Florida Senate - 2019                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for HB 5
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì530804ÃÎ530804                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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       Senator Brandes moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Present subsection (10) of section 212.055,
    6  Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (11) and
    7  amended, a new subsection (10) is added to that section, and
    8  paragraph (c) of subsection (1), paragraph (b) of subsection
    9  (5), and paragraph (b) of subsection (8) are amended, to read:
   10         212.055 Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent;
   11  authorization and use of proceeds.—It is the legislative intent
   12  that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales
   13  surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a
   14  subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the
   15  levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties
   16  authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the
   17  maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the
   18  procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if
   19  required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended;
   20  and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide.
   21  Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as
   22  provided in s. 212.054.
   23         (1) CHARTER COUNTY AND REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
   24  SURTAX.—
   25         (c)1. The proposal to adopt a discretionary sales surtax as
   26  provided in this subsection and to create a trust fund within
   27  the county accounts shall be placed on the ballot in accordance
   28  with law and must be approved in a referendum held at a general
   29  election in accordance with subsection (10) at a time to be set
   30  at the discretion of the governing body.
   31         2. If the proposal to adopt a surtax is by initiative, the
   32  petition sponsor must, at least 180 days before the proposed
   33  referendum, comply with all of the following:
   34         a. Provide a copy of the final resolution or ordinance to
   35  the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
   36  Accountability. The Office of Program Policy Analysis and
   37  Government Accountability shall procure a certified public
   38  accountant in accordance with subsection (11) for the
   39  performance audit.
   40         b. File the initiative petition and its required valid
   41  signatures with the supervisor of elections. The supervisor of
   42  elections shall verify signatures and retain signature forms in
   43  the same manner as required for initiatives under s. 100.371(3).
   44         3. The failure of an initiative sponsor to comply with the
   45  requirements of subparagraph 2. renders any referendum held
   46  void.
   47         (5) COUNTY PUBLIC HOSPITAL SURTAX.—Any county as defined in
   48  s. 125.011(1) may levy the surtax authorized in this subsection
   49  pursuant to an ordinance either approved by extraordinary vote
   50  of the county commission or conditioned to take effect only upon
   51  approval by a majority vote of the electors of the county voting
   52  in a referendum. In a county as defined in s. 125.011(1), for
   53  the purposes of this subsection, “county public general
   54  hospital” means a general hospital as defined in s. 395.002
   55  which is owned, operated, maintained, or governed by the county
   56  or its agency, authority, or public health trust.
   57         (b) If the ordinance is conditioned on a referendum, the
   58  proposal to adopt the county public hospital surtax shall be
   59  placed on the ballot in accordance with subsection (10) law at a
   60  time to be set at the discretion of the governing body. The
   61  referendum question on the ballot shall include a brief general
   62  description of the health care services to be funded by the
   63  surtax.
   64         (8) EMERGENCY FIRE RESCUE SERVICES AND FACILITIES SURTAX.—
   65         (b) Upon the adoption of the ordinance, the levy of the
   66  surtax must be placed on the ballot by the governing authority
   67  of the county enacting the ordinance. The ordinance will take
   68  effect if approved by a majority of the electors of the county
   69  voting in a referendum held for such purpose. The referendum
   70  shall be placed on the ballot of a general regularly scheduled
   71  election. The ballot for the referendum must conform to the
   72  requirements of s. 101.161.
   73         (10) DATES FOR REFERENDA.—A referendum to adopt or amend a
   74  local government discretionary sales surtax under this section
   75  must be held at a general election as defined in s. 97.021.
   76         (11)(10) PERFORMANCE AUDIT.—
   77         (a) For any referendum held on or after March 23, 2018, To
   78  adopt a discretionary sales surtax under this section, an
   79  independent certified public accountant licensed pursuant to
   80  chapter 473 shall conduct a performance audit of the program
   81  associated with the proposed surtax adoption proposed by the
   82  county or school district.
   83         (b)1.At least 180 days before the referendum is held, the
   84  county or school district shall provide a copy of the final
   85  resolution or ordinance to the Office of Program Policy Analysis
   86  and Government Accountability.
   87         2. Within 30 days after receiving the final resolution or
   88  ordinance, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
   89  Accountability shall procure the certified public accountant and
   90  may use carryforward funds to pay for the services of the
   91  certified public accountant.
   92         3.(b) At least 60 days before the referendum is held, the
   93  performance audit must shall be completed and the audit report,
   94  including any findings, recommendations, or other accompanying
   95  documents, must shall be made available on the official website
   96  of the county or school district.
   97         4. The county or school district shall keep the information
   98  on its website for 2 years from the date it was posted.
   99         5. The failure to comply with the requirements under
  100  subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 3. renders any referendum held
  101  to adopt a discretionary sales surtax void.
  102         (c) For purposes of this subsection, the term “performance
  103  audit” means an examination of the program conducted according
  104  to applicable government auditing standards or auditing and
  105  evaluation standards of other appropriate authoritative bodies.
  106  At a minimum, a performance audit must include an examination of
  107  issues related to the following:
  108         1. The economy, efficiency, or effectiveness of the
  109  program.
  110         2. The structure or design of the program to accomplish its
  111  goals and objectives.
  112         3. Alternative methods of providing program services or
  113  products.
  114         4. Goals, objectives, and performance measures used by the
  115  program to monitor and report program accomplishments.
  116         5. The accuracy or adequacy of public documents, reports,
  117  and requests prepared by the county or school district which
  118  relate to the program.
  119         6. Compliance of the program with appropriate policies,
  120  rules, and laws.
  121         (d) This subsection does not apply to a referendum held to
  122  adopt the same discretionary surtax that was in place during the
  123  month of December immediately before the date of the referendum.
  124         Section 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 2020.
  125  
  126  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  127  And the title is amended as follows:
  128         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  129  and insert:
  130                        A bill to be entitled                      
  131         An act relating to local tax referenda; amending s.
  132         212.055, F.S.; providing that a referendum to adopt or
  133         amend a local discretionary sales surtax must be held
  134         at a general election; requiring a petition sponsor of
  135         an initiative to adopt a charter county and regional
  136         transportation system surtax to comply with specified
  137         requirements within a specified timeframe before the
  138         proposed referendum; requiring a county to make the
  139         proposed referendum and a specified legal opinion
  140         available on its official website; requiring the
  141         Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
  142         Accountability, upon receiving a certain notice, to
  143         procure a certified public accountant for a
  144         performance audit; requiring a supervisor of elections
  145         to verify petition signatures and retain signature
  146         forms in a specified manner; providing that an
  147         initiative sponsor’s failure to comply with the
  148         specified requirements renders any referendum held
  149         void; revising requirements and procedures for
  150         counties, school districts, and the office relating to
  151         performance audits; providing that the failure to
  152         comply with certain requirements renders any
  153         referendum held to adopt a discretionary sales surtax
  154         void; providing an effective date.