Florida Senate - 2019                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for HB 5
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì498526EÎ498526                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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                Floor: 2/RE/2R         .                                
             05/03/2019 11:18 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. This act shall take effect January 1, 2020.
  126  
  127  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  128  And the title is amended as follows:
  129         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  130  and insert:
  131                        A bill to be entitled                      
  132         An act relating to ballot measures; amending s.
  133         212.055, F.S.; providing that a referendum to adopt or
  134         amend a local discretionary sales surtax must be held
  135         at a general election; requiring a petition sponsor of
  136         an initiative to adopt a charter county and regional
  137         transportation system surtax to comply with specified
  138         requirements within a specified timeframe before the
  139         proposed referendum; requiring a county to make the
  140         proposed referendum and a specified legal opinion
  141         available on its official website; requiring the
  142         Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
  143         Accountability, upon receiving a certain notice, to
  144         procure a certified public accountant for a
  145         performance audit; requiring a supervisor of elections
  146         to verify petition signatures and retain signature
  147         forms in a specified manner; providing that an
  148         initiative sponsor’s failure to comply with the
  149         specified requirements renders any referendum held
  150         void; revising requirements and procedures for
  151         counties, school districts, and the office relating to
  152         performance audits; providing that the failure to
  153         comply with certain requirements renders any
  154         referendum held to adopt a discretionary sales surtax
  155         void; providing an effective date.