Florida Senate - 2011 SB 1818
By Senator Bennett
21-00899-11 20111818__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Florida Development Finance
3 Corporation Act of 1993; amending s. 288.9602, F.S.;
4 revising the findings and declarations of necessity of
5 the act to emphasize the importance of the economic
6 activities in counties and municipalities to the
7 economy of this state; providing that the purposes of
8 the act may be accomplished by legislation fully
9 implementing a constitutional provision to allow local
10 governments to issue revenue bonds to finance or
11 refinance the cost of certain capital projects;
12 providing that the purposes of the act may be
13 accomplished by legislation authorizing new and
14 innovative means for the investment of public trust
15 funds; providing an effective date.
16
17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19 Section 1. Section 288.9602, Florida Statutes, is amended
20 to read:
21 288.9602 Findings and declarations of necessity.—The
22 Legislature finds and declares that:
23 (1) There is a need to enhance economic activity in the
24 counties and municipalities of the state by attracting
25 manufacturing, development, redevelopment of brownfield areas,
26 business enterprise management, and other activities conducive
27 to economic promotion in order to provide a stronger, more
28 balanced, and stable economy in the state.
29 (2) A significant portion of businesses located in the
30 counties and municipalities of the state or desiring to locate
31 in the state encounter difficulty in obtaining financing on
32 terms competitive with those available to businesses located in
33 other states and nations or are unable to obtain such financing
34 at all.
35 (3) The difficulty in obtaining such financing impairs the
36 expansion of economic activity and the creation of jobs and
37 income in communities throughout the state.
38 (4) The businesses most often affected by these financing
39 difficulties are small businesses critical to the economic
40 development of the counties and municipalities of the state.
41 (5) The economic well-being of the people in, and the
42 commercial and industrial resources of, the counties and
43 municipalities of the state would be enhanced by the provision
44 of financing to businesses on terms competitive with those
45 available in the most developed financial markets worldwide.
46 (6) In order to improve the prosperity and welfare of the
47 counties and municipalities of the this state and its
48 inhabitants, to improve and promote the financing of projects
49 related to the economic development of the counties and
50 municipalities of the this state, including redevelopment of
51 brownfield areas, and to increase the purchasing power and
52 opportunities for gainful employment of citizens of the counties
53 and municipalities of the this state, it is necessary and in the
54 public interest to facilitate the financing of such projects as
55 provided for in this act and to do so without regard to the
56 boundaries between counties, municipalities, special districts,
57 and other local governmental bodies or agencies in order to more
58 effectively and efficiently serve the interests of the greatest
59 number of people in the widest area practicable.
60 (7) In order to promote and stimulate development and
61 advance the business prosperity and economic welfare of the
62 counties and municipalities of the this state and its
63 inhabitants; to encourage and assist new business and industry
64 in the this state through loans, investments, or other business
65 transactions; to rehabilitate and assist existing businesses; to
66 stimulate and assist in the expansion of all kinds of for-profit
67 and not-for-profit business activity; and to create maximum
68 opportunities for employment, encouragement of thrift, and
69 improvement of the standard of living of the citizens of
70 Florida, it is necessary and in the public interest to
71 facilitate the cooperation and action between organizations,
72 public and private, in the promotion, development, and conduct
73 of all kinds of for-profit and not-for-profit business activity
74 in the state.
75 (8) In order to efficiently and effectively achieve the
76 purposes of this act, it is necessary and in the public interest
77 to create a special development finance authority to cooperate
78 and act in conjunction with public agencies of the this state
79 and local governments of the this state, through interlocal
80 agreements pursuant to the Florida Interlocal Cooperation Act of
81 1969, in the promotion and advancement of projects related to
82 economic development, including redevelopment of brownfield
83 areas, throughout the state.
84 (9) The purposes to be achieved by the special development
85 finance authority through such projects and such financings of
86 business and industry in compliance with the criteria and the
87 requirements of this act are predominantly the public purposes
88 stated in this section, and such purposes implement the
89 governmental purposes under the State Constitution of providing
90 for the health, safety, and welfare of the people of the state.
91 These purposes may be facilitated through legislation fully
92 implementing s. 10(c), Art. VII of the State Constitution to
93 authorize local governments to issue revenue bonds for the
94 financing or refinancing of capital projects, and through
95 legislation authorizing new and innovative means for the
96 investment of public trust funds pursuant to s. 10(a), Art. VII
97 of the State Constitution.
98 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.