| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to postsecondary education; amending s. |
| 3 | 1009.24, F.S.; revising requirements for the Board of |
| 4 | Governors in establishing tuition and out-of-state fees |
| 5 | for graduate and professional programs; revising |
| 6 | requirements for the Board of Governors in establishing a |
| 7 | uniform maximum undergraduate tuition differential for |
| 8 | universities that have research and development |
| 9 | expenditures of a specified amount; allowing the |
| 10 | university board of trustees to maintain the differential |
| 11 | unless otherwise directed by the Board of Governors; |
| 12 | amending s. 196.192, F.S.; specifying educational |
| 13 | institutions as exempt entities for purposes of exemptions |
| 14 | from ad valorem taxation for property owned by exempt |
| 15 | entities; providing an effective date. |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (4) and subsection |
| 20 | (16) of section 1009.24, Florida Statutes, as amended by section |
| 21 | 5 of chapter 2007-329, Laws of Florida, are amended to read: |
| 22 | 1009.24 State university student fees.-- |
| 23 | (4) |
| 24 | (c) The Board of Governors, or the board's designee, may |
| 25 | establish tuition for graduate and professional programs, and |
| 26 | out-of-state fees for all programs. The sum of tuition and out- |
| 27 | of-state fees assessed to nonresident students must be |
| 28 | sufficient to offset the full instructional cost of serving such |
| 29 | students. However, adjustments to out-of-state fees or tuition |
| 30 | for graduate and professional programs pursuant to this section |
| 31 | may not exceed 10 percent in any year and adjustments to out-of- |
| 32 | state fees or tuition for professional programs may not exceed |
| 33 | 15 percent in any year. |
| 34 | (16) The Board of Governors may establish a uniform |
| 35 | maximum undergraduate tuition differential that does not exceed |
| 36 | 40 percent of tuition for all universities that meet the |
| 37 | criteria for Funding Level 1 under s. 1004.635(3), and may |
| 38 | establish a uniform maximum undergraduate tuition differential |
| 39 | that does not exceed 30 percent of tuition for all universities |
| 40 | that have total research and development expenditures for all |
| 41 | fields of at least $100 million per year as reported annually to |
| 42 | the National Science Foundation meet the criteria for Funding |
| 43 | Level 2 under s. 1004.635(3). Once these criteria have been met |
| 44 | and the differential established by the Board of Governors, the |
| 45 | board of trustees of a qualified university may maintain the |
| 46 | differential unless otherwise directed by the Board of |
| 47 | Governors. However, the board shall ensure that the maximum |
| 48 | tuition differential it establishes for universities meeting the |
| 49 | Funding Level 1 criteria is at least 30 percent greater than the |
| 50 | maximum tuition differential the board establishes for |
| 51 | universities that meet the required Funding Level 2 criteria for |
| 52 | research and development expenditures. The tuition differential |
| 53 | is subject to the following conditions: |
| 54 | (a) The sum of tuition and the tuition differential may |
| 55 | not be increased by more than 15 percent of the total charged |
| 56 | for these fees in the preceding fiscal year. |
| 57 | (b) The tuition differential may not be calculated as a |
| 58 | part of the scholarship programs established in ss. 1009.53- |
| 59 | 1009.537. |
| 60 | (c) Beneficiaries having prepaid tuition contracts |
| 61 | pursuant to s. 1009.98(2)(b) which were in effect on July 1, |
| 62 | 2007, and which remain in effect, are exempt from the payment of |
| 63 | the tuition differential. |
| 64 | (d) The tuition differential may not be charged to any |
| 65 | student who was in attendance at the university before July 1, |
| 66 | 2007, and who maintains continuous enrollment. |
| 67 | (e) The tuition differential may be waived by the |
| 68 | university for students who meet the eligibility requirements |
| 69 | for the Florida public student assistance grant established in |
| 70 | s. 1009.50. |
| 71 | (f) A university board of trustees that has been |
| 72 | authorized by the Board of Governors to establish a tuition |
| 73 | differential pursuant to this subsection may establish the |
| 74 | tuition differential at a rate lower than the maximum tuition |
| 75 | differential established by the board, but may not exceed the |
| 76 | maximum tuition differential established by the board. |
| 77 | (g) The revenue generated from the tuition differential |
| 78 | must be spent solely for improving the quality of direct |
| 79 | undergraduate instruction and support services. |
| 80 | (h) Information relating to the annual receipt and |
| 81 | expenditure of the proceeds from the assessment of the tuition |
| 82 | differential shall be reported by the university in accordance |
| 83 | with guidelines established by the Board of Governors. |
| 84 | Section 2. Section 196.192, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 85 | to read: |
| 86 | 196.192 Exemptions from ad valorem taxation.--Subject to |
| 87 | the provisions of this chapter: |
| 88 | (1) All property owned by an exempt entity, including |
| 89 | educational institutions, and used exclusively for exempt |
| 90 | purposes shall be totally exempt from ad valorem taxation. |
| 91 | (2) All property owned by an exempt entity, including |
| 92 | educational institutions, and used predominantly for exempt |
| 93 | purposes shall be exempted from ad valorem taxation to the |
| 94 | extent of the ratio that such predominant use bears to the |
| 95 | nonexempt use. |
| 96 | (3) All tangible personal property loaned or leased by a |
| 97 | natural person, by a trust holding property for a natural |
| 98 | person, or by an exempt entity to an exempt entity for public |
| 99 | display or exhibition on a recurrent schedule is exempt from ad |
| 100 | valorem taxation if the property is loaned or leased for no |
| 101 | consideration or for nominal consideration. |
| 102 |
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| 103 | For purposes of this section, each use to which the property is |
| 104 | being put must be considered in granting an exemption from ad |
| 105 | valorem taxation, including any economic use in addition to any |
| 106 | physical use. For purposes of this section, property owned by a |
| 107 | limited liability company, the sole member of which is an exempt |
| 108 | entity, shall be treated as if the property were owned directly |
| 109 | by the exempt entity. This section does not apply in determining |
| 110 | the exemption for property owned by governmental units pursuant |
| 111 | to s. 196.199. |
| 112 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |