CS/HB 511

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to school district flexibility; amending
3ss. 200.065 and 1011.71, F.S.; including property and
4casualty insurance premium costs as authorized uses of
5school district millage; limiting the use of certain
6operating revenues made available through payment of
7certain insurance premiums from certain optional district
8school tax revenues; specifying nonapplication of certain
9expenditure restrictions to school districts meeting
10certain class size reduction requirements and financial
11and audit criteria; providing an effective date.
12
13Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15     Section 1.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (9) of section
16200.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
17     200.065  Method of fixing millage.--
18     (9)(a)  In addition to the notice required in subsection
19(3), a district school board shall publish a second notice of
20intent to levy additional taxes under s. 1011.71(2). Such notice
21shall specify the projects or number of school buses anticipated
22to be funded by such additional taxes and shall be published in
23the size, within the time periods, adjacent to, and in
24substantial conformity with the advertisement required under
25subsection (3). The projects shall be listed in priority within
26each category as follows: construction and remodeling;
27maintenance, renovation, and repair; motor vehicle purchases;
28new and replacement equipment; payments for educational
29facilities and sites due under a lease-purchase agreement;
30payments for renting and leasing educational facilities and
31sites; payments of loans approved pursuant to ss. 1011.14 and
321011.15; payment of costs of compliance with environmental
33statutes and regulations; payment of premiums for property and
34casualty insurance necessary to insure the educational plants of
35the school district; payment of costs of leasing relocatable
36educational facilities; and payments to private entities to
37offset the cost of school buses pursuant to s. 1011.71(2)(i).
38The additional notice shall be in the following form, except
39that if the district school board is proposing to levy the same
40millage under s. 1011.71(2) which it levied in the prior year,
41the words "continue to" shall be inserted before the word
42"impose" in the first sentence, and except that the second
43sentence of the second paragraph shall be deleted if the
44district is advertising pursuant to paragraph (3)(e):
45
46
NOTICE OF TAX FOR SCHOOL
47
CAPITAL OUTLAY
48
49     The   (name of school district)   will soon consider a
50measure to impose a   (number)   mill property tax for the
51capital outlay projects listed herein.
52     This tax is in addition to the school board's proposed tax
53of   (number)   mills for operating expenses and is proposed
54solely at the discretion of the school board. THE PROPOSED
55COMBINED SCHOOL BOARD TAX INCREASE FOR BOTH OPERATING EXPENSES
56AND CAPITAL OUTLAY IS SHOWN IN THE ADJACENT NOTICE.
57     The capital outlay tax will generate approximately $  
58(amount)  , to be used for the following projects:
59
60
(list of capital outlay projects)
61
62     All concerned citizens are invited to a public hearing to
63be held on   (date and time)   at   (meeting place)  .
64     A DECISION on the proposed CAPITAL OUTLAY TAXES will be
65made at this hearing.
66     Section 2.  Paragraph (j) is added to subsection (2) of
67section 1011.71, Florida Statutes, and subsection (5) of that
68section is amended, to read:
69     1011.71  District school tax.--
70     (2)  In addition to the maximum millage levy as provided in
71subsection (1), each school board may levy not more than 2 mills
72against the taxable value for school purposes for district
73schools, including charter schools at the discretion of the
74school board, to fund:
75     (j)  Payment of premiums for property and casualty
76insurance necessary to insure the educational plants of the
77school district.
78
79Violations of these expenditure provisions shall result in an
80equal dollar reduction in the Florida Education Finance Program
81(FEFP) funds for the violating district in the fiscal year
82following the audit citation.
83     (5)(a)  It is the intent of the Legislature that, by July
841, 2003, revenue generated by the millage levy authorized by
85subsection (2) should be used only for the costs of
86construction, renovation, remodeling, maintenance, and repair of
87the educational plant; for the purchase, lease, or lease-
88purchase of equipment, educational plants, and construction
89materials directly related to the delivery of student
90instruction; for the rental or lease of existing buildings, or
91space within existing buildings, originally constructed or used
92for purposes other than education, for conversion to use as
93educational facilities; for payment of premiums for property and
94casualty insurance necessary to insure the educational plants of
95the school district; for the opening day collection for the
96library media center of a new school; for the purchase, lease-
97purchase, or lease of school buses or the payment to a private
98entity to offset the cost of school buses pursuant to paragraph
99(2)(i); and for servicing of payments related to certificates of
100participation issued for any purpose prior to the effective date
101of this act. Costs associated with the lease-purchase of
102equipment, educational plants, and school buses may include the
103issuance of certificates of participation on or after the
104effective date of this act and the servicing of payments related
105to certificates so issued. For purposes of this section,
106"maintenance and repair" is defined in s. 1013.01. Each year
107operating revenues are made available through the payment of
108property and casualty insurance premiums from revenues generated
109under this subsection or subsection (2), such operating revenues
110may be expended only for nonrecurring, operational expenditures
111of the school district.
112     (b)  For purposes not delineated in paragraph (a) for which
113proceeds received from millage levied under subsection (2) may
114be legally expended, a district school board may spend no more
115than the following percentages of the amount the district spent
116for these purposes in fiscal year 1995-1996:
117     1.  In fiscal year 2000-2001, 40 percent.
118     2.  In fiscal year 2001-2002, 25 percent.
119     3.  In fiscal year 2002-2003, 10 percent.
120     (c)  Beginning July 1, 2003, revenue generated by the
121millage levy authorized by subsection (2) must be used only for
122the purposes delineated in paragraph (a).
123     (d)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this
124subsection, if through its adopted educational facilities plan a
125district has clearly identified the need for an ancillary plant,
126has provided opportunity for public input as to the relative
127value of the ancillary plant versus an educational plant, and
128has obtained public approval, the district may use revenue
129generated by the millage levy authorized by subsection (2) for
130the acquisition, construction, renovation, remodeling,
131maintenance, or repair of an ancillary plant.
132
133A district that violates these expenditure restrictions shall
134have an equal dollar reduction in funds appropriated to the
135district under s. 1011.62 in the fiscal year following the audit
136citation. The expenditure restrictions do not apply to any
137school district that has met the reduction requirements
138regarding class size for the current year pursuant to s.
1391003.03, has received an unqualified opinion on its financial
140statements for the preceding 3 years, has no material weaknesses
141or instances of material noncompliance noted in an audit for the
142preceding 3 years, and certifies to the Commissioner of
143Education that all of the district's instructional space needs
144for the next 5 years can be met from capital outlay sources that
145the district reasonably expects to receive during the next 5
146years or from alternative scheduling or construction, leasing,
147rezoning, or technological methodologies that exhibit sound
148management.
149     Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.


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