Bill Text: FL S1898 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Tourist Development Taxes

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2022-03-14 - Died in Commerce and Tourism [S1898 Detail]

Download: Florida-2022-S1898-Introduced.html

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       Florida Senate - 2022                                    SB 1898
       
       
        
       By Senator Farmer
       
       
       
       
       
       34-01726-22                                           20221898__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to tourist development taxes; amending
    3         s. 125.0104, F.S.; removing a provision requiring a
    4         specified percentage of all tourist development tax
    5         revenues to be used to promote and advertise tourism;
    6         providing an effective date.
    7          
    8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
    9  
   10         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section
   11  125.0104, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   12         125.0104 Tourist development tax; procedure for levying;
   13  authorized uses; referendum; enforcement.—
   14         (5) AUTHORIZED USES OF REVENUE.—
   15         (a) All tax revenues received pursuant to this section by a
   16  county imposing the tourist development tax shall be used by
   17  that county for the following purposes only:
   18         1. To acquire, construct, extend, enlarge, remodel, repair,
   19  improve, maintain, operate, or promote one or more:
   20         a. Publicly owned and operated convention centers, sports
   21  stadiums, sports arenas, coliseums, or auditoriums within the
   22  boundaries of the county or subcounty special taxing district in
   23  which the tax is levied;
   24         b. Auditoriums that are publicly owned but are operated by
   25  organizations that are exempt from federal taxation pursuant to
   26  26 U.S.C. s. 501(c)(3) and open to the public, within the
   27  boundaries of the county or subcounty special taxing district in
   28  which the tax is levied; or
   29         c. Aquariums or museums that are publicly owned and
   30  operated or owned and operated by not-for-profit organizations
   31  and open to the public, within the boundaries of the county or
   32  subcounty special taxing district in which the tax is levied;
   33         2. To promote zoological parks that are publicly owned and
   34  operated or owned and operated by not-for-profit organizations
   35  and open to the public;
   36         3. To promote and advertise tourism in this state and
   37  nationally and internationally; however, if tax revenues are
   38  expended for an activity, service, venue, or event, the
   39  activity, service, venue, or event must have as one of its main
   40  purposes the attraction of tourists as evidenced by the
   41  promotion of the activity, service, venue, or event to tourists;
   42         4. To fund convention bureaus, tourist bureaus, tourist
   43  information centers, and news bureaus as county agencies or by
   44  contract with the chambers of commerce or similar associations
   45  in the county, which may include any indirect administrative
   46  costs for services performed by the county on behalf of the
   47  promotion agency;
   48         5. To finance beach park facilities, or beach, channel,
   49  estuary, or lagoon improvement, maintenance, renourishment,
   50  restoration, and erosion control, including construction of
   51  beach groins and shoreline protection, enhancement, cleanup, or
   52  restoration of inland lakes and rivers to which there is public
   53  access as those uses relate to the physical preservation of the
   54  beach, shoreline, channel, estuary, lagoon, or inland lake or
   55  river. However, any funds identified by a county as the local
   56  matching source for beach renourishment, restoration, or erosion
   57  control projects included in the long-range budget plan of the
   58  state’s Beach Management Plan, pursuant to s. 161.091, or funds
   59  contractually obligated by a county in the financial plan for a
   60  federally authorized shore protection project may not be used or
   61  loaned for any other purpose. In counties of fewer than 100,000
   62  population, up to 10 percent of the revenues from the tourist
   63  development tax may be used for beach park facilities; or
   64         6. To acquire, construct, extend, enlarge, remodel, repair,
   65  improve, maintain, operate, or finance public facilities within
   66  the boundaries of the county or subcounty special taxing
   67  district in which the tax is levied, if the public facilities
   68  are needed to increase tourist-related business activities in
   69  the county or subcounty special district and are recommended by
   70  the county tourist development council created pursuant to
   71  paragraph (4)(e). Tax revenues may be used for any related land
   72  acquisition, land improvement, design and engineering costs, and
   73  all other professional and related costs required to bring the
   74  public facilities into service. As used in this subparagraph,
   75  the term “public facilities” means major capital improvements
   76  that have a life expectancy of 5 or more years, including, but
   77  not limited to, transportation, sanitary sewer, solid waste,
   78  drainage, potable water, and pedestrian facilities. Tax revenues
   79  may be used for these purposes only if the following conditions
   80  are satisfied:
   81         a. In the county fiscal year immediately preceding the
   82  fiscal year in which the tax revenues were initially used for
   83  such purposes, at least $10 million in tourist development tax
   84  revenue was received;
   85         b. The county governing board approves the use for the
   86  proposed public facilities by a vote of at least two-thirds of
   87  its membership;
   88         c. No more than 70 percent of the cost of the proposed
   89  public facilities will be paid for with tourist development tax
   90  revenues, and sources of funding for the remaining cost are
   91  identified and confirmed by the county governing board; and
   92         d. At least 40 percent of all tourist development tax
   93  revenues collected in the county are spent to promote and
   94  advertise tourism as provided by this subsection; and
   95         e. An independent professional analysis, performed at the
   96  expense of the county tourist development council, demonstrates
   97  the positive impact of the infrastructure project on tourist
   98  related businesses in the county.
   99  
  100  Subparagraphs 1. and 2. may be implemented through service
  101  contracts and leases with lessees that have sufficient expertise
  102  or financial capability to operate such facilities.
  103         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.