Senate Bill sb1746

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    Florida Senate - 2007                                  SB 1746

    By Senator Gaetz





    4-1290A-07

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to ad valorem millage rates;

  3         amending s. 200.065, F.S.; providing for an

  4         annual adjustment to the rolled-back millage

  5         rate; amending ss. 200.071 and 200.081, F.S.;

  6         providing for a limitation on the millage rate

  7         levied by counties and municipalities that

  8         participate in state revenue sharing; creating

  9         s. 200.082, F.S.; limiting independent special

10         districts to the rolled-back millage rate;

11         amending s. 218.23, F.S.; providing additional

12         certification requirements for a local

13         government to be eligible to receive state

14         revenue-sharing funds; providing an effective

15         date.

16  

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

18  

19         Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 200.065, Florida

20  Statutes, is amended to read:

21         200.065  Method of fixing millage.--

22         (1)  Upon completing completion of the assessment of

23  all property pursuant to s. 193.023, the property appraiser

24  shall certify to each taxing authority the taxable value of

25  the property within the jurisdiction of the taxing authority.

26  This certification shall include a copy of the statement

27  required to be submitted under s. 195.073(3) to the, as

28  applicable to that taxing authority. The form on which the

29  certification is made shall include instructions to each

30  taxing authority describing the proper method of computing a

31  millage rate which, exclusive of new construction, additions

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    Florida Senate - 2007                                  SB 1746
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 1  to structures, deletions, increases in the value of

 2  improvements that have undergone a substantial rehabilitation

 3  to improvements that increase which increased the assessed

 4  value of such improvements by at least 100 percent, and

 5  property added due to geographic boundary changes, will

 6  provide the same ad valorem tax revenue for each taxing

 7  authority as was levied during the prior year. The resulting

 8  millage rate shall be adjusted by a factor, published annually

 9  by the Department of Revenue and based on the Implicit Price

10  Deflators for Gross Domestic Product, State and Local

11  Government Consumption Expenditures and Gross Investment, as

12  determined by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United

13  States Department of Commerce, or successor reports, to

14  account for increases or decreases in costs to local

15  governments for goods and services typically purchased by such

16  governments. That adjusted millage rate shall be known as the

17  "rolled-back rate." The property appraiser shall send this

18  information provided pursuant to this subsection shall also be

19  sent to the tax collector by the property appraiser at the

20  same time it is sent to each taxing authority.

21         Section 2.  Section 200.071, Florida Statutes, is

22  amended to read:

23         200.071  Limitation of Millage limitation; counties.--

24         (1)  Except for voted levies, or as otherwise provided

25  herein, no ad valorem tax millage shall be levied against real

26  property and tangible personal property by counties may not

27  exceed in excess of 10 mills, except for voted levies.

28         (1)  As a condition of participation in state revenue

29  sharing under part II of chapter 218, ad valorem millage shall

30  be limited to the rolled-back rate calculated under s.

31  200.065(1), subject to any adjustments allowed by s.

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    Florida Senate - 2007                                  SB 1746
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 1  200.065(5) or (10), unless otherwise approved by a super

 2  majority vote of the governing body of the county.

 3         (2)  If The board of county commissioners shall, in the

 4  event the sum of the proposed millage for the county and

 5  dependent districts therein is more than the maximum allowed

 6  hereunder, the board of county commissioners shall reduce the

 7  millage to be levied for county officers, departments,

 8  divisions, commissions, authorities, and dependent special

 9  districts so as not to exceed the maximum millage provided

10  under this section or s. 200.091.

11         (3)  Any county that which, through a municipal service

12  taxing unit, provides services or facilities of the kind or

13  type commonly provided by municipalities, may levy, in

14  addition to the millages otherwise provided in this section,

15  against real property and tangible personal property within

16  each such municipal service taxing unit an ad valorem tax

17  millage not in excess of 10 mills to pay for such services or

18  facilities provided with the funds obtained through such levy

19  within such municipal service taxing unit.

20         Section 3.  Section 200.081, Florida Statutes, is

21  amended to read:

22         200.081  Millage limitation; municipalities.--Except

23  for voted levies, No municipality shall levy ad valorem

24  millage levied taxes against real property and tangible

25  personal property by municipalities may not exceed in excess

26  of 10 mills, except for voted levies. However, as a condition

27  of participation in state revenue sharing under part II of

28  chapter 218, ad valorem millage shall be limited to the

29  rolled-back rate calculated under s. 200.065(1), subject to

30  any adjustments allowed by s. 200.065(5) or (10), unless

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2007                                  SB 1746
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 1  otherwise approved by a super majority vote of the governing

 2  body of the municipality.

 3         Section 4.  Section 200.082, Florida Statutes, is

 4  created to read:

 5         200.082  Millage limitation; independent special

 6  districts.--Except for voted levies, ad valorem millage levied

 7  by an independent special district against real property and

 8  tangible personal property shall be limited to the rolled-back

 9  rate calculated under s. 200.065(1), subject to any

10  adjustments allowed by s. 200.065(5) or (10), unless otherwise

11  approved by a super majority vote of the governing body of the

12  independent special district.

13         Section 5.  Subsection (1) of section 218.23, Florida

14  Statutes, is amended to read:

15         218.23  Revenue sharing with units of local

16  government.--

17         (1)  To be eligible to participate in revenue sharing

18  beyond the minimum entitlement in any fiscal year, a unit of

19  local government is required to have:

20         (a)  Reported its finances for its most recently

21  completed fiscal year to the Department of Financial Services,

22  under pursuant to s. 218.32.

23         (b)  Made provisions for annual postaudits of its

24  financial accounts in accordance with provisions of law.

25         (c)  Levied, as shown on its most recent financial

26  report pursuant to s. 218.32, ad valorem taxes, exclusive of

27  taxes levied for debt service or other special millages

28  authorized by the voters, to produce the revenue equivalent to

29  a millage rate of 3 mills on the dollar based on the 1973

30  taxable values as certified by the property appraiser under

31  pursuant to s. 193.122(2) or, in order to produce revenue

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    Florida Senate - 2007                                  SB 1746
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 1  equivalent to that which would otherwise be produced by such

 2  3-mill ad valorem tax, to have received a remittance from the

 3  county pursuant to s. 125.01(6)(a), collected an occupational

 4  license tax or a utility tax, levied an ad valorem tax, or

 5  received revenue from any combination of these four sources.

 6  If a new municipality is incorporated, the provisions of this

 7  paragraph shall apply to the taxable values for the year of

 8  incorporation as certified by the property appraiser. This

 9  paragraph requires only a minimum amount of revenue to be

10  raised from the ad valorem tax, the occupational license tax,

11  and the utility tax. It does not require a minimum millage

12  rate.

13         (d)  Certified that persons in its employ as law

14  enforcement officers, as defined in s. 943.10(1), meet the

15  qualifications for employment as established by the Criminal

16  Justice Standards and Training Commission; that its salary

17  structure and salary plans meet the provisions of chapter 943;

18  and that no law enforcement officer is compensated for his or

19  her services at an annual salary rate of less than $6,000.

20  However, the department may waive the minimum law enforcement

21  officer salary requirement if a city or county certifies that

22  it is levying ad valorem taxes at 10 mills.

23         (e)  Certified that persons in its employ as

24  firefighters, as defined in s. 633.30(1), meet the

25  qualification for employment as established by the Division of

26  State Fire Marshal pursuant to the provisions of ss. 633.34

27  and 633.35 and that the provisions of s. 633.382 have been

28  met.

29         (f)  Certified that each dependent special district

30  that is budgeted separately from the general budget of the

31  local governing authority has met the provisions for annual

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    Florida Senate - 2007                                  SB 1746
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 1  postaudit of its financial accounts in accordance with the

 2  provisions of law.

 3  

 4  Additionally, To receive its share of revenue sharing funds, a

 5  unit of local government shall certify to the department of

 6  Revenue that the requirements of ss. s. 200.065, 200.071, and

 7  200.081 if applicable, were met. The certification shall be

 8  made annually within 30 days after of adoption of an ordinance

 9  or resolution establishing a final property tax levy or, if no

10  property tax is levied, not later than November 1.  The

11  portion of revenue sharing funds which, pursuant to this part,

12  would otherwise be distributed to a unit of local government

13  which has not certified compliance or has otherwise failed to

14  meet the requirements of s. 200.065 shall be deposited in the

15  General Revenue Fund for the 12 months following a

16  determination of noncompliance by the department.

17         Section 6.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.

18  

19            *****************************************

20                          SENATE SUMMARY

21    Provides a factor for adjusting the rolled-back millage
      rate to account for increases or decreases in local
22    government costs. Limits counties and municipalities that
      want to participate in state revenue sharing to the
23    rolled-back millage rates. Imposes a rolled-back millage
      rate on independent special districts. Requires local
24    governments to certify that they have applied rolled-back
      millage rates in order to receive state revenue-sharing
25    funds.

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