House Bill 1857
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 1857
By Representative Bronson
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to sports industry economic
3 development projects; amending s. 212.20, F.S.;
4 providing for the Department of Revenue to
5 distribute sales tax reimbursements to
6 certified sports industry economic development
7 projects; creating s. 288.113, F.S.; creating a
8 tax reimbursement program for certified sports
9 industry economic development projects;
10 providing legislative findings and
11 declarations; defining terms; providing
12 eligibility criteria for sports businesses;
13 prescribing the terms and amounts of tax
14 reimbursements; providing a certification
15 procedure, to be established and administered
16 by the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
17 Development; providing for periodic
18 recertification; abating or reducing funding in
19 specified circumstances; providing a maximum
20 number of years for which a sports business may
21 be certified; providing for decertification;
22 providing a penalty for falsifying an
23 application; providing for a tax reimbursement
24 agreement and prescribing terms of the
25 agreement; providing for annual claims for
26 reimbursement; providing duties of the
27 Department of Revenue; providing for
28 administration of the program; providing for
29 recordkeeping and submission of an annual
30 report to the Legislature; amending s.
31 288.1229, F.S.; providing an additional purpose
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1 for which the Office of Tourism, Trade, and
2 Economic Development may authorize a
3 direct-support organization to assist the
4 office; providing for the creation of new jobs
5 in this state; providing an effective date.
6
7 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
8
9 Section 1. Section 212.20, Florida Statutes, is
10 amended to read:
11 212.20 Funds collected, disposition; additional powers
12 of department; operational expense; reimbursement for refund
13 of taxes adjudicated unconstitutionally collected.--
14 (1) The department shall pay over to the Treasurer of
15 the state all funds received and collected by it under the
16 provisions of this chapter, to be credited to the account of
17 the General Revenue Fund of the state, except the proceeds of
18 the fee imposed pursuant to s. 212.18(5).
19 (2) The department is authorized to employ all
20 necessary assistants to administer this chapter properly and
21 is also authorized to purchase all necessary supplies and
22 equipment which may be required for this purpose.
23 (3) The estimated amount of money needed for the
24 administration of this chapter shall be included by the
25 department in its annual legislative budget request for the
26 operation of its office.
27 (4) When there has been a final adjudication that any
28 tax pursuant to s. 212.0596 was levied, collected, or both,
29 contrary to the Constitution of the United States or the State
30 Constitution, the department shall, in accordance with rules,
31 determine, based upon claims for refund and other evidence and
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1 information, who paid such tax or taxes, and refund to each
2 such person the amount of tax paid. For purposes of this
3 subsection, a "final adjudication" is a decision of a court of
4 competent jurisdiction from which no appeal can be taken or
5 from which the official or officials of this state with
6 authority to make such decisions has or have decided not to
7 appeal.
8 (5) For the purposes of this section:
9 (a) "Proceeds" means all tax or fee revenue collected
10 or received by the department, including interest and
11 penalties.
12 (b) "Reallocate" means reduction of the accounts of
13 initial deposit and redeposit into the indicated account.
14 (6) Distribution of all proceeds under this chapter
15 shall be as follows:
16 (a) Proceeds from the convention development taxes
17 authorized under s. 212.0305 shall be reallocated to the
18 Convention Development Tax Clearing Trust Fund.
19 (b) Proceeds from discretionary sales surtaxes imposed
20 pursuant to ss. 212.054 and 212.055 shall be reallocated to
21 the Discretionary Sales Surtax Clearing Trust Fund.
22 (c) Proceeds from the tax imposed pursuant to s.
23 212.06(5)(a)2. shall be reallocated to the Mail Order Sales
24 Tax Clearing Trust Fund.
25 (d) Proceeds from the fee imposed pursuant to s.
26 212.18(5) shall be deposited in the Solid Waste Management
27 Clearing Trust Fund, which is hereby created to be used by the
28 department, and shall be subsequently transferred to the State
29 Treasurer to be deposited into the Solid Waste Management
30 Trust Fund.
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1 (e) Proceeds from the fees imposed under ss.
2 212.05(1)(i)3. and 212.18(3) shall remain with the General
3 Revenue Fund.
4 (f) The proceeds of all other taxes and fees imposed
5 pursuant to this chapter shall be distributed as follows:
6 1. In any fiscal year, the greater of $500 million,
7 minus an amount equal to 4.6 percent of the proceeds of the
8 taxes collected pursuant to chapter 201, or 5 percent of all
9 other taxes and fees imposed pursuant to this chapter shall be
10 deposited in monthly installments into the General Revenue
11 Fund.
12 2. Two-tenths of one percent shall be transferred to
13 the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund.
14 3. After the distribution under subparagraphs 1. and
15 2., 9.653 percent of the amount remitted by a sales tax dealer
16 located within a participating county pursuant to s. 218.61
17 shall be transferred into the Local Government Half-cent Sales
18 Tax Clearing Trust Fund.
19 4. After the distribution under subparagraphs 1., 2.,
20 and 3., 0.054 percent shall be transferred to the Local
21 Government Half-cent Sales Tax Clearing Trust Fund and
22 distributed pursuant to s. 218.65.
23 5. Of the remaining proceeds:
24 a. Beginning 30 days after the Office of Tourism,
25 Trade, and Economic Development gives the Department of
26 Revenue notice that an applicant has been certified as a
27 qualified sports industry economic development project under
28 s. 288.113 and that the project is under development or
29 operational, has generated sales tax revenue for 12 months,
30 and is creating the number of new jobs specified under a
31 certification agreement with the office, reimbursement in an
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1 amount of up to 50 percent, but not exceeding $2 million, of
2 the newly generated sales tax shall be distributed monthly,
3 pro rata, to the applicant in an amount and for a duration
4 determined in accordance with the certification agreement by
5 the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development. This
6 distribution and any reduction of the distribution are subject
7 to the terms of the certification agreement pursuant to s.
8 288.113. As used in this paragraph, the term "sports business
9 economic impact" means the amount of new sales tax generated
10 by the projects as estimated by the Sports Economic Impact
11 Model used by the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
12 Development.
13 b.a. Beginning July 1, 1992, $166,667 shall be
14 distributed monthly by the department to each applicant that
15 has been certified as a "facility for a new professional
16 sports franchise" or a "facility for a retained professional
17 sports franchise" pursuant to s. 288.1162 and $41,667 shall be
18 distributed monthly by the department to each applicant that
19 has been certified as a "new spring training franchise
20 facility" pursuant to s. 288.1162. Distributions shall begin
21 60 days following such certification and shall continue for 30
22 years. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to allow an
23 applicant certified pursuant to s. 288.1162 to receive more in
24 distributions than actually expended by the applicant for the
25 public purposes provided for in s. 288.1162(7). However, a
26 certified applicant shall receive distributions up to the
27 maximum amount allowable and undistributed under this section
28 for additional renovations and improvements to the facility
29 for the franchise without additional certification.
30 c.b. Beginning 30 days after notice by the Office of
31 Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development to the Department of
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1 Revenue that an applicant has been certified as the
2 professional golf hall of fame pursuant to s. 288.1168 and is
3 open to the public, $166,667 shall be distributed monthly, for
4 up to 300 months, to the applicant.
5 d.c. Beginning 30 days after notice by the Department
6 of Commerce to the Department of Revenue that the applicant
7 has been certified as the International Game Fish Association
8 World Center facility pursuant to s. 288.1169, and the
9 facility is open to the public, $83,333 shall be distributed
10 monthly, for up to 180 months, to the applicant. This
11 distribution is subject to reduction pursuant to s. 288.1169.
12 6. All other proceeds shall remain with the General
13 Revenue Fund.
14 Section 2. Section 288.113, Florida Statutes, is
15 created to read:
16 288.113 Tax reimbursement program for certified sports
17 industry economic development projects.--
18 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.--The
19 Legislature finds that attracting, retaining, and providing
20 favorable conditions for the growth of certified sports
21 industry economic development projects provides high-quality
22 employment opportunities for residents of this state,
23 increases tourism, and enhances the economic foundations of
24 this state. It is the policy of this state to encourage the
25 growth of high-value-added employment to the economic base by
26 providing reimbursement to certified sports industry economic
27 development projects that create new employment opportunities
28 and generate new sales tax dollars by expanding businesses
29 within this state or by bringing new businesses to this state.
30 (2) DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term:
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1 (a) "Certified sports industry economic development
2 project" means any sports business that develops, operates, or
3 both develops and operates a project that attracts and retains
4 multiyear sporting events that generate new sales taxes for
5 the state, that has submitted a properly completed application
6 to the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development, and
7 that has subsequently been certified by that office as a
8 sports industry economic development project.
9 (b) "Sales tax reimbursement" means that percentage of
10 new sales taxes that are generated by a sports business and
11 collected by the state which the Office of Tourism, Trade, and
12 Economic Development, using the Sports Economic Impact Model,
13 estimated to be returned to the sports business as a
14 reimbursement under the terms of the certification agreement.
15 The sports business must first generate new sales taxes, which
16 in turn have been collected by the Department of Revenue
17 before any reimbursement may be provided to the sports
18 business. The reimbursement may not exceed 50 percent of the
19 total new sales tax generated annually by the sports business.
20 (3) SPORTS BUSINESSES ELIGIBLE TO APPLY.--Any sports
21 business that promotes multiyear sports industry economic
22 development activities in this state may submit to the Office
23 of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development in the Office of
24 the Governor an application for approval as a certified sports
25 industry economic development project for the purpose of
26 receiving a reimbursement on new sales taxes generated by
27 increased new business or tourism activity directly
28 attributable to the sports business.
29 (4) TAX REIMBURSEMENT AND ELIGIBLE AMOUNT.--
30 (a) There shall be allowed, from the account, a
31 reimbursement to a certified sports industry economic
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1 development project of up to 50 percent of the amount of
2 eligible new sales taxes generated by the sports business
3 annually as certified by the Office of Tourism, Trade, and
4 Economic Development. The total amount of reimbursements for
5 all fiscal years estimated for each such sports business
6 project may not exceed 50 percent of the cost of the projects
7 as determined by the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
8 Development in the certification process set forth in
9 subsection (5). The annual amount of reimbursement to a
10 certified sports business must be determined by that office in
11 accordance with the applicant's certification procedure set
12 forth in this section.
13 (b) The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
14 Development may approve a certified sports business to receive
15 tax reimbursement payments in an amount not less than $500,000
16 and not more than $2 million in a single fiscal year.
17 (c) After entering into a tax reimbursement agreement
18 under subsection (6), a certified sports business may receive
19 reimbursement from the account for any or all of the
20 following:
21 1. Developing and implementing any component of the
22 certified sport business's sports events and activities.
23 2. Constructing, reconstructing, renovating,
24 furnishing, equipping, or operating the sports business's
25 facilities or events.
26 3. Pledging payments or debt service on, or funding,
27 debt service reserve funds, arbitrage rebate obligations, or
28 other amounts payable with respect to bonds for the sports
29 business's activities and facilities.
30 4. Paying the cost of relocating the corporate
31 headquarters into this state.
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1 (5) CERTIFICATION AND RECERTIFICATION PROCEDURE.--
2 (a) The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
3 Development shall establish a certification process by which a
4 sports business may be approved by the office as a certified
5 sports industry economic development project that is eligible
6 to receive economic development incentives in the form of a
7 reimbursement of a percentage of new sales taxes that have
8 been generated and remitted to the state as a result of the
9 certified sports industry economic development project.
10 (b) Before certifying an applicant under this
11 subsection, the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
12 Development must determine that the applicant:
13 1. Has completed an independent analysis or study,
14 verified by the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
15 Development, which demonstrates that the proposed sports
16 business will generate a minimum of $1 million annually in new
17 sales tax revenues over a multiyear period.
18 2. Has commitments for sports activities which
19 demonstrate that the sports business will bring to this state
20 on a multiyear basis new sports business activities that will
21 generate a minimum of $1 million in new sales tax revenues
22 annually, as verified by the Office of Tourism, Trade, and
23 Economic Development.
24 3. Has demonstrated that it has provided, is capable
25 of providing, or has financial or other commitments to provide
26 more than one-half of the costs incurred in or related to the
27 development of the sports business activity.
28 (c) A sports business economic development project
29 that has previously been certified under this section and has
30 received a reimbursement under that certification is
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1 ineligible for additional certification within each 5-year
2 certification cycle.
3 (d) Upon determining that a sports business meets the
4 established criteria for approval as a certified sports
5 industry economic development project and qualifies for sales
6 tax reimbursement, the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
7 Development shall issue to the applicant a letter of
8 certification that stipulates the terms of the reimbursement
9 agreement and the penalties for failing to comply with those
10 terms.
11 (e) The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
12 Development shall deny the application of a sports business to
13 be a certified sports industry economic development project if
14 it determines that the sports industry economic development
15 project does not meet the established criteria for approval.
16 (f) The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
17 Development, with the cooperation of the Department of
18 Revenue, shall develop a standardized form for sports
19 businesses to complete in applying for designation as a
20 certified sports industry economic development project. The
21 application must include, but is not limited to, relevant
22 information on employment and job creation, proposed budgets,
23 contracts for multiyear events and projects, project
24 financing, and other information requested by the office. The
25 application may be distributed to applicants by the Office of
26 Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development, and all completed
27 applications must be processed by the Office of Tourism,
28 Trade, and Economic Development.
29 (g) Initial certification for reimbursement under this
30 section is valid for 10 years. Subsequent to the initial
31 certification period, the sports business economic development
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1 project is eligible for two periods of recertification, each
2 of which is valid for 5 years. An applicant must request
3 recertification 12 months before the expiration of the
4 certificate.
5 (h) A sports industry economic development project may
6 request recertification after the initial certification period
7 to be requalified for designation as a qualified sports
8 industry economic development project for a period not to
9 exceed 20 years.
10 (i) The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
11 Development must recertify, before the end of the first
12 10-year period, that the sports business project is
13 operational and that the project is meeting the minimum
14 projections for sales tax revenues as required at the time of
15 original certification. If the project is not recertified
16 during this 10-year review as meeting the minimum projections,
17 funding will be adjusted until certification criteria are met.
18 If the project fails to generate annual tax revenues pursuant
19 to its agreement with the Office of Tourism, Trade, and
20 Economic Development, the amount of revenues distributed to
21 the project under s. 212.20(6)(g)5.c. must be reduced to an
22 amount equal to a pro-rata amount of the taxes collected times
23 50 percent. If, for 2 consecutive years, the amount of tax
24 revenues collected falls below a minimum of $1 million per
25 year, the sports industry economic development project may be
26 decertified at the discretion of the Office of Tourism, Trade,
27 and Economic Development. Such a reduction must remain in
28 effect until the tax revenues generated by the project in a
29 12-month period equal or exceed $1 million.
30 (j) A sports project may be decertified if the Office
31 of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development determines that
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1 the business can no longer maintain its economic development
2 activities in this state. If the sports industry economic
3 development project is no longer in existence, or is no longer
4 viable, as determined by its agreement with the Office of
5 Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development, or if the project
6 has the certificate for purposes other than those authorized
7 by this section and chapter 212, the Department of Revenue may
8 suspend payment for a period of 6 months until the project is
9 either back in compliance with the agreement or is determined
10 to be in default. In addition to other penalties imposed by
11 law, any person who knowingly and willfully falsifies an
12 application for purposes other than those authorized by this
13 section commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as
14 provided in s. 774.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
15 (k) The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
16 Development shall develop rules for the receipt and processing
17 of applications for funding pursuant to s. 212.20.
18 (6) TAX REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT TERMS.--
19 (a) In order to qualify for reimbursement from the
20 state, each certified sports industry economic development
21 project must enter into a written agreement with the Office of
22 Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development which specifies, at a
23 minimum:
24 1. The total number of full-time-equivalent jobs
25 created in or transferred to this state as a direct result of
26 the project, the average wage paid for those jobs, the
27 criteria that will apply to measuring the achievement of these
28 terms during the effective period of the agreement, and a time
29 schedule or plan for when such jobs will be in place and
30 operative in the state.
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1 2. The maximum amount of new sales taxes estimated to
2 be generated as a result of the sports industry economic
3 development project, the maximum amount of tax reimbursement
4 that the certified sports industry economic development
5 project is eligible to receive, and the maximum amount of tax
6 reimbursement that the project is requesting.
7 3. The budgets, financing, projections, and cost
8 estimates for the sports activities and projects for which
9 reimbursement is sought.
10 (b) Compliance with the terms and conditions of the
11 agreement is a condition precedent for receiving a tax
12 reimbursement each year. Failure to comply with the terms and
13 conditions of the tax reimbursement agreement will result in
14 an immediate review by the Office of Tourism, Trade, and
15 Economic Development of the activities of the project.
16 (7) ANNUAL CLAIM FOR REIMBURSEMENT.--
17 (a) To receive a reimbursement under this section, an
18 applicant must submit to the Department of Revenue at the end
19 of each fiscal year a copy of the applicant's certificate and
20 agreement and a request for reimbursement.
21 (b) The reimbursement may not exceed 50 percent of the
22 total project costs, amortized over a period of years not to
23 exceed 20.
24 (c) Reimbursement may be provided through direct
25 payment or other means of payment to the certified business,
26 as determined in the agreement with the approval of the
27 Department of Revenue.
28 (8) DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE.--
29 (a) The Department of Revenue may adopt such rules and
30 shall prescribe and publish such forms as are necessary to
31 effectuate the purposes of this section or any of the sales
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1 tax reimbursements that are reasonably related to this
2 section.
3 (b) The Department of Revenue may establish such
4 auditing procedures as are allowed by law and are reasonably
5 related to the purposes of this section.
6 (9) ADMINISTRATION.--
7 (a) The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
8 Development may verify information provided in any claim for
9 tax reimbursement under this section, including information
10 regarding employment and wage levels or the payment of the
11 taxes to the appropriate agency, including the Department of
12 Revenue, the Department of Labor and Employment Security, or
13 the appropriate local government or authority.
14 (b) To facilitate the process of monitoring and
15 auditing applications made under this program, the Office of
16 Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development may provide a list of
17 certified sports industry economic development projects to the
18 Department of Revenue, to the Department of Labor and
19 Employment Security, or to any local government or authority.
20 The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development may
21 request the assistance of those entities in monitoring the
22 payment of reimbursements under this section.
23 (10) RELATIONSHIP OF TAX REIMBURSEMENTS TO SPORTS
24 INDUSTRY GROWTH; REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE.--Beginning January
25 1, 2001, the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
26 Development shall maintain records based on information
27 provided on taxpayer applications for sports business
28 reimbursements. These records must include a statement of what
29 percentage of the overall new economic impact generated by
30 certified sports industry economic development projects
31 consists of the amount of funds annually reimbursed to such
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1 projects. In addition, the Office of Tourism, Trade, and
2 Economic Development shall maintain data showing the annual
3 growth in Florida-based sports industry companies and the
4 number of persons employed and wages paid by such companies.
5 The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development shall
6 report this information to the Legislature annually, no later
7 than December 1.
8 Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 288.1229, Florida
9 Statutes, is amended to read:
10 288.1229 Promotion and development of sports-related
11 industries and amateur athletics; direct-support organization;
12 powers and duties.--
13 (1) The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
14 Development may authorize a direct-support organization to
15 assist the office in:
16 (a) The promotion and development of the sports
17 industry and related industries for the purpose of improving
18 the economic presence of these industries in Florida.
19 (b) The promotion of amateur athletic participation
20 for the citizens of Florida and the promotion of Florida as a
21 host for national and international amateur athletic
22 competitions for the purpose of encouraging and increasing the
23 direct and ancillary economic benefits of amateur athletic
24 events and competitions.
25 (c) The attraction of sports industry economic
26 development projects to this state for the purposes set forth
27 in paragraphs (a) and (b), as well as for the purposes of
28 increasing national and international media promotions and
29 attention, promoting the quality of life in this state, and
30 promoting tourism, which will have a positive effect on
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1 expanding the tax base as well as creating new jobs in the
2 state.
3 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.
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6 LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY
7 Creates a tax reimbursement program for certified sports
industry economic development projects. Provides
8 eligibility criteria for sports businesses. Prescribes
the terms and amounts of tax reimbursements. Provides
9 procedures for certification, recertification, and
decertification of sports businesses. Provides for
10 abating or reducing funding in specified circumstances.
Specifies a 20-year maximum certification time for sports
11 businesses. Provides for a tax reimbursement agreement
and prescribes terms of the agreement. Provides for
12 annual claims for reimbursement. Provides duties of the
Department of Revenue. Requires recordkeeping and
13 submission of an annual report to the Legislature.
Provides for the Department of Revenue to distribute
14 sales tax reimbursements to certified projects. Provides
that the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
15 Development may authorize a direct-support organization
to assist the office in matters related to certified
16 projects. Provides for the creation of new jobs.
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