Florida Senate - 2019                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for HB 5
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì262082ÈÎ262082                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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                Floor: 2/RE/2R         .                                
             05/02/2019 10:48 AM       .                                
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       Senator Brandes moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Substitute for Amendment (530804) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    5  and insert:
    6         Section 1. Present subsection (10) of section 212.055,
    7  Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (11) and
    8  amended, a new subsection (10) is added to that section, and
    9  paragraph (c) of subsection (1), paragraph (b) of subsection
   10  (5), and paragraph (b) of subsection (8) are amended, to read:
   11         212.055 Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent;
   12  authorization and use of proceeds.—It is the legislative intent
   13  that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales
   14  surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a
   15  subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the
   16  levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties
   17  authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the
   18  maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the
   19  procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if
   20  required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended;
   21  and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide.
   22  Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as
   23  provided in s. 212.054.
   24         (1) CHARTER COUNTY AND REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
   25  SURTAX.—
   26         (c)1. The proposal to adopt a discretionary sales surtax as
   27  provided in this subsection and to create a trust fund within
   28  the county accounts shall be placed on the ballot in accordance
   29  with law and must be approved in a referendum held at a general
   30  election in accordance with subsection (10) at a time to be set
   31  at the discretion of the governing body.
   32         2. If the proposal to adopt a surtax is by initiative, the
   33  petition sponsor must, at least 180 days before the proposed
   34  referendum, comply with all of the following:
   35         a. Provide a copy of the final resolution or ordinance to
   36  the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
   37  Accountability. The Office of Program Policy Analysis and
   38  Government Accountability shall procure a certified public
   39  accountant in accordance with subsection (11) for the
   40  performance audit.
   41         b. File the initiative petition and its required valid
   42  signatures with the supervisor of elections. The supervisor of
   43  elections shall verify signatures and retain signature forms in
   44  the same manner as required for initiatives under s. 100.371(3).
   45         3. The failure of an initiative sponsor to comply with the
   46  requirements of subparagraph 2. renders any referendum held
   47  void.
   48         (5) COUNTY PUBLIC HOSPITAL SURTAX.—Any county as defined in
   49  s. 125.011(1) may levy the surtax authorized in this subsection
   50  pursuant to an ordinance either approved by extraordinary vote
   51  of the county commission or conditioned to take effect only upon
   52  approval by a majority vote of the electors of the county voting
   53  in a referendum. In a county as defined in s. 125.011(1), for
   54  the purposes of this subsection, “county public general
   55  hospital” means a general hospital as defined in s. 395.002
   56  which is owned, operated, maintained, or governed by the county
   57  or its agency, authority, or public health trust.
   58         (b) If the ordinance is conditioned on a referendum, the
   59  proposal to adopt the county public hospital surtax shall be
   60  placed on the ballot in accordance with subsection (10) law at a
   61  time to be set at the discretion of the governing body. The
   62  referendum question on the ballot shall include a brief general
   63  description of the health care services to be funded by the
   64  surtax.
   65         (8) EMERGENCY FIRE RESCUE SERVICES AND FACILITIES SURTAX.—
   66         (b) Upon the adoption of the ordinance, the levy of the
   67  surtax must be placed on the ballot by the governing authority
   68  of the county enacting the ordinance. The ordinance will take
   69  effect if approved by a majority of the electors of the county
   70  voting in a referendum held for such purpose. The referendum
   71  shall be placed on the ballot of a general regularly scheduled
   72  election. The ballot for the referendum must conform to the
   73  requirements of s. 101.161.
   74         (10) DATES FOR REFERENDA.—A referendum to adopt or amend a
   75  local government discretionary sales surtax under this section
   76  must be held at a general election as defined in s. 97.021.
   77         (11)(10) PERFORMANCE AUDIT.—
   78         (a) For any referendum held on or after March 23, 2018, To
   79  adopt a discretionary sales surtax under this section, an
   80  independent certified public accountant licensed pursuant to
   81  chapter 473 shall conduct a performance audit of the program
   82  associated with the proposed surtax adoption proposed by the
   83  county or school district.
   84         (b)1.At least 180 days before the referendum is held, the
   85  county or school district shall provide a copy of the final
   86  resolution or ordinance to the Office of Program Policy Analysis
   87  and Government Accountability.
   88         2. Within 30 days after receiving the final resolution or
   89  ordinance, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
   90  Accountability shall procure the certified public accountant and
   91  may use carryforward funds to pay for the services of the
   92  certified public accountant.
   93         3.(b) At least 60 days before the referendum is held, the
   94  performance audit must shall be completed and the audit report,
   95  including any findings, recommendations, or other accompanying
   96  documents, must shall be made available on the official website
   97  of the county or school district.
   98         4. The county or school district shall keep the information
   99  on its website for 2 years from the date it was posted.
  100         5. The failure to comply with the requirements under
  101  subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 3. renders any referendum held
  102  to adopt a discretionary sales surtax void.
  103         (c) For purposes of this subsection, the term “performance
  104  audit” means an examination of the program conducted according
  105  to applicable government auditing standards or auditing and
  106  evaluation standards of other appropriate authoritative bodies.
  107  At a minimum, a performance audit must include an examination of
  108  issues related to the following:
  109         1. The economy, efficiency, or effectiveness of the
  110  program.
  111         2. The structure or design of the program to accomplish its
  112  goals and objectives.
  113         3. Alternative methods of providing program services or
  114  products.
  115         4. Goals, objectives, and performance measures used by the
  116  program to monitor and report program accomplishments.
  117         5. The accuracy or adequacy of public documents, reports,
  118  and requests prepared by the county or school district which
  119  relate to the program.
  120         6. Compliance of the program with appropriate policies,
  121  rules, and laws.
  122         (d) This subsection does not apply to a referendum held to
  123  adopt the same discretionary surtax that was in place during the
  124  month of December immediately before the date of the referendum.
  125         Section 2. Subsection (6) is added to section 336.02,
  126  Florida Statutes, to read:
  127         336.02 Responsibility for county road system; approval of
  128  maps of reservation.—
  129         (6) Notwithstanding any general law or special act, the
  130  ordinances, resolutions, or regulations of any municipality or
  131  special district, including any instrumentality thereof, do not
  132  apply to any transportation use, including any existing or
  133  future transportation facilities, structures, or appurtenances
  134  thereto, on the State Highway System as defined in s.
  135  334.03(24), the county road system as defined in s. 334.03(8),
  136  or the city street system as defined in s. 334.03(3),
  137  constructed, operated, or maintained, in whole or in part, with
  138  discretionary sales surtax funds levied pursuant to s.
  139  212.055(1) in a charter county whose buildable land area is at
  140  least 80 percent incorporated area and includes at least 25
  141  municipalities. This limitation includes the design,
  142  construction, erection, alteration, modification, repair, or
  143  demolition of any public transportation buildings or structures,
  144  and the governing body of the county levying the discretionary
  145  sales surtax shall be responsible for the review of all plans,
  146  specifications, and inspections required for the issuance of any
  147  permits pursuant to s. 553.79.
  148         Section 3. This act shall take effect January 1, 2020.
  149  
  150  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  151  And the title is amended as follows:
  152         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  153  and insert:
  154                        A bill to be entitled                      
  155         An act relating to ballot measures; amending s.
  156         212.055, F.S.; providing that a referendum to adopt or
  157         amend a local discretionary sales surtax must be held
  158         at a general election; requiring a petition sponsor of
  159         an initiative to adopt a charter county and regional
  160         transportation system surtax to comply with specified
  161         requirements within a specified timeframe before the
  162         proposed referendum; requiring a county to make the
  163         proposed referendum and a specified legal opinion
  164         available on its official website; requiring the
  165         Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
  166         Accountability, upon receiving a certain notice, to
  167         procure a certified public accountant for a
  168         performance audit; requiring a supervisor of elections
  169         to verify petition signatures and retain signature
  170         forms in a specified manner; providing that an
  171         initiative sponsor’s failure to comply with the
  172         specified requirements renders any referendum held
  173         void; revising requirements and procedures for
  174         counties, school districts, and the office relating to
  175         performance audits; providing that the failure to
  176         comply with certain requirements renders any
  177         referendum held to adopt a discretionary sales surtax
  178         void; amending s. 336.02, F.S.; providing that the
  179         ordinances, resolutions, or regulations of any
  180         municipality or special district do not apply to any
  181         transportation use on certain highways, roads, or
  182         streets funded in whole or in part with certain
  183         discretionary sales surtaxes in specified charter
  184         counties; providing an effective date.