Bill Text: FL S1864 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Energy Conservation

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-05-07 - Indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration [S1864 Detail]

Download: Florida-2011-S1864-Introduced.html
       Florida Senate - 2011                                    SB 1864
       
       
       
       By Senator Altman
       
       
       
       
       24-00959-11                                           20111864__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to energy conservation; amending s.
    3         212.055, F.S.; providing for a portion of the proceeds
    4         of the local government infrastructure surtax to be
    5         used for financial assistance to homeowners who make
    6         energy efficiency improvements or install renewable
    7         energy devices; defining the terms “renewable energy
    8         devices” and “energy efficiency improvement”;
    9         providing an effective date.
   10  
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section
   14  212.055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   15         212.055 Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent;
   16  authorization and use of proceeds.—It is the legislative intent
   17  that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales
   18  surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a
   19  subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the
   20  levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties
   21  authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the
   22  maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the
   23  procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if
   24  required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended;
   25  and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide.
   26  Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as
   27  provided in s. 212.054.
   28         (2) LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE SURTAX.—
   29         (d) The proceeds of the surtax authorized by this
   30  subsection and any accrued interest shall be expended by the
   31  school district, within the county and municipalities within the
   32  county, or, in the case of a negotiated joint county agreement,
   33  within another county, to finance, plan, and construct
   34  infrastructure; to acquire land for public recreation,
   35  conservation, or protection of natural resources; to provide
   36  financial assistance to owners of residential property who make
   37  energy efficiency improvements to, or purchase and install
   38  renewable energy devices in, the residential property; or to
   39  finance the closure of county-owned or municipally owned solid
   40  waste landfills that have been closed or are required to be
   41  closed by order of the Department of Environmental Protection.
   42  Any use of the proceeds or interest for purposes of landfill
   43  closure before July 1, 1993, is ratified. The proceeds and any
   44  interest may not be used for the operational expenses of
   45  infrastructure, except that a county that has a population of
   46  fewer than 75,000 and that is required to close a landfill may
   47  use the proceeds or interest for long-term maintenance costs
   48  associated with landfill closure. Counties, as defined in s.
   49  125.011, and charter counties may, in addition, use the proceeds
   50  or interest to retire or service indebtedness incurred for bonds
   51  issued before July 1, 1987, for infrastructure purposes, and for
   52  bonds subsequently issued to refund such bonds. Any use of the
   53  proceeds or interest for purposes of retiring or servicing
   54  indebtedness incurred for refunding bonds before July 1, 1999,
   55  is ratified.
   56         1. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term
   57  “infrastructure” means:
   58         a. Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay
   59  associated with the construction, reconstruction, or improvement
   60  of public facilities that have a life expectancy of 5 or more
   61  years and any related land acquisition, land improvement,
   62  design, and engineering costs.
   63         b. A fire department vehicle, an emergency medical service
   64  vehicle, a sheriff’s office vehicle, a police department
   65  vehicle, or any other vehicle, and the equipment necessary to
   66  outfit the vehicle for its official use or equipment that has a
   67  life expectancy of at least 5 years.
   68         c. Any expenditure for the construction, lease, or
   69  maintenance of, or provision of utilities or security for,
   70  facilities, as defined in s. 29.008.
   71         d. Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay
   72  associated with the improvement of private facilities that have
   73  a life expectancy of 5 or more years and that the owner agrees
   74  to make available for use on a temporary basis as needed by a
   75  local government as a public emergency shelter or a staging area
   76  for emergency response equipment during an emergency officially
   77  declared by the state or by the local government under s.
   78  252.38. Such improvements are limited to those necessary to
   79  comply with current standards for public emergency evacuation
   80  shelters. The owner must enter into a written contract with the
   81  local government providing the improvement funding to make the
   82  private facility available to the public for purposes of
   83  emergency shelter at no cost to the local government for a
   84  minimum of 10 years after completion of the improvement, with
   85  the provision that the obligation will transfer to any
   86  subsequent owner until the end of the minimum period.
   87         e. Any land acquisition expenditure for a residential
   88  housing project in which at least 30 percent of the units are
   89  affordable to individuals or families whose total annual
   90  household income does not exceed 120 percent of the area median
   91  income adjusted for household size, if the land is owned by a
   92  local government or by a special district that enters into a
   93  written agreement with the local government to provide such
   94  housing. The local government or special district may enter into
   95  a ground lease with a public or private person or entity for
   96  nominal or other consideration for the construction of the
   97  residential housing project on land acquired pursuant to this
   98  sub-subparagraph.
   99         2. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term “renewable
  100  energy devices” means any of the following equipment that, when
  101  installed in connection with a dwelling unit or other structure,
  102  collects, transmits, stores, or uses solar energy, wind energy,
  103  or energy derived from geothermal deposits:
  104         a. Solar energy collectors.
  105         b. Storage tanks and other storage systems, excluding
  106  swimming pools used as storage tanks.
  107         c. Rockbeds.
  108         d. Thermostats and other control devices.
  109         e. Heat exchange devices.
  110         f. Pumps and fans.
  111         g. Roof ponds.
  112         h. Freestanding thermal containers.
  113         i. Pipes, ducts, refrigerant handling systems, and other
  114  equipment used to interconnect such systems; however,
  115  conventional backup systems of any type are not included in this
  116  definition.
  117         j. Windmills.
  118         k. Wind-driven generators.
  119         l. Power conditioning and storage devices that use wind
  120  energy to generate electricity or mechanical forms of energy.
  121         m. Pipes and other equipment used to transmit hot
  122  geothermal water to a dwelling or structure from a geothermal
  123  deposit.
  124         3. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term “energy
  125  efficiency improvement” means any energy conservation and
  126  efficiency improvement that reduces consumption through
  127  conservation or a more efficient use of electricity, natural
  128  gas, propane, or other forms of energy on the property,
  129  including, but not limited to, air sealing; installation of
  130  insulation; installation of energy-efficient heating, cooling,
  131  or ventilation systems; building modifications to increase the
  132  use of daylight; replacement of windows; installation of energy
  133  controls or energy recovery systems; installation of electric
  134  vehicle charging equipment; and installation of efficient
  135  lighting equipment.
  136         4.2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this
  137  subsection, a local government infrastructure surtax imposed or
  138  extended after July 1, 1998, may allocate up to 15 percent of
  139  the surtax proceeds for deposit in a trust fund within the
  140  county’s accounts created for the purpose of funding economic
  141  development projects having a general public purpose of
  142  improving local economies, including the funding of operational
  143  costs and incentives related to economic development. The ballot
  144  statement must indicate the intention to make an allocation
  145  under the authority of this subparagraph.
  146         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.

feedback