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Senate Bill 0124

Florida Senate - 1998 SB 124 By Senator Forman 32-39-98 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to ad valorem tax 3 administration; amending s. 200.065, F.S., 4 which provides requirements for the 5 determination of the millage levied by taxing 6 authorities; revising the form of the notice of 7 tax increase that must be published by school 8 districts; excluding certain amounts from 9 proposed operating budget expenditures for 10 purposes of the budget summary notice that 11 taxing authorities must publish; revising the 12 form of the notice of tax for school capital 13 outlay that must be published by school 14 districts; providing an effective date. 15 16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 17 18 Section 1. Paragraphs (c) and (l) of subsection (3) 19 and paragraph (a) of subsection (9) of section 200.065, 20 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 21 200.065 Method of fixing millage.-- 22 (3) The advertisement shall be no less than 23 one-quarter page in size of a standard size or a tabloid size 24 newspaper, and the headline in the advertisement shall be in a 25 type no smaller than 18 point. The advertisement shall not be 26 placed in that portion of the newspaper where legal notices 27 and classified advertisements appear. The advertisement shall 28 be published in a newspaper of general paid circulation in the 29 county or in a geographically limited insert of such 30 newspaper. The geographic boundaries in which such insert is 31 circulated shall include the geographic boundaries of the 1 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. Florida Senate - 1998 SB 124 32-39-98 1 taxing authority. It is the legislative intent that, whenever 2 possible, the advertisement appear in a newspaper that is 3 published at least 5 days a week unless the only newspaper in 4 the county is published less than 5 days a week, or that the 5 advertisement appear in a geographically limited insert of 6 such newspaper which insert is published throughout the taxing 7 authority's jurisdiction at least twice each week. It is 8 further the legislative intent that the newspaper selected be 9 one of general interest and readership in the community and 10 not one of limited subject matter, pursuant to chapter 50. 11 (c) For school districts which have proposed a millage 12 rate in excess of 100 percent of the rolled-back rate computed 13 pursuant to subsection (1) and which propose to levy nonvoted 14 millage in excess of the minimum amount required pursuant to 15 s. 236.02(6), the advertisement shall be in the following 16 form: 17 18 NOTICE OF PROPOSED TAX INCREASE 19 20 The ...(name of school district)... will soon consider 21 a measure to increase its property tax levy by ...(percentage 22 of increase over rolled-back rate)... percent. 23 Last year's property tax levy: 24 A. Initially proposed tax levy.............$XX,XXX,XXX 25 B. Less tax reductions due to Value Adjustment Board 26 and other assessment changes.....................($XX,XXX,XXX) 27 C. Actual property tax levy................$XX,XXX,XXX 28 This year's proposed tax levy......................$XX,XXX,XXX 29 A portion of the tax levy is required under state law 30 in order for the school board to receive $...(amount A)... in 31 state education grants. The required portion has ...(increased 2 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. Florida Senate - 1998 SB 124 32-39-98 1 or decreased)... by ...(amount B)... percent and represents 2 approximately ...(amount C)... of the total proposed taxes. 3 The remainder of the taxes is proposed solely at the 4 discretion of the school board. 5 All concerned citizens are invited to a public hearing 6 on the tax increase to be held on ...(date and time)... at 7 ...(meeting place).... 8 A DECISION on the proposed tax increase and the budget 9 will be made at this hearing. 10 11 1. AMOUNT A shall be an estimate, provided by the 12 Department of Education, of the amount to be received in the 13 current fiscal year by the district from state appropriations 14 for the Florida Education Finance Program. 15 2. AMOUNT B shall be the percent increase over the 16 rolled-back rate necessary to levy only the required local 17 effort in the current fiscal year, computed as though in the 18 preceding fiscal year only the required local effort was 19 levied. 20 3. AMOUNT C shall be the quotient of required 21 local-effort millage divided by the total proposed nonvoted 22 millage, rounded to the nearest tenth and stated in words; 23 however, the stated amount shall not exceed nine-tenths. 24 25 (l) Any advertisement required pursuant to this 26 section shall be accompanied by an adjacent notice meeting the 27 budget summary requirements of s. 129.03(3)(b). Except for 28 those taxing authorities proposing to levy ad valorem taxes 29 for the first time, the following statement shall appear in 30 the budget summary in boldfaced type immediately following the 31 heading, if the applicable percentage is greater than zero: 3 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. Florida Senate - 1998 SB 124 32-39-98 1 2 THE PROPOSED OPERATING BUDGET EXPENDITURES OF ...(name 3 of taxing authority)... ARE ...(percent rounded to one decimal 4 place)... MORE THAN LAST YEAR'S TOTAL OPERATING EXPENDITURES. 5 6 For purposes of this paragraph, "proposed operating budget 7 expenditures" or "operating expenditures" means all moneys of 8 the local government, including dependent special districts, 9 that: 10 1. Were or could be expended during the applicable 11 fiscal year, or 12 2. Were or could be retained as a balance for future 13 spending in the fiscal year. 14 15 Provided, However, those moneys held in or used in trust, 16 agency, or internal service funds, and expenditures of bond 17 proceeds for capital outlay or for advanced refunded debt 18 principal, shall be excluded. In addition, amounts included 19 under "proposed operating budget expenditures" shall not 20 include inventory, balances carried forward from the previous 21 fiscal year, or amounts encumbered for payment for services 22 which have not yet been paid out. 23 (9)(a) In addition to the notice required in 24 subsection (3), a district school board shall publish a second 25 notice of intent to levy additional taxes under s. 236.25(2). 26 Such notice shall specify the projects or number of school 27 buses anticipated to be funded by such additional taxes and 28 shall be published in the size, within the time periods, 29 adjacent to, and in substantial conformity with the 30 advertisement required under subsection (3). The projects 31 shall be listed in priority within each category as follows: 4 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. Florida Senate - 1998 SB 124 32-39-98 1 construction and remodeling; maintenance, renovation, and 2 repair; motor vehicle purchases; new and replacement 3 equipment; payments for educational facilities and sites due 4 under a lease-purchase agreement; payments for renting and 5 leasing educational facilities and sites; payments of loans 6 approved pursuant to ss. 237.161 and 237.162; payment of costs 7 of compliance with environmental statutes and regulations; and 8 payment of costs of leasing relocatable educational 9 facilities. The additional notice shall be in the following 10 form, except that if the district school board is proposing to 11 levy the same millage under s. 236.25(2) which it levied in 12 the prior year, the words "continue to" shall be inserted 13 before the word "impose" in the first sentence, and except 14 that the second sentence of the second paragraph shall be 15 deleted if the district is advertising pursuant to paragraph 16 (3)(e): 17 18 NOTICE OF TAX FOR SCHOOL 19 CAPITAL OUTLAY 20 21 The ...(name of school district)... will soon consider 22 a measure to impose a ...(number)... mill property tax for the 23 capital outlay projects listed herein. 24 This tax is in addition to the school board's proposed 25 tax of ...(number)... mills for operating expenses and is 26 proposed solely at the discretion of the school board. THE 27 COMBINED SCHOOL BOARD TAX INCREASE FOR BOTH OPERATING EXPENSES 28 AND CAPITAL OUTLAY IS SHOWN IN THE ADJACENT NOTICE. 29 The capital outlay tax will generate approximately 30 $...(amount)..., to be used for the following projects: 31 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. Florida Senate - 1998 SB 124 32-39-98 1 ...(list of capital outlay projects)... 2 3 All concerned citizens are invited to a public hearing 4 to be held on ...(date and time)... at ...(meeting place).... 5 A DECISION on the proposed CAPITAL OUTLAY TAXES will be 6 made at this hearing. 7 8 Section 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 1999. 9 10 ***************************************** 11 LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY 12 Revises "TRIM" requirements for determination of the 13 millage to be levied by taxing authorities. Revises the form of the notice of tax increase that must be published 14 by school districts. Excludes certain amounts from proposed operating budget expenditures for purposes of 15 the budget summary notice that taxing authorities must publish. Revises the form of the notice of tax for school 16 capital outlay that must be published by school districts. 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 6