HB 777 2022
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0777-00
Page 1 of 13
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to local tax referenda requirements; 2
amending ss. 125.0104, 125.0108, and 125.901, F.S.; 3
requiring referenda elections related to tourist 4
development taxes, tourist impact taxes, and 5
children's services and independent special district 6
property taxes to be held on the day of a general 7
election; amending ss. 200.091 and 200.101, F.S.; 8
requiring referenda elections related to increases in 9
county and municipal ad valorem tax millages to be 10
held on the day of a general election; amending s. 11
255.0992, F.S.; conforming provisions; amending s. 12
336.021, F.S.; requiring referenda elections related 13
to the ninth-cent fuel tax to be held on the day of a 14
general election; amending s. 336.025, F.S.; requiring 15
referenda elections related to local option fuel taxes 16
to be held on the day of a general election; amending 17
s. 1011.73, F.S.; requiring referenda elections 18
related to certain school district millage e lections 19
to be held on the day of a general election; providing 20
an effective date. 21
22
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 23
24
Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (6) of 25
HB 777 2022
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0777-00
Page 2 of 13
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
section 125.0104, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 26
125.0104 Tourist development tax; procedure for levying; 27
authorized uses; referendum; enforcement. — 28
(6) REFERENDUM.— 29
(a) No ordinance enacted by any county levying the tax 30
authorized by paragraphs (3)(b) and (c) shall take effect until 31
the ordinance levying and imposing the tax has been approved in 32
a referendum held at a general election, as defined in s. 33
97.021, by a majority of the electors voting in such election in 34
the county or by a majority of the electors voting in the 35
subcounty special tax district affected by the tax. 36
(b) The governing board of the county levying the tax 37
shall arrange to place a question on the ballot at a general the 38
next regular or special election, as defined in s. 97.021, to be 39
held within the county, which question shall be in substantially 40
the following form as follows: 41
....FOR the Tourist Development Tax 42
....AGAINST the Tourist Development Tax. 43
Section 2. Subsection (5) of section 125.0108, Florida 44
Statutes, is amended to read: 45
125.0108 Areas of critica l state concern; tourist impact 46
tax.— 47
(5) The tourist impact tax authorized by this section 48
shall take effect only upon express approval by a majority vote 49
of those qualified electors in the area or areas of critical 50
HB 777 2022
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0777-00
Page 3 of 13
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
state concern in the county seeking t o levy such tax, voting in 51
a referendum to be held by the governing board of such county in 52
conjunction with a general or special election, as defined in s. 53
97.021, in accordance with the provisions of law relating to 54
elections currently in force . However, if the area or areas of 55
critical state concern are greater than 50 percent of the land 56
area of the county and the tax is to be imposed throughout the 57
entire county, the tax shall take effect only upon express 58
approval of a majority of the qualified electo rs of the county 59
voting in such a referendum. 60
Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 125.901, Florida 61
Statutes, is amended to read: 62
125.901 Children's services; independent special district; 63
council; powers, duties, and functions; public records 64
exemption.— 65
(1) Each county may by ordinance create an independent 66
special district, as defined in ss. 189.012 and 200.001(8)(e), 67
to provide funding for children's services throughout the county 68
in accordance with this section. The boundaries of such district 69
shall be coterminous with the boundaries of the county. The 70
county governing body shall obtain approval at a general 71
election, as defined in s. 97.021 , by a majority vote of those 72
electors voting on the question, to annually levy ad valorem 73
taxes which shall not exceed the maximum millage rate authorized 74
by this section. Any district created pursuant to the provisions 75
HB 777 2022
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0777-00
Page 4 of 13
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
of this subsection shall be required to levy and fix millage 76
subject to the provisions of s. 200.065. Once such millage is 77
approved by the electorat e, the district shall not be required 78
to seek approval of the electorate in future years to levy the 79
previously approved millage. 80
(a) The governing body of the district shall be a council 81
on children's services, which may also be known as a juvenile 82
welfare board or similar name as established in the ordinance by 83
the county governing body. Such council shall consist of 10 84
members, including: the superintendent of schools; a local 85
school board member; the district administrator from the 86
appropriate district of the Department of Children and Families, 87
or his or her designee who is a member of the Senior Management 88
Service or of the Selected Exempt Service; one member of the 89
county governing body; and the judge assigned to juvenile cases 90
who shall sit as a vo ting member of the board, except that said 91
judge shall not vote or participate in the setting of ad valorem 92
taxes under this section. If there is more than one judge 93
assigned to juvenile cases in a county, the chief judge shall 94
designate one of said juveni le judges to serve on the board. The 95
remaining five members shall be appointed by the Governor, and 96
shall, to the extent possible, represent the demographic 97
diversity of the population of the county. After soliciting 98
recommendations from the public, the co unty governing body shall 99
submit to the Governor the names of at least three persons for 100
HB 777 2022
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0777-00
Page 5 of 13
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
each vacancy occurring among the five members appointed by the 101
Governor, and the Governor shall appoint members to the council 102
from the candidates nominated by the cou nty governing body. The 103
Governor shall make a selection within a 45 -day period or 104
request a new list of candidates. All members appointed by the 105
Governor shall have been residents of the county for the 106
previous 24-month period. Such members shall be appoin ted for 4-107
year terms, except that the length of the terms of the initial 108
appointees shall be adjusted to stagger the terms. The Governor 109
may remove a member for cause or upon the written petition of 110
the county governing body. If any of the members of the c ouncil 111
required to be appointed by the Governor under the provisions of 112
this subsection shall resign, die, or be removed from office, 113
the vacancy thereby created shall, as soon as practicable, be 114
filled by appointment by the Governor, using the same method as 115
the original appointment, and such appointment to fill a vacancy 116
shall be for the unexpired term of the person who resigns, dies, 117
or is removed from office. 118
(b) However, any county as defined in s. 125.011(1) may 119
instead have a governing body consist ing of 33 members, 120
including: the superintendent of schools, or his or her 121
designee; two representatives of public postsecondary education 122
institutions located in the county; the county manager or the 123
equivalent county officer; the district administrator f rom the 124
appropriate district of the Department of Children and Families, 125
HB 777 2022
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0777-00
Page 6 of 13
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
or the administrator's designee who is a member of the Senior 126
Management Service or the Selected Exempt Service; the director 127
of the county health department or the director's designe e; the 128
state attorney for the county or the state attorney's designee; 129
the chief judge assigned to juvenile cases, or another juvenile 130
judge who is the chief judge's designee and who shall sit as a 131
voting member of the board, except that the judge may not vote 132
or participate in setting ad valorem taxes under this section; 133
an individual who is selected by the board of the local United 134
Way or its equivalent; a member of a locally recognized faith -135
based coalition, selected by that coalition; a member of the 136
local chamber of commerce, selected by that chamber or, if more 137
than one chamber exists within the county, a person selected by 138
a coalition of the local chambers; a member of the early 139
learning coalition, selected by that coalition; a representative 140
of a labor organization or union active in the county; a member 141
of a local alliance or coalition engaged in cross -system 142
planning for health and social service delivery in the county, 143
selected by that alliance or coalition; a member of the local 144
Parent-Teachers Association/Parent-Teacher-Student Association, 145
selected by that association; a youth representative selected by 146
the local school system's student government; a local school 147
board member appointed by the chair of the school board; the 148
mayor of the county or the mayor's designee; one member of the 149
county governing body, appointed by the chair of that body; a 150
HB 777 2022
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0777-00
Page 7 of 13
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
member of the state Legislature who represents residents of the 151
county, selected by the chair of the local legislative 152
delegation; an elected official rep resenting the residents of a 153
municipality in the county, selected by the county municipal 154
league; and 4 members -at-large, appointed to the council by the 155
majority of sitting council members. The remaining 7 members 156
shall be appointed by the Governor in acc ordance with procedures 157
set forth in paragraph (a), except that the Governor may remove 158
a member for cause or upon the written petition of the council. 159
Appointments by the Governor must, to the extent reasonably 160
possible, represent the geographic and demog raphic diversity of 161
the population of the county. Members who are appointed to the 162
council by reason of their position are not subject to the 163
length of terms and limits on consecutive terms as provided in 164
this section. The remaining appointed members of th e governing 165
body shall be appointed to serve 2 -year terms, except that those 166
members appointed by the Governor shall be appointed to serve 4 -167
year terms, and the youth representative and the legislative 168
delegate shall be appointed to serve 1 -year terms. A member may 169
be reappointed; however, a member may not serve for more than 170
three consecutive terms. A member is eligible to be appointed 171
again after a 2-year hiatus from the council. 172
(c) This subsection does not prohibit a county from 173
exercising such power as is provided by general or special law 174
to provide children's services or to create a special district 175
HB 777 2022
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0777-00
Page 8 of 13
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
to provide such services. 176
Section 4. Section 200.091, Florida Statutes, is amended 177
to read: 178
200.091 Referendum to increase millage. —The millage 179
authorized to be levied in s. 200.071 for county purposes, 180
including dependent districts therein, may be increased for 181
periods not exceeding 2 years, provided such levy has been 182
approved by majority vote of the qualified electors in the 183
county or district vo ting in a general an election, as defined 184
in s. 97.021, called for such purpose. Such an election may be 185
called by the governing body of any such county or district on 186
its own motion and shall be called upon submission of a petition 187
specifying the amount o f millage sought to be levied and the 188
purpose for which the proceeds will be expended and containing 189
the signatures of at least 10 percent of the persons qualified 190
to vote in such election, signed within 60 days prior to the 191
date the petition is filed. 192
Section 5. Section 200.101, Florida Statutes, is amended 193
to read: 194
200.101 Referendum for millage in excess of limits. —The 195
qualified electors of a municipality may , by majority vote at a 196
general election, as defined in s. 97.021, of those voting 197
approve an increase of millage above those limits imposed by s. 198
200.081 in a referendum called for such purpose by the governing 199
body of the municipality, but the period of such increase may 200
HB 777 2022
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0777-00
Page 9 of 13
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
not exceed 2 years. Such referendum also may be initiated by 201
submission of a petition to the governing body of the 202
municipality containing the signatures of 10 percent of those 203
persons eligible to vote in such referendum, which signatures 204
were affixed to the petition within 60 days prior to its 205
submission. 206
Section 6. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 207
255.0992, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 208
255.0992 Public works projects; prohibited governmental 209
actions.— 210
(3) This section does not apply to the following: 211
(b) A use authorized by s. 212.055(1) which is ap proved in 212
a general election, as defined in s. 97.021, by a majority vote 213
of the electorate of the county or by a charter amendment 214
approved by a majority vote of the electorate of the county. 215
Section 7. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section 216
336.021, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 217
336.021 County transportation system; levy of ninth -cent 218
fuel tax on motor fuel and diesel fuel. — 219
(4)(a)1. A certified copy of the ordinance proposing to 220
levy the tax pursuant to referendum shall be furnished b y the 221
county to the department within 10 days after approval of such 222
ordinance. 223
2. A referendum under this subsection shall be held only 224
at a general election, as defined in s. 97.021. 225
HB 777 2022
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0777-00
Page 10 of 13
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
3. Furthermore, The county levying the tax pursuant to 226
referendum shall notify the department within 10 days after the 227
passage of the referendum of such passage and of the time period 228
during which the tax will be levied. The failure to furnish the 229
certified copy will not invalidate the passage of the ordinance. 230
Section 8. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) and paragraph 231
(b) of subsection (3) of section 336.025, Florida Statutes, are 232
amended to read: 233
336.025 County transportation system; levy of local option 234
fuel tax on motor fuel and diesel fuel. — 235
(1) 236
(b) In addition to other taxes allowed by law, there may 237
be levied as provided in s. 206.41(1)(e) a 1 -cent, 2-cent, 3-238
cent, 4-cent, or 5-cent local option fuel tax upon every gallon 239
of motor fuel sold in a county and taxed under the provisions of 240
part I of chapter 206. The tax shall be levied by an ordinance 241
adopted by a majority plus one vote of the membership of the 242
governing body of the county or by referendum. A referendum 243
under this subsection shall be held only at a general election, 244
as defined in s. 97.021. 245
1. All impositions and rate changes of the tax shall be 246
levied before October 1, to be effective January 1 of the 247
following year. However, levies of the tax which were in effect 248
on July 1, 2002, and which expire on August 31 of any year may 249
be reimposed at the current authorized rate provided the tax is 250
HB 777 2022
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0777-00
Page 11 of 13
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
levied before July 1 and is effective September 1 of the year of 251
expiration. 252
2. The county may, prior to levy of the tax, establish by 253
interlocal agreement with one or more municipalities located 254
therein, representing a majority of the population of the 255
incorporated area within the county, a distribution formula for 256
dividing the entire proceeds of the tax among county government 257
and all eligible municipalities within the county. If no 258
interlocal agreement is a dopted before the effective date of the 259
tax, tax revenues shall be distributed pursuant to the 260
provisions of subsection (4). If no interlocal agreement exists, 261
a new interlocal agreement may be established prior to June 1 of 262
any year pursuant to this subpa ragraph. However, any interlocal 263
agreement agreed to under this subparagraph after the initial 264
levy of the tax or change in the tax rate authorized in this 265
section shall under no circumstances materially or adversely 266
affect the rights of holders of outstan ding bonds which are 267
backed by taxes authorized by this paragraph, and the amounts 268
distributed to the county government and each municipality shall 269
not be reduced below the amount necessary for the payment of 270
principal and interest and reserves for princip al and interest 271
as required under the covenants of any bond resolution 272
outstanding on the date of establishment of the new interlocal 273
agreement. 274
3. County and municipal governments shall use moneys 275
HB 777 2022
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0777-00
Page 12 of 13
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
received pursuant to this paragraph for transportation 276
expenditures needed to meet the requirements of the capital 277
improvements element of an adopted comprehensive plan or for 278
expenditures needed to meet immediate local transportation 279
problems and for other transportation -related expenditures that 280
are critical for building comprehensive roadway networks by 281
local governments. For purposes of this paragraph, expenditures 282
for the construction of new roads, the reconstruction or 283
resurfacing of existing paved roads, or the paving of existing 284
graded roads shall be dee med to increase capacity and such 285
projects shall be included in the capital improvements element 286
of an adopted comprehensive plan. Expenditures for purposes of 287
this paragraph shall not include routine maintenance of roads. 288
(3) The tax authorized pursuant to paragraph (1)(a) shall 289
be levied using either of the following procedures: 290
(b) If no interlocal agreement or resolution is adopted 291
pursuant to subparagraph (a)1. or subparagraph (a)2., 292
municipalities representing more than 50 percent of the county 293
population may, prior to June 20, adopt uniform resolutions 294
approving the local option tax, establishing the duration of the 295
levy and the rate authorized in paragraph (1)(a), and setting 296
the date for a countywide referendum on whether to levy the tax. 297
A referendum under this subsection shall be held only at a 298
general election, as defined in s. 97.021 shall be held in 299
accordance with the provisions of such resolution and applicable 300
HB 777 2022
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0777-00
Page 13 of 13
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
state law, provided that the county shall bear the costs 301
thereof. The tax shall be levied and collected countywide on 302
January 1 following 30 days after voter approval. 303
Section 9. Subsection (3) of section 1011.73, Florida 304
Statutes, is amended to read: 305
1011.73 District millage elections. — 306
(3) HOLDING ELECTIONS. —All school district millage 307
elections shall be held and conducted in the manner prescribed 308
by law for holding general elections, except as provided in this 309
chapter. A referendum under this part shall be held only at a 310
general election, as defined in s. 97.021. 311
Section 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 312