Senate Bill sb1870c1

    Florida Senate - 2005                          CS for SJR 1870

    By the Committee on General Government Appropriations; and
    Senator Alexander




    601-2057-05

  1                 Senate Joint Resolution No. ____

  2         A joint resolution proposing the creation of a

  3         new section in Article X of the State

  4         Constitution relating to the Florida Hurricane

  5         Catastrophe Fund.

  6  

  7  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

  8  

  9         That the following creation of a new section in Article

10  X of the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be

11  submitted to the electors of this state for approval or

12  rejection at the next general election or at an earlier

13  special election specifically authorized by law for that

14  purpose:

15                            ARTICLE X

16                          MISCELLANEOUS

17         Assets of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.--The

18  assets of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, established

19  by general law, shall be used exclusively for paying

20  catastrophic hurricane loss obligations arising out of

21  reimbursement contracts with insurers, paying debt service on

22  revenue bonds and financing arrangements issued by or on

23  behalf of the fund, reinsurance costs of the fund,

24  administrative expenses of the fund, and an annual

25  appropriation for hurricane loss mitigation programs. Ten

26  million dollars must be appropriated annually in the General

27  Appropriations Act for hurricane loss mitigation programs and

28  any additional appropriation from the fund for the programs

29  must be approved by a vote of three-fourths of the membership

30  of each house of the legislature in a separate bill or bills

31  for that purpose only, provided the aggregate of any

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2005                          CS for SJR 1870
    601-2057-05




 1  appropriations from the fund for hurricane loss mitigation

 2  programs in a fiscal year may not exceed the greater of $10

 3  million dollars or an amount equal to thirty-five percent of

 4  the fund's investment income based upon the most recent fiscal

 5  year-end audited financial statements. This section does not

 6  limit the authority of the legislature to abolish or otherwise

 7  terminate the operations of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe

 8  Fund.

 9         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be

10  placed on the ballot:

11                     CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

12                            ARTICLE X

13         FLORIDA HURRICANE CATASTROPHE FUND.--Proposing an

14  amendment to the State Constitution to limit the purposes for

15  which the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund's assets may be

16  used, require an annual $10 million appropriation in the

17  General Appropriations Act for hurricane loss mitigation

18  programs, to require any additional appropriation from the

19  fund for the programs to be subject to a three-fourths vote of

20  the membership of the Legislature in a separate bill or bills,

21  and to limit the aggregate of any appropriations from the fund

22  for hurricane loss mitigation programs in a fiscal year to the

23  greater of $10 million or 35 percent of the fund's investment

24  income based on the most recent fiscal year-end audited

25  financial statements.

26  

27          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
28                   Senate Joint Resolution 1870

29                                 

30  Conforms bill language to s. 215.555(7)(c), F.S., specifying
    that the investment income of the Florida Hurricane
31  Catastrophe Fund is calculated based on the most recent fiscal
    year-end audited financial statements.
                                  2

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.