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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
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to local tax referenda requirements; 2
amending ss. 125.0104 and 125.0108, F.S.; requiring a 3
referendum to reenact an expiring tourist development 4
tax or tourist impact tax, respectively, to be held at 5
the general election immediately precedi ng the 6
expiration date of the tax; amending s. 125.901, F.S.; 7
requiring a referendum to approve a millage rate 8
increase for a children's services independent special 9
district property tax to be held at the general 10
election immediately preceding the effecti ve date of 11
the increase; amending ss. 200.091 and 200.101, F.S.; 12
requiring a referendum to approve a county or 13
municipal ad valorem tax millage increase, 14
respectively, to be held at the general election 15
immediately preceding the effective date of the 16
increase; amending s. 212.055, F.S.; requiring a 17
referendum to reenact an expiring local government 18
discretionary sales surtax to be held at the general 19
election immediately preceding the expiration date of 20
the surtax; amending ss. 336.021 and 336.025, F.S.; 21
requiring a referendum to reenact an expiring ninth -22
cent fuel tax or expiring local option fuel taxes, 23
respectively, to be held at the general election 24
immediately preceding the expiration date of the tax; 25
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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
amending s. 1011.73, F.S.; deleting provisions that 26
authorize school district millage elections to be held 27
at any time and specify a limit on such elections; 28
requiring such elections to be held at the general 29
election immediately preceding the effective date of 30
the millage; providing an effective date. 31
32
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 33
34
Section 1. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (6) of 35
section 125.0104, Florida Statutes, to read: 36
125.0104 Tourist development tax; procedure for levying; 37
authorized uses; referendum; enfo rcement.— 38
(6) REFERENDUM.— 39
(e) A referendum to reenact an expiring tourist 40
development tax must be held at the general election immediately 41
preceding the expiration date of the 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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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 referendum to be held in conjunction with a general election, 51
as defined in s. 97.021. However, if the area or areas of 52
critical state concern are greater than 50 percent of the lan d 53
area of the county and the tax is to be imposed throughout the 54
entire county, the tax shall take effect only upon express 55
approval of a majority of the qualified electors of the county 56
voting in such a referendum. A referendum to reenact an expiring 57
tourist impact tax must be held at the general election 58
immediately preceding the expiration date of the tax. 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 provi sions of s. 200.065. Once such millage is 76
approved by the electorate, the district shall not be required 77
to seek approval of the electorate in future years to levy the 78
previously approved millage. However, a referendum to approve a 79
millage rate increase un der s. 200.065 must be held at the 80
general election immediately preceding the effective date of the 81
increase. 82
(a) The governing body of the district shall be a council 83
on children's services, which may also be known as a juvenile 84
welfare board or similar name as established in the ordinance by 85
the county governing body. Such council shall consist of 10 86
members, including the superintendent of schools; a local school 87
board member; the district administrator from the appropriate 88
district of the Department o f Children and Families, or his or 89
her designee who is a member of the Senior Management Service or 90
of the Selected Exempt Service; one member of the county 91
governing body; and the judge assigned to juvenile cases who 92
shall sit as a voting member of the bo ard, except that said 93
judge shall not vote or participate in the setting of ad valorem 94
taxes under this section. If there is more than one judge 95
assigned to juvenile cases in a county, the chief judge shall 96
designate one of said juvenile judges to serve on the board. The 97
remaining five members shall be appointed by the Governor, and 98
shall, to the extent possible, represent the demographic 99
diversity of the population of the county. After soliciting 100
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recommendations from the public, the county governing body s hall 101
submit to the Governor the names of at least three persons for 102
each vacancy occurring among the five members appointed by the 103
Governor, and the Governor shall appoint members to the council 104
from the candidates nominated by the county governing body. T he 105
Governor shall make a selection within a 45 -day period or 106
request a new list of candidates. All members appointed by the 107
Governor shall have been residents of the county for the 108
previous 24-month period. Such members shall be appointed for 4 -109
year terms, except that the length of the terms of the initial 110
appointees shall be adjusted to stagger the terms. The Governor 111
may remove a member for cause or upon the written petition of 112
the county governing body. If any of the members of the council 113
required to be appointed by the Governor under the provisions of 114
this subsection shall resign, die, or be removed from office, 115
the vacancy thereby created shall, as soon as practicable, be 116
filled by appointment by the Governor, using the same method as 117
the original appointment, and such appointment to fill a vacancy 118
shall be for the unexpired term of the person who resigns, dies, 119
or is removed from office. 120
(b) However, any county as defined in s. 125.011(1) may 121
instead have a governing body consisting of 33 members, 122
including the superintendent of schools, or his or her designee; 123
two representatives of public postsecondary education 124
institutions located in the county; the county manager or the 125
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equivalent county officer; the district administrator from the 126
appropriate district of the Department of Children and Families, 127
or the administrator's designee who is a member of the Senior 128
Management Service or the Selected Exempt Service; the director 129
of the county health department or the director's designee; the 130
state attorney for the county or the state attorney's designee; 131
the chief judge assigned to juvenile cases, or another juvenile 132
judge who is the chief judge's designee and who shall sit as a 133
voting member of the board, except that the judge may not vote 134
or participate in setting ad valorem taxes under this section; 135
an individual who is selected by the board of the local United 136
Way or its equivalent; a member of a locally recognized faith -137
based coalition, selected by that coalition; a member of the 138
local chamber of commerc e, selected by that chamber or, if more 139
than one chamber exists within the county, a person selected by 140
a coalition of the local chambers; a member of the early 141
learning coalition, selected by that coalition; a representative 142
of a labor organization or uni on active in the county; a member 143
of a local alliance or coalition engaged in cross -system 144
planning for health and social service delivery in the county, 145
selected by that alliance or coalition; a member of the local 146
Parent-Teachers Association/Parent -Teacher-Student Association, 147
selected by that association; a youth representative selected by 148
the local school system's student government; a local school 149
board member appointed by the chair of the school board; the 150
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mayor of the county or the mayor's designee; one member of the 151
county governing body, appointed by the chair of that body; a 152
member of the state Legislature who represents residents of the 153
county, selected by the chair of the local legislative 154
delegation; an elected official representing the resident s of a 155
municipality in the county, selected by the county municipal 156
league; and 4 members -at-large, appointed to the council by the 157
majority of sitting council members. The remaining 7 members 158
shall be appointed by the Governor in accordance with procedure s 159
set forth in paragraph (a), except that the Governor may remove 160
a member for cause or upon the written petition of the council. 161
Appointments by the Governor must, to the extent reasonably 162
possible, represent the geographic and demographic diversity of 163
the population of the county. Members who are appointed to the 164
council by reason of their position are not subject to the 165
length of terms and limits on consecutive terms as provided in 166
this section. The remaining appointed members of the governing 167
body shall be appointed to serve 2 -year terms, except that those 168
members appointed by the Governor shall be appointed to serve 4 -169
year terms, and the youth representative and the legislative 170
delegate shall be appointed to serve 1 -year terms. A member may 171
be reappointed; however, a member may not serve for more than 172
three consecutive terms. A member is eligible to be appointed 173
again after a 2-year hiatus from the council. 174
(c) This subsection does not prohibit a county from 175
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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
exercising such power as is provided by general or special law 176
to provide children's services or to create a special district 177
to provide such services. 178
Section 4. Section 200.091, Florida Statutes, is amended 179
to read: 180
200.091 Referendum to increase millage. —The millage 181
authorized to be lev ied in s. 200.071 for county purposes, 182
including dependent districts therein, may be increased for 183
periods not exceeding 2 years, provided such levy has been 184
approved by majority vote of the qualified electors in the 185
county or district voting in the a general election, as defined 186
in s. 97.021, immediately preceding the effective date of the 187
increase and called for such purpose. Such an election may be 188
called by the governing body of any such county or district on 189
its own motion and shall be called upon subm ission of a petition 190
specifying the amount of millage sought to be levied and the 191
purpose for which the proceeds will be expended and containing 192
the signatures of at least 10 percent of the persons qualified 193
to vote in such election, signed within 60 days prior to the 194
date the petition is filed. 195
Section 5. Section 200.101, Florida Statutes, is amended 196
to read: 197
200.101 Referendum for millage in excess of limits. —The 198
qualified electors of a municipality may, by majority vote at a 199
general election, as de fined in s. 97.021, increase millage 200
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above those limits imposed by s. 200.081 in a referendum called 201
for such purpose by the governing body of the municipality and 202
held at the general election, as defined in s. 97.021, 203
immediately preceding the effective d ate of the increase, but 204
the period of such increase may not exceed 2 years. Such 205
referendum also may be initiated by submission of a petition to 206
the governing body of the municipality containing the signatures 207
of 10 percent of those persons eligible to vo te in such 208
referendum, which signatures were affixed to the petition within 209
60 days prior to its submission. 210
Section 6. Subsection (10) of section 212.055, Florida 211
Statutes, is amended to read: 212
212.055 Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent ; 213
authorization and use of proceeds. —It is the legislative intent 214
that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales 215
surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a 216
subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the 217
levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties 218
authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the 219
maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the 220
procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if 221
required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended; 222
and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide. 223
Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as 224
provided in s. 212.054. 225
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(10) DATES FOR REFERENDA. —A referendum to adopt or amend a 226
local government discretionary sales surtax under this section 227
must be held at a general election as defined in s. 97.021. A 228
referendum to reenact an expiring local government discretionary 229
sales surtax under this section must be held at the general 230
election immediately preceding the expiration date of the 231
surtax. 232
Section 7. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section 233
336.021, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 234
336.021 County transportation system; levy of ninth -cent 235
fuel tax on motor fuel and diesel fue l.— 236
(4)(a)1. A certified copy of the ordinance proposing to 237
levy the tax pursuant to referendum shall be furnished by the 238
county to the department within 10 days after approval of such 239
ordinance. 240
2. A referendum under this subsection shall be held only 241
at a general election, as defined in s. 97.021. A referendum to 242
reenact an expiring tax must be held at the general election 243
immediately preceding the expiration date of the tax. 244
3. The county levying the tax pursuant to referendum shall 245
notify the department within 10 days after the passage of the 246
referendum of such passage and of the time period during which 247
the tax will be levied. The failure to furnish the certified 248
copy will not invalidate the passage of the ordinance. 249
Section 8. Paragraph (b) o f subsection (1) and paragraph 250
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(b) of subsection (3) of section 336.025, Florida Statutes, are 251
amended to read: 252
336.025 County transportation system; levy of local option 253
fuel tax on motor fuel and diesel fuel. — 254
(1) 255
(b) In addition to other taxes allo wed by law, there may 256
be levied as provided in s. 206.41(1)(e) a 1 -cent, 2-cent, 3-257
cent, 4-cent, or 5-cent local option fuel tax upon every gallon 258
of motor fuel sold in a county and taxed under the provisions of 259
part I of chapter 206. The tax shall be levi ed by an ordinance 260
adopted by a majority plus one vote of the membership of the 261
governing body of the county or by referendum. A referendum 262
under this subsection shall be held only at a general election, 263
as defined in s. 97.021. A referendum to reenact an expiring tax 264
must be held at the general election immediately preceding the 265
expiration date of the tax. 266
1. All impositions and rate changes of the tax shall be 267
levied before October 1, to be effective January 1 of the 268
following year. However, levies of t he tax which were in effect 269
on July 1, 2002, and which expire on August 31 of any year may 270
be reimposed at the current authorized rate provided the tax is 271
levied before July 1 and is effective September 1 of the year of 272
expiration. 273
2. The county may, pri or to levy of the tax, establish by 274
interlocal agreement with one or more municipalities located 275
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therein, representing a majority of the population of the 276
incorporated area within the county, a distribution formula for 277
dividing the entire proceeds of the t ax among county government 278
and all eligible municipalities within the county. If no 279
interlocal agreement is adopted before the effective date of the 280
tax, tax revenues shall be distributed pursuant to the 281
provisions of subsection (4). If no interlocal agree ment exists, 282
a new interlocal agreement may be established prior to June 1 of 283
any year pursuant to this subparagraph. However, any interlocal 284
agreement agreed to under this subparagraph after the initial 285
levy of the tax or change in the tax rate authorized in this 286
section shall under no circumstances materially or adversely 287
affect the rights of holders of outstanding bonds which are 288
backed by taxes authorized by this paragraph, and the amounts 289
distributed to the county government and each municipality shall 290
not be reduced below the amount necessary for the payment of 291
principal and interest and reserves for principal and interest 292
as required under the covenants of any bond resolution 293
outstanding on the date of establishment of the new interlocal 294
agreement. 295
3. County and municipal governments shall use moneys 296
received pursuant to this paragraph for transportation 297
expenditures needed to meet the requirements of the capital 298
improvements element of an adopted comprehensive plan or for 299
expenditures needed to meet immediate local transportation 300
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problems and for other transportation -related expenditures that 301
are critical for building comprehensive roadway networks by 302
local governments. For purposes of this paragraph, expenditures 303
for the construction of new roads, t he reconstruction or 304
resurfacing of existing paved roads, or the paving of existing 305
graded roads shall be deemed to increase capacity and such 306
projects shall be included in the capital improvements element 307
of an adopted comprehensive plan. Expenditures for purposes of 308
this paragraph shall not include routine maintenance of roads. 309
(3) The tax authorized pursuant to paragraph (1)(a) shall 310
be levied using either of the following procedures: 311
(b) If no interlocal agreement or resolution is adopted 312
pursuant to subparagraph (a)1. or subparagraph (a)2., 313
municipalities representing more than 50 percent of the county 314
population may, prior to June 20, adopt uniform resolutions 315
approving the local option tax, establishing the duration of the 316
levy and the rate author ized in paragraph (1)(a), and setting 317
the date for a countywide referendum on whether to levy the tax. 318
A referendum under this subsection shall be held only at a 319
general election, as defined in s. 97.021. A referendum to 320
reenact an expiring tax must be hel d at the general election 321
immediately preceding the expiration date of the tax. The tax 322
shall be levied and collected countywide on January 1 following 323
30 days after voter approval. 324
Section 9. Subsections (1), (2), and (3) of section 325
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1011.73, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 326
1011.73 District millage elections. — 327
(1) MILLAGE AUTHORIZED NOT TO EXCEED 2 YEARS. —The district 328
school board, pursuant to resolution adopted at a regular 329
meeting, shall direct the county commissioners to call an 330
election at which the electors within the school districts may 331
approve an ad valorem tax millage as authorized in s. 9, Art. 332
VII of the State Constitution. Such election may be held at any 333
time, except that not more than one such election shall be held 334
during any 12-month period. Any millage so authorized shall be 335
levied for a period not in excess of 2 years or until changed by 336
another millage election, whichever is the earlier. In the event 337
any such election is invalidated by a court of competent 338
jurisdiction, such invalidated election shall be considered not 339
to have been held. 340
(2) MILLAGE AUTHORIZED NOT TO EXCEED 4 YEARS. —The district 341
school board, pursuant to resolution adopted at a regular 342
meeting, shall direct the county commissioners to call an 343
election at which the electors within the school district may 344
approve an ad valorem tax millage as authorized under s. 345
1011.71(9). Such election may be held at any time, except that 346
not more than one such election shall be held during any 12 -347
month period. Any millage so authorized shall be levied for a 348
period not in excess of 4 years or until changed by another 349
millage election, whichever is earlier. If any such election is 350
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invalidated by a court of competent jurisdiction, such 351
invalidated election shall be considered not to have been held. 352
(3) HOLDING ELECTIONS. —All school district millage 353
elections shall be held and conducted in the manner prescribed 354
by law for holding general elections, except as provided in this 355
chapter. A referendum under this part shall be held onl y at the 356
a general election, as defined in s. 97.021 , immediately 357
preceding the effective date of the millage . 358
Section 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 359