Florida Senate - 2026                                    SB 1102
       
       
        
       By Senator Massullo
       
       
       
       
       
       11-01521-26                                           20261102__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to funding for body cameras; amending
    3         s. 212.055, F.S.; revising the definition of the term
    4         “infrastructure” to include body cameras in certain
    5         circumstances; providing an effective date.
    6          
    7  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
    8  
    9         Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section
   10  212.055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   11         212.055 Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent;
   12  authorization and use of proceeds.—It is the legislative intent
   13  that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales
   14  surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a
   15  subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the
   16  levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties
   17  authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the
   18  maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the
   19  procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if
   20  required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended;
   21  and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide.
   22  Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as
   23  provided in s. 212.054.
   24         (2) LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE SURTAX.—
   25         (d) The proceeds of the surtax authorized by this
   26  subsection and any accrued interest shall be expended by the
   27  school district, within the county and municipalities within the
   28  county, or, in the case of a negotiated joint county agreement,
   29  within another county, to finance, plan, and construct
   30  infrastructure; to acquire any interest in land for public
   31  recreation, conservation, or protection of natural resources or
   32  to prevent or satisfy private property rights claims resulting
   33  from limitations imposed by the designation of an area of
   34  critical state concern; to provide loans, grants, or rebates to
   35  residential or commercial property owners who make energy
   36  efficiency improvements to their residential or commercial
   37  property, if a local government ordinance authorizing such use
   38  is approved by referendum; or to finance the closure of county
   39  owned or municipally owned solid waste landfills that have been
   40  closed or are required to be closed by order of the Department
   41  of Environmental Protection. Any use of the proceeds or interest
   42  for purposes of landfill closure before July 1, 1993, is
   43  ratified. The proceeds and any interest may not be used for the
   44  operational expenses of infrastructure, except that a county
   45  that has a population of fewer than 75,000 and that is required
   46  to close a landfill may use the proceeds or interest for long
   47  term maintenance costs associated with landfill closure.
   48  Counties, as defined in s. 125.011, and charter counties may, in
   49  addition, use the proceeds or interest to retire or service
   50  indebtedness incurred for bonds issued before July 1, 1987, for
   51  infrastructure purposes, and for bonds subsequently issued to
   52  refund such bonds. Any use of the proceeds or interest for
   53  purposes of retiring or servicing indebtedness incurred for
   54  refunding bonds before July 1, 1999, is ratified.
   55         1. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term
   56  “infrastructure” means:
   57         a. Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay
   58  associated with the construction, reconstruction, or improvement
   59  of public facilities that have a life expectancy of 5 or more
   60  years, any related land acquisition, land improvement, design,
   61  and engineering costs, and all other professional and related
   62  costs required to bring the public facilities into service. For
   63  purposes of this sub-subparagraph, the term “public facilities”
   64  means facilities as defined in s. 163.3164(41), s. 163.3221(13),
   65  or s. 189.012(5), and includes facilities that are necessary to
   66  carry out governmental purposes, including, but not limited to,
   67  fire stations, general governmental office buildings, and animal
   68  shelters, regardless of whether the facilities are owned by the
   69  local taxing authority or another governmental entity.
   70         b. A fire department vehicle, an emergency medical service
   71  vehicle, a sheriff’s office vehicle, a police department
   72  vehicle, or any other vehicle, and the equipment necessary to
   73  outfit the vehicle for its official use or equipment that has a
   74  life expectancy of at least 5 years.
   75         c. Any expenditure for the construction, lease, or
   76  maintenance of, or provision of utilities or security for,
   77  facilities, as defined in s. 29.008.
   78         d. Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay
   79  associated with the improvement of private facilities that have
   80  a life expectancy of 5 or more years and that the owner agrees
   81  to make available for use on a temporary basis as needed by a
   82  local government as a public emergency shelter or a staging area
   83  for emergency response equipment during an emergency officially
   84  declared by the state or by the local government under s.
   85  252.38. Such improvements are limited to those necessary to
   86  comply with current standards for public emergency evacuation
   87  shelters. The owner must enter into a written contract with the
   88  local government providing the improvement funding to make the
   89  private facility available to the public for purposes of
   90  emergency shelter at no cost to the local government for a
   91  minimum of 10 years after completion of the improvement, with
   92  the provision that the obligation will transfer to any
   93  subsequent owner until the end of the minimum period.
   94         e. Any land acquisition expenditure for a residential
   95  housing project in which at least 30 percent of the units are
   96  affordable to individuals or families whose total annual
   97  household income does not exceed 120 percent of the area median
   98  income adjusted for household size, if the land is owned by a
   99  local government or by a special district that enters into a
  100  written agreement with the local government to provide such
  101  housing. The local government or special district may enter into
  102  a ground lease with a public or private person or entity for
  103  nominal or other consideration for the construction of the
  104  residential housing project on land acquired pursuant to this
  105  sub-subparagraph.
  106         f. Instructional technology used solely in a school
  107  district’s classrooms. As used in this sub-subparagraph, the
  108  term “instructional technology” means an interactive device that
  109  assists a teacher in instructing a class or a group of students
  110  and includes the necessary hardware and software to operate the
  111  interactive device. The term also includes support systems in
  112  which an interactive device may mount and is not required to be
  113  affixed to the facilities.
  114         g.Equipment, software, and storage necessary to allow a
  115  law enforcement agency to begin, or continue, the use of body
  116  cameras under s. 943.1718.
  117         2. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term “energy
  118  efficiency improvement” means any energy conservation and
  119  efficiency improvement that reduces consumption through
  120  conservation or a more efficient use of electricity, natural
  121  gas, propane, or other forms of energy on the property,
  122  including, but not limited to, air sealing; installation of
  123  insulation; installation of energy-efficient heating, cooling,
  124  or ventilation systems; installation of solar panels; building
  125  modifications to increase the use of daylight or shade;
  126  replacement of windows; installation of energy controls or
  127  energy recovery systems; installation of electric vehicle
  128  charging equipment; installation of systems for natural gas fuel
  129  as defined in s. 206.9951; and installation of efficient
  130  lighting equipment.
  131         3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection,
  132  a local government infrastructure surtax imposed or extended
  133  after July 1, 1998, may allocate up to 15 percent of the surtax
  134  proceeds for deposit into a trust fund within the county’s
  135  accounts created for the purpose of funding economic development
  136  projects having a general public purpose of improving local
  137  economies, including the funding of operational costs and
  138  incentives related to economic development. The ballot statement
  139  must indicate the intention to make an allocation under the
  140  authority of this subparagraph.
  141         4. Surtax revenues that are shared with eligible charter
  142  schools pursuant to paragraph (c) shall be allocated among such
  143  schools based on each school’s proportionate share of total
  144  school district capital outlay full-time equivalent enrollment
  145  as adopted by the education estimating conference established in
  146  s. 216.136. Surtax revenues must be expended by the charter
  147  school in a manner consistent with the allowable uses provided
  148  in s. 1013.62(4). All revenues and expenditures shall be
  149  accounted for in a charter school’s monthly or quarterly
  150  financial statement pursuant to s. 1002.33(9). If a school’s
  151  charter is not renewed or is terminated and the school is
  152  dissolved under the provisions of law under which the school was
  153  organized, any unencumbered funds received under this paragraph
  154  shall revert to the sponsor.
  155         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.