Senate Bill sb0546c1

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    Florida Senate - 2004                            CS for SB 546

    By the Committee on Education; and Senator Bennett





    304-2002-04

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to district school taxation;

  3         amending s. 1011.71, F.S.; authorizing certain

  4         expenditures from district school tax revenues

  5         to pay insurance premiums; providing

  6         limitations; providing for legislative review;

  7         amending s. 200.065, F.S., relating to the

  8         method of fixing millage, to conform; providing

  9         an effective date.

10  

11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

12  

13         Section 1.  Subsection (2) and paragraph (a) of

14  subsection (5) of section 1011.71, Florida Statutes, as

15  amended by sections 17 and 18 of chapter 2003-399, Laws of

16  Florida, are amended to read:

17         1011.71  District school tax.--

18         (2)  In addition to the maximum millage levy as

19  provided in subsection (1), each school board may levy not

20  more than 2 mills against the taxable value for school

21  purposes to fund:

22         (a)  New construction and remodeling projects, as set

23  forth in s. 1013.64(3)(b) and (6)(b) and included in the

24  district's educational plant survey pursuant to s. 1013.31,

25  without regard to prioritization, sites and site improvement

26  or expansion to new sites, existing sites, auxiliary

27  facilities, athletic facilities, or ancillary facilities.

28         (b)  Maintenance, renovation, and repair of existing

29  school plants or of leased facilities to correct deficiencies

30  pursuant to s. 1013.15(2).

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2004                            CS for SB 546
    304-2002-04




 1         (c)  The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of school

 2  buses; drivers' education vehicles; motor vehicles used for

 3  the maintenance or operation of plants and equipment; security

 4  vehicles; or vehicles used in storing or distributing

 5  materials and equipment.

 6         (d)  The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of new and

 7  replacement equipment.

 8         (e)  Payments for educational facilities and sites due

 9  under a lease-purchase agreement entered into by a district

10  school board pursuant to s. 1003.02(1)(f) or s. 1013.15(2),

11  not exceeding, in the aggregate, an amount equal to

12  three-fourths of the proceeds from the millage levied by a

13  district school board pursuant to this subsection.

14         (f)  Payment of loans approved pursuant to ss. 1011.14

15  and 1011.15.

16         (g)  Payment of costs directly related to complying

17  with state and federal environmental statutes, rules, and

18  regulations governing school facilities.

19         (h)  Payment of costs of leasing relocatable

20  educational facilities, of renting or leasing educational

21  facilities and sites pursuant to s. 1013.15(2), or of renting

22  or leasing buildings or space within existing buildings

23  pursuant to s. 1013.15(4).

24         (i)  Payment of premiums for property and casualty

25  insurance necessary to insure the educational facilities of

26  the school district.

27  

28  Violations of these expenditure provisions shall result in an

29  equal dollar reduction in the Florida Education Finance

30  Program (FEFP) funds for the violating district in the fiscal

31  year following the audit citation. The Legislature shall

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    Florida Senate - 2004                            CS for SB 546
    304-2002-04




 1  review by June 30, 2006, the restrictions on expenditures

 2  which are provided in this subsection.

 3         (5)(a)  It is the intent of the Legislature that, by

 4  July 1, 2003, revenue generated by the millage levy authorized

 5  by subsection (2) should be used only for the costs of

 6  construction, renovation, remodeling, maintenance, and repair

 7  of the educational plant; for the purchase, lease, or

 8  lease-purchase of equipment, educational plants, and

 9  construction materials directly related to the delivery of

10  student instruction; for the rental or lease of existing

11  buildings, or space within existing buildings, originally

12  constructed or used for purposes other than education, for

13  conversion to use as educational facilities; for property and

14  casualty insurance premiums necessary to insure the

15  educational facilities of the school district; for the opening

16  day collection for the library media center of a new school;

17  for the purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of school buses;

18  and for servicing of payments related to certificates of

19  participation issued for any purpose prior to the effective

20  date of this act. Costs associated with the lease-purchase of

21  equipment, educational plants, and school buses may include

22  the issuance of certificates of participation on or after the

23  effective date of this act and the servicing of payments

24  related to certificates so issued. For purposes of this

25  section, "maintenance and repair" is defined in s. 1013.01. If

26  operating revenues are made available through the payment of

27  property and casualty insurance premiums from revenues

28  generated under subsection (2), such operating revenues may be

29  expended only for nonrecurring operational expenditures of the

30  school district. The Legislature shall review this paragraph

31  by June 30, 2006.

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    Florida Senate - 2004                            CS for SB 546
    304-2002-04




 1  

 2  A district that violates these expenditure restrictions shall

 3  have an equal dollar reduction in funds appropriated to the

 4  district under s. 1011.62 in the fiscal year following the

 5  audit citation. The expenditure restrictions do not apply to

 6  any school district that certifies to the Commissioner of

 7  Education that all of the district's instructional space needs

 8  for the next 5 years can be met from capital outlay sources

 9  that the district reasonably expects to receive during the

10  next 5 years or from alternative scheduling or construction,

11  leasing, rezoning, or technological methodologies that exhibit

12  sound management.

13         Section 2.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (9) of section

14  200.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

15         200.065  Method of fixing millage.--

16         (9)(a)  In addition to the notice required in

17  subsection (3), a district school board shall publish a second

18  notice of intent to levy additional taxes under s. 1011.71(2).

19  Such notice shall specify the projects or number of school

20  buses anticipated to be funded by such additional taxes and

21  shall be published in the size, within the time periods,

22  adjacent to, and in substantial conformity with the

23  advertisement required under subsection (3). The projects

24  shall be listed in priority within each category as follows:

25  construction and remodeling; maintenance, renovation, and

26  repair; motor vehicle purchases; new and replacement

27  equipment; payments for educational facilities and sites due

28  under a lease-purchase agreement; payments for renting and

29  leasing educational facilities and sites; payments of loans

30  approved pursuant to ss. 1011.14 and 1011.15; payment of costs

31  of compliance with environmental statutes and regulations; and

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    Florida Senate - 2004                            CS for SB 546
    304-2002-04




 1  payment of costs of leasing relocatable educational

 2  facilities; and payment of premiums for property and casualty

 3  insurance necessary to insure the educational facilities of

 4  the school district. The additional notice shall be in the

 5  following form, except that if the district school board is

 6  proposing to levy the same millage under s. 1011.71(2) which

 7  it levied in the prior year, the words "continue to" shall be

 8  inserted before the word "impose" in the first sentence, and

 9  except that the second sentence of the second paragraph shall

10  be deleted if the district is advertising pursuant to

11  paragraph (3)(e):

12  

13                     NOTICE OF TAX FOR SCHOOL

14                          CAPITAL OUTLAY

15  

16         The ...(name of school district)... will soon consider

17  a measure to impose a ...(number)... mill property tax for the

18  capital outlay projects listed herein.

19         This tax is in addition to the school board's proposed

20  tax of ...(number)... mills for operating expenses and is

21  proposed solely at the discretion of the school board.  THE

22  PROPOSED COMBINED SCHOOL BOARD TAX INCREASE FOR BOTH OPERATING

23  EXPENSES AND CAPITAL OUTLAY IS SHOWN IN THE ADJACENT NOTICE.

24         The capital outlay tax will generate approximately

25  $...(amount)..., to be used for the following projects:

26  

27             ...(list of capital outlay projects)...

28  

29         All concerned citizens are invited to a public hearing

30  to be held on ...(date and time)... at ...(meeting place)....

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2004                            CS for SB 546
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 1         A DECISION on the proposed CAPITAL OUTLAY TAXES will be

 2  made at this hearing.

 3  

 4         (b)  In the event a school district needs to amend the

 5  list of capital outlay projects previously advertised and

 6  adopted, a notice of intent to amend the notice of tax for

 7  school capital outlay shall be published in conformity with

 8  the advertisement required in subsection (3).  A public

 9  hearing to adopt the amended project list shall be held not

10  less than 2 days nor more than 5 days after the day the

11  advertisement is first published.  The projects should be

12  listed under each category of new, amended, or deleted

13  projects in the same order as required in paragraph (a). The

14  notice shall appear in the following form, except that any of

15  the categories of new, amended, or deleted projects may be

16  omitted if not appropriate for the changes proposed:

17  

18                    AMENDED NOTICE OF TAX FOR

19                      SCHOOL CAPITAL OUTLAY

20  

21         The School Board of ...(name)... County will soon

22  consider a measure to amend the use of property tax for the

23  capital outlay projects previously advertised for the

24  ...(year)... to ...(year)... school year.

25  

26         New projects to be funded:

27  

28             ...(list of capital outlay projects)...

29  

30         Amended projects to be funded:

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2004                            CS for SB 546
    304-2002-04




 1             ...(list of capital outlay projects)...

 2  

 3         Projects to be deleted:

 4  

 5             ...(list of capital outlay projects)...

 6  

 7         All concerned citizens are invited to a public hearing

 8  to be held on ...(date and time)... at ...(meeting place)....

 9         A DECISION on the proposed amendment to the projects

10  funded from CAPITAL OUTLAY TAXES will be made at this meeting.

11         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.

12  

13          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
14                         Senate Bill 546

15                                 

16  The Committee Substitute clarifies the authority of a school
    board to use a portion of the two mill tax to pay the costs of
17  premiums for property and casualty insurance by placing the
    authorization in both (2) and (5)(a) of s. 1011.71, F.S.
18  
    The Committee Substitute also amends s. 200.065(9), F.S.,
19  which requires a school board to notify the public of the
    proposed use of funds collected from the two mill levy.  The
20  Committee Substitute includes general language to be used in
    the required public notice before the levy of the tax. The new
21  language identifies the payment of property and casualty
    insurance premiums as a general category for the public
22  notice.

23  

24  

25  

26  

27  

28  

29  

30  

31  

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