Florida Senate - 2016                             CS for SB 1520
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senator Gaetz
       
       578-03650-16                                          20161520c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to tourist development taxes; amending
    3         s. 125.0104, F.S.; specifying additional uses for
    4         revenues received from tourist development taxes for
    5         certain coastal counties; conforming a cross
    6         reference; providing an effective date.
    7          
    8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
    9  
   10         Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (5) of section
   11  125.0104, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph (d),
   12  present paragraph (d) is amended, and a new paragraph (c) is
   13  added to that subsection, to read:
   14         125.0104 Tourist development tax; procedure for levying;
   15  authorized uses; referendum; enforcement.—
   16         (5) AUTHORIZED USES OF REVENUE.—
   17         (c) A county located adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico or the
   18  Atlantic Ocean, except a county that receives revenue from taxes
   19  levied pursuant to s. 125.0108, which meets the following
   20  criteria may use up to 10 percent of the tax revenue received
   21  pursuant to this section to reimburse expenses incurred in
   22  providing public safety services, including emergency medical
   23  services as defined in s. 401.107(3), and law enforcement
   24  services, which are needed to address impacts related to
   25  increased tourism and visitors to an area. However, if taxes
   26  collected pursuant to this section are used to reimburse
   27  emergency medical services or public safety services for tourism
   28  or special events, the governing board of a county or
   29  municipality may not use such taxes to supplant the normal
   30  operating expenses of an emergency services department, a fire
   31  department, a sheriff’s office, or a police department. To
   32  receive reimbursement, the county must:
   33         1. Generate a minimum of $10 million in annual proceeds
   34  from any tax, or any combination of taxes, authorized to be
   35  levied pursuant to this section;
   36         2. Have at least three municipalities; and
   37         3. Have an estimated population of less than 225,000
   38  according to the most recent population estimate prepared
   39  pursuant to s. 186.901, excluding the inmate population.
   40  
   41  The board of county commissioners must by majority vote approve
   42  reimbursement made pursuant to this paragraph upon receipt of a
   43  recommendation from the tourist development council.
   44         (e)(d) Any use of the local option tourist development tax
   45  revenues collected pursuant to this section for a purpose not
   46  expressly authorized by paragraph (3)(l) or paragraph (3)(n) or
   47  paragraph (a), paragraph (b), or paragraph (c), or paragraph (d)
   48  of this subsection is expressly prohibited.
   49         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.