| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to Broward County; providing legislative |
| 3 | findings; authorizing municipalities in Broward County to |
| 4 | levy special assessments to fund law enforcement services; |
| 5 | providing for a reduction in ad valorem assessments when a |
| 6 | law enforcement special assessment is levied pursuant to |
| 7 | this act; providing an effective date. |
| 8 |
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| 9 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Section 1. Legislative findings.-Broward County is the |
| 12 | second most populous county in the state with 31 municipalities |
| 13 | within the county and little unincorporated area within the |
| 14 | developed portion of the county. Law enforcement is a vital |
| 15 | municipal service as it protects both persons and property from |
| 16 | crime. In urban areas such as Broward County, property crimes, |
| 17 | including burglary, vandalism, trespassing, arson, and others |
| 18 | have a dramatic impact on property owners and the value of real |
| 19 | property. Law enforcement services work to prevent these |
| 20 | significant property crimes, and thus prevent the loss of |
| 21 | property values and use. Moreover, after a property crime |
| 22 | occurs, law enforcement efforts to solve such crimes prevents |
| 23 | additional property crimes from occurring in the community. |
| 24 | Finally, law enforcement provides protection for unoccupied |
| 25 | properties and prevents additional losses to property owners, |
| 26 | especially in times of economic distress. As a result, the |
| 27 | Legislature finds that there is a logical relationship between |
| 28 | law enforcement services attributable to the protection of real |
| 29 | property and the prevention of real property crimes and the |
| 30 | benefit to real property. |
| 31 | Section 2. A municipality in Broward County may fund the |
| 32 | costs of law enforcement services, in whole or in part, through |
| 33 | the levy of a law enforcement services special assessment |
| 34 | provided that the governing body of the municipality: |
| 35 | (1) Adopts a law enforcement services assessment ordinance |
| 36 | that authorizes the special assessment, requires that it be |
| 37 | levied by resolution each year, and apportions such assessable |
| 38 | costs among the property based on a methodology that charges a |
| 39 | parcel in reasonable proportion to its benefits. |
| 40 | (2) In the initial year of implementation, reduces its |
| 41 | total ad valorem tax revenue, as projected for the upcoming |
| 42 | fiscal year and calculated as if there were no law enforcement |
| 43 | services assessment, by an amount equal to the amount of the law |
| 44 | enforcement services assessment, except that no municipality |
| 45 | shall be required to reduce its millage rate by more than 75 |
| 46 | percent; thereafter, such assessment shall be increased only in |
| 47 | the same manner as ad valorem revenue is permitted to be |
| 48 | increased pursuant to section 200.065, Florida Statutes. The |
| 49 | initial reduction in ad valorem tax revenue shall be limited to |
| 50 | no more than 50 percent if the implementing resolution is |
| 51 | adopted by a extraordinary majority vote of the governing body. |
| 52 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |