Florida Senate - 2025                                    SB 1324
       
       
        
       By Senator Simon
       
       
       
       
       
       3-01995-25                                            20251324__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to fees; amending s. 288.06551, F.S.;
    3         requiring that an application by a rural fund seeking
    4         to have an equity investment certified as a capital
    5         investment for specified tax credits include a
    6         nonrefundable application fee to the Department of
    7         Commerce; providing a contingent effective date.
    8          
    9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   10  
   11         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
   12  288.06551, Florida Statutes, as created by SB 1322, 2025 Regular
   13  Session, is amended to read:
   14         288.06551 Florida Rural Investments Act.—
   15         (2) APPLICATION TO CERTIFY CAPITAL INVESTMENT AS EQUITY
   16  INVESTMENT.—
   17         (a) A rural fund that seeks to have an equity investment
   18  certified as a capital investment eligible for credits
   19  authorized in this act must apply to the department. The
   20  department shall begin accepting applications by October 1,
   21  2025. The application must include:
   22         1. The amount of capital investment requested. With respect
   23  to any one eligible business, the maximum amount of investment
   24  made in such business by one or more rural funds, on a
   25  collective basis with all of the businesses’ affiliates, with
   26  the proceeds of the capital investments is $10 million,
   27  exclusive of investments made with repaid or redeemed
   28  investments or interest or profits realized thereon;
   29         2. A copy of the applicant’s or an affiliate of the
   30  applicant’s licenses as a rural business investment company
   31  under 7 U.S.C. s. 2009cc or as a small business investment
   32  company under 15 U.S.C. s. 681, and a certificate executed by an
   33  executive officer of the applicant attesting that such license
   34  remains in effect and has not been revoked;
   35         3. Evidence that, as of the date the application is
   36  submitted, the applicant or affiliates of the applicant have
   37  invested at least $100 million in nonpublic companies located in
   38  counties within the United States with a population of less than
   39  75,000 according to the 2010 Federal Decennial Census of the
   40  United States; and
   41         4. A business plan that includes a revenue impact
   42  assessment projecting the state and local tax revenue to be
   43  generated by the applicant’s proposed qualified investments,
   44  prepared by a nationally recognized, third-party, independent
   45  economic forecasting firm using a dynamic economic forecasting
   46  model that analyzes the applicant’s business plan over the 10
   47  years after the date the application is submitted to the
   48  department. Such plan must include an estimate of the number of
   49  jobs created and jobs retained in this state as a result of the
   50  applicant’s qualified investments; and
   51         5. A nonrefundable application fee of $5,000 payable to the
   52  department.
   53         Section 2. This act shall take effect on the same date that
   54  SB 1322 or other similar legislation takes effect, if such
   55  legislation is adopted in the same legislative session or an
   56  extension thereof and becomes a law.