Bill Text: FL S1708 | 2019 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Tourist Development Councils
Spectrum:
Status: (Failed) 2019-05-03 - Died in Rules [S1708 Detail]
Download: Florida-2019-S1708-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2019 CS for SB 1708 By the Committee on Commerce and Tourism; and Senators Rouson and Hutson 577-03166-19 20191708c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to tourist development councils; 3 amending s. 125.0104, F.S.; conforming provisions to 4 changes made by the act; authorizing certain counties 5 to adopt a resolution that establishes and appoints 6 members of more than one tourist development council 7 upon a certain finding; requiring that such counties 8 organize their tourist development councils in 9 accordance with specified requirements upon the 10 adoption of such resolution; conforming a provision to 11 changes made by the act; providing an effective date. 12 13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14 15 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section 16 125.0104, Florida Statutes, is amended, paragraph (f) is added 17 to that subsection, and paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of that 18 section is amended, to read: 19 125.0104 Tourist development tax; procedure for levying; 20 authorized uses; referendum; enforcement.— 21 (4) ORDINANCE LEVY TAX; PROCEDURE.— 22 (b) At least 60 days beforeprior tothe enactment of the 23 ordinance levying the tax, the governing board of the county 24 shall adopt a resolution that establishes and appoints 25establishing and appointingthe members of the county tourist 26 development council,as prescribed in paragraph (e) or, if there 27 is more than one tourist development council, paragraph (f),and 28 that indicatesindicatingthe intention of the county to 29 consider the enactment of an ordinance levying and imposing the 30 tourist development tax. 31 (f)1. Notwithstanding any other law, a county with a 32 population of 900,000 or more, according to the last decennial 33 census, may adopt a resolution that establishes and appoints 34 members of more than one tourist development council upon a 35 finding that more than one tourist development council best 36 serves that county’s tourism industry needs. Upon the adoption 37 of such resolution, the county must organize its tourist 38 development councils in accordance with the requirements 39 provided in subparagraph 2. instead of the requirements provided 40 in paragraph (e). 41 2. The governing board of a county as described in this 42 paragraph which levies and imposes a tourist development tax 43 under this section shall appoint for each tourist development 44 council it establishes an advisory council to be known as the 45 “(name) Tourist Development Council.” Each council shall be 46 established by ordinance and shall be composed of a minimum of 47 nine members who are appointed by the governing board. All 48 members of the councils shall be electors of the county. The 49 governing board of the county shall have the option of 50 designating the chairs of the councils or allowing the councils 51 to elect their chairs. The chairs shall annually be appointed or 52 elected and may be reelected or reappointed. The members of the 53 councils shall serve for staggered terms of 4 years. The terms 54 of office of the original members shall be prescribed in the 55 resolution required under paragraph (b). The councils shall meet 56 at least once each quarter and, from time to time, shall make 57 recommendations to the county governing board for the effective 58 operation of the special projects or for uses of the tourist 59 development tax revenue and perform such other duties as may be 60 prescribed by county ordinance or resolution. A council shall 61 continuously review expenditures of revenues from the tourist 62 development trust fund and shall receive, at least quarterly, 63 expenditure reports from the county governing board or its 64 designee. Expenditures that the councils believe to be 65 unauthorized shall be reported to the county governing board and 66 the Department of Revenue. The governing board and the 67 department shall review the findings of the councils and take 68 appropriate administrative or judicial action to ensure 69 compliance with this section. 70 (5) AUTHORIZED USES OF REVENUE.— 71 (a) All tax revenues received pursuant to this section by a 72 county imposing the tourist development tax shall be used by 73 that county for the following purposes only: 74 1. To acquire, construct, extend, enlarge, remodel, repair, 75 improve, maintain, operate, or promote one or more: 76 a. Publicly owned and operated convention centers, sports 77 stadiums, sports arenas, coliseums, or auditoriums within the 78 boundaries of the county or subcounty special taxing district in 79 which the tax is levied; 80 b. Auditoriums that are publicly owned but are operated by 81 organizations that are exempt from federal taxation pursuant to 82 26 U.S.C. s. 501(c)(3) and open to the public, within the 83 boundaries of the county or subcounty special taxing district in 84 which the tax is levied; or 85 c. Aquariums or museums that are publicly owned and 86 operated or owned and operated by not-for-profit organizations 87 and open to the public, within the boundaries of the county or 88 subcounty special taxing district in which the tax is levied; 89 2. To promote zoological parks that are publicly owned and 90 operated or owned and operated by not-for-profit organizations 91 and open to the public; 92 3. To promote and advertise tourism in this state and 93 nationally and internationally; however, if tax revenues are 94 expended for an activity, service, venue, or event, the 95 activity, service, venue, or event must have as one of its main 96 purposes the attraction of tourists as evidenced by the 97 promotion of the activity, service, venue, or event to tourists; 98 4. To fund convention bureaus, tourist bureaus, tourist 99 information centers, and news bureaus as county agencies or by 100 contract with the chambers of commerce or similar associations 101 in the county, which may include any indirect administrative 102 costs for services performed by the county on behalf of the 103 promotion agency; 104 5. To finance beach park facilities, or beach, channel, 105 estuary, or lagoon improvement, maintenance, renourishment, 106 restoration, and erosion control, including construction of 107 beach groins and shoreline protection, enhancement, cleanup, or 108 restoration of inland lakes and rivers to which there is public 109 access as those uses relate to the physical preservation of the 110 beach, shoreline, channel, estuary, lagoon, or inland lake or 111 river. However, any funds identified by a county as the local 112 matching source for beach renourishment, restoration, or erosion 113 control projects included in the long-range budget plan of the 114 state’s Beach Management Plan, pursuant to s. 161.091, or funds 115 contractually obligated by a county in the financial plan for a 116 federally authorized shore protection project may not be used or 117 loaned for any other purpose. In counties of fewer than 100,000 118 population, up to 10 percent of the revenues from the tourist 119 development tax may be used for beach park facilities; or 120 6. To acquire, construct, extend, enlarge, remodel, repair, 121 improve, maintain, operate, or finance public facilities within 122 the boundaries of the county or subcounty special taxing 123 district in which the tax is levied, if the public facilities 124 are needed to increase tourist-related business activities in 125 the county or subcounty special district and are recommended by 126 the county tourist development council created pursuant to 127 paragraph (4)(e) or by at least one of the tourist development 128 councils created pursuant to paragraph (4)(f) for such council’s 129 designated area. Tax revenues may be used for any related land 130 acquisition, land improvement, design and engineering costs, and 131 all other professional and related costs required to bring the 132 public facilities into service. As used in this subparagraph, 133 the term “public facilities” means major capital improvements 134 that have a life expectancy of 5 or more years, including, but 135 not limited to, transportation, sanitary sewer, solid waste, 136 drainage, potable water, and pedestrian facilities. Tax revenues 137 may be used for these purposes only if the following conditions 138 are satisfied: 139 a. In the county fiscal year immediately preceding the 140 fiscal year in which the tax revenues were initially used for 141 such purposes, at least $10 million in tourist development tax 142 revenue was received; 143 b. The county governing board approves the use for the 144 proposed public facilities by a vote of at least two-thirds of 145 its membership; 146 c. No more than 70 percent of the cost of the proposed 147 public facilities will be paid for with tourist development tax 148 revenues, and sources of funding for the remaining cost are 149 identified and confirmed by the county governing board; 150 d. At least 40 percent of all tourist development tax 151 revenues collected in the county are spent to promote and 152 advertise tourism as provided by this subsection; and 153 e. An independent professional analysis, performed at the 154 expense of the county tourist development council, demonstrates 155 the positive impact of the infrastructure project on tourist 156 related businesses in the county. 157 158 Subparagraphs 1. and 2. may be implemented through service 159 contracts and leases with lessees that have sufficient expertise 160 or financial capability to operate such facilities. 161 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.