HJR 0659 2003
1	House Joint Resolution
2	A joint resolution proposing the creation of Section 22 of
3	Article X of the State Constitution relating to the
4	Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.
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6	Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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8	That the following creation of Section 22 of Article X of
9	the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be submitted to
10	the electors of this state for approval or rejection at the next
11	general election or at an earlier special election specifically
12	authorized by law for that purpose:
13	ARTICLE X
14	MISCELLANEOUS
15	SECTION 22. Assets of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe
16	Fund.--The assets of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund,
17	established by general law, shall be used exclusively for paying
18	catastrophic hurricane loss obligations arising out of
19	reimbursement contracts with insurers, paying debt service on
20	revenue bonds and financing arrangements issued by or on behalf
21	of the fund, reinsurance costs of the fund, administrative
22	expenses of the fund, and an annual appropriation for hurricane
23	loss mitigation programs. Ten million dollars must be
24	appropriated annually in the General Appropriations Act for
25	hurricane loss mitigation programs and any additional
26	appropriation from the fund for such programs must be approved
27	by a vote of three-fourths of the membership of each house of
28	the legislature in a separate bill or bills for that purpose
29	only, provided the aggregate of any appropriations from the fund
30	for hurricane loss mitigation programs in a fiscal year may not
31	exceed the greater of $10 million dollars or an amount equal to
32	thirty-five percent of the fund's investment income from the
33	fiscal year that concluded two years before the effective date
34	of such appropriations. This section does not limit the
35	authority of the legislature to abolish or otherwise terminate
36	the operations of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.
37	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be
38	placed on the ballot:
39	CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
40	ARTICLE X, SECTION 22
41	Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to limit
42	the purposes for which the fund's assets may be used, require an
43	annual $10 million appropriation in the General Appropriations
44	Act for hurricane loss mitigation programs, require any
45	additional appropriation from the fund for such programs to be
46	subject to an extraordinary vote of the Legislature in a
47	separate bill or bills, and limit the aggregate of any
48	appropriations from the fund for hurricane loss mitigation
49	programs in a fiscal year to the greater of $10 million or 35
50	percent of the fund's investment income from a specific fiscal
51	year prior to such aggregate appropriation.