| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to Florida ports investments; creating s. |
| 3 | 311.23, F.S.; providing a short title; providing a |
| 4 | purpose; providing definitions; requiring the Office of |
| 5 | Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development to establish the |
| 6 | Florida Ports Investment Corporation; providing authority |
| 7 | and requirements for the corporation; providing for a |
| 8 | board of directors; providing for appointment of board |
| 9 | members; providing for investments by the corporation in |
| 10 | certain port projects; specifying allocations of certain |
| 11 | funds for certain port activities, investments, and |
| 12 | education; providing requirements for capital allocation |
| 13 | and investments; providing requirements for certain |
| 14 | uninvested capital; providing requirements for |
| 15 | investments; providing for a premium tax credit; providing |
| 16 | for carryforward of the credit; providing limitations on |
| 17 | the credit; providing limitations on the amount of tax |
| 18 | credits; providing investment requirements; providing for |
| 19 | transferability of unused credits; authorizing the |
| 20 | corporation and the office to charge certain fees; |
| 21 | providing reporting requirements; authorizing the |
| 22 | Department of Revenue and the office to adopt rules; |
| 23 | providing an effective date. |
| 24 |
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| 25 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 26 |
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| 27 | Section 1. Section 311.23, Florida Statutes, is created to |
| 28 | read: |
| 29 | 311.23 Florida Ports Investment Act.- |
| 30 | (1) SHORT TITLE.-This section may be cited as the "Florida |
| 31 | Ports Investment Act." |
| 32 | (2) PURPOSE.-The primary purpose of this section is to |
| 33 | stimulate a substantial increase in the state's port |
| 34 | infrastructure by providing an incentive for insurance companies |
| 35 | to invest in port activities in this state which, in turn, will |
| 36 | generate investments in new port projects or in expanding port |
| 37 | projects. The increase in investment capital flowing into new or |
| 38 | expanding port activities and businesses is intended to |
| 39 | contribute to employment growth, create jobs that exceed the |
| 40 | average wage for the county in which the jobs are created, and |
| 41 | expand or diversify the economic base of this state. |
| 42 | (3) DEFINITIONS.-As used in this section, the term: |
| 43 | (a) "Corporation" means the Florida Ports Investment |
| 44 | Corporation established by the office under subsection (4). |
| 45 | (b) "Department" means the Department of Financial |
| 46 | Services. |
| 47 | (c) "Investment capital" means an investment of cash by a |
| 48 | participating investor in the corporation in exchange for the |
| 49 | tax credits provided in this section. |
| 50 | (d) "Office" means the Office of Tourism, Trade, and |
| 51 | Economic Development. |
| 52 | (e) "Participating investor" means any insurance company |
| 53 | subject to premium tax liability under s. 624.509 that |
| 54 | contributes investment capital pursuant to this section. |
| 55 | (f) "Premium tax liability" means any liability incurred |
| 56 | by an insurance company under s. 624.509. |
| 57 | (g) "Qualified port project" means the ports listed in s. |
| 58 | 403.021(9)(b) or any associated business or project that uses |
| 59 | those ports for the movement of goods and people, as determined |
| 60 | by the corporation. |
| 61 | (4) FLORIDA PORTS INVESTMENT CORPORATION; CREATION; |
| 62 | AUTHORITY; BOARD OF DIRECTORS.- |
| 63 | (a) The office, in cooperation with the department, shall |
| 64 | establish the Florida Ports Investment Corporation as a |
| 65 | corporation not for profit, to be incorporated under the |
| 66 | provisions of chapter 617 and approved by the Department of |
| 67 | State. The corporation: |
| 68 | 1. May receive, hold, invest, and administer funds and |
| 69 | make expenditures consistent with the purposes of this section. |
| 70 | 2. May make purchases, sales, exchanges, investments, and |
| 71 | reinvestments for and on behalf of the funds received pursuant |
| 72 | to this section. |
| 73 | 3. Shall retain at least one investment advisory company |
| 74 | to assist the corporation in carrying out the provisions of this |
| 75 | section. Any such company must be retained pursuant to the |
| 76 | provisions of s. 287.055 and must have a minimum of 5 years' |
| 77 | experience raising investment capital from similar investors, |
| 78 | with not less than $100 million actually raised from insurance |
| 79 | companies seeking a tax credit similar to that provided by this |
| 80 | section. |
| 81 | (b) The corporation shall be governed by a board of |
| 82 | directors comprised of: |
| 83 | 1. The director of the office. |
| 84 | 2. Two members appointed by the Governor, two members |
| 85 | appointed by the President of the Senate, and two members |
| 86 | appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. |
| 87 | Appointed members must have significant experience in |
| 88 | international business, transportation, law, or logistics. |
| 89 | Appointed members are subject to any restrictions on conflicts |
| 90 | of interest specified in the organizational documents of the |
| 91 | corporation and may not have any interest in any investments |
| 92 | made by the corporation pursuant to subsection (5). Each |
| 93 | appointed member shall be appointed for a term of 4 years. A |
| 94 | vacancy on the board shall be filled by the appointing official |
| 95 | for the member whose vacancy is to be filled or whose term has |
| 96 | expired. An appointed member may be removed by the appointing |
| 97 | official for that member, for cause. Absence from three |
| 98 | consecutive meetings shall result in automatic removal. Any |
| 99 | member is eligible for reappointment. |
| 100 | 3. The chair of the Florida Seaport Transportation and |
| 101 | Economic Development Council shall serve as an ex officio |
| 102 | director of the board. |
| 103 | 4. Members of the board shall serve without compensation, |
| 104 | but may be reimbursed for all reasonable, necessary, and actual |
| 105 | expenses as determined and approved by the board pursuant to s. |
| 106 | 112.061. |
| 107 | (5) INVESTMENTS BY THE CORPORATION IN PORT PROJECTS AND |
| 108 | PORT-RELATED ACTIVITIES.- |
| 109 | (a)1. The corporation shall seek to maintain the state's |
| 110 | advantage in ports and related industries. In order to maintain |
| 111 | that advantage, the corporation shall: |
| 112 | a. Allocate at least 65 percent of the capital received |
| 113 | under this section to on-port activities or infrastructure as |
| 114 | described in s. 315.02(6). |
| 115 | b. Allocate at least 25 percent of the capital received |
| 116 | under this section to off-port activities or infrastructure that |
| 117 | improve the movement and intermodal transportation of cargo or |
| 118 | passengers in commerce and trade and that will support the |
| 119 | interests, purposes, and requirements of ports specified in s. |
| 120 | 403.021(9). |
| 121 | c. Allocate at least 5 percent of the remaining capital |
| 122 | received under this section to education related to ports and |
| 123 | port-related studies under the New Florida Initiative developed |
| 124 | by the Florida Board of Governors of the State University |
| 125 | System. |
| 126 | 2. The capital received under this section shall be |
| 127 | allocated by July 1, 2012, or held in accordance with paragraph |
| 128 | (b). |
| 129 | 3. An individual port project may not consume more than 15 |
| 130 | percent of the total revenues of the corporation's intake. |
| 131 | (b) The corporation shall hold all capital received under |
| 132 | this section that is not invested in qualified port projects and |
| 133 | such capital: |
| 134 | 1. Must be held in a financial institution as defined by |
| 135 | s. 655.005(1)(h) or held by a broker-dealer registered under s. |
| 136 | 517.12. |
| 137 | 2. Must be invested only in: |
| 138 | a. United States Treasury obligations; |
| 139 | b. Certificates of deposit or other obligations, maturing |
| 140 | within 3 years after acquisition of such certificates or |
| 141 | obligations, issued by any financial institution or trust |
| 142 | company incorporated under the laws of the United States; |
| 143 | c. Marketable obligations, maturing within 5 years or less |
| 144 | after the acquisition of such obligations, which are rated "A" |
| 145 | or better by any nationally recognized credit rating agency; or |
| 146 | d. Interests in money market funds, the portfolio of which |
| 147 | is limited to cash and obligations described in sub- |
| 148 | subparagraphs a.-c. |
| 149 | (c) All investment decisions shall be made by the |
| 150 | corporation which must certify that each project is of a |
| 151 | beneficial nature to a port listed in s. 403.021(9)(b), is ready |
| 152 | to proceed within 60 days for design, construction, and |
| 153 | permitting, and will create a lasting economic impact as defined |
| 154 | by the office by rule. Applications for funding by qualified |
| 155 | port projects must be made to the corporation under rules |
| 156 | adopted by the office. |
| 157 | (6) PREMIUM TAX CREDIT; AMOUNT; LIMITATIONS.- |
| 158 | (a) Any participating investor who makes an investment of |
| 159 | investment capital shall earn a vested credit against premium |
| 160 | tax liability equal to 100 percent of the investment capital |
| 161 | invested by the participating investor and such investments may |
| 162 | not be subject to recapture, disallowance, forfeiture, or |
| 163 | reduction. Participating investors shall be entitled to use no |
| 164 | more than 10 percentage points of the vested premium tax credit, |
| 165 | including any carryforward credits under this section, per year |
| 166 | beginning with premium tax filings for calendar year 2012. Any |
| 167 | premium tax credits not used by participating investors in any |
| 168 | single year may be carried forward and applied against the |
| 169 | premium tax liabilities of such investors for subsequent |
| 170 | calendar years. The carryforward credit may be applied against |
| 171 | subsequent premium tax filings through calendar year 2029. |
| 172 | (b) The credit to be applied against premium tax liability |
| 173 | in any single year may not exceed the premium tax liability of |
| 174 | the participating investor for that taxable year. |
| 175 | (c) A participating investor claiming a credit against |
| 176 | premium tax liability earned through an investment in the |
| 177 | corporation is not required to pay any additional retaliatory |
| 178 | tax levied pursuant to s. 624.5091 as a result of claiming such |
| 179 | credit. Because credits under this section are available to a |
| 180 | participating investor, s. 624.5091 does not limit such credit |
| 181 | in any manner. |
| 182 | (d) The amount of tax credits vested under this section |
| 183 | may not be considered in ratemaking proceedings involving a |
| 184 | participating investor. |
| 185 | (7) ANNUAL TAX CREDIT; MAXIMUM AMOUNT.- |
| 186 | (a) The total amount of tax credits which may be allocated |
| 187 | by the office may not exceed $500 million. The total amount of |
| 188 | tax credits which may be used by participating investors under |
| 189 | this section may not exceed $50 million annually. |
| 190 | (b) The office shall be responsible for allocating premium |
| 191 | tax credits as provided for in this section to participating |
| 192 | investors. A participating investor must submit an application |
| 193 | to the office for the tax credit authorized in this section. |
| 194 | (8) TRANSFERABILITY.-Tax credits may be freely transferred |
| 195 | by a participating investor to an affiliate or non-affiliate of |
| 196 | the investor, and all such transfers shall be subject to rules |
| 197 | adopted by the department. |
| 198 | (9) FEES.-The corporation may charge reasonable fees for |
| 199 | administering and processing applications by qualified port |
| 200 | projects for funding pursuant to paragraph (5)(c), and the |
| 201 | office may charge reasonable fees for administering and |
| 202 | processing applications by participating investors for tax |
| 203 | credits pursuant to subsection (7). Any fee charged by the |
| 204 | corporation or office under this subsection for an application |
| 205 | may not exceed the actual cost incurred by the corporation or |
| 206 | office in administering and processing any application for |
| 207 | funding or a tax credit. |
| 208 | (10) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.-The office shall report on an |
| 209 | annual basis to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and |
| 210 | the Speaker of the House of Representatives on or before April |
| 211 | 1: |
| 212 | (a) The total dollar amount received by the corporation |
| 213 | from all participating investors and any other investor, the |
| 214 | identity of the participating investors, and the total amount of |
| 215 | premium tax credit used by each participating investor for the |
| 216 | previous calendar year. |
| 217 | (b) The total dollar amount invested by the corporation in |
| 218 | qualified port projects, the identity and location of those |
| 219 | projects, the amount invested in each qualified port project, |
| 220 | and the total number of permanent, full-time jobs created or |
| 221 | retained by each qualified port project. |
| 222 | (c) The return for the state as a result of the |
| 223 | investments in qualified port projects, including the extent to |
| 224 | which: |
| 225 | 1. Investments have contributed to employment growth. |
| 226 | 2. The wage level of businesses in which the corporation |
| 227 | has invested exceeds the average wage for the county in which |
| 228 | the jobs are located. |
| 229 | 3. The investments of the corporation in qualified port |
| 230 | projects have contributed to expanding or diversifying the |
| 231 | economic base of the state. |
| 232 | (11) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.- |
| 233 | (a) The Department of Revenue may by rule prescribe forms |
| 234 | and procedures for the tax credit filings and audits. |
| 235 | (b) The office may adopt any rules necessary to carry out |
| 236 | its respective duties, obligations, and powers related to the |
| 237 | administration, review, and reporting provisions of this section |
| 238 | and may perform any other acts necessary for the proper |
| 239 | administration and enforcement of such duties, obligations, and |
| 240 | powers. |
| 241 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010. |