| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the discretionary surtax on documents; |
| 3 | amending s. 125.0167, F.S.; decreasing the rate of the |
| 4 | tax; requiring use of certain amounts of surtax revenues |
| 5 | for certain purposes; requiring a county to provide |
| 6 | matching funds for certain purposes; limiting use of |
| 7 | surtax revenues for administrative expenses; providing an |
| 8 | effective date. |
| 9 |
|
| 10 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 11 |
|
| 12 | Section 1. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 125.0167, |
| 13 | Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 14 | 125.0167 Discretionary surtax on documents; adoption; |
| 15 | application of revenue.-- |
| 16 | (1) Pursuant to the provisions of s. 201.031, the |
| 17 | governing authority in each county, as defined by s. 125.011(1), |
| 18 | is authorized to levy a discretionary surtax on documents for |
| 19 | the purpose of establishing and financing a Housing Assistance |
| 20 | Loan Trust Fund to assist in the financing of construction, |
| 21 | rehabilitation, or purchase of housing for low-income and |
| 22 | moderate-income families. No less than 50 percent of the funds |
| 23 | used in each county to provide such housing assistance shall be |
| 24 | for the benefit of low-income families. For the purpose of this |
| 25 | section, "low-income family" means a family whose income does |
| 26 | not exceed 80 percent of the median income for the area, and |
| 27 | "moderate-income family" means a family whose income is in |
| 28 | excess of 80 percent but less than 140 percent of the median |
| 29 | income for the area. For purposes of this section, the term |
| 30 | "housing" is not limited to single-family, detached dwellings. |
| 31 | The rate of the surtax shall not exceed the rate of 30 45 cents |
| 32 | for each $100 or fractional part thereof of the consideration |
| 33 | therefor. Such surtax shall apply only to those documents |
| 34 | taxable under s. 201.02, except that there shall be no surtax on |
| 35 | any document pursuant to which the interest granted, assigned, |
| 36 | transferred, or conveyed involves only a single-family |
| 37 | residence. Such single-family residence may be a condominium |
| 38 | unit, a unit held through stock ownership or membership |
| 39 | representing a proprietary interest in a corporation owning a |
| 40 | fee or a leasehold initially in excess of 98 years, or a |
| 41 | detached dwelling. At least 60 percent of the revenues from the |
| 42 | surtax shall be used for projects that encourage home ownership |
| 43 | by providing assistance for down payments for first-time |
| 44 | homeowners. |
| 45 | (3) The county shall deposit revenues from the |
| 46 | discretionary surtax in the Housing Assistance Loan Trust Fund |
| 47 | of the county, except that a portion of such revenues may be |
| 48 | deposited into the Home Investment Trust Fund of the county as |
| 49 | defined by and created pursuant to the requirements of federal |
| 50 | law. In order to withdraw moneys from the Housing Assistance |
| 51 | Loan trust fund of the county for the purposes of this section, |
| 52 | the county must provide additional matching funds to be used for |
| 53 | the purposes of this section. The county shall use the revenues |
| 54 | only to help finance the construction, rehabilitation, or |
| 55 | purchase of housing for low-income families and moderate-income |
| 56 | families, to pay necessary costs of administration, collection, |
| 57 | and enforcement of the surtax, and to fund any local matching |
| 58 | contributions required pursuant to federal law. For purposes of |
| 59 | this section, authorized uses of the revenues include, but are |
| 60 | not limited to, providing funds for first and second mortgages |
| 61 | and acquiring property for the purpose of forming housing |
| 62 | cooperatives. No more than 5 percent of surtax revenues may be |
| 63 | used for costs of administration. Special consideration shall be |
| 64 | given toward using the revenues in the neighborhood economic |
| 65 | development programs of community development corporations. No |
| 66 | more than 50 percent of the revenues collected each year |
| 67 | pursuant to this section may be used to help finance new |
| 68 | construction as provided herein. The proceeds of the surtax |
| 69 | shall not be used for rent subsidies or grants. |
| 70 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |