Florida Senate - 2012                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 368
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 493442                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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                Floor: 1/AD/2R         .                                
             01/10/2012 03:53 PM       .                                
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       Senator Gaetz moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 24 - 136
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 218.39, Florida
    6  Statutes, is amended to read:
    7         218.39 Annual financial audit reports.—
    8         (5) At the conclusion of the audit, the auditor shall
    9  discuss with the chair of the governing body of the local
   10  governmental entity or the chair’s designee, the elected
   11  official of each county agency or the elected official’s
   12  designee, the chair of the district school board or the chair’s
   13  designee, the chair of the board of the charter school or the
   14  chair’s designee, or the chair of the board of the charter
   15  technical career center or the chair’s designee, as appropriate,
   16  all of the auditor’s comments that will be included in the audit
   17  report. If the officer is not available to discuss the auditor’s
   18  comments, their discussion is presumed when the comments are
   19  delivered in writing to his or her office. The auditor shall
   20  notify each member of the governing body of a local governmental
   21  entity, district school board, charter school, or charter
   22  technical career center for which:
   23         (a) Deteriorating financial conditions exist that may cause
   24  a condition described in s. 218.503(1) to occur if actions are
   25  not taken to address such conditions.
   26         (b) A fund balance deficit in total or for that portion of
   27  a fund balance not classified as restricted, committed, or
   28  nonspendable, or a total or unrestricted net assets deficit, as
   29  reported on the fund financial statements of entities required
   30  to report under governmental financial reporting standards or on
   31  the basic financial statements of entities required to report
   32  under not-for-profit financial reporting standards, for which
   33  sufficient resources of the local governmental entity, charter
   34  school, charter technical career center, or district school
   35  board, as reported on the fund financial statements, are not
   36  available to cover the deficit. Resources available to cover
   37  reported deficits include fund balance or net assets that are
   38  not otherwise restricted by federal, state, or local laws, bond
   39  covenants, contractual agreements, or other legal constraints.
   40  Property, plant, and equipment, the disposal of which would
   41  impair the ability of a local governmental entity, charter
   42  school, charter technical career center, or district school
   43  board to carry out its functions, are not considered resources
   44  available to cover reported deficits.
   45         Section 2. Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) and subsection
   46  (3) of section 218.503, Florida Statutes, are amended, and
   47  subsection (6) is added to that section, to read:
   48         218.503 Determination of financial emergency.—
   49         (1) Local governmental entities, charter schools, charter
   50  technical career centers, and district school boards shall be
   51  subject to review and oversight by the Governor, the charter
   52  school sponsor, the charter technical career center sponsor, or
   53  the Commissioner of Education, as appropriate, when any one of
   54  the following conditions occurs:
   55         (e) A fund balance deficit in total or for that portion of
   56  a fund balance not classified as restricted, committed, or
   57  nonspendable, or a total or unrestricted net assets deficit, as
   58  reported on the fund financial statements of entities required
   59  to report under governmental financial reporting standards or on
   60  the basic financial statements of entities required to report
   61  under not-for-profit financial reporting standards, for which
   62  sufficient resources of the local governmental entity, charter
   63  school, charter technical career center, or district school
   64  board, as reported on the fund financial statements, are not
   65  available to cover the deficit. Resources available to cover
   66  reported deficits include fund balance or net assets that are
   67  not otherwise restricted by federal, state, or local laws, bond
   68  covenants, contractual agreements, or other legal constraints.
   69  Property, plant, and equipment, the disposal of which would
   70  impair the ability of a local governmental entity, charter
   71  school, charter technical career center, or district school
   72  board to carry out its functions, are not considered resources
   73  available to cover reported deficits.
   74         (3) Upon notification that one or more of the conditions in
   75  subsection (1) have occurred or will occur if action is not
   76  taken to assist the local governmental entity or district school
   77  board, the Governor or his or her designee shall contact the
   78  local governmental entity or the Commissioner of Education or
   79  his or her designee shall contact the district school board to
   80  determine what actions have been taken by the local governmental
   81  entity or the district school board to resolve or prevent the
   82  condition. The information requested must be provided within 45
   83  days after the date of the request. If the local governmental
   84  entity or the district school board does not comply with the
   85  request, the Governor or his or her designee or the Commissioner
   86  of Education or his or her designee shall notify the members of
   87  the Legislative Auditing Committee who may take action pursuant
   88  to s. 11.40. The Governor or the Commissioner of Education, as
   89  appropriate, shall determine whether the local governmental
   90  entity or the district school board needs state assistance to
   91  resolve or prevent the condition. If state assistance is needed,
   92  the local governmental entity or district school board is
   93  considered to be in a state of financial emergency. The Governor
   94  or the Commissioner of Education, as appropriate, has the
   95  authority to implement measures as set forth in ss. 218.50
   96  218.504 to assist the local governmental entity or district
   97  school board in resolving the financial emergency. Such measures
   98  may include, but are not limited to:
   99         (a) Requiring approval of the local governmental entity’s
  100  budget by the Governor or approval of the district school
  101  board’s budget by the Commissioner of Education.
  102         (b) Authorizing a state loan to a local governmental entity
  103  and providing for repayment of same.
  104         (c) Prohibiting a local governmental entity or district
  105  school board from issuing bonds, notes, certificates of
  106  indebtedness, or any other form of debt until such time as it is
  107  no longer subject to this section.
  108         (d) Making such inspections and reviews of records,
  109  information, reports, and assets of the local governmental
  110  entity or district school board as are needed. The appropriate
  111  local officials
  112  
  113  
  114  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  115         And the title is amended as follows:
  116         Delete lines 2 - 15
  117  and insert:
  118         An act relating to financial emergencies; amending s.
  119  218.39, F.S.; requiring the Auditor General to notify each
  120  member of the governing body of a local governmental entity,
  121  district school board, charter school, or charter technical
  122  career center of certain fund balance deficits; amending s.
  123  218.503, F.S.; removing a condition under which local
  124  governmental entities, charter schools, charter technical career
  125  centers, and district school boards are subject to certain
  126  review and oversight by the Governor, the charter school
  127  sponsor, the charter technical career center sponsor, or the
  128  Commissioner of Education; requiring a local governmental entity
  129  or district school board to provide requested information within
  130  a specified period of time; authorizing a financial emergency
  131  board for a local governmental entity or district school board
  132  to consult with other governmental entities for the
  133  consolidation of administrative direction and support services;
  134  authorizing the Governor or Commissioner of Education to require
  135  a local governmental entity or district school board to include
  136  provisions implementing the consolidation, sourcing, or
  137  discontinuance of all administrative direction and support
  138  services in certain plans; providing that the
  139