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