Florida Senate - 2020 SB 1592
By Senator Rodriguez
37-01836A-20 20201592__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Florida Working Families Tax
3 Rebate Program; creating the Florida Working Families
4 Tax Rebate Program within the Department of Revenue
5 for a certain purpose; granting specified people and
6 households certain state funds if they received a tax
7 credit under the federal Earned Income Tax Credit
8 program and meet certain criteria; specifying the
9 calculation of the rebate and procedures for
10 disbursing funds; requiring the department to provide
11 to the Governor, the Cabinet, and the Legislature a
12 certain report by a specified date; authorizing the
13 department to adopt emergency rules; providing an
14 appropriation; providing applicability; providing an
15 effective date.
16
17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19 Section 1. Florida Working Families Tax Rebate Program.—
20 (1) The Florida Working Families Tax Rebate Program is
21 created within the Department of Revenue to provide low-income
22 working Floridians relief on sales taxes, fuel taxes, property
23 taxes, or other taxes and fees paid in this state during the
24 year, consistent with the goals of the federal Earned Income Tax
25 Credit program.
26 (2) Each person or household who qualified and received a
27 tax credit under the federal Earned Income Tax Credit program in
28 a specific year may receive funds from the state if the person
29 or household:
30 (a) Maintains a Florida residence on the person’s or
31 household’s federal income tax return during the tax year in
32 which the person or household is applying for the Florida
33 Working Families Tax Rebate Program;
34 (b) Applies to the department, using a form developed by
35 the department, no later than June 30 of the year in which the
36 federal earned income tax credit was received; and
37 (c) Provides the department with documentation verifying
38 the receipt of and specific value of the federal earned income
39 tax credit.
40 (3) Within 30 days after receiving a completed application
41 and verifying the information required under subsection (2), the
42 department shall issue a check or remit funds using direct
43 deposit to the person or household in an amount equal to 10
44 percent of the amount of the federal earned income tax credit
45 received by the person or household.
46 (4) The Department of Revenue shall prepare and submit a
47 report by December 31, 2020, to the Governor and Cabinet, the
48 President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
49 Representatives, the Senate Minority Leader, and the House of
50 Representatives Minority Leader which addresses the feasibility
51 of creating and implementing an automatic Florida Working
52 Families Tax Rebate program using data provided by the Internal
53 Revenue Service or another federal agency so that a person or
54 household may receive funds from the state without having to
55 complete an annual application and provide documentation as set
56 forth in subsection (2).
57 (a) If the department determines that an automatic program
58 is not feasible, the report must identify specific barriers to
59 the creation of such a program and provide proposed solutions to
60 remove the barriers.
61 (b) If the department determines that an automatic program
62 is feasible, the report must include a legislative proposal to
63 implement the automatic program.
64 Section 2. (1) The Department of Revenue is authorized, and
65 all conditions are deemed to be met, to adopt emergency rules
66 pursuant to s. 120.54(4), Florida Statutes, for the purpose of
67 implementing the provisions of this act.
68 (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, emergency
69 rules adopted pursuant to subsection (1) are effective for 6
70 months after adoption and may be renewed during the pendency of
71 procedures to adopt permanent rules addressing the subject of
72 the emergency rules.
73 Section 3. For the 2020-2021 fiscal year, the sum of $510
74 million is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the
75 Department of Revenue to implement this act.
76 Section 4. This act applies to federal earned income tax
77 credits granted beginning on or after January 1, 2021.
78 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.