Bill Text: FL S1090 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Energy Economic Zone Program
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2017-05-05 - Died in Commerce and Tourism [S1090 Detail]
Download: Florida-2017-S1090-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2017 SB 1090 By Senator Clemens 31-00841A-17 20171090__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to the Energy Economic Zone Program; 3 amending s. 377.809, F.S.; specifying that the Energy 4 Economic Zone Program is no longer a pilot program and 5 shall be administered by the Department of Economic 6 Opportunity; correcting a cross-reference; deleting a 7 provision that required the department to consult with 8 the Department of Transportation in implementing the 9 program; deleting a requirement that at least one 10 application be selected for the program; deleting 11 obsolete provisions; deleting a provision specifying 12 that certain residency requirements be based on 13 residency in the economic zone; providing an effective 14 date. 15 16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 17 18 Section 1. Section 377.809, Florida Statutes, is amended to 19 read: 20 377.809 Energy Economic ZonePilotProgram.— 21 (1) The Department of Economic Opportunity,in consultation22with the Department of Transportation,shall administer the 23implement anEnergy Economic ZonePilotProgramfor the purpose24of developing a modelto help communities cultivate green 25 economic development, encourage renewable electric energy 26 generation, manufacture products that contribute to energy 27 conservation and green jobs, and further implement chapter 2008 28 191, Laws of Florida, relative to discouraging sprawl and 29 developing energy-efficient land use patterns and greenhouse gas 30 reduction strategies. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer 31 Services shall provide technical assistance to the department 32departmentsindeveloping andadministering the program. 33 (2)(a) The application for an Energy Economic Zone 34 designation musta pilot projectshall: 35 1. Identify the proposed location of the energy economic 36 zone, which must be within an adopted urban service area and may 37 include a county landfill outside the urban service boundary; 38 2. Present a proposed strategic plan for development and 39 redevelopment in the energy economic zone; 40 3. Demonstrate consistency of the strategic plan with the 41 local comprehensive plan or include proposed plan amendments 42 necessary to achieve consistency; and 43 4. Identify comprehensive plan amendments that will be 44 proposed to implement chapter 2008-191, Laws of Florida. 45 (b) The strategic plan under subparagraph(a)2.subparagraph46(a)1.must include mixed-use and form-based standards that 47 integrate multimodal transportation facilities with land use and 48 development patterns to reduce reliance on automobiles, 49 encourage certified green building developments and renewable 50 energy systems, encourage creation of green jobs, and 51 demonstrate how local financial and regulatory incentives will 52 be used in the energy economic zone. 53 (c) The Department of Economic Opportunity shall grant the 54 Energy Economic Zone designationat least one applicationif the 55 application meets the requirements of this subsection and the 56 community has demonstrated a prior commitment to energy 57 conservation, carbon reduction, green building, and economic 58 development. The Department of Economic Opportunity shall 59 provide the designatedpilotcommunity, including businesses 60 within the energy economic zone, with technical assistance in 61 identifying and qualifying for eligible grants and credits in 62 job creation, energy, and other areas. 63(3) The Department of Economic Opportunity shall submit a64report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the65Speaker of the House of Representatives by February 15, 2015,66evaluating whether the pilot program has demonstrated success.67The report shall contain recommendations with regard to whether68the program should be expanded for use by other local69governments and whether state policies should be revised to70encourage the goals of the program.71 (3)(a)(4)(a)Beginning July 1, 2012,All the incentives and 72 benefits provided for in this subsection are only available to 73 theenterprise zones pursuant to state law shall be available to74the energy economic zones designated pursuant to this section on75or before July 1, 2010. In order to provide incentives, by March761, 2012,eachlocal governing body that has jurisdiction over an 77 energy economic zone and that hasmust, by local ordinance, 78 establishedestablishthe boundary of the energy economic zone,79specify applicable energy-efficiency standards,and determined 80determineeligibility criteria for the application of state and 81 local incentives and benefits in the energy economic zone. 82 However, in order to receive benefits provided under s. 288.106, 83 a business must be a qualified target industry business under s. 84 288.106 for state purposes. An energy economic zone’s boundary 85 may be revised by local ordinance. Such incentives and benefits 86 include those in ss. 212.08, 212.096, 220.181, 220.182, 220.183, 87 288.106, and 624.5105 and the public utility discounts provided 88 in s. 290.007(8). The exemption provided in s. 212.08(5)(c) 89 shall be for renewable energy as defined in s. 377.803.For90purposes of this section, any applicable requirements for91employee residency for higher refund or credit thresholds must92be based on employee residency in the energy economic zone or an93enterprise zone.A business in an energy economic zone may also 94 be eligible for funding under ss. 288.047 and 445.003, and a 95 transportation project in an energy economic zone shall be 96 provided priority in funding under s. 339.2821. Other projects 97 shall be given priority ranking to the extent practicable for 98 grants administered under state energy programs. 99 (b)Effective July 1, 2012,The total amount of state 100 credits, refunds, and exemptions that may be provided by the 101 governing body of each energy economic zone to eligible 102 businesses for energy-economic-zone incentives pursuant to 103 paragraph (a) is $300,000 per designated energy economic zone in 104 any state fiscal year. The governing body of an energy economic 105 zone shall disallow a credit or refund for which an application 106 is submitted after the zone’srespective$300,000 limit is 107 reached. If the $300,000 incentive cap is not fully used in any 108 one state fiscal year by an energy economic zone, the unused 109 amount under the cap may be carried forward for up to 5 years. 110 The local governing body that has jurisdiction over the energy 111 economic zone is responsible for allocating the incentives, for 112 verifying that businesses receiving such incentives are eligible 113 for the incentives provided, and for ensuring that the 114 incentives provided do not exceed the cap for the state fiscal 115 year. 116 (c) Upon approving an incentive for an eligible business, 117 the governing body that has jurisdiction over the energy 118 economic zone shall provide the taxpayer with a certificate 119 indicating the name and federal identification number of the 120 eligible business, the date the incentive is provided, the name 121 of the energy economic zone, the incentive type, and the 122 incentive amount. The local governing body shall certify to the 123 Department of Revenue or the Department of Economic Opportunity, 124 whichever is applicable, which businesses or properties are 125 eligible to receive any or all of the state incentives according 126 to their statutory requirements. The governing body that has 127 jurisdiction over the energy economic zone shall provide a copy 128 of the certificate to the Department of Revenue and the 129 Department of Economic Opportunity as notification that such 130 incentives were approved for the specific eligible business or 131 property. For incentives to be claimed against the sales and use 132 tax under chapter 212, the Department of Revenue shall send, 133 within 14 days after receipt, written instructions to an 134 eligible business on how to claim the credit on a sales and use 135 tax return initiated through an electronic data interchange. Any 136 credit against the sales and use tax shall be deducted from any 137 sales and use tax remitted by the dealer to the Department of 138 Revenue by electronic funds transfer and may be deducted only on 139 a sales and use tax return initiated through an electronic data 140 interchange. The dealer shall separately state the credit on the 141 electronic return. The net amount of tax due and payable must be 142 remitted by electronic funds transfer. If the credit exceeds the 143 amount owed on the sales and use tax return, such excess amount 144 may be carried forward for a period not to exceed 12 months 145 after the date that the credit is initially claimed. 146 (d) If all conditions are deemed met, the Department of 147 Economic Opportunity and the Department of Revenue may adopt 148 emergency rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to 149 administer this subsection. The emergency rules shall remain in 150 effect for 6 months after the rules are adopted, and the rules 151 may be renewed while the procedures to adopt permanent rules 152 addressing the subject of the emergency rules are pending. 153 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.