Bill Text: FL S1460 | 2011 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Energy Economic Zones

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 2-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-05-07 - Indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration [S1460 Detail]

Download: Florida-2011-S1460-Comm_Sub.html

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       Florida Senate - 2011                      CS for CS for SB 1460
       
       
       
       By the Committees on Communications, Energy, and Public
       Utilities; and Commerce and Tourism; and Senator Bennett
       
       
       
       579-04276-11                                          20111460c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to energy economic zones; amending s.
    3         377.809, F.S.; deleting an obsolete provision;
    4         revising the date by which the Department of Community
    5         Affairs, with the assistance of the Office of Tourism,
    6         Trade, and Economic Development, must submit a report
    7         to the Governor and Legislature evaluating whether the
    8         Energy Economic Zone Pilot Program has demonstrated
    9         success; requiring that all incentives and benefits
   10         provided to enterprise zones be made available to
   11         energy economic zones by a specified date; requiring
   12         each local governing body having jurisdiction over an
   13         energy economic zone to establish boundaries of the
   14         energy economic zone, specify applicable energy
   15         efficiency standards, and determine eligibility
   16         criteria for application of state and local incentives
   17         and benefits; requiring that a business be a qualified
   18         target industry business for state purposes; providing
   19         that boundaries may be revised by local ordinance;
   20         specifying the incentives and benefits; requiring that
   21         applicable requirements for employee residency for
   22         higher refund or credit thresholds be based on
   23         employee residency in the energy economic zone or an
   24         enterprise zone; providing that certain businesses are
   25         eligible for funding and other businesses have
   26         priority for funding; providing a cap on the total
   27         amount of state credits, refunds, and exemptions that
   28         may be provided to eligible businesses for energy
   29         economic-zone incentives; authorizing the unused
   30         amount of a credit to be carried forward for a limited
   31         period; providing that the local governing body having
   32         jurisdiction over the energy economic zone is
   33         responsible for allocating the incentives and
   34         verifying eligibility of businesses to receive
   35         incentives; requiring the governing body to provide
   36         the taxpayer with a certificate indicating
   37         eligibility; requiring the local governing body to
   38         certify to the Department of Revenue or the Office of
   39         Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development which
   40         businesses or properties are eligible to receive state
   41         incentives; requiring the Department of Revenue to
   42         send written instructions to the eligible businesses
   43         on claiming the credit on a sales and use tax return
   44         initiated through an electronic data interchange;
   45         authorizing the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
   46         Development and the Department of Revenue to adopt
   47         emergency rules; providing for renewal of the rules;
   48         amending s. 380.06, F.S.; providing that certain
   49         developments in an energy economic zone are exempt
   50         from review as a development of regional impact;
   51         providing an effective date.
   52  
   53  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   54  
   55         Section 1. Subsection (4) of section 377.809, Florida
   56  Statutes, is amended, and subsections (5) through (8) are added
   57  to that section, to read:
   58         377.809 Energy Economic Zone Pilot Program.—
   59         (4) If the pilot project is ongoing, The Department of
   60  Community Affairs, with the assistance of the Office of Tourism,
   61  Trade, and Economic Development, shall submit a report to the
   62  Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
   63  House of Representatives by February 15, 2015 2012, evaluating
   64  whether the pilot program has demonstrated success. The report
   65  shall contain recommendations with regard to whether the program
   66  should be expanded for use by other local governments and
   67  whether state policies should be revised to encourage the goals
   68  of the program.
   69         (5) Beginning July 1, 2012, all the incentives and benefits
   70  provided to enterprise zones pursuant to state law shall be
   71  available to the energy economic zones designated by July 1,
   72  2010, pursuant to s. 377.809. In order to provide incentives, no
   73  later than March 1, 2012, each local governing body having
   74  jurisdiction over an energy economic zone shall, by local
   75  ordinance, establish boundaries of the energy economic zone,
   76  specify applicable energy-efficiency standards, and determine
   77  eligibility criteria for application of state and local
   78  incentives and benefits in the energy economic zone. However, in
   79  order to receive benefits provided under s. 288.106, a business
   80  must be a qualified target industry business under s. 288.106
   81  for state purposes. Boundaries may be revised by local
   82  ordinance. Such incentives and benefits include those in ss.
   83  220.181, 220.182, 212.08, 220.183, 624.5105, 212.096, and
   84  288.106 and the public utility discounts provided in s.
   85  290.007(8). The exemption provided in s. 212.08(5)(c) shall be
   86  for renewable energy as defined in s. 377.803(4). For purposes
   87  of this section, any applicable requirements for employee
   88  residency for higher refund or credit thresholds shall be based
   89  on employee residency in the energy economic zone or an
   90  enterprise zone. A business in an energy economic zone may also
   91  be eligible for funding under ss. 288.047 and 445.003, and a
   92  transportation project in an energy economic zone shall be
   93  provided priority in funding under s. 288.063. Other projects
   94  shall be given priority ranking to the extent practicable for
   95  grants administered under state energy programs.
   96         (6) Effective July 1, 2012, the total amount of state
   97  credits, refunds, and exemptions that may be provided by the
   98  governing body of each energy economic zone to eligible
   99  businesses for energy-economic-zone incentives pursuant to
  100  subsection (5) is $300,000 per designated energy economic zone
  101  in any state fiscal year. A credit or refund that is applied for
  102  after each $300,000 limit is reached shall be disallowed by the
  103  governing body of the energy economic zone. If the $300,000
  104  incentive cap is not fully used in any one state fiscal year by
  105  an energy economic zone, the unused amount under the cap may be
  106  carried forward for not more than 5 years. The local governing
  107  body having jurisdiction over the energy economic zone is
  108  responsible for allocating the incentives, for verifying that
  109  businesses receiving such incentives are eligible for the
  110  incentives provided, and for ensuring that the incentives
  111  provided do not exceed the cap for the state fiscal year.
  112         (7) Upon approving an incentive for an eligible business,
  113  the governing body having jurisdiction over the energy economic
  114  zone shall provide the taxpayer with a certificate indicating
  115  the eligible businesses’ name, federal identification number,
  116  date the incentive is provided, name of the energy economic
  117  zone, incentive type, and the incentive amount. The local
  118  governing body shall certify to the Department of Revenue or the
  119  Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development, whichever is
  120  applicable, which businesses or properties are eligible to
  121  receive any or all of the state incentives according to their
  122  statutory requirements. The governing body having jurisdiction
  123  over the energy economic zone shall provide a copy of the
  124  certificate to the Department of Revenue and the Office of
  125  Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development as notification that
  126  such incentives were approved for the specific eligible business
  127  or property. For incentives to be claimed against the sales and
  128  use tax under chapter 212, the Department of Revenue shall send,
  129  within 14 days after receipt, written instructions to an
  130  eligible business on how to claim the credit on a sales and use
  131  tax return initiated through an electronic data interchange. Any
  132  credit against the sales and use tax shall be deducted from any
  133  sales and use tax remitted by the dealer to the Department of
  134  Revenue by electronic funds transfer and may be deducted only on
  135  a sales and use tax return initiated through an electronic data
  136  interchange. The dealer shall separately state the credit on the
  137  electronic return. The net amount of tax due and payable must be
  138  remitted by electronic funds transfer. If the credit is larger
  139  than the amount owed on the sales and use tax return, such
  140  excess amounts may be carried forward for a period not to exceed
  141  12 months following the date the credit is initially claimed.
  142         (8) If all conditions are deemed met, the Office of
  143  Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development and the Department of
  144  Revenue may adopt emergency rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and
  145  120.54 to administer the provisions of subsections (5)-(7). The
  146  emergency rules shall remain in effect for 6 months after the
  147  rules are adopted, and the rules may be renewed during the
  148  pendency of procedures to adopt permanent rules addressing the
  149  subject of the emergency rules.
  150         Section 2. Paragraph (u) is added to subsection (24) of
  151  section 380.06, Florida Statutes, to read:
  152         380.06 Developments of regional impact.—
  153         (24) STATUTORY EXEMPTIONS.—
  154         (u) Any development in an energy economic zone designated
  155  pursuant to s. 377.809, shall be exempt from this section upon
  156  approval of its local governing body.
  157  
  158  If a use is exempt from review as a development of regional
  159  impact under paragraphs (a)-(s), but will be part of a larger
  160  project that is subject to review as a development of regional
  161  impact, the impact of the exempt use must be included in the
  162  review of the larger project, unless such exempt use involves a
  163  development of regional impact that includes a landowner,
  164  tenant, or user that has entered into a funding agreement with
  165  the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development under the
  166  Innovation Incentive Program and the agreement contemplates a
  167  state award of at least $50 million.
  168         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.