Senate Bill 0114
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    Florida Senate - 2000                                   SB 114
    By Senators Kirkpatrick, Holzendorf and Mitchell
    5-140-00
  1                      A bill to be entitled
  2         An act relating to discretionary sales
  3         surtaxes; amending s. 212.055, F.S.; revising
  4         the population requirements for levying the
  5         small county surtax; providing an effective
  6         date.
  7
  8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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10         Section 1.  Subsection (3) of section 212.055, Florida
11  Statutes, is amended to read:
12         212.055  Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative
13  intent; authorization and use of proceeds.--It is the
14  legislative intent that any authorization for imposition of a
15  discretionary sales surtax shall be published in the Florida
16  Statutes as a subsection of this section, irrespective of the
17  duration of the levy.  Each enactment shall specify the types
18  of counties authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be
19  imposed; the maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed,
20  if any; the procedure which must be followed to secure voter
21  approval, if required; the purpose for which the proceeds may
22  be expended; and such other requirements as the Legislature
23  may provide.  Taxable transactions and administrative
24  procedures shall be as provided in s. 212.054.
25         (3)  SMALL COUNTY SURTAX.--
26         (a)  The governing authority in each county that has a
27  population of 50,000 or less on April 1, 1992, or a population
28  of 75,000 or less on October 1, 2000, may levy a discretionary
29  sales surtax of 0.5 percent or 1 percent.  The levy of the
30  surtax must shall be pursuant to ordinance enacted by an
31  extraordinary vote of the members of the county governing
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    Florida Senate - 2000                                   SB 114
    5-140-00
  1  authority if the surtax revenues are expended for operating
  2  purposes.  If the surtax revenues are expended for the purpose
  3  of servicing bond indebtedness, the surtax shall be approved
  4  by a majority of the electors of the county voting in a
  5  referendum on the surtax.
  6         (b)  A statement that includes a brief general
  7  description of the projects to be funded by the surtax and
  8  conforms to the requirements of s. 101.161 shall be placed on
  9  the ballot by the governing authority of any county that
10  enacts an ordinance calling for a referendum on the levy of
11  the surtax for the purpose of servicing bond indebtedness.
12  The following question shall be placed on the ballot:
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14        ....FOR the               ....-cent sales tax
15        ....AGAINST the           ....-cent sales tax
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17         (c)  Pursuant to s. 212.054(4), the proceeds of the
18  surtax levied under this subsection must shall be distributed
19  to the county and the municipalities within the county in
20  which the surtax was collected, according to:
21         1.  An interlocal agreement between the county
22  governing authority and the governing bodies of the
23  municipalities representing a majority of the county's
24  municipal population, which agreement may include a school
25  district with the consent of the county governing authority
26  and the governing bodies of the municipalities representing a
27  majority of the county's municipal population; or
28         2.  If there is no interlocal agreement, according to
29  the formula provided in s. 218.62.
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    Florida Senate - 2000                                   SB 114
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  1  Any change in the distribution formula shall take effect on
  2  the first day of any month that begins at least 60 days after
  3  written notification of that change has been made to the
  4  department.
  5         (d)1.  If the surtax is levied pursuant to a
  6  referendum, the proceeds of the surtax and any interest
  7  accrued thereto may be expended by the school district or
  8  within the county and municipalities within the county, or, in
  9  the case of a negotiated joint county agreement, within
10  another county, for the purpose of servicing bond indebtedness
11  to finance, plan, and construct infrastructure and to acquire
12  land for public recreation or conservation or protection of
13  natural resources.  However, if the surtax is levied pursuant
14  to an ordinance approved by an extraordinary vote of the
15  members of the county governing authority, the proceeds and
16  any interest accrued thereto may be used for operational
17  expenses of any infrastructure or for any public purpose
18  authorized in the ordinance under which the surtax is levied.
19         2.  As used in For the purposes of this paragraph, the
20  term "infrastructure" means any fixed capital expenditure or
21  fixed capital costs associated with the construction,
22  reconstruction, or improvement of public facilities that have
23  a life expectancy of 5 or more years and any land acquisition,
24  land improvement, design, and engineering costs related
25  thereto.
26         (e)  A school district, county, or municipality that
27  receives proceeds under this subsection following a referendum
28  may pledge the proceeds for the purpose of servicing new bond
29  indebtedness incurred pursuant to law. Local governments may
30  use the services of the Division of Bond Finance pursuant to
31  the State Bond Act to issue any bonds through the provisions
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    Florida Senate - 2000                                   SB 114
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  1  of this subsection.  A jurisdiction may not issue bonds
  2  pursuant to this subsection more frequently than once per
  3  year.  A county and municipality may join together to issue
  4  bonds authorized by this subsection.
  5         (f)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this
  6  section, a county shall not levy local option sales surtaxes
  7  authorized in this subsection and subsections (2), (4), (5),
  8  and (6) in excess of a combined rate of 1 percent.
  9         Section 2.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2000.
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12                          SENATE SUMMARY
13    Allows small counties that have a population of 75,000 or
      less on October 1, 2000, to levy the discretionary
14    small-county sales surtax.
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