section
20 163.31801, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (4)
21 through (12), respectively, a new subsection (3) is added to
22 that section, and present subsections (3) through (6) and (11)
23 of that section are amended, to read:
24 163.31801 Impact fees; short title; intent; minimum
25 requirements; audits; challenges.—
26 (3) For purposes of this section, the term:
27 (a) “Infrastructure” means a fixed capital expenditure or
28 fixed capital outlay, excluding the cost of repairs or
29 maintenance, associated with the construction, reconstruction,
30 or improvement of public facilities that have a life expectancy
31 of at least 5 years; related land acquisition, land improvement,
32 design, engineering, and permitting costs; and other related
33 construction costs required to bring the public facility into
34 service. The term also includes a fire department vehicle, an
35 emergency medical service vehicle, a sheriff’s office vehicle, a
36 police department vehicle, a school bus as defined in s.
37 1006.25, and the equipment necessary to outfit the vehicle or
38 bus for its official use. For independent special fire control
39 districts, the term “infrastructure” includes new facilities as
40 defined in s. 191.009(4).
41 (b) “Public facilities” has the same meaning as in s.
42 163.3164 and includes emergency medical, fire, and law
43 enforcement facilities.
44 (4)(3) At a minimum, each local government that adopts and
45 collects an impact fee by ordinance and each special district
46 that adopts, collects, and administers an impact fee by
47 resolution must an impact fee adopted by ordinance of a county
48 or municipality or by resolution of a special district must
49 satisfy all of the following conditions:
50 (a) Ensure that the calculation of the impact fee is must
51 be based on the most recent and localized data.
52 (b) The local government must Provide for accounting and
53 reporting of impact fee collections and expenditures and. If a
54 local governmental entity imposes an impact fee to address its
55 infrastructure needs, the entity must account for the revenues
56 and expenditures of such impact fee in a separate accounting
57 fund.
58 (c) Limit administrative charges for the collection of
59 impact fees must be limited to actual costs.
60 (d) The local government must Provide notice at least not
61 less than 90 days before the effective date of an ordinance or
62 resolution imposing a new or increased impact fee. A local
63 government county or municipality is not required to wait 90
64 days to decrease, suspend, or eliminate an impact fee. Unless
65 the result is to reduce the total mitigation costs or impact
66 fees imposed on an applicant, new or increased impact fees may
67 not apply to current or pending permit applications submitted
68 before the effective date of an ordinance or resolution imposing
69 a new or increased impact fee.
70 (e) Ensure that collection of the impact fee may not be
71 required to occur earlier than the date of issuance of the
72 building permit for the property that is subject to the fee.
73 (f) Ensure that the impact fee is must be proportional and
74 reasonably connected to, or has have a rational nexus with, the
75 need for additional capital facilities and the increased impact
76 generated by the new residential or commercial construction.
77 (g) Ensure that the impact fee is must be proportional and
78 reasonably connected to, or has have a rational nexus with, the
79 expenditures of the funds collected and the benefits accruing to
80 the new residential or nonresidential construction.
81 (h) The local government must Specifically earmark funds
82 collected under the impact fee for use in acquiring,
83 constructing, or improving capital facilities to benefit new
84 users.
85 (i) Ensure that revenues generated by the impact fee are
86 may not be used, in whole or in part, to pay existing debt or
87 for previously approved projects unless the expenditure is
88 reasonably connected to, or has a rational nexus with, the
89 increased impact generated by the new residential or
90 nonresidential construction.
91 (5)(a)(4) Notwithstanding any charter provision,
92 comprehensive plan policy, ordinance, development order,
93 development permit, or resolution, the local government or
94 special district must credit against the collection of the
95 impact fee any contribution, whether identified in a
96 proportionate share agreement or other form of exaction, which
97 relates to the improvement of related to public education
98 facilities or infrastructure, including land dedication, site
99 planning and design, or construction. Any contribution must be
100 applied on a dollar-for-dollar basis at fair market value to
101 reduce any education-based impact fee collected for the general
102 category or class of public facilities or infrastructure for
103 which the contribution was made fees on a dollar-for-dollar
104 basis at fair market value.
105 (b) If a local government or special district does not
106 charge and collect an impact fee for the general category or
107 class of public facility contributed, a credit may not be
108 applied under paragraph (a).
109 (6)(5) A local government, school district, or special
110 district may increase an impact fee only as provided in this
111 subsection.
112 (a) An impact fee may be increased only pursuant to a plan
113 for the imposition, collection, and use of the increased impact
114 fees which complies with this section.
115 (b) An increase to a current impact fee rate of not more
116 than 25 percent of the current rate must be implemented in two
117 equal annual increments beginning with the date on which the
118 increased fee is adopted.
119 (c) An increase to a current impact fee rate which exceeds
120 25 percent but is not more than 50 percent of the current rate
121 must be implemented in four equal installments beginning with
122 the date the increased fee is adopted.
123 (d) An impact fee increase may not exceed 50 percent of the
124 current impact fee rate.
125 (e) An impact fee may not be increased more than once every
126 4 years.
127 (f) An impact fee may not be increased retroactively for a
128 previous or current fiscal or calendar year.
129 (g) Notwithstanding paragraphs (b), (c), (d), or (e), a
130 local government, school district, or special district may
131 increase an impact fee rate by establishing the need for such
132 increase in full compliance with the requirements of subsection
133 (4).
134 (h) If a local government an impact fee is increased
135 increases its impact fee rates, the holder of any impact fee
136 credits, whether such credits are granted under s. 163.3180, s.
137 380.06, or otherwise, which were in existence before the
138 increase, is entitled to the full benefit of the intensity or
139 density prepaid by the credit balance as of the date it was
140 first established.
141 (i) This subsection shall operate retroactively to January
142 1, 2021 prospectively and not retrospectively.
143 (7)(6) A local government, school district, or special
144 district must submit with its annual financial report under s.
145 218.32 or its financial audit report under s. 218.39 an
146 affidavit signed by its chief financial officer attesting that
147 all impact fees were collected and expended by the local
148 government, school district, or special district, or were
149 collected and expended on its behalf, in full compliance with
150 the spending period provision in the local ordinance or
151 resolution, and that funds expended from each impact fee account
152 were used only to acquire, construct, or improve specific
153 infrastructure needs as defined in this section Audits of
154 financial statements of local governmental entities and district
155 school boards which are performed by a certified public
156 accountant pursuant to s. 218.39 and submitted to the Auditor
157 General must include an affidavit signed by the chief financial
158 officer of the local governmental entity or district school
159 board stating that the local governmental entity or district
160 school board has complied with this section.
161 (12)(11) In addition to the items that must be reported in
162 the annual financial reports under s. 218.32, a local
163 government, school district county, municipality, or special
164 district must report all of the following information data on
165 all impact fees charged:
166 (a) The specific purpose of the impact fee, including the
167 specific infrastructure needs to be met, including, but not
168 limited to, transportation, parks, water, sewer, and schools.
169 (b) The impact fee schedule policy describing the method of
170 calculating impact fees, such as flat fees, tiered scales based
171 on number of bedrooms, or tiered scales based on square footage.
172 (c) The amount assessed for each purpose and for each type
173 of dwelling.
174 (d) The total amount of impact fees charged by type of
175 dwelling.
176 (e) Each exception and waiver provided for construction or
177 development of housing that is affordable.
178 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.