Florida Senate - 2026                             CS for SB 1102
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senator Massullo
       
       
       
       
       
       578-02730-26                                          20261102c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to funding for body cameras; amending
    3         s. 212.055, F.S.; revising the definition of the term
    4         “infrastructure” to include body cameras in
    5         circumstances; providing applicability; providing an
    6         effective date.
    7          
    8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
    9  
   10         Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section
   11  212.055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   12         212.055 Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent;
   13  authorization and use of proceeds.—It is the legislative intent
   14  that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales
   15  surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a
   16  subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the
   17  levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties
   18  authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the
   19  maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the
   20  procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if
   21  required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended;
   22  and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide.
   23  Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as
   24  provided in s. 212.054.
   25         (2) LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE SURTAX.—
   26         (d) The proceeds of the surtax authorized by this
   27  subsection and any accrued interest shall be expended by the
   28  school district, within the county and municipalities within the
   29  county, or, in the case of a negotiated joint county agreement,
   30  within another county, to finance, plan, and construct
   31  infrastructure; to acquire any interest in land for public
   32  recreation, conservation, or protection of natural resources or
   33  to prevent or satisfy private property rights claims resulting
   34  from limitations imposed by the designation of an area of
   35  critical state concern; to provide loans, grants, or rebates to
   36  residential or commercial property owners who make energy
   37  efficiency improvements to their residential or commercial
   38  property, if a local government ordinance authorizing such use
   39  is approved by referendum; or to finance the closure of county
   40  owned or municipally owned solid waste landfills that have been
   41  closed or are required to be closed by order of the Department
   42  of Environmental Protection. Any use of the proceeds or interest
   43  for purposes of landfill closure before July 1, 1993, is
   44  ratified. The proceeds and any interest may not be used for the
   45  operational expenses of infrastructure, except that a county
   46  that has a population of fewer than 75,000 and that is required
   47  to close a landfill may use the proceeds or interest for long
   48  term maintenance costs associated with landfill closure.
   49  Counties, as defined in s. 125.011, and charter counties may, in
   50  addition, use the proceeds or interest to retire or service
   51  indebtedness incurred for bonds issued before July 1, 1987, for
   52  infrastructure purposes, and for bonds subsequently issued to
   53  refund such bonds. Any use of the proceeds or interest for
   54  purposes of retiring or servicing indebtedness incurred for
   55  refunding bonds before July 1, 1999, is ratified.
   56         1. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term
   57  “infrastructure” means:
   58         a. Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay
   59  associated with the construction, reconstruction, or improvement
   60  of public facilities that have a life expectancy of 5 or more
   61  years, any related land acquisition, land improvement, design,
   62  and engineering costs, and all other professional and related
   63  costs required to bring the public facilities into service. For
   64  purposes of this sub-subparagraph, the term “public facilities”
   65  means facilities as defined in s. 163.3164(41), s. 163.3221(13),
   66  or s. 189.012(5), and includes facilities that are necessary to
   67  carry out governmental purposes, including, but not limited to,
   68  fire stations, general governmental office buildings, and animal
   69  shelters, regardless of whether the facilities are owned by the
   70  local taxing authority or another governmental entity.
   71         b. A fire department vehicle, an emergency medical service
   72  vehicle, a sheriff’s office vehicle, a police department
   73  vehicle, or any other vehicle, and the equipment necessary to
   74  outfit the vehicle for its official use or equipment that has a
   75  life expectancy of at least 5 years.
   76         c. Any expenditure for the construction, lease, or
   77  maintenance of, or provision of utilities or security for,
   78  facilities, as defined in s. 29.008.
   79         d. Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay
   80  associated with the improvement of private facilities that have
   81  a life expectancy of 5 or more years and that the owner agrees
   82  to make available for use on a temporary basis as needed by a
   83  local government as a public emergency shelter or a staging area
   84  for emergency response equipment during an emergency officially
   85  declared by the state or by the local government under s.
   86  252.38. Such improvements are limited to those necessary to
   87  comply with current standards for public emergency evacuation
   88  shelters. The owner must enter into a written contract with the
   89  local government providing the improvement funding to make the
   90  private facility available to the public for purposes of
   91  emergency shelter at no cost to the local government for a
   92  minimum of 10 years after completion of the improvement, with
   93  the provision that the obligation will transfer to any
   94  subsequent owner until the end of the minimum period.
   95         e. Any land acquisition expenditure for a residential
   96  housing project in which at least 30 percent of the units are
   97  affordable to individuals or families whose total annual
   98  household income does not exceed 120 percent of the area median
   99  income adjusted for household size, if the land is owned by a
  100  local government or by a special district that enters into a
  101  written agreement with the local government to provide such
  102  housing. The local government or special district may enter into
  103  a ground lease with a public or private person or entity for
  104  nominal or other consideration for the construction of the
  105  residential housing project on land acquired pursuant to this
  106  sub-subparagraph.
  107         f. Instructional technology used solely in a school
  108  district’s classrooms. As used in this sub-subparagraph, the
  109  term “instructional technology” means an interactive device that
  110  assists a teacher in instructing a class or a group of students
  111  and includes the necessary hardware and software to operate the
  112  interactive device. The term also includes support systems in
  113  which an interactive device may mount and is not required to be
  114  affixed to the facilities.
  115         g.Equipment, software, and storage necessary to allow a
  116  law enforcement agency to begin, or continue, the use of body
  117  cameras under s. 943.1718.
  118         2. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term “energy
  119  efficiency improvement” means any energy conservation and
  120  efficiency improvement that reduces consumption through
  121  conservation or a more efficient use of electricity, natural
  122  gas, propane, or other forms of energy on the property,
  123  including, but not limited to, air sealing; installation of
  124  insulation; installation of energy-efficient heating, cooling,
  125  or ventilation systems; installation of solar panels; building
  126  modifications to increase the use of daylight or shade;
  127  replacement of windows; installation of energy controls or
  128  energy recovery systems; installation of electric vehicle
  129  charging equipment; installation of systems for natural gas fuel
  130  as defined in s. 206.9951; and installation of efficient
  131  lighting equipment.
  132         3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection,
  133  a local government infrastructure surtax imposed or extended
  134  after July 1, 1998, may allocate up to 15 percent of the surtax
  135  proceeds for deposit into a trust fund within the county’s
  136  accounts created for the purpose of funding economic development
  137  projects having a general public purpose of improving local
  138  economies, including the funding of operational costs and
  139  incentives related to economic development. The ballot statement
  140  must indicate the intention to make an allocation under the
  141  authority of this subparagraph.
  142         4. Surtax revenues that are shared with eligible charter
  143  schools pursuant to paragraph (c) shall be allocated among such
  144  schools based on each school’s proportionate share of total
  145  school district capital outlay full-time equivalent enrollment
  146  as adopted by the education estimating conference established in
  147  s. 216.136. Surtax revenues must be expended by the charter
  148  school in a manner consistent with the allowable uses provided
  149  in s. 1013.62(4). All revenues and expenditures shall be
  150  accounted for in a charter school’s monthly or quarterly
  151  financial statement pursuant to s. 1002.33(9). If a school’s
  152  charter is not renewed or is terminated and the school is
  153  dissolved under the provisions of law under which the school was
  154  organized, any unencumbered funds received under this paragraph
  155  shall revert to the sponsor.
  156         Section 2. The amendment made by this act to s.
  157  212.055(2)(d), Florida Statutes, authorizing additional uses of
  158  surtax proceeds applies to a surtax in effect on the date this
  159  act becomes a law only to the extent such use was authorized in
  160  the original referendum adopting the surtax or is authorized
  161  pursuant to a subsequent resolution conditioned to take effect
  162  only upon approval of a majority vote of the electors of the
  163  county voting in a referendum.
  164         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.