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.