Bill Text: FL S0786 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Discretionary Sales Surtaxes

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Failed) 2014-05-02 - Died in Transportation [S0786 Detail]

Download: Florida-2014-S0786-Introduced.html

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       Florida Senate - 2014                                     SB 786
       
       
        
       By Senator Latvala
       
       
       
       
       
       20-00826-14                                            2014786__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to discretionary sales surtaxes;
    3         amending s. 212.055, F.S.; revising the uses of the
    4         proceeds of the local government infrastructure surtax
    5         to include the maintenance of transportation
    6         infrastructure; authorizing a county to levy a
    7         homeless services and facilities surtax; defining
    8         “homeless services” and “homeless facilities”;
    9         requiring an ordinance, referendum, and voter
   10         approval; providing an effective date.
   11          
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13  
   14         Section 1. Paragraphs (d) and (h) of subsection (2) of
   15  section 212.055, Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection
   16  (9) is added to that section, to read:
   17         212.055 Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent;
   18  authorization and use of proceeds.—It is the legislative intent
   19  that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales
   20  surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a
   21  subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the
   22  levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties
   23  authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the
   24  maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the
   25  procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if
   26  required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended;
   27  and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide.
   28  Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as
   29  provided in s. 212.054.
   30         (2) LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE SURTAX.—
   31         (d) The proceeds of the surtax authorized by this
   32  subsection and any accrued interest shall be expended by the
   33  school district, within the county and municipalities within the
   34  county, or, in the case of a negotiated joint county agreement,
   35  within another county, to finance, plan, and construct
   36  infrastructure; to acquire land for public recreation,
   37  conservation, or protection of natural resources; to provide
   38  loans, grants, or rebates to residential or commercial property
   39  owners who make energy efficiency improvements to their
   40  residential or commercial property, if a local government
   41  ordinance authorizing such use is approved by referendum; or to
   42  finance the closure of county-owned or municipally owned solid
   43  waste landfills that have been closed or are required to be
   44  closed by order of the Department of Environmental Protection.
   45  Any use of the proceeds or interest for purposes of landfill
   46  closure before July 1, 1993, is ratified. The proceeds and any
   47  interest may not be used for the operational expenses of
   48  infrastructure, except that a county may use the proceeds or
   49  interest for the maintenance of transportation infrastructure if
   50  the local government ordinance authorizing such use is approved
   51  by referendum as provided in this subsection, and a county that
   52  has a population of fewer than 75,000 and that is required to
   53  close a landfill may use the proceeds or interest for long-term
   54  maintenance costs associated with landfill closure. Counties, as
   55  defined in s. 125.011, and charter counties may, in addition,
   56  use the proceeds or interest to retire or service indebtedness
   57  incurred for bonds issued before July 1, 1987, for
   58  infrastructure purposes, and for bonds subsequently issued to
   59  refund such bonds. Any use of the proceeds or interest for
   60  purposes of retiring or servicing indebtedness incurred for
   61  refunding bonds before July 1, 1999, is ratified.
   62         1. As used in For the purposes of this paragraph, the term
   63  “infrastructure” means:
   64         a. A Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay
   65  associated with the construction, reconstruction, or improvement
   66  of public facilities that have a life expectancy of 5 or more
   67  years and any related land acquisition, land improvement,
   68  design, and engineering costs.
   69         b. A fire department vehicle, an emergency medical services
   70  service vehicle, a sheriff’s office vehicle, a police department
   71  vehicle, or any other vehicle, and the equipment necessary to
   72  outfit the vehicle for its official use or equipment that has a
   73  life expectancy of at least 5 years.
   74         c. An Any expenditure for the construction, lease, or
   75  maintenance of, or provision of utilities or security for,
   76  facilities, as defined in s. 29.008.
   77         d. A Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay
   78  associated with the improvement of private facilities that have
   79  a life expectancy of 5 or more years and that the owner agrees
   80  to make available for use on a temporary basis as needed by a
   81  local government as a public emergency shelter or a staging area
   82  for emergency response equipment during an emergency officially
   83  declared by the state or by the local government under s.
   84  252.38. Such improvements are limited to those necessary to
   85  comply with current standards for public emergency evacuation
   86  shelters. The owner must enter into a written contract with the
   87  local government providing the improvement funding to make the
   88  private facility available to the public for purposes of
   89  emergency shelter at no cost to the local government for a
   90  minimum of 10 years after completion of the improvement, which
   91  includes a with the provision that the obligation will transfer
   92  to a any subsequent owner until the end of the minimum period.
   93         e. A Any land acquisition expenditure for a residential
   94  housing project in which at least 30 percent of the units are
   95  affordable to individuals or families whose total annual
   96  household income does not exceed 120 percent of the area median
   97  income adjusted for household size, if the land is owned by a
   98  local government or by a special district that enters into a
   99  written agreement with the local government to provide such
  100  housing. The local government or special district may enter into
  101  a ground lease with a public or private person or entity for
  102  nominal or other consideration for the construction of the
  103  residential housing project on land acquired pursuant to this
  104  sub-subparagraph.
  105         2. As used in For the purposes of this paragraph, the term
  106  “energy efficiency improvement” means an any energy conservation
  107  and efficiency improvement that reduces energy consumption
  108  through conservation or a more efficient use of electricity,
  109  natural gas, propane, or other forms of energy on the property,
  110  including, but not limited to, air sealing; installation of
  111  insulation; installation of energy-efficient heating, cooling,
  112  or ventilation systems; installation of solar panels; building
  113  modifications to increase the use of daylight or shade;
  114  replacement of windows; installation of energy controls or
  115  energy recovery systems; installation of electric vehicle
  116  charging equipment; installation of systems for natural gas fuel
  117  as defined in s. 206.9951; and installation of efficient
  118  lighting equipment.
  119         3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection,
  120  a local government infrastructure surtax imposed or extended
  121  after July 1, 1998, may allocate up to 15 percent of the surtax
  122  proceeds for deposit into a trust fund within the county’s
  123  accounts created for the purpose of funding economic development
  124  projects having a general public purpose of improving local
  125  economies, including the funding of operational costs and
  126  incentives related to economic development. The ballot statement
  127  must indicate the intention to make an allocation under the
  128  authority of this subparagraph.
  129         (h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a
  130  county may shall not levy local option sales surtaxes authorized
  131  under in this subsection and subsections (3), (4), and (5), and
  132  (9) in excess of a combined rate of 1 percent.
  133         (9) HOMELESS SERVICES AND FACILITIES SURTAX.—The governing
  134  authority of a county may, by ordinance, levy a discretionary
  135  sales surtax of up to 0.5 percent for homeless services and
  136  facilities within the county as provided in this subsection.
  137         (a) As used in this subsection, the term:
  138         1. “Homeless facilities” includes, but is not limited to,
  139  the purchase and construction or renovation of sites to serve as
  140  central points of access, homeless housing, emergency housing,
  141  and supportive housing.
  142         2. “Homeless services” includes, but is not limited to,
  143  outreach, intake, assessment, case management, homeless
  144  prevention, emergency and supportive housing, temporary medical
  145  respite, housing vouchers, transportation assistance, job
  146  readiness, job coaching, job development and placement, and
  147  homeless data management.
  148         (b) The ordinance adopted by the governing authority
  149  providing for the imposition of the surtax must also include a
  150  plan for providing services to qualified homeless residents.
  151         (c) Upon the adoption of the ordinance, the levy of the
  152  surtax shall be placed on the ballot of a regularly scheduled
  153  election by the governing authority enacting the ordinance. A
  154  statement that includes a brief description of the purposes to
  155  be funded by the surtax and conforms to the requirements of s.
  156  101.161 must be included in the ballot. The ordinance shall take
  157  effect if approved by a majority of the electors of the county
  158  voting in a referendum held for such purpose.
  159         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.