| 1 | House Joint Resolution |
| 2 | A joint resolution proposing an amendment to Section 1 of |
| 3 | Article VII and the creation of Section 26 of Article XII |
| 4 | of the State Constitution, relating to a limitation on |
| 5 | legislative power to impose or increase, or repeal an |
| 6 | exemption from, taxes, fees, penalties, or fines. |
| 7 |
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| 8 | Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 9 |
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| 10 | That the amendment to Section 1 of Article VII and the |
| 11 | creation of Section 26 of Article XII of the State Constitution |
| 12 | set forth below are agreed to and shall be submitted to the |
| 13 | electors of Florida for approval or rejection at the general |
| 14 | election to be held in November 2004 or at an earlier special |
| 15 | election specifically authorized by law for that purpose: |
| 16 | ARTICLE VII |
| 17 | FINANCE AND TAX |
| 18 | SECTION 1. Taxation; appropriations; state expenses; state |
| 19 | revenue limitation.-- |
| 20 | (a) No tax shall be levied except in pursuance of law. No |
| 21 | state ad valorem taxes shall be levied upon real estate or |
| 22 | tangible personal property. All other forms of taxation shall be |
| 23 | preempted to the state except as provided by general law. |
| 24 | (b) Motor vehicles, boats, airplanes, trailers, trailer |
| 25 | coaches and mobile homes, as defined by law, shall be subject to |
| 26 | a license tax for their operation in the amounts and for the |
| 27 | purposes prescribed by law, but shall not be subject to ad |
| 28 | valorem taxes. |
| 29 | (c) No money shall be drawn from the treasury except in |
| 30 | pursuance of appropriation made by law. |
| 31 | (d) Provision shall be made by law for raising sufficient |
| 32 | revenue to defray the expenses of the state for each fiscal |
| 33 | period. However, a law enacted after January 1, 2005, may not |
| 34 | impose a tax, fee, penalty, or fine, expand a tax base, or |
| 35 | increase a tax rate, fee, penalty, or fine for an amount of |
| 36 | significant fiscal impact unless the law is enacted in a |
| 37 | separate bill for that purpose only by a two-thirds vote of the |
| 38 | membership of each house of the legislature. A law enacted after |
| 39 | January 1, 2010, may not repeal an exemption from a tax, fee, |
| 40 | penalty, or fine for an amount of significant fiscal impact |
| 41 | unless the law is enacted in a separate bill for that purpose |
| 42 | only by a two-thirds vote of the membership of each house of the |
| 43 | legislature. Such requirement shall not apply to the |
| 44 | reclassification of criminal activity or the enactment of laws |
| 45 | the result of which is to make an already enacted fee, penalty, |
| 46 | or fine applicable to additional conduct. |
| 47 | (e) Except as provided herein, state revenues collected |
| 48 | for any fiscal year shall be limited to state revenues allowed |
| 49 | under this subsection for the prior fiscal year plus an |
| 50 | adjustment for growth. As used in this subsection, "growth" |
| 51 | means an amount equal to the average annual rate of growth in |
| 52 | Florida personal income over the most recent twenty quarters |
| 53 | times the state revenues allowed under this subsection for the |
| 54 | prior fiscal year. For the 1995-1996 fiscal year, the state |
| 55 | revenues allowed under this subsection for the prior fiscal year |
| 56 | shall equal the state revenues collected for the 1994-1995 |
| 57 | fiscal year. Florida personal income shall be determined by the |
| 58 | legislature, from information available from the United States |
| 59 | Department of Commerce or its successor on the first day of |
| 60 | February prior to the beginning of the fiscal year. State |
| 61 | revenues collected for any fiscal year in excess of this |
| 62 | limitation shall be transferred to the budget stabilization fund |
| 63 | until the fund reaches the maximum balance specified in Section |
| 64 | 19(g) of Article III, and thereafter shall be refunded to |
| 65 | taxpayers as provided by general law. State revenues allowed |
| 66 | under this subsection for any fiscal year may be increased by a |
| 67 | two-thirds vote of the membership of each house of the |
| 68 | legislature in a separate bill that contains no other subject |
| 69 | and that sets forth the dollar amount by which the state |
| 70 | revenues allowed will be increased. The vote may not be taken |
| 71 | less than seventy-two hours after the third reading of the bill. |
| 72 | For purposes of this subsection, "state revenues" means taxes, |
| 73 | fees, licenses, and charges for services imposed by the |
| 74 | legislature on individuals, businesses, or agencies outside |
| 75 | state government. However, "state revenues" does not include: |
| 76 | revenues that are necessary to meet the requirements set forth |
| 77 | in documents authorizing the issuance of bonds by the state; |
| 78 | revenues that are used to provide matching funds for the federal |
| 79 | Medicaid program with the exception of the revenues used to |
| 80 | support the Public Medical Assistance Trust Fund or its |
| 81 | successor program and with the exception of state matching funds |
| 82 | used to fund elective expansions made after July 1, 1994; |
| 83 | proceeds from the state lottery returned as prizes; receipts of |
| 84 | the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund; balances carried forward |
| 85 | from prior fiscal years; taxes, licenses, fees, and charges for |
| 86 | services imposed by local, regional, or school district |
| 87 | governing bodies; or revenue from taxes, licenses, fees, and |
| 88 | charges for services required to be imposed by any amendment or |
| 89 | revision to this constitution after July 1, 1994. An adjustment |
| 90 | to the revenue limitation shall be made by general law to |
| 91 | reflect the fiscal impact of transfers of responsibility for the |
| 92 | funding of governmental functions between the state and other |
| 93 | levels of government. The legislature shall, by general law, |
| 94 | prescribe procedures necessary to administer this subsection. |
| 95 | XII |
| 96 | SCHEDULE |
| 97 | SECTION 26. Limitation on imposition or increase of taxes, |
| 98 | fees, penalties, or fines.--The amendment to Section 1(d) of |
| 99 | Article VII limiting the imposition or increase of taxes, fees, |
| 100 | penalties, or fines by the legislature shall take effect January |
| 101 | 1, 2005. |
| 102 | BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the title and substance of the |
| 103 | amendment proposed herein shall appear on the ballot as follows: |
| 104 | LIMITATION ON LEGISLATIVE POWER TO IMPOSE |
| 105 | OR INCREASE TAXES, FEES, PENALTIES, OR FINES |
| 106 | Proposes an amendment to Section 1 of Article VII and the |
| 107 | creation of section 26 of Article XII of the State Constitution |
| 108 | to require that any law enacted after January 1, 2005, which |
| 109 | imposes a tax, fee, penalty, or fine, expands a tax base, or |
| 110 | increases a tax rate, fee, penalty, or fine for an amount of |
| 111 | significant fiscal impact be enacted in a separate bill by a |
| 112 | two-thirds vote of the membership of each house of the |
| 113 | Legislature; require that any law enacted after January 1, 2010, |
| 114 | which repeals an exemption from a tax, fee, penalty, or fine for |
| 115 | an amount of significant fiscal impact be enacted in a separate |
| 116 | bill by a two-thirds vote of the membership of each house of the |
| 117 | Legislature; and exempt from such requirements the |
| 118 | reclassification of criminal activity or the enactment of laws |
| 119 | the result of which is to make an already enacted fee, penalty, |
| 120 | or fine applicable to additional conduct. |