Florida Senate - 2024 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 1058
Ì195108+Î195108
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: WD .
02/13/2024 .
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The Committee on Rules (Hooper) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete lines 85 - 234
4 and insert:
5 (1) A member of a popularly elected governing body of an
6 independent special district may not serve for more than 12
7 consecutive years, unless the district’s charter provides for
8 more restrictive terms of office. Service of a term of office
9 that commenced before November 5, 2024, does not count toward
10 the limitation imposed by this subsection.
11 (2) This section does not apply to a community development
12 district established under chapter 190, or an independent
13 special district created pursuant to a special act that provides
14 that any amendment to chapter 190 to grant additional powers
15 constitutes a power of the district.
16 (3) This section does not require an independent special
17 district governed by an appointed governing body to convert to
18 an elected governing body.
19 Section 5. Section 189.0313, Florida Statutes, is created
20 to read:
21 189.0313 Independent special districts; boundaries;
22 exception.—Notwithstanding any special law or general law of
23 local application to the contrary, the boundaries of an
24 independent special district shall only be changed by general
25 law or special act. This section does not apply to a community
26 development district established pursuant to chapter 190.
27 Section 6. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 189.062,
28 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
29 189.062 Special procedures for inactive districts.—
30 (1) The department shall declare inactive any special
31 district in this state by documenting that:
32 (a) The special district meets one of the following
33 criteria:
34 1. The registered agent of the district, the chair of the
35 governing body of the district, or the governing body of the
36 appropriate local general-purpose government notifies the
37 department in writing that the district has taken no action for
38 2 or more years;
39 2. The registered agent of the district, the chair of the
40 governing body of the district, or the governing body of the
41 appropriate local general-purpose government notifies the
42 department in writing that the district has not had a governing
43 body or a sufficient number of governing body members to
44 constitute a quorum for 2 or more years;
45 3. The registered agent of the district, the chair of the
46 governing body of the district, or the governing body of the
47 appropriate local general-purpose government fails to respond to
48 an inquiry by the department within 21 days;
49 4. The department determines, pursuant to s. 189.067, that
50 the district has failed to file any of the reports listed in s.
51 189.066;
52 5. The district has not had a registered office and agent
53 on file with the department for 1 or more years; or
54 6. The governing body of a special district provides
55 documentation to the department that it has unanimously adopted
56 a resolution declaring the special district inactive. The
57 special district is responsible for payment of any expenses
58 associated with its dissolution;.
59 7. The district is an independent special district or a
60 community redevelopment district created under part III of
61 chapter 163 which has reported no revenue, no expenditures, and
62 no debt under s. 189.016(9) or s. 218.32 for at least 5
63 consecutive fiscal years beginning no earlier than October 1,
64 2018. This subparagraph does not apply to a community
65 development district established under chapter 190 or to any
66 independent special district operating pursuant to a special act
67 that provides that any amendment to chapter 190 to grant
68 additional powers constitutes a power of that district; or
69 8. For a mosquito control district created pursuant to
70 chapter 388, the department has received notice from the
71 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services that the
72 district has failed to file a tentative work plan and tentative
73 detailed work plan budget as required by s. 388.271.
74 (b) The department, special district, or local general
75 purpose government has published a notice of proposed
76 declaration of inactive status in a newspaper of general
77 circulation in the county or municipality in which the territory
78 of the special district is located and has sent a copy of such
79 notice by certified mail to the registered agent or chair of the
80 governing body, if any. If the special district is a dependent
81 special district with a governing body that is not identical to
82 the governing body of a single county or a single municipality,
83 a copy of such notice must also be sent by certified mail to the
84 governing body of the county or municipality on which the
85 district is dependent. Such notice must include the name of the
86 special district, the law under which it was organized and
87 operating, a general description of the territory included in
88 the special district, and a statement that any objections must
89 be filed pursuant to chapter 120 within 30 21 days after the
90 publication date. The objections may include that the special
91 district has outstanding debt obligations that are not included
92 in reports required under s. 189.016(9) or s. 218.32.
93 (c) Thirty Twenty-one days have elapsed from the
94 publication date of the notice of proposed declaration of
95 inactive status and no administrative appeals were filed.
96 (2) If any special district is declared inactive pursuant
97 to this section, the district may only expend funds as necessary
98 to service outstanding debt and to comply with existing bond
99 covenants and other contractual obligations. The property or
100 assets of the special district are subject to legal process for
101 payment of any debts of the district. After the payment of all
102 the debts of said inactive special district, the remainder of
103 its property or assets shall escheat to the county or
104 municipality wherein located. If, however, it shall be
105 necessary, in order to pay any such debt, to levy any tax or
106 taxes on the property in the territory or limits of the inactive
107 special district, the same may be assessed and levied by order
108 of the local general-purpose government wherein the same is
109 situated and shall be assessed by the county property appraiser
110 and collected by the county tax collector.
111 Section 7. Section 189.0694, Florida Statutes, is created
112 to read:
113 189.0694 Special districts; performance measures and
114 standards.-
115 (1) Beginning October 1, 2024, or by the end of the first
116 full fiscal year after its creation, whichever is later, each
117 special district shall establish goals and objectives for each
118 program and activity undertaken by the district, as well as
119 performance measures and standards to determine whether the
120 district’s goals and objectives are being achieved.
121 (2) By January 31 of each year thereafter, each special
122 district shall publish an annual report on the district’s
123 website describing:
124 (a) The goals and objectives achieved by the district, as
125 well as the performance measures and standards used by the
126 district to make this determination.
127 (b) Any goals or objectives the district failed to achieve.
128 Section 8. Subsection (3) of section 189.0695, Florida
129 Statutes, is amended to read:
130 189.0695 Independent special districts; performance
131 reviews.—
132 (3) The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
133 Accountability shall must conduct a performance review of all
134 independent special districts within the classifications
135 described in paragraphs (a), and (b), and (c) and may contract
136 as needed to complete the requirements of this subsection. The
137 Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
138 shall submit the final report of the performance review to the
139 President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
140 Representatives as follows:
141 (a) For all independent mosquito control districts as
142 defined in s. 388.011, no later than September 30, 2023.
143 (b) For all soil and water conservation districts as
144 defined in s. 582.01, no later than September 30, 2024.
145 (c) For all safe neighborhood improvement districts as
146 defined in s. 163.503(1), no later than September 30, 2025.
147 Section 9. Section 190.047, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
148 Section 10. Subsection (3) is added to section 191.013,
149 Florida Statutes, to read:
150 191.013 Intergovernmental coordination.—
151 (3) By October 1 of each year, each independent special
152 fire control district shall report to the Division of State Fire
153 Marshal regarding whether each of the district’s volunteer
154 firefighters has completed the required trainings
155
156 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
157 And the title is amended as follows:
158 Delete lines 10 - 41
159 and insert:
160 189.0312, F.S.; providing term limits for popularly
161 elected members of governing bodies of independent
162 special districts; providing an exception; providing
163 applicability; providing construction; creating s.
164 189.0313, F.S.; providing the method for changing
165 boundaries of an independent special district;
166 providing an exception; amending s. 189.062, F.S.;
167 providing additional criteria for declaring a special
168 district inactive; providing exceptions; requiring
169 certain special districts to provide notice of a
170 proposed declaration of inactive status to the county
171 or municipality under certain circumstances; revising
172 the time period for filing an objection to a proposed
173 declaration; authorizing a specific objection;
174 providing that a district declared inactive may only
175 expend funds as necessary to service outstanding debt
176 and to comply with existing bond covenants and
177 contractual obligations; making technical changes;
178 creating s. 189.0694, F.S.; requiring special
179 districts to establish performance measures to assess
180 performance; requiring special districts to publish an
181 annual report; providing requirements for the report;
182 amending s. 189.0695, F.S.; requiring the Office of
183 Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
184 to conduct performance reviews annually of safe
185 neighborhood improvement districts; repealing s.
186 190.047, F.S., relating to incorporation or annexation
187 of a district; amending s. 191.013, F.S.; requiring
188 independent special fire control districts to report
189 annually, by a specified date, information regarding
190 the completion of required trainings and the receipt
191 of required certifications by volunteer firefighters
192 to