| 1 | The Committee on Finance & Tax recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to the Department of Citrus; amending s. |
| 7 | 601.155, F.S.; requiring the department to develop a |
| 8 | process for persons liable for the equalizing excise tax |
| 9 | to elect to not pay a portion of the tax; prohibiting the |
| 10 | department from expending certain amounts of excise tax |
| 11 | moneys for advertising, marketing, or public relations |
| 12 | activities under certain circumstances; providing an |
| 13 | exception; providing for the dismissal of certain claims; |
| 14 | requiring the Florida Citrus Commission to include a |
| 15 | report by the department's internal auditor as an agenda |
| 16 | item at each regularly scheduled commission meeting; |
| 17 | providing an effective date. |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 20 |
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| 21 | Section 1. Present subsections (10) and (11) of section |
| 22 | 601.155, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (11) |
| 23 | and (12), respectively, and a new subsection (10) is added to |
| 24 | said section, to read: |
| 25 | 601.155 Equalizing excise tax; credit; exemption.-- |
| 26 | (10) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the |
| 27 | Department of Citrus shall develop a process by which any person |
| 28 | liable for the excise tax imposed under this section may |
| 29 | annually object to payment of the tax. Any such objection must |
| 30 | be allowed without discretion as to the validity thereof and |
| 31 | that person shall be granted the immediate right to elect not to |
| 32 | pay two-thirds of the applicable tax rate. The department may |
| 33 | not expend any of the remaining one-third of the applicable tax |
| 34 | rate on any advertising, marketing, or public relations |
| 35 | activities to which any person liable for the excise tax imposed |
| 36 | under this section objects, although such funds may be used for |
| 37 | research, administration, and regulatory activities. Effective |
| 38 | July 1, 2004, upon any necessary legislative appropriation of |
| 39 | moneys due under the settlement agreement of Consolidated Case |
| 40 | No. 2002-CA-4686 in the Circuit Court of the Tenth Judicial |
| 41 | Circuit in Polk County, the plaintiffs shall agree to the |
| 42 | dismissal of their claim under the foreign commerce clause with |
| 43 | prejudice. |
| 44 | Section 2. The Florida Citrus Commission shall include as |
| 45 | an agenda item at each regularly scheduled meeting a report by |
| 46 | the internal auditor of the Department of Citrus. |
| 47 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004. |