Bill Text: FL S0668 | 2015 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Emergency Fire Rescue Services and Facilities Surtax
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-04-22 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 209 (Ch. 2015-169) [S0668 Detail]
Download: Florida-2015-S0668-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2015 CS for CS for SB 668
By the Committees on Finance and Tax; and Community Affairs; and
Senator Latvala
593-03128-15 2015668c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the emergency fire rescue services
3 and facilities surtax; amending s. 212.055, F.S.;
4 revising the distribution of surtax proceeds; deleting
5 a provision requiring the county governing authority
6 to develop and execute interlocal agreements with
7 local government entities providing emergency fire and
8 rescue services; requiring a local government entity
9 requesting and receiving certain personnel or
10 equipment from another service provider to pay for
11 such personnel or equipment from its share of surtax
12 proceeds; deleting a provision requiring local
13 government entities to enter into an interlocal
14 agreement in order to receive surtax proceeds;
15 providing an effective date.
16
17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19 Section 1. Paragraphs (b) through (j) of subsection (8) of
20 section 212.055, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
21 212.055 Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent;
22 authorization and use of proceeds.—It is the legislative intent
23 that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales
24 surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a
25 subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the
26 levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties
27 authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the
28 maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the
29 procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if
30 required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended;
31 and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide.
32 Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as
33 provided in s. 212.054.
34 (8) EMERGENCY FIRE RESCUE SERVICES AND FACILITIES SURTAX.—
35 (b) Upon the adoption of the ordinance, the levy of the
36 surtax must be placed on the ballot by the governing authority
37 of the county enacting the ordinance. The ordinance will take
38 effect if approved by a majority of the electors of the county
39 voting in a referendum held for such purpose. The referendum
40 shall be placed on the ballot of a regularly scheduled election.
41 The ballot for the referendum must conform to the requirements
42 of s. 101.161. The interlocal agreement required under paragraph
43 (d) is a condition precedent to holding the referendum.
44 (c) Pursuant to s. 212.054(4), the proceeds of the
45 discretionary sales surtax collected under this subsection, less
46 an administrative fee that may be retained by the Department of
47 Revenue, shall be distributed by the department to the county.
48 The county shall distribute the proceeds it receives from the
49 department to each local government entity providing emergency
50 fire rescue services in the county. The surtax proceeds, less an
51 administrative fee not to exceed 2 percent of the surtax
52 collected, shall be distributed by the county based on each
53 entity’s average annual expenditures for fire control and
54 emergency fire rescue services in the 5 fiscal years preceding
55 the fiscal year in which the surtax takes effect in proportion
56 to the average annual total of the expenditures for such
57 entities in the 5 fiscal years preceding the fiscal year in
58 which the surtax takes effect. The county shall revise the
59 distribution proportions to reflect a change in the service area
60 of an entity receiving a distribution of the surtax proceeds the
61 participating jurisdictions that have entered into an interlocal
62 agreement with the county under this subsection. The county may
63 also charge an administrative fee for receiving and distributing
64 the surtax in the amount of the actual costs incurred, not to
65 exceed 2 percent of the surtax collected.
66 (d) If a local government entity requests The county
67 governing authority must develop and execute an interlocal
68 agreement with participating jurisdictions, which are the
69 governing bodies of municipalities, dependent special districts,
70 independent special districts, or municipal service taxing units
71 that provide emergency fire and rescue services within the
72 county. The interlocal agreement must include a majority of the
73 service providers in the county.
74 1. The interlocal agreement shall only specify that:
75 a. The amount of the surtax proceeds to be distributed by
76 the county to each participating jurisdiction is based on the
77 actual amounts collected within each participating jurisdiction
78 as determined by the Department of Revenue’s population
79 allocations in accordance with s. 218.62; or
80 b. If a county has special fire control districts and
81 rescue districts within its boundary, the county shall
82 distribute the surtax proceeds among the county and the
83 participating municipalities or special fire control and rescue
84 districts based on the proportion of each entity’s expenditures
85 of ad valorem taxes and non-ad valorem assessments for fire
86 control and emergency rescue services in each of the immediately
87 preceding 5 fiscal years to the total of the expenditures for
88 all participating entities.
89 2. Each participating jurisdiction shall agree that if a
90 participating jurisdiction is requested to provide personnel or
91 equipment from to any other service provider, on a long-term
92 basis and the personnel or equipment is provided pursuant to an
93 interlocal agreement, the local government entity jurisdiction
94 providing the service is entitled to payment from the requesting
95 service provider from that provider’s share of the surtax
96 proceeds for all costs of the equipment or personnel.
97 (e) Upon the surtax taking effect and initiation of
98 collections, each local government entity receiving a share of
99 surtax proceeds a county and any participating jurisdiction
100 entering into the interlocal agreement shall reduce the ad
101 valorem tax levy or any non-ad valorem assessment for fire
102 control and emergency rescue services in its next and subsequent
103 budgets by the estimated amount of revenue provided by the
104 surtax.
105 (f) Use of surtax proceeds authorized under this subsection
106 does not relieve a local government from complying with the
107 provisions of chapter 200 and any related provision of law that
108 establishes millage caps or limits undesignated budget reserves
109 and procedures for establishing rollback rates for ad valorem
110 taxes and budget adoption. If surtax collections exceed
111 projected collections in any fiscal year, any surplus
112 distribution shall be used to further reduce ad valorem taxes in
113 the next fiscal year. These proceeds shall be applied as a
114 rebate to the final millage, after the TRIM notice is completed
115 in accordance with this provision.
116 (g) Municipalities, special fire control and rescue
117 districts, and contract service providers that do not enter into
118 an interlocal agreement are not entitled to receive a portion of
119 the proceeds of the surtax collected under this subsection and
120 are not required to reduce ad valorem taxes or non-ad valorem
121 assessments pursuant to paragraph (e).
122 (h) The provisions of sub-subparagraph (d)1.a. and
123 subparagraph (d)2. do not apply if:
124 1. There is an interlocal agreement with the county and one
125 or more participating jurisdictions which prohibits one or more
126 jurisdictions from providing the same level of service for
127 prehospital emergency medical treatment within the prohibited
128 participating jurisdictions’ boundaries; or
129 2. The county has issued a certificate of public
130 convenience and necessity or its equivalent to a county
131 department or a dependent special district of the county.
132 (g)(i) Surtax collections shall be initiated on January 1
133 of the year following a successful referendum in order to
134 coincide with s. 212.054(5).
135 (h)(j) Notwithstanding s. 212.054, if a multicounty
136 independent special district created pursuant to chapter 67-764,
137 Laws of Florida, levies ad valorem taxes on district property to
138 fund emergency fire rescue services within the district and is
139 required by s. 2, Art. VII of the State Constitution to maintain
140 a uniform ad valorem tax rate throughout the district, the
141 county may not levy the discretionary sales surtax authorized by
142 this subsection within the boundaries of the district.
143 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.
