Senate Bill 2162c1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1999 CS for SB 2162
By the Committee on Comprehensive Planning, Local and Military
Affairs; and Senators Kirkpatrick, Mitchell and Bronson
316-2023-99
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to local governments; creating
3 s. 163.055, F.S.; creating the Local Government
4 Financial Technical Assistance Program;
5 directing the Comptroller to enter into
6 contracts with program providers to assist
7 small municipalities and independent special
8 districts in financial and administrative
9 matters; directing the Legislative Committee on
10 Intergovernmental Relations to advise the
11 Comptroller and conduct performance reviews of
12 the program; providing an appropriation;
13 providing an effective date.
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15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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17 Section 1. Section 163.055, Florida Statutes, is
18 created to read:
19 163.055 Local Government Financial Technical
20 Assistance Program.--
21 (1) Concerning municipalities and independent special
22 districts, the Legislature finds that:
23 (a) Florida is a state composed of 400 municipalities
24 and almost 1,000 special districts statewide.
25 (b) Of the 400 municipalities in the state, over 200
26 have a population under 5,000.
27 (c) Projected revenue and expenditure trends of many
28 small municipalities and independent special districts
29 indicate that a serious fiscal condition has developed that
30 could require a number of municipalities and independent
31 special districts to declare financial emergencies.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1999 CS for SB 2162
316-2023-99
1 (d) State and federal mandates will continue to place
2 additional funding demands on all municipalities and
3 independent special districts.
4 (e) Millions of dollars are lost every year as many
5 primarily small local governments experience financial
6 deterioration, and many of those ultimately fall into
7 financial emergency status.
8 (f) State government lacks the specific technical
9 expertise or resources to effectively perform on-going
10 educational support and financial emergency detection or
11 assistance.
12 (2) Recognizing the findings in subsection (1), the
13 Legislature declares that:
14 (a) The fiscal emergencies confronting various
15 municipalities and independent special districts require an
16 investment that will facilitate efforts to improve the
17 productivity and efficiency of their financial structures and
18 operating procedures.
19 (b) Current and additional revenue enhancements
20 authorized by the Legislature should be managed and
21 administered using appropriate management practices and
22 expertise.
23 (3) The purpose of this section is to provide
24 technical assistance to municipalities and independent special
25 districts to enable them to implement workable solutions to
26 financially related problems.
27 (4) The Comptroller shall enter into contracts with
28 program providers who shall:
29 (a) Be a public agency or private, nonprofit
30 corporation, association, or entity.
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Florida Senate - 1999 CS for SB 2162
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1 (b) Use existing resources, services, and information
2 that are available from state or local agencies, universities,
3 or the private sector.
4 (c) Seek and accept funding from any public or private
5 source.
6 (d) Annually submit information to assist the
7 Legislative Committee on Intergovernmental Relations in
8 preparing a performance review that will include an analysis
9 of the effectiveness of the program.
10 (e) Assist municipalities and independent special
11 districts in developing alternative revenue sources.
12 (f) Provide for an annual independent financial audit
13 of the program.
14 (g) Provide assistance to municipalities and
15 independent special districts in the areas of financial
16 management, accounting, investing, budgeting, and debt
17 issuance.
18 (h) Develop a needs-assessment to determine where
19 assistance should be targeted, and establish a priority system
20 to deliver assistance to those jurisdictions most in need
21 through the most economical means available.
22 (i) Provide financial emergency assistance upon
23 direction from the Office of the Governor pursuant to s.
24 218.503.
25 (5)(a) The Comptroller shall issue a request for
26 proposals to provide assistance to municipalities and
27 independent special districts. At the request of the
28 Comptroller, the Legislative Committee on Intergovernmental
29 Relations shall assist in the preparation of the request for
30 proposals.
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Florida Senate - 1999 CS for SB 2162
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1 (b) The Comptroller shall review each contract
2 proposal submitted.
3 (c) The Legislative Committee on Intergovernmental
4 Relations shall review each contract proposal and submit to
5 the Comptroller, in writing, advisory comments and
6 recommendations, citing with specificity the reasons for its
7 recommendations.
8 (d) The Comptroller and the committee shall consider
9 the following factors in reviewing contract proposals:
10 1. The demonstrated capacity of the provider to
11 conduct needs-assessments and implement the program as
12 proposed.
13 2. The number of municipalities and independent
14 special districts to be served under the proposal.
15 3. The cost of the program as specified in a proposed
16 budget.
17 4. The short-term and long-term benefits of the
18 assistance to municipalities and independent special
19 districts.
20 5. The form and extent to which existing resources,
21 services, and information that are available from state and
22 local agencies, universities, and the private sector will be
23 used by the provider under the contract.
24 (6) A decision of the Comptroller to award a contract
25 under this section is final and shall be in writing with a
26 copy provided to the Legislative Committee on
27 Intergovernmental Relations.
28 (7) The Comptroller may enter into contracts and
29 agreements with other state and local agencies and with any
30 person, association, corporation, or entity other than the
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Florida Senate - 1999 CS for SB 2162
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1 program providers, for the purpose of administering this
2 section.
3 (8) The Comptroller shall provide fiscal oversight to
4 ensure that funds expended for the program are used in
5 accordance with the contracts entered into pursuant to
6 subsection (4).
7 (9) The Legislative Committee on Intergovernmental
8 Relations shall annually conduct a performance review of the
9 program. The findings of the review shall be presented in a
10 report submitted to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
11 the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the
12 Comptroller by January 15 of each year.
13 Section 2. There is appropriated from the General
14 Revenue Fund to the Office of the Comptroller the sum of
15 $300,000 to implement the provisions of this act for Fiscal
16 Year 1999-2000.
17 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
18 law.
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20 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
21 Senate Bill 2162
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23 Provides an appropriation of $300,000 of general revenue to
the Office of the Comptroller to implement the Local
24 Government Financial Technical Assistance Program.
25 References to "special districts" are changed to "independent
special districts" to clarify the units of local government
26 that are eligible for assistance under the bill.
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