Bill Text: FL S1508 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Neighborhood Improvement Districts
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2019-05-03 - Died in Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice [S1508 Detail]
Download: Florida-2019-S1508-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2019 SB 1508 By Senator Simmons 9-01763-19 20191508__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to neighborhood improvement districts; 3 amending s. 163.511, F.S.; increasing the maximum 4 number of directors allowed for boards of special 5 neighborhood improvement districts; requiring local 6 planning ordinances to specify the number of directors 7 and their term lengths and to provide for staggered 8 terms; deleting a provision requiring directors to 9 serve for 3 years and a provision relating to term 10 length for initial director appointments; creating s. 11 163.5161, F.S.; creating the Safe Neighborhood 12 Improvement District Revolving Loan Program; providing 13 legislative purpose; providing definitions; 14 authorizing the Department of Legal Affairs to provide 15 loans for specified projects within safe neighborhood 16 improvement districts; authorizing a safe neighborhood 17 improvement district to borrow funds made available 18 under the program and to pledge revenues to repay such 19 funds; specifying the procedures by which the 20 department is to administer and manage the loans; 21 specifying the term of such loans; authorizing the 22 department to provide financial assistance to small 23 safe neighborhood improvement districts; requiring the 24 department to establish by rule the criteria for 25 determining whether a safe neighborhood improvement 26 district serves a financially disadvantaged community; 27 limiting the total amount of money that may be loaned 28 during a fiscal year; authorizing the department to 29 adopt rules related to the loan program; requiring the 30 department to prepare an annual report and submit it 31 to specified committees in the Legislature; specifying 32 items that the safe neighborhood improvement districts 33 must submit to the department before being approved 34 for loans; requiring the approval of the use of the 35 revolving loans by the registered voters of the 36 district by referendum; specifying items to be 37 included in the referendum; requiring the referendum 38 to be sent by mail and published; specifying audit 39 procedures once a loan project is completed; 40 authorizing the department to charge reasonable 41 service fees on loans to ensure the Safe Neighborhood 42 Improvement District Revolving Loan Trust Fund will be 43 operated in perpetuity; specifying fee amounts; 44 restricting uses of the trust fund; specifying 45 procedures if a safe neighborhood improvement district 46 defaults under the terms of its loan agreement; 47 authorizing the department to levy penalties for 48 delinquent loan payments; authorizing the department 49 to terminate or rescind a financial assistance 50 agreement under certain conditions; providing an 51 effective date. 52 53 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 54 55 Section 1. Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) and subsections 56 (7) and (8) of section 163.511, Florida Statutes, are amended to 57 read: 58 163.511 Special neighborhood improvement districts; 59 creation; referendum; board of directors; duration; extension.— 60 (1) After a local planning ordinance has been adopted 61 authorizing the creation of special neighborhood improvement 62 districts, the governing body of a municipality or county may 63 declare the need for and create special residential or business 64 neighborhood improvement districts by the enactment of a 65 separate ordinance for each district, which ordinance: 66 (f) Provides for the appointment of a three-, five-, or 67 seven-member3-memberboard of directors for the district. 68 (7) The business and affairs of a special neighborhood 69 improvement district mustshallbe conducted and administered by 70 a board of three, five, or seven directors who mustshallbe 71 landowners inresidents ofthe proposed area and who are subject 72 to ad valorem taxation in the district. Upon their appointment 73 and qualification and in January of each year, the directors 74 shall organize by electing from their number a chair and a 75 secretary, and may also employ staff and legal representatives 76 as deemed appropriate, who shall serve at the pleasure of the 77 board and may receive such compensation as shall be fixed by the 78 board. The secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of 79 the district and shall be custodian of all books and records of 80 the district. The directors shall not receive any compensation 81 for their services, nor may they be employed by the district. 82 (8) Within 30 days of the approval of the creation of a 83 special neighborhood improvement district, if the district is in 84 a municipality, a majority of the governing body of the 85 municipality, or if the district is in the unincorporated area 86 of the county, a majority of the county commission, shall 87 appoint thethreedirectors provided for herein, the number of 88 which must be specified in the local planning ordinance, which 89 must also provide for staggered termsof 3 years. The initial90appointments shall be as follows: one for a 1-year term, one for91a 2-year term, and one for a 3-year term. Each director shall 92 hold office until his or her successor is appointed and 93 qualified unless the director ceases to be qualified to act as a 94 director or is removed from office. Vacancies on the board shall 95 be filled for the unexpired portion of a term in the same manner 96 as the initial appointments were made. 97 Section 2. Section 163.5161, Florida Statutes, is created 98 to read: 99 163.5161 Safe Neighborhood Improvement District Revolving 100 Loan Program; use; rules.— 101 (1) The purpose of this section is to help implement the 102 legislative public policy of guiding the coordinated, balanced, 103 and harmonious development of safe neighborhood improvement 104 districts. This is accomplished by ensuring such districts have 105 adequate finances to plan and increase crime prevention through 106 environmental design, environmental security, or defensible 107 space techniques, or through community policing innovations. 108 (2) For purposes of this section, the term: 109 (a) “Bonds” means bonds, certificates, or other obligations 110 of indebtedness issued by the department under this section. 111 (b) “Neighborhood improvements” means all facilities, 112 including land, water, utilities, and roads, necessary for 113 providing critical infrastructure to implement the crime 114 prevention plans of a safe neighborhood improvement district. 115 (3) The department may provide loan guarantees, purchase 116 loan insurance, and refinance local debt through the issuance of 117 new loans for projects that are in the plans of a safe 118 neighborhood improvement district and that have been approved by 119 the department. A safe neighborhood improvement district may 120 borrow funds made available pursuant to this section and may 121 pledge any revenues or other adequate security available to the 122 district to repay any funds borrowed. 123 (a) The department shall administer loans so that 15 124 percent of the amounts credited to the Safe Neighborhood 125 Improvement District Revolving Loan Trust Fund in any fiscal 126 year is reserved for small safe neighborhood improvement 127 districts. 128 (b) If an insufficient number of the projects for which 129 funds are reserved under this subsection have been submitted to 130 the department at the time a funding priority list is adopted, 131 the reservation of these funds no longer applies. The department 132 may award the unreserved funds as otherwise provided in this 133 section. 134 (4) The term of loans made pursuant to this section may not 135 exceed the life of the project secured by the bond. The interest 136 rate on such loans may not exceed that paid on the last bonds 137 sold pursuant to s. 14, Art. VII of the State Constitution. 138 (5)(a) The department may provide financial assistance to 139 small neighborhood improvement districts, as determined by the 140 department, including providing forgiveness of the loan 141 principal. 142 (b) The department shall establish by rule the criteria for 143 determining whether a safe neighborhood improvement district 144 serves a financially disadvantaged community. Such criteria must 145 be based on the median household income of the service 146 population or other reliably documented measures of 147 disadvantaged status. 148 (6) In order to ensure that public moneys are managed in an 149 equitable, prudent, and cost-effective manner, the total amount 150 of money loaned to any safe neighborhood improvement district 151 during a fiscal year may not exceed 25 percent of the total 152 funds available for making loans during that year. 153 (7) The department may adopt rules to do all of the 154 following: 155 (a) Establish a priority system for loans based on degree 156 of likelihood of enhancing crime prevention and affordability 157 within a safe neighborhood improvement district. 158 (b) Establish the requirements for the award and the 159 repayment of financial assistance. 160 (c) Require evidence of credit worthiness and adequate 161 security, including an identification of revenues to be pledged 162 and documentation of the sufficiency of revenues for loan 163 repayment and pledged revenue coverage, to ensure that each loan 164 recipient can meet its loan repayment requirements. 165 (d) Require each project receiving financial assistance to 166 be cost-effective, environmentally sound, implementable, and 167 self-supporting. 168 (8) The department shall prepare a report at the end of 169 each fiscal year which details the financial assistance provided 170 under this section, service fees collected, interest earned, and 171 loans outstanding. The report must be provided to the 172 appropriations committees in the Senate and the House of 173 Representatives. 174 (9) Before being approved for a loan, the safe neighborhood 175 improvement district must, at a minimum: 176 (a) Provide a repayment schedule. 177 (b) Submit evidence that the project proposed for financial 178 assistance can be permitted or implemented. 179 (c) Submit plans and specifications, biddable contract 180 documents, or other documentation of appropriate procurement of 181 goods and services. 182 (d) Provide assurance that records will be kept using 183 generally accepted accounting principles and that the department 184 and the Auditor General will have access to all records 185 pertaining to the loan. 186 (e) Provide assurance that the goods and services funded 187 will be properly operated and maintained. 188 (10) A safe neighborhood improvement district may not 189 receive a revolving loan under this section unless the local 190 government approves a resolution that provides for a referendum, 191 and the qualified electors of the district have approved the use 192 of revolving loans by referendum. The referendum must include 193 the estimated cost of the capital projects that are anticipated 194 to be funded by the revolving loan funds and the amount of the 195 loan. 196 (a) The referendum to approve the loan funds must be by 197 mail ballot. 198 (b) Within 45 days after the date the city or county 199 commission enacts an ordinance calling a referendum, the city 200 clerk or the supervisor of elections, as appropriate, shall 201 compile a list of the names and last known addresses of the 202 electors within the safe neighborhood improvement district from 203 the list of registered voters of the municipality or county, as 204 appropriate, as of the last day of the preceding month, which 205 must be the registration list for the referendum. A resident of 206 the district whose name does not appear on the registration list 207 may register to vote in the referendum as otherwise provided by 208 law. 209 (c) Within 45 days after compilation of the voter 210 registration list, the city clerk or the supervisor of 211 elections, as appropriate, shall notify each qualified elector 212 of the provisions of the ordinance and the date of the upcoming 213 referendum. Notification shall be by first-class mail and a one 214 time publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the 215 municipality or county, as appropriate, in which the district is 216 located. 217 (d) The registration list must remain open for 75 days 218 after the date of the mailing of the notices to the electors as 219 provided in paragraph (c). 220 (e) Within 15 days after closing the registration list, the 221 city clerk or the supervisor of elections, as appropriate, shall 222 send a ballot to each elector at his or her last known mailing 223 address by first-class mail. The ballot must include: 224 1. A description of the capital projects to be funded by 225 the loan and the revenue sources that will be used to repay the 226 loan. 227 2. The following statement: 228 229 “Do you favor authorizing the .... Safe Neighborhood 230 Improvement District to use revolving loan funds in the amount 231 of $............ to finance capital projects that are estimated 232 to cost $............ as provided by section 163.5161, Florida 233 Statutes? 234 235 ....Yes, I favor authorizing the use of revolving loan 236 funds for district purposes. 237 ....No, I am opposed to authorizing the use of revolving 238 loan funds for district purposes.” 239 240 (f) Ballots must be returned by mail or by personal 241 delivery. 242 (g) All ballots received within 60 days after the closing 243 of the registration list shall be tabulated by the city clerk or 244 the supervisor of elections, as appropriate, who shall certify 245 the results thereof to the city or county commission, as 246 appropriate, no later than 5 days thereafter. 247 (h) The use of revolving loan funds is deemed to have been 248 approved only upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the 249 registered voters in the district voting on the issue. 250 (11) The department may conduct an audit of the loan 251 project upon completion, or may require that a separate project 252 audit, prepared by an independent certified public accountant, 253 be submitted. 254 (12) The department may require reasonable service fees on 255 loans made to safe neighborhood improvement districts to ensure 256 that the Safe Neighborhood Improvement District Revolving Loan 257 Trust Fund will be operated in perpetuity and to implement the 258 purposes authorized under this section. Service fees may not be 259 less than 2 percent nor greater than 4 percent of the loan 260 amount exclusive of the service fee. Service fee revenues shall 261 be deposited into the department’s Grants and Donations Trust 262 Fund. The fee revenues, and interest earnings thereon, shall be 263 used exclusively to carry out the purposes of this section. 264 (13) The Safe Neighborhood Improvement District Revolving 265 Loan Trust Fund must be used exclusively to carry out the 266 purposes of this section. Any funds that are not needed 267 immediately for financial assistance must be invested pursuant 268 to s. 215.49. The principal and interest of all loans repaid and 269 investment earnings thereon shall be deposited into the fund. 270 (14)(a) If a safe neighborhood improvement district 271 defaults under the terms of its loan agreement, the department 272 must so certify to the Chief Financial Officer, who shall 273 forward the amount delinquent to the department from any 274 unobligated funds due to the safe neighborhood improvement 275 district under any revenue-sharing or tax-sharing fund 276 established by the state, except as otherwise provided by the 277 State Constitution. Certification of delinquency may not limit 278 the department from pursuing other remedies available for 279 default on a loan, including accelerating loan repayments, 280 eliminating all or part of the interest rate subsidy on the 281 loan, and requesting a court appoint a receiver to manage the 282 safe neighborhood improvement district. 283 (b) The department may impose a penalty for delinquent loan 284 payments in the amount of 6 percent of the amount due, in 285 addition to charging the cost to handle and process the debt. 286 Penalty interest shall accrue on any amount due and payable 287 beginning on the 30th day following the date upon which payment 288 is due. 289 (15) The department may terminate or rescind a financial 290 assistance agreement if the recipient fails to comply with the 291 terms and conditions of the agreement. 292 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.