Bill Text: FL S2760 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Pinellas Park WMD Authority/Pinellas County

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-04-30 - Died, not introduced [S2760 Detail]

Download: Florida-2010-S2760-Introduced.html

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Florida Senate - 2010                            (NP)    SB 2760 
 
By Senator Jones 
13-01212A-10                                          20102760__ 
1                        A bill to be entitled 
2         An act relating to Pinellas Park Water Management 
3         District Authority, Pinellas County; amending chapter 
4         2001-325, Laws of Florida; reducing the ad valorem 
5         millage cap, subject to a referendum; specifying that 
6         the authority is housed within the City of Pinellas 
7         Park for administrative purposes; increasing and 
8         revising membership of the authority; increasing the 
9         term for each member; deleting provisions requiring a 
10         secretary and treasurer to be elected and the 
11         treasurer to post a surety bond; deleting other 
12         provisions to conform to changes made by the act; 
13         providing for a referendum; providing effective dates. 
14 
15  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
16 
17         Section 1. Section 1, and sections 3 and 8 of section 3, of 
18  chapter 2001-325, Laws of Florida, are amended to read: 
19         Section 1. Pursuant to section 189.429, Florida Statutes, 
20  this act constitutes the codification of all special acts 
21  relating to Pinellas Park Water Management District Authority. 
22  It is the intent of the Legislature to provide a single, 
23  comprehensive special act charter for the authority including 
24  all current legislative authority granted to it by its several 
25  legislative enactments and any additional authority granted by 
26  this act and chapter 189, Florida Statutes, as it may be amended 
27  from time to time. It is further the intent of this act to 
28  preserve all authority powers, including the power to annually 
29  assess and levy against the taxable property in the district a 
30  tax not to exceed 1.5 3 mills on the dollar of assessed 
31  valuation. 
32         Section 3. Pinellas Park Water Management District 
33  Authority.— 
34         (1) The Pinellas Park Water Management District Authority 
35  was created as the Pinellas Park Water Management District by 
36  special act of the Legislature in 1975. Its charter may be 
37  amended only by special act of the Legislature. The authority 
38  shall be housed within the City of Pinellas Park for 
39  administrative purposes. 
40         (2) The governing body of the authority shall consist of 
41  five three members, serving and selected as provided herein. 
42  Three members shall be selected by the Mayor and City Council of 
43  the City of Pinellas Park from the members of the council, one 
44  member shall be selected by the Mayor and City Council of the 
45  City of St. Petersburg from among the members of the council, 
46  Two members shall be appointed by the City Council of Pinellas 
47  Park and one member shall be selected appointed by the Pinellas 
48  County Board of County Commissioners from the members of the 
49  commission. The term of each appointed member shall be for 4 3 
50  years, or the balance of the member’s term as mayor, city 
51  council member, or county commission member under the Charter of 
52  the City of Pinellas Park, the Charter of Pinellas County, or 
53  the Charter of the City of St. Petersburg, respectively. Each 
54  selected appointed member shall hold office until his or her 
55  successor has been selected appointed and qualified. A vacancy 
56  occurring during a term shall be filled only for the balance of 
57  the unexpired term. If any selection is not made by the 
58  municipality as provided herein, the county commissioners shall 
59  appoint an eligible person to the authority with like effect as 
60  if the selection were made by the municipality. Any member of 
61  the authority shall be eligible for reappointment. 
62         (3) Each appointed member of the authority shall be a 
63  person who is a qualified elector of the district with an 
64  outstanding reputation for civic pride, interest, integrity, 
65  responsibility, and business ability. No person who is an 
66  officer or employee of any city or of the county in any 
67  capacity, except elected officials, shall be an appointed member 
68  of the authority. 
69         (3)(4) The authority shall annually elect one of its 
70  members as chair of the authority and one as a vice chair. At 
71  the same time, a secretary and treasurer shall be elected who 
72  may or may not be members of the authority, and they shall serve 
73  at the will of the authority. The treasurer shall post a good 
74  and sufficient surety bond in an amount approved by the Board of 
75  County Commissioners. Three Two members shall constitute a 
76  quorum and the vote of two members shall be necessary for any 
77  action taken by the authority. No vacancy in the authority shall 
78  impair the right of a quorum of the authority to exercise all of 
79  the rights and perform all of the duties of the authority. Upon 
80  the effective date of his or her appointment or, as soon 
81  thereafter as possible, each appointed member of the authority 
82  shall enter upon his or her duties. 
83         (4)(5) The district may shall appoint an engineer who shall 
84  be a person of recognized ability and experience to serve at the 
85  pleasure of the authority. The district may also appoint or 
86  employ such employees as may be necessary for the proper 
87  performance of its duties and functions, and may determine the 
88  qualifications and fix the compensation of such persons; also, 
89  the authority may contract for the services of attorneys, 
90  engineers, consultants, and agents for any purpose of the 
91  authority, including engineering, management feasibility, and 
92  other studies concerning the acquisition, construction, 
93  extension, operation, maintenance, regulation, consolidation, 
94  and financing of the system in the area. 
95         (5)(6) Members of the authority shall be entitled to 
96  receive from the authority their traveling and other necessary 
97  expenses incurred in connection with the business of the 
98  authority, as provided in section 112.061, Florida Statutes, but 
99  they shall receive no salaries or other compensation, with the 
100  exception of the benefits described in subsection (6) (7). 
101  During the unexpired term of any member of the authority, that 
102  member may be removed for misconduct, malfeasance, misfeasance, 
103  or nonfeasance in office by a two-thirds vote of both appointing 
104  governing bodies. 
105         (6)(7) Words importing singular number shall include the 
106  plural number in each case and vice versa, and the words 
107  importing persons shall include firms and corporations. 
108         Section 8. Independent special district taxation.—The 
109  Pinellas Park Water Management District shall be deemed an 
110  independent special district and is authorized to levy ad 
111  valorem tax on the taxable real property in the district at a 
112  rate sufficient to produce an amount that may be necessary for 
113  the purposes of this act, not to exceed 1.5 3 mills, provided 
114  such millage limit is approved by a vote of the electors who are 
115  not wholly exempt from taxation. Property taxes determined and 
116  levied under this section shall be certified by the authority to 
117  the county auditor, extended, assessed, and collected in like 
118  manner as provided by law for regular property taxes for the 
119  county or municipalities and in accordance with chapter 200, 
120  Florida Statutes. The proceeds under this section shall be 
121  remitted by the tax collector to the treasurer of the authority 
122  who shall credit them to the funds of the authority for use of 
123  the purposes of this law. At any time after making a tax levy 
124  under this section and certifying the same to the county, the 
125  authority may issue tax anticipation notes of indebtedness in 
126  anticipation of the collection of such taxes. If property in the 
127  district is not receiving or will not receive any benefit from 
128  the district’s works or activities, such property may be removed 
129  from the district by amendment to section 5 of the district’s 
130  enabling act, pursuant to the requirements of section 11.02, 
131  Florida Statutes, and section 10, Article III of the State 
132  Constitution. 
133         Section 2. The amendments to section 1, and section 8 of 
134  section 3, of chapter 2001-325, Laws of Florida, which lower the 
135  cap on the levy of ad valorem taxation to 1.5 mills shall take 
136  effect only upon approval to lower the millage cap by a majority 
137  vote of those qualified electors of the Pinellas Park Water 
138  Management District Authority voting in a referendum to be held 
139  by the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners in 
140  conjunction with the November 2010 general election. The 
141  question presented to the electors voting in that referendum 
142  shall be expressed as an option to approve either the lowering 
143  of the millage cap to 1.5 mills or the retaining of the current 
144  millage cap of 3 mills. 
145         Section 3. Except as otherwise provided by this act, this 
146  act shall take effect upon becoming a law.