Florida 2023 2023 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0235 Introduced / Bill

Filed 01/18/2023

                       
 
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A bill to be entitled 1 
An act relating to alternative mobility funding 2 
systems; amending s. 163.3164, F.S.; providing 3 
definitions; amending s. 163.3180, F.S.; revising 4 
requirements related to agreements to pay for or 5 
construct certain improvements; authorizing certain 6 
local governments to adopt an alternative mobility 7 
planning and fee system or an alternative system in 8 
certain circumstances; providing requirements for the 9 
application of an adopted alternative system; 10 
prohibiting an alternative system from imposing 11 
responsibility for funding an existing transportation 12 
deficiency upon new development; amending s. 13 
163.31801, F.S.; revising requirements for the 14 
calculation of impact fees by certain local 15 
governments and special districts; removing local 16 
governments', school districts' , or special districts' 17 
ability to increase impact fees in certain instances; 18 
creating s. 163.31803, F.S.; providing requirements 19 
for mobility fee-based funding systems; prohibiting 20 
certain transportation impact fees and fees that are 21 
not mobility-based fees; prohibiting mobility fees, 22 
fee updates, or fee increases from relying solely on 23 
motor vehicle capacity; requiring certain mobility 24 
fees to be updated within a specified timeframe; 25     
 
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specifying parameters that must or may be included in 26 
a mobility fee; specifying criteria to be used by a 27 
local government in adopting a mobility plan and 28 
mobility fee for transportation mitigation 29 
improvements; requiring mobility fees to be expended 30 
or committed within a specified time period; providing 31 
criteria for use by lo cal governments issuing building 32 
permits related to mobility fees; encouraging local 33 
governments to coordinate certain activities included 34 
in mobility plans with other affected local 35 
governments for certain purposes; specifying that 36 
local governments have the burden of proving that the 37 
imposition or amount of a fee or exaction meets 38 
certain criteria; prohibiting the courts from using a 39 
deferential standard for a specified purpose; 40 
providing for mobility fee credits in any mode that 41 
creates equivalent capaci ty which is designated in a 42 
local government capital improvements list; providing 43 
that the holder of transportation or road impact fee 44 
credits is granted specified benefits; providing for 45 
full mitigation of a development's transportation 46 
impacts in certain instances; amending s. 212.055, 47 
F.S.; conforming a cross -reference; providing an 48 
effective date. 49 
 50     
 
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 51 
 52 
 Section 1.  Subsections (32) through (52) of section 53 
163.3164, Florida Statutes, are renumb ered as subsections (34) 54 
through (54), respectively, and new subsections (32) and (33) 55 
are added to that section, to read: 56 
 163.3164  Community Planning Act; definitions. —As used in 57 
this act: 58 
 (32)  "Mobility fee" means a local government fee schedule 59 
established by ordinance and based on the projects included in 60 
the local government's adopted mobility plan. 61 
 (33)  "Mobility plan" means an integrated land use and 62 
alternative mobility transportation plan adopted into a local 63 
government comprehensive plan tha t promotes a compact, mixed -64 
use, and interconnected development served by a multimodal 65 
transportation system in an area that is urban in character as 66 
defined in s. 171.031. 67 
 Section 2.  Paragraphs (h) and (i) of subsection (5) of 68 
section 163.3180, Florid a Statutes, are amended to read: 69 
 163.3180  Concurrency. — 70 
 (5) 71 
 (h)1.  Local governments that continue to implement a 72 
transportation concurrency system, whether in the form adopted 73 
into the comprehensive plan before the effective date of the 74 
Community Planning Act, chapter 2011 -139, Laws of Florida, or as 75     
 
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subsequently modified, must: 76 
 a.  Consult with the Department of Transportation when 77 
proposed plan amendments affect facilities on the strategic 78 
intermodal system. 79 
 b.  Exempt public transit facilities fro m concurrency. For 80 
the purposes of this sub -subparagraph, public transit facilities 81 
include transit stations and terminals; transit station parking; 82 
park-and-ride lots; intermodal public transit connection or 83 
transfer facilities; fixed bus, guideway, and r ail stations; and 84 
airport passenger terminals and concourses, air cargo 85 
facilities, and hangars for the assembly, manufacture, 86 
maintenance, or storage of aircraft. As used in this sub -87 
subparagraph, the terms "terminals" and "transit facilities" do 88 
not include seaports or commercial or residential development 89 
constructed in conjunction with a public transit facility. 90 
 c.  Allow an applicant for a development -of-regional-impact 91 
development order, development agreement, rezoning, or other 92 
land use development permit to satisfy the transportation 93 
concurrency requirements of the local comprehensive plan, the 94 
local government's concurrency management system, and s. 380.06, 95 
when applicable, if: 96 
 (I)  The applicant in good faith offers to enter into a 97 
binding agreement to pay for or construct its proportionate 98 
share of required improvements in a manner consistent with this 99 
subsection. The agreement must provide that after an applicant 100     
 
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makes its contribution or constructs its proportionate share 101 
pursuant to this sub -sub-subparagraph, the project shall be 102 
considered to have mitigated its transportation impacts and be 103 
allowed to proceed. 104 
 (II)  The proportionate -share contribution or construction 105 
is sufficient to accomplish one or more mobility improvements 106 
that will benefit a regionally significant transportation 107 
facility. A local government may accept contributions from 108 
multiple applicants for a planned improvement if it maintains 109 
contributions in a separate account designated for that purpose. 110 
A local government may no t prevent a single applicant from 111 
proceeding after the applicant has satisfied its proportionate -112 
share contribution. 113 
 d.  Provide the basis upon which the landowners will be 114 
assessed a proportionate share of the cost addressing the 115 
transportation impacts resulting from a proposed development. 116 
 2.  An applicant shall not be held responsible for the 117 
additional cost of reducing or eliminating deficiencies. When an 118 
applicant contributes or constructs its proportionate share 119 
pursuant to this paragraph, a local government may not require 120 
payment or construction of transportation facilities whose costs 121 
would be greater than a development's proportionate share of the 122 
improvements necessary to mitigate the development's impacts. 123 
 a.  The proportionate -share contribution shall be 124 
calculated based upon the number of trips from the proposed 125     
 
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development expected to reach roadways during the peak hour from 126 
the stage or phase being approved, divided by the change in the 127 
peak hour maximum service volume of roadways resultin g from 128 
construction of an improvement necessary to maintain or achieve 129 
the adopted level of service, multiplied by the construction 130 
cost, at the time of development payment, of the improvement 131 
necessary to maintain or achieve the adopted level of service. 132 
 b.  In using the proportionate -share formula provided in 133 
this subparagraph, the applicant, in its traffic analysis, shall 134 
identify those roads or facilities that have a transportation 135 
deficiency in accordance with the transportation deficiency as 136 
defined in subparagraph 4. The proportionate -share formula 137 
provided in this subparagraph shall be applied only to those 138 
facilities that are determined to be significantly impacted by 139 
the project traffic under review. If any road is determined to 140 
be transportation deficient without the project traffic under 141 
review, the costs of correcting that deficiency shall be removed 142 
from the project's proportionate -share calculation and the 143 
necessary transportation improvements to correct that deficiency 144 
shall be considered to be in place for purposes of the 145 
proportionate-share calculation. The improvement necessary to 146 
correct the transportation deficiency is the funding 147 
responsibility of the entity that has maintenance responsibility 148 
for the facility. The development's proporti onate share shall be 149 
calculated only for the needed transportation improvements that 150     
 
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are greater than the identified deficiency. 151 
 c.  When the provisions of subparagraph 1. and this 152 
subparagraph have been satisfied for a particular stage or phase 153 
of development, all transportation impacts from that stage or 154 
phase for which mitigation was required and provided shall be 155 
deemed fully mitigated in any transportation analysis for a 156 
subsequent stage or phase of development. Trips from a previous 157 
stage or phase that did not result in impacts for which 158 
mitigation was required or provided may be cumulatively analyzed 159 
with trips from a subsequent stage or phase to determine whether 160 
an impact requires mitigation for the subsequent stage or phase. 161 
 d.  In projecting the number of trips to be generated by 162 
the development under review, any trips assigned to a toll -163 
financed facility shall be eliminated from the analysis. 164 
 e.  The applicant shall receive a credit on a dollar -for-165 
dollar basis for impact fees, mobility fees, a nd other 166 
transportation concurrency mitigation requirements paid or 167 
payable in the future for the project. The credit shall be 168 
reduced up to 20 percent by the percentage share that the 169 
project's traffic represents of the added capacity of the 170 
selected improvement, or by the amount specified by local 171 
ordinance, whichever yields the greater credit. 172 
 3.  This subsection does not require a local government to 173 
approve a development that, for reasons other than 174 
transportation impacts, is not qualified for approva l pursuant 175     
 
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to the applicable local comprehensive plan and land development 176 
regulations. 177 
 4.  As used in this subsection, the term "transportation 178 
deficiency" means a facility or facilities on which the adopted 179 
level-of-service standard is exceeded by the e xisting, 180 
committed, and vested trips, plus additional projected 181 
background trips from any source other than the development 182 
project under review, and trips that are forecast by established 183 
traffic standards, including traffic modeling, consistent with 184 
the University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business 185 
Research medium population projections. Additional projected 186 
background trips are to be coincident with the particular stage 187 
or phase of development under review. 188 
 (i)  If a local government elects to repeal transportation 189 
concurrency, the local government may it is encouraged to adopt 190 
an alternative mobility planning and fee funding system, as 191 
provided in s. 163.31803, or an alternative system that is not 192 
mobility plan and fee based. The local governm ent that uses one 193 
or more of the tools and techniques identified in paragraph (f). 194 
Any alternative mobility funding system adopted may not use the 195 
alternative system be used to deny, time, or phase an 196 
application for site plan approval, plat approval, fina l 197 
subdivision approval, building permits, or the functional 198 
equivalent of such approvals provided that the developer agrees 199 
to pay for the development's identified transportation impacts 200     
 
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via the funding mechanism implemented by the local government. 201 
The revenue from the funding mechanism used in the alternative 202 
system must be used to implement the needs of the local 203 
government's plan which serves as the basis for the fee imposed. 204 
The alternative system A mobility fee-based funding system must 205 
comply with s. 163.31801 governing impact fees. An alternative 206 
system may not impose that is not mobility fee -based shall not 207 
be applied in a manner that imposes upon new development any 208 
responsibility for funding an existing transportation deficiency 209 
as defined in paragraph (h). 210 
 Section 3.  Paragraph (h) of subsection (6) of section 211 
163.31801, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph (g), 212 
and paragraph (a) of subsection (4), paragraph (a) of subsection 213 
(5), and paragraph (g) of subsection (6) of that section ar e 214 
amended, to read: 215 
 163.31801  Impact fees; short title; intent; minimum 216 
requirements; audits; challenges. — 217 
 (4)  At a minimum, each local government that adopts and 218 
collects an impact fee by ordinance and each special district 219 
that adopts, collects, and administers an impact fee by 220 
resolution must: 221 
 (a)  Ensure that the calculation of the impact fee is based 222 
on the most recent and localized data available within the 223 
previous 12 months before adoption . 224 
 (5)(a)  Notwithstanding any charter provision, 225     
 
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comprehensive plan policy, ordinance, development order, 226 
development permit, or resolution, the local government or 227 
special district that requires any improvement or contribution 228 
must credit against the collection of the impact fee any 229 
contribution, whether iden tified in a development order, 230 
proportionate share agreement , or any other form of exaction, 231 
related to public facilities or infrastructure, including 232 
monetary contributions, land dedication, site planning and 233 
design, or construction. Any contribution must be applied on a 234 
dollar-for-dollar basis at fair market value to reduce any 235 
impact fee collected for the general category or class of public 236 
facilities or infrastructure for which the contribution was 237 
made. 238 
 (6)  A local government, school district, or spe cial 239 
district may increase an impact fee only as provided in this 240 
subsection. 241 
 (g)  A local government, school district, or special 242 
district may increase an impact fee rate beyond the phase -in 243 
limitations established under paragraph (b), paragraph (c), 244 
paragraph (d), or paragraph (e) by establishing the need for 245 
such increase in full compliance with the requirements of 246 
subsection (4), provided the following criteria are met: 247 
 1.  A demonstrated-need study justifying any increase in 248 
excess of those authorize d in paragraph (b), paragraph (c), 249 
paragraph (d), or paragraph (e) has been completed within the 12 250     
 
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months before the adoption of the impact fee increase and 251 
expressly demonstrates the extraordinary circumstances 252 
necessitating the need to exceed the phase -in limitations. 253 
 2.  The local government jurisdiction has held not less 254 
than two publicly noticed workshops dedicated to the 255 
extraordinary circumstances necessitating the need to exceed the 256 
phase-in limitations set forth in paragraph (b), paragraph (c), 257 
paragraph (d), or paragraph (e). 258 
 3.  The impact fee increase ordinance is approved by at 259 
least a two-thirds vote of the governing body. 260 
 Section 4.  Section 163.31803, Florida Statutes, is created 261 
to read: 262 
 163.31803  Mobility plans. — 263 
 (1)  This section establishes the method for the adoption 264 
and implementation of a mobility plan as an alternative to 265 
transportation concurrency under s. 163.3180(5). 266 
 (2)  A mobility fee-based funding system must comply with 267 
this section and s. 163.31801 governing impact fe es. 268 
 (3)  A mobility plan: 269 
 (a)  May include existing and emerging transportation 270 
technologies that reduce dependence on motor vehicle travel 271 
capacity. 272 
 (b)  May not be based solely on adding motor vehicle 273 
capacity. 274 
 (c)  Must reflect modes of travel and e merging 275     
 
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transportation technologies reducing reliance on motor vehicle 276 
capacity established in the local government's comprehensive 277 
plan. 278 
 (d)  Must identify multimodal projects consisting of 279 
improvements, services, and programs which increase capacity 280 
needed to meet future travel demands. 281 
 (4)  A transportation impact fee or fee that is not a 282 
mobility-based fee may not be imposed within the area designated 283 
for the imposition of a mobility fee by a local government 284 
mobility plan. 285 
 (5)  A mobility fee, fee update, or fee increase must be 286 
based on the mobility plan, may not rely solely on motor vehicle 287 
capacity, and must be used exclusively to implement the mobility 288 
plan. 289 
 (6)  A mobility fee must be updated at least once within 5 290 
years after the date the fee is adopted or after it is updated. 291 
A mobility fee that is not updated as provided in this 292 
subsection is void. A local government considering a mobility 293 
fee update may not consider annual inflation adjustments or any 294 
phased-in fees to meet the requirem ents of this subsection. 295 
 (7)  A local government adopting a mobility plan and 296 
mobility fee system for transportation mitigation must comply 297 
with all of the following: 298 
 (a)  Beginning September 1, 2023, a new mobility fee, fee 299 
update, or fee increase must be based on an adopted mobility 300     
 
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plan. 301 
 (b)  In addition to meeting the requirements of s. 302 
163.31801, mobility fees must be calculated using all of the 303 
following criteria: 304 
 1.  Projected increases in population, employment, and 305 
motor vehicle travel demand a nd per person travel demand. 306 
 2.  Areawide road levels of service or quality of service 307 
standards and multimodal quality of service standards for modes 308 
of travel included in the mobility plan. 309 
 3.  Multimodal projects identified in the mobility plan 310 
which are attributable to, and meet the travel demands of, new 311 
development and redevelopment and which include capacities based 312 
on service standards and projected costs. 313 
 4.  An evaluation of current and future travel conditions 314 
to ensure that new development an d redevelopment are not charged 315 
for backlog and associated capacity deficiencies. 316 
 5.  An evaluation of the projected increases in per person 317 
travel demand and system capacity to calculate the fair share of 318 
multimodal capacity and the costs of multimodal p rojects which 319 
are assignable and attributable to new development and 320 
redevelopment. 321 
 6.  Per person travel demand corresponding to the 322 
transportation impact assigned to uses included in the mobility 323 
fee schedule based on trip generation, new trips, per per son 324 
travel demand, per person trip lengths, excluded travel on 325     
 
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limited access facilities, and adjustments for origin and 326 
destination of travel. 327 
 7.  The mobility fee may not be based on recurring 328 
transportation costs. 329 
 8.  The mobility fee must fully miti gate the subject 330 
development or redevelopment's full transportation impacts. 331 
 (c)  Per person travel demand data must be localized, 332 
reflecting differences in the need for multimodal projects and 333 
travel within urban areas based on reduced trip lengths and the 334 
availability of existing transportation infrastructure. 335 
 (d)  A local government may recognize reductions in per 336 
person travel demand for affordable housing and economic 337 
development projects. 338 
 (e)  Any calculation of per person travel demand must 339 
ensure that new development and redevelopment are not assessed 340 
twice for the same transportation impact. 341 
 (8)  A mobility fee that is collected for a specific 342 
transportation mitigation improvement must be expended or 343 
committed for an identified project within 6 years after the 344 
date of collection or must be returned to the applicant who paid 345 
the fee. For purposes of this subsection, an expenditure is 346 
deemed committed if the preliminary design, right -of-way, or 347 
detailed design for the project is completed and cons truction 348 
will commence within 2 years. 349 
 (9)  A local government issuing a building permit for 350     
 
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development within its jurisdiction shall develop a mobility fee 351 
based on the adopted mobility plan to ensure that the 352 
transportation impacts of the new developme nt or redevelopment 353 
project are fully mitigated. Another local government may not 354 
charge new development or redevelopment for the same travel 355 
demand, capacity, and improvements assessed by the governmental 356 
entity that issued the building permit. 357 
 (10)  Local governments are encouraged to coordinate with 358 
other affected local governments to identify multimodal 359 
projects, capacity improvements, full costs, and timing of 360 
improvements in mobility plans to address intrajurisdictional 361 
and extrajurisdictional impact s. The coordination is encouraged 362 
to identify measurable factors addressing all of the following: 363 
 (a)  The share of per person travel demand which each local 364 
government should assess. 365 
 (b)  The proportion of costs of multimodal projects to be 366 
included in the mobility fee calculations. 367 
 (c)  Which entity will construct the multimodal projects . 368 
 (d)  If necessary, whether the projected future ownership 369 
of the multimodal project and underlying facility should be 370 
transferred from the affected local government to the local 371 
government adopting the mobility fee. 372 
Any mobility fee, impact fee, or other transportation mitigation 373 
exaction other than the one assessed by the local government 374 
issuing the building permits must include the same benefit 375     
 
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reductions in per pe rson travel demand for affordable housing, 376 
economic development, urban areas, and mixed -use development. 377 
 (11)  A local government adopting a mobility fee system and 378 
a local government assessing a transportation exaction for 379 
intrajurisdictional and extraju risdictional impacts has the 380 
burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the 381 
imposition or amount of the fee or exaction meets the 382 
requirements of this section. A court may not use a deferential 383 
standard for the benefit of the local governmen t. 384 
 (12)  Mobility fee credits must comply with s. 163.31801 in 385 
any mode that creates equivalent capacity which is designated in 386 
a local government capital improvements list. 387 
 (13)  The holder of any transportation or road impact fee 388 
credits granted under s. 163.3180, s. 380.06, or other 389 
provision, which were in existence before the adoption of the 390 
mobility fee-based funding system, is entitled to the full 391 
benefit of the intensity and density prepaid by the credit 392 
balance as of the date it was first establi shed. 393 
 (14)  Payment by a development of the authorizing local 394 
government's adopted mobility fee is deemed to fully mitigate 395 
the development's full transportation impacts. 396 
 Section 5.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 397 
212.055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 398 
 212.055  Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent; 399 
authorization and use of proceeds. —It is the legislative intent 400     
 
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that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales 401 
surtax shall be published in the Florida Statute s as a 402 
subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the 403 
levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties 404 
authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the 405 
maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the 406 
procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if 407 
required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended; 408 
and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide. 409 
Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as 410 
provided in s. 212.054. 411 
 (2)  LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE SURTAX. — 412 
 (d)  The proceeds of the surtax authorized by this 413 
subsection and any accrued interest shall be expended by the 414 
school district, within the county and municipalities within the 415 
county, or, in the case of a negotiated joint county agreement, 416 
within another county, to finance, plan, and construct 417 
infrastructure; to acquire any interest in land for public 418 
recreation, conservation, or protection of natural resources or 419 
to prevent or satisfy private pr operty rights claims resulting 420 
from limitations imposed by the designation of an area of 421 
critical state concern; to provide loans, grants, or rebates to 422 
residential or commercial property owners who make energy 423 
efficiency improvements to their residential or commercial 424 
property, if a local government ordinance authorizing such use 425     
 
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is approved by referendum; or to finance the closure of county -426 
owned or municipally owned solid waste landfills that have been 427 
closed or are required to be closed by order of the Department 428 
of Environmental Protection. Any use of the proceeds or interest 429 
for purposes of landfill closure before July 1, 1993, is 430 
ratified. The proceeds and any interest may not be used for the 431 
operational expenses of infrastructure, except that a count y 432 
that has a population of fewer than 75,000 and that is required 433 
to close a landfill may use the proceeds or interest for long -434 
term maintenance costs associated with landfill closure. 435 
Counties, as defined in s. 125.011, and charter counties may, in 436 
addition, use the proceeds or interest to retire or service 437 
indebtedness incurred for bonds issued before July 1, 1987, for 438 
infrastructure purposes, and for bonds subsequently issued to 439 
refund such bonds. Any use of the proceeds or interest for 440 
purposes of retiring or servicing indebtedness incurred for 441 
refunding bonds before July 1, 1999, is ratified. 442 
 1.  For the purposes of this paragraph, the term 443 
"infrastructure" means: 444 
 a.  Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay 445 
associated with the constructi on, reconstruction, or improvement 446 
of public facilities that have a life expectancy of 5 or more 447 
years, any related land acquisition, land improvement, design, 448 
and engineering costs, and all other professional and related 449 
costs required to bring the public facilities into service. For 450     
 
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purposes of this sub -subparagraph, the term "public facilities" 451 
means facilities as defined in s. 163.3164(41) s. 163.3164(39), 452 
s. 163.3221(13), or s. 189.012(5), and includes facilities that 453 
are necessary to carry out governm ental purposes, including, but 454 
not limited to, fire stations, general governmental office 455 
buildings, and animal shelters, regardless of whether the 456 
facilities are owned by the local taxing authority or another 457 
governmental entity. 458 
 b.  A fire department ve hicle, an emergency medical service 459 
vehicle, a sheriff's office vehicle, a police department 460 
vehicle, or any other vehicle, and the equipment necessary to 461 
outfit the vehicle for its official use or equipment that has a 462 
life expectancy of at least 5 years. 463 
 c.  Any expenditure for the construction, lease, or 464 
maintenance of, or provision of utilities or security for, 465 
facilities, as defined in s. 29.008. 466 
 d.  Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay 467 
associated with the improvement of private facil ities that have 468 
a life expectancy of 5 or more years and that the owner agrees 469 
to make available for use on a temporary basis as needed by a 470 
local government as a public emergency shelter or a staging area 471 
for emergency response equipment during an emergen cy officially 472 
declared by the state or by the local government under s. 473 
252.38. Such improvements are limited to those necessary to 474 
comply with current standards for public emergency evacuation 475     
 
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shelters. The owner must enter into a written contract with th e 476 
local government providing the improvement funding to make the 477 
private facility available to the public for purposes of 478 
emergency shelter at no cost to the local government for a 479 
minimum of 10 years after completion of the improvement, with 480 
the provision that the obligation will transfer to any 481 
subsequent owner until the end of the minimum period. 482 
 e.  Any land acquisition expenditure for a residential 483 
housing project in which at least 30 percent of the units are 484 
affordable to individuals or families whos e total annual 485 
household income does not exceed 120 percent of the area median 486 
income adjusted for household size, if the land is owned by a 487 
local government or by a special district that enters into a 488 
written agreement with the local government to provide such 489 
housing. The local government or special district may enter into 490 
a ground lease with a public or private person or entity for 491 
nominal or other consideration for the construction of the 492 
residential housing project on land acquired pursuant to this 493 
sub-subparagraph. 494 
 f.  Instructional technology used solely in a school 495 
district's classrooms. As used in this sub -subparagraph, the 496 
term "instructional technology" means an interactive device that 497 
assists a teacher in instructing a class or a group of studen ts 498 
and includes the necessary hardware and software to operate the 499 
interactive device. The term also includes support systems in 500     
 
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which an interactive device may mount and is not required to be 501 
affixed to the facilities. 502 
 2.  For the purposes of this paragr aph, the term "energy 503 
efficiency improvement" means any energy conservation and 504 
efficiency improvement that reduces consumption through 505 
conservation or a more efficient use of electricity, natural 506 
gas, propane, or other forms of energy on the property, 507 
including, but not limited to, air sealing; installation of 508 
insulation; installation of energy -efficient heating, cooling, 509 
or ventilation systems; installation of solar panels; building 510 
modifications to increase the use of daylight or shade; 511 
replacement of windows; installation of energy controls or 512 
energy recovery systems; installation of electric vehicle 513 
charging equipment; installation of systems for natural gas fuel 514 
as defined in s. 206.9951; and installation of efficient 515 
lighting equipment. 516 
 3.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, 517 
a local government infrastructure surtax imposed or extended 518 
after July 1, 1998, may allocate up to 15 percent of the surtax 519 
proceeds for deposit into a trust fund within the county's 520 
accounts created for the purpose of funding economic development 521 
projects having a general public purpose of improving local 522 
economies, including the funding of operational costs and 523 
incentives related to economic development. The ballot statement 524 
must indicate the intention to ma ke an allocation under the 525     
 
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authority of this subparagraph. 526 
 Section 6.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 527