Florida Senate - 2016                              CS for SB 608
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Finance and Tax; and Senator Stargel
       
       593-02007-16                                           2016608c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to emergency preparedness and
    3         response; providing a sales and use tax exemption for
    4         certain tangible personal property related to disaster
    5         preparedness during a specified period; providing
    6         exceptions; authorizing the Department of Revenue to
    7         adopt emergency rules to implement the exemption;
    8         providing an expiration date; providing an
    9         appropriation; creating s. 252.359, F.S.; requiring
   10         the Division of Emergency Management to create a
   11         statewide system to facilitate transport and
   12         distribution of essentials in an emergency throughout
   13         the state; defining the term “essentials”; requiring
   14         the division to develop a certification system for
   15         certain persons who transport or assist in the
   16         distribution of essentials; providing requirements and
   17         conditions for the certification system; permitting
   18         certain activities by certified persons during a
   19         curfew; providing that a law enforcement officer may
   20         specify a permissible route of ingress or egress for a
   21         certified person; providing an effective date.
   22          
   23  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   24  
   25         Section 1. Disaster preparedness tax exemption.—
   26         (1) The tax levied under chapter 212, Florida Statutes, may
   27  not be collected during the period from 12:01 a.m. on May 31,
   28  2016, through 11:59 p.m. on June 14, 2016, on the sale of:
   29         (a) A portable self-powered light source selling for $20 or
   30  less.
   31         (b) A portable self-powered radio, two-way radio, or
   32  weather band radio selling for $75 or less.
   33         (c) A tarpaulin or other flexible waterproof sheeting
   34  selling for $50 or less.
   35         (d) An item typically sold or advertised as a ground anchor
   36  system or tie-down kit selling for $50 or less.
   37         (e) A gas or diesel fuel tank selling for $25 or less.
   38         (f) A package of AAA-cell, AA-cell, C-cell, D-cell,6-volt,
   39  or 9-volt batteries, excluding automobile and boat batteries,
   40  selling for $30 or less.
   41         (g) A cellular telephone battery selling for $60 or less.
   42         (h) A cellular telephone charger selling for $40 or less.
   43         (i) A nonelectric food storage cooler selling for $30 or
   44  less.
   45         (j) A portable generator that is used to provide light,
   46  support communications, or preserve food during a power outage
   47  and selling for $1,000 or less.
   48         (k) A storm shutter device selling for $200 or less. As
   49  used in this paragraph, the term “storm shutter device” means a
   50  material or product manufactured, rated, and marketed
   51  specifically for the purpose of preventing window damage from
   52  storms.
   53         (l) A carbon monoxide detector selling for $75 or less.
   54         (m) Reusable ice selling for $10 or less.
   55         (n) A single product consisting of two or more of the items
   56  listed in paragraphs (a)-(m) and selling for $75 or less.
   57         (o) A personal locator beacon selling for $600 or less.
   58         (p) An emergency position-indicating radio beacon selling
   59  for $1,500 or less.
   60         (2) The tax exemptions provided in this section do not
   61  apply to sales within a public lodging establishment as defined
   62  in s. 509.013(4), Florida Statutes, within a theme park or
   63  entertainment complex as defined in s. 509.013(9), Florida
   64  Statutes, or within an airport as defined in s. 330.27(2),
   65  Florida Statutes.
   66         (3) The Department of Revenue is authorized, and all
   67  conditions are deemed met, to adopt emergency rules pursuant to
   68  ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54, Florida Statutes, to implement this
   69  section.
   70         (4) This section expires September 30, 2016.
   71         Section 2. For the 2015-2016 fiscal year, the sum of
   72  $212,754 in nonrecurring funds is appropriated from the General
   73  Revenue Fund to the Department of Revenue for the purpose of
   74  administering the tax exemptions for the purchase of tangible
   75  personal property relating to disaster preparedness specified
   76  under this act.
   77         Section 3. Section 252.359, Florida Statutes, is created to
   78  read:
   79         252.359 Ensuring availability of emergency supplies.—
   80         (1) In order to meet the needs of residents affected by a
   81  declared emergency and to ensure the continuing economic
   82  resilience of communities impacted by disaster, the Division of
   83  Emergency Management shall establish a statewide system to
   84  facilitate transport and distribution of essentials throughout
   85  the state.
   86         (2) As used in this section, the term “essentials” means
   87  any goods that are consumed or used as a direct result of an
   88  emergency or that are consumed or used to preserve, protect, or
   89  sustain life, health, safety, or economic well-being.
   90         (3) The division shall develop a system to certify a person
   91  who transports essentials in commerce or assists in ensuring the
   92  availability of essentials, subject to the following:
   93         (a) The system must allow for both preemergency declaration
   94  and postemergency declaration certification and may include an
   95  annually renewable precertification.
   96         (b) The division may certify only a person who routinely
   97  transports or distributes essentials.
   98         (c) If requested by the employer, a certification of the
   99  employer constitutes a certification of the employer’s
  100  employees.
  101         (d) The division shall create an easily recognizable
  102  indicium of certification to assist local officials’ efforts to
  103  determine which persons have been certified under this
  104  subsection.
  105         (e) A person certified by the division is not required to
  106  obtain any additional certification or fulfill any additional
  107  requirement in order to transport or distribute essentials.
  108         (4) Notwithstanding any curfew, a person certified under
  109  subsection (3) may enter or remain in the curfew area for the
  110  limited purpose of distributing or assisting in the distribution
  111  of essentials and may provide service that exceeds otherwise
  112  applicable hours of service maximums to the extent authorized by
  113  a duly executed declaration of a state of emergency.
  114         (5) This section does not prohibit a law enforcement
  115  officer from specifying the permissible route of ingress or
  116  egress for a person certified under subsection (3).
  117         Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.