Senate Bill sb2020c1

    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 2020

    By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senator Bennett





    578-2665-07

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to firefighting; amending s.

  3         40.013, F.S.; excusing certain firefighters

  4         from jury duty service; amending s. 191.008,

  5         F.S.; authorizing the governing board of a fire

  6         control district to recover court costs and

  7         attorney's fees in certain civil actions;

  8         amending s. 191.011, F.S.; authorizing a fire

  9         control district to exempt property owned or

10         operated by religious institutions from non-ad

11         valorem assessments; providing a definition;

12         creating s. 191.016, F.S.; providing for

13         application of certain annexations within fire

14         control district boundaries; requiring annexing

15         municipalities to pay moneys to the district;

16         providing an effective date.

17  

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

19  

20         Section 1.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section

21  40.013, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

22         40.013  Persons disqualified or excused from jury

23  service.--

24         (2)

25         (b)  Any full-time federal, state, or local law

26  enforcement officer or such entities' investigative personnel

27  or any full-time firefighter, as defined in s. 112.81, shall

28  be excused from jury service unless such persons choose to

29  serve.

30         Section 2.  Subsections (5), (6), and (7) of section

31  191.008, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (6),

                                  1

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






    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 2020
    578-2665-07




 1  (7), and (8), respectively, and a new subsection (5) is added

 2  to that section, to read:

 3         191.008  Special powers.--Independent special fire

 4  control districts shall provide for fire suppression and

 5  prevention by establishing and maintaining fire stations and

 6  fire substations and acquiring and maintaining such

 7  firefighting and fire protection equipment deemed necessary to

 8  prevent or fight fires. All construction shall be in

 9  compliance with applicable state, regional, and local

10  regulations, including adopted comprehensive plans and land

11  development regulations. The board shall have and may exercise

12  any or all of the following special powers relating to

13  facilities and duties authorized by this act:

14         (5)  Recover reasonable court costs, including

15  attorney's fees, from the nonprevailing party in any civil

16  action to enforce the provisions of chapter 553 or chapter 633

17  and this section concerning fire suppression and prevention

18  and the enforcement of the firesafety code.

19         Section 3.  Subsection (12) is added to section

20  191.011, Florida Statutes, to read:

21         191.011  Procedures for the levy and collection of

22  non-ad valorem assessments.--

23         (12)  Property owned or operated by a religious

24  institution and used primarily as a place of worship shall be

25  exempt from any non-ad valorem assessments levied pursuant to

26  this act if the governing board of the district desires to

27  exempt all religious institutions in the district from such

28  assessments. The term "religious institution" means any

29  church, synagogue, or other established physical place for

30  worship at which nonprofit religious services and activities

31  are regularly conducted and carried on.

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






    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 2020
    578-2665-07




 1         Section 4.  Section 191.016, Florida Statutes, is

 2  created to read:

 3         191.016  Annexations within fire control districts.--

 4         (1)  For the purposes of s. 175.101(1), the boundaries

 5  of a district include the annexed area until the completion of

 6  the 4-year period provided under s. 171.093(4), or any

 7  extension mutually agreed upon by the district and the

 8  municipality, or until the termination of an interlocal

 9  agreement executed under s. 171.093(3).

10         (2)  An annexing municipality shall pay the district

11  payments required under s. 171.093(4)(a) by March 31 of each

12  of the 4 years provided for in s. 171.093(4) or any extension

13  mutually agreed upon by the district and the municipality.

14  However, the annexing municipality is not required to pay the

15  district moneys that have not been paid on a specific parcel

16  until such time as the moneys have been received by the

17  annexing municipality. Within 30 days after receipt, the

18  annexing municipality shall make payment of such moneys to the

19  district.

20         Section 5.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

21  law.

22  

23          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
24                         Senate Bill 2020

25                                 

26  The committee substitute requires a municipality annexing
    unincorporated land that is located within a fire control
27  district to pay the premium tax revenues, collected from the
    area that was annexed, to the district for a specified period
28  after the annexation. It also provides a deadline for payments
    from the municipality to the district.
29  

30  

31  

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