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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
a general election; limiting the occurre nce of such a 6
referendum; amending s. 125.901, F.S.; requiring a 7
referendum to approve a millage rate increase for a 8
children's services independent special district 9
property tax to be held at a general election; 10
limiting the occurrence of such a referendu m; amending 11
ss. 200.091 and 200.101, F.S.; limiting the occurrence 12
of a referendum to approve a county or municipal ad 13
valorem tax millage increase, respectively; amending 14
s. 212.055, F.S.; requiring a referendum to reenact a 15
local government discretionary sales surtax to be held 16
at a general election; limiting the occurrence of such 17
a referendum; amending ss. 336.021 and 336.025, F.S.; 18
requiring a referendum to adopt, amend, or reenact a 19
ninth-cent fuel tax or local option fuel taxes, 20
respectively, to be h eld at a general election; 21
limiting the occurrence of such a referendum; amending 22
s. 1011.73, F.S.; deleting provisions that authorize 23
school district millage elections to be held at any 24
time and specify a limit on such elections; making a 25
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technical change; limiting the occurrence of such a 26
referendum; providing an effective date. 27
28
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 29
30
Section 1. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (6) of 31
section 125.0104, Florida Statutes, to read: 32
125.0104 Tourist development tax; procedure for levying; 33
authorized uses; referendum; enforcement. — 34
(6) REFERENDUM.— 35
(e) A referendum to reenact an expiring tourist 36
development tax must be held at a general election. Such a 37
referendum may be held only once duri ng the 48-month period 38
preceding the effective date of the referendum. 39
Section 2. Subsection (5) of section 125.0108, Florida 40
Statutes, is amended to read: 41
125.0108 Areas of critical state concern; tourist impact 42
tax.— 43
(5) The tourist impact tax au thorized by this section 44
shall take effect only upon express approval by a majority vote 45
of those qualified electors in the area or areas of critical 46
state concern in the county seeking to levy such tax, voting in 47
a referendum to be held in conjunction wit h a general election, 48
as defined in s. 97.021. However, if the area or areas of 49
critical state concern are greater than 50 percent of the land 50
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area of the county and the tax is to be imposed throughout the 51
entire county, the tax shall take effect only upon express 52
approval of a majority of the qualified electors of the county 53
voting in such a referendum. A referendum to reenact an expiring 54
tourist impact tax must be held at a general election. Such a 55
referendum may be held only once during the 48 -month period 56
preceding the effective date of the referendum. 57
Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 125.901, Florida 58
Statutes, is amended to read: 59
125.901 Children's services; independent special district; 60
council; powers, duties, and functions; public records 61
exemption.— 62
(1) Each county may by ordinance create an independent 63
special district, as defined in ss. 189.012 and 200.001(8)(e), 64
to provide funding for children's services throughout the county 65
in accordance with this section. The boundaries of such dist rict 66
shall be coterminous with the boundaries of the county. The 67
county governing body shall obtain approval at a general 68
election, as defined in s. 97.021, by a majority vote of those 69
electors voting on the question, to annually levy ad valorem 70
taxes which shall not exceed the maximum millage rate authorized 71
by this section. Any district created pursuant to the provisions 72
of this subsection shall be required to levy and fix millage 73
subject to the provisions of s. 200.065. Once such millage is 74
approved by the electorate, the district shall not be required 75
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to seek approval of the electorate in future years to levy the 76
previously approved millage. However, a referendum to increase 77
the millage rate previously approved by the electors must be 78
held at a general election. Such a referendum may be held only 79
once during the 48-month period preceding the effective date of 80
the referendum. 81
(a) The governing body of the district shall be a council 82
on children's services, which may also be known as a juvenile 83
welfare board or similar name as established in the ordinance by 84
the county governing body. Such council shall consist of 10 85
members, including the superintendent of schools; a local school 86
board member; the district administrator from the appropriate 87
district of the Department of Children and Families, or his or 88
her designee who is a member of the Senior Management Service or 89
of the Selected Exempt Service; one member of the county 90
governing body; and the judge assigned to juvenile cases who 91
shall sit as a voting me mber of the board, except that said 92
judge shall not vote or participate in the setting of ad valorem 93
taxes under this section. If there is more than one judge 94
assigned to juvenile cases in a county, the chief judge shall 95
designate one of said juvenile judg es to serve on the board. The 96
remaining five members shall be appointed by the Governor, and 97
shall, to the extent possible, represent the demographic 98
diversity of the population of the county. After soliciting 99
recommendations from the public, the county go verning body shall 100
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submit to the Governor the names of at least three persons for 101
each vacancy occurring among the five members appointed by the 102
Governor, and the Governor shall appoint members to the council 103
from the candidates nominated by the county gov erning body. The 104
Governor shall make a selection within a 45 -day period or 105
request a new list of candidates. All members appointed by the 106
Governor shall have been residents of the county for the 107
previous 24-month period. Such members shall be appointed for 4-108
year terms, except that the length of the terms of the initial 109
appointees shall be adjusted to stagger the terms. The Governor 110
may remove a member for cause or upon the written petition of 111
the county governing body. If any of the members of the council 112
required to be appointed by the Governor under the provisions of 113
this subsection shall resign, die, or be removed from office, 114
the vacancy thereby created shall, as soon as practicable, be 115
filled by appointment by the Governor, using the same method as 116
the original appointment, and such appointment to fill a vacancy 117
shall be for the unexpired term of the person who resigns, dies, 118
or is removed from office. 119
(b) However, any county as defined in s. 125.011(1) may 120
instead have a governing body consisting of 33 members, 121
including the superintendent of schools, or his or her designee; 122
two representatives of public postsecondary education 123
institutions located in the county; the county manager or the 124
equivalent county officer; the district administrator from the 125
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appropriate district of the Department of Children and Families, 126
or the administrator's designee who is a member of the Senior 127
Management Service or the Selected Exempt Service; the director 128
of the county health department or the director's designee; the 129
state attorney for the county or the state attorney's designee; 130
the chief judge assigned to juvenile cases, or another juvenile 131
judge who is the chief judge's designee and who shall sit as a 132
voting member of the board, except that the judge may not vote 133
or participate in setting ad valorem taxes under this section; 134
an individual who is selected by the board of the local United 135
Way or its equivalent; a member of a locally recognized faith -136
based coalition, selected by that coalition; a member of the 137
local chamber of commerce, selected by that chamber or, if more 138
than one chamber exists within the county, a person selected by 139
a coalition of the local chambers; a member of the early 140
learning coalition, selected by that coalition; a representative 141
of a labor organization or union active in the county; a member 142
of a local alliance or coalition engaged in cross -system 143
planning for health and social service delivery in the county, 144
selected by that alliance or coalition; a member of the local 145
Parent-Teachers Association/Parent-Teacher-Student Association, 146
selected by that association; a youth representative selected by 147
the local school system's student government; a local school 148
board member appointed by the chair of the school board; the 149
mayor of the county or the mayo r's designee; one member of the 150
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county governing body, appointed by the chair of that body; a 151
member of the state Legislature who represents residents of the 152
county, selected by the chair of the local legislative 153
delegation; an elected official representin g the residents of a 154
municipality in the county, selected by the county municipal 155
league; and 4 members -at-large, appointed to the council by the 156
majority of sitting council members. The remaining 7 members 157
shall be appointed by the Governor in accordance with procedures 158
set forth in paragraph (a), except that the Governor may remove 159
a member for cause or upon the written petition of the council. 160
Appointments by the Governor must, to the extent reasonably 161
possible, represent the geographic and demographic d iversity of 162
the population of the county. Members who are appointed to the 163
council by reason of their position are not subject to the 164
length of terms and limits on consecutive terms as provided in 165
this section. The remaining appointed members of the govern ing 166
body shall be appointed to serve 2 -year terms, except that those 167
members appointed by the Governor shall be appointed to serve 4 -168
year terms, and the youth representative and the legislative 169
delegate shall be appointed to serve 1 -year terms. A member ma y 170
be reappointed; however, a member may not serve for more than 171
three consecutive terms. A member is eligible to be appointed 172
again after a 2-year hiatus from the council. 173
(c) This subsection does not prohibit a county from 174
exercising such power as is provided by general or special law 175
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to provide children's services or to create a special district 176
to provide such services. 177
Section 4. Section 200.091, Florida Statutes, i s amended 178
to read: 179
200.091 Referendum to increase millage. —The millage 180
authorized to be levied in s. 200.071 for county purposes, 181
including dependent districts therein, may be increased for 182
periods not exceeding 2 years, provided such levy has been 183
approved by majority vote of the qualified electors in the 184
county or district voting in a general election, as defined in 185
s. 97.021, called for such purpose. Such an election may be 186
called by the governing body of any such county or district on 187
its own motion and shall be called upon submission of a petition 188
specifying the amount of millage sought to be levied and the 189
purpose for which the proceeds will be expended and containing 190
the signatures of at least 10 percent of the persons qualified 191
to vote in such elec tion, signed within 60 days prior to the 192
date the petition is filed. Such a referendum may be held only 193
once during the 48-month period preceding the effective date of 194
the referendum. 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 defined 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, but 202
the period of such increase may not exceed 2 years. Such 203
referendum also may be initiated by submission of a petition to 204
the governing body of the municipality containing the signatures 205
of 10 percent of those persons eligible to vote in such 206
referendum, which signatures were affixed to the petition within 207
60 days prior to its submission. Such a referendum may be held 208
only once during the 48 -month period preceding the effective 209
date of the referendum. 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 discr etionary 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, 226
or reenact a local government discretionary sales surtax under 227
this section must be held at a general election as defin ed in s. 228
97.021. Such a referendum may be held only once during the 48 -229
month period preceding the effective date of the referendum. 230
Section 7. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section 231
336.021, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 232
336.021 County transportation system; levy of ninth -cent 233
fuel tax on motor fuel and diesel fuel. — 234
(4)(a)1. A certified copy of the ordinance proposing to 235
levy the tax pursuant to referendum shall be furnished by the 236
county to the department within 10 days after approval of such 237
ordinance. 238
2. A referendum to adopt, amend, or reenact a tax under 239
this subsection must shall be held only at a general election, 240
as defined in s. 97.021. Such a referendum may be held only once 241
during the 48-month period preceding the effective date of the 242
referendum. 243
3. The county levying the tax pursuant to referendum shall 244
notify the department within 10 days after the passage of the 245
referendum of such passage and of the time period during which 246
the tax will be levied. The failure to furnish the certified 247
copy will not invalidate the passage of the ordinance. 248
Section 8. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) and paragraph 249
(b) of subsection (3) of section 336.025, Florida Statutes, are 250
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amended to read: 251
336.025 County transportation system; levy of local option 252
fuel tax on motor fuel and diesel fuel. — 253
(1) 254
(b) In addition to other taxes allowed by law, there may 255
be levied as provided in s. 206.41(1)(e) a 1 -cent, 2-cent, 3-256
cent, 4-cent, or 5-cent local option fuel tax upon every gallon 257
of motor fuel sold in a county and taxed under the provisions of 258
part I of chapter 206. The tax shall be levied by an ordinance 259
adopted by a majority plus one vote of the membership of the 260
governing body of the county or by referendum. A referendum to 261
adopt, amend, or reenact a tax under this subsection must shall 262
be held only at a general election, as defined in s. 97.021. 263
Such a referendum may be held only once during the 48 -month 264
period preceding the effective date of the referendum. 265
1. All impositions and rate changes of the tax shall be 266
levied before October 1, to be effective January 1 of the 267
following year. However, levies of the tax which were in effect 268
on July 1, 2002, and which expire on August 31 of any year may 269
be reimposed at the current authorized rat e provided the tax is 270
levied before July 1 and is effective September 1 of the year of 271
expiration. 272
2. The county may, prior to levy of the tax, establish by 273
interlocal agreement with one or more municipalities located 274
therein, representing a majority of the population of the 275
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incorporated area within the county, a distribution formula for 276
dividing the entire proceeds of the tax among county government 277
and all eligible municipalities within the county. If no 278
interlocal agreement is adopted before the effect ive date of the 279
tax, tax revenues shall be distributed pursuant to the 280
provisions of subsection (4). If no interlocal agreement exists, 281
a new interlocal agreement may be established prior to June 1 of 282
any year pursuant to this subparagraph. However, any in terlocal 283
agreement agreed to under this subparagraph after the initial 284
levy of the tax or change in the tax rate authorized in this 285
section shall under no circumstances materially or adversely 286
affect the rights of holders of outstanding bonds which are 287
backed by taxes authorized by this paragraph, and the amounts 288
distributed to the county government and each municipality shall 289
not be reduced below the amount necessary for the payment of 290
principal and interest and reserves for principal and interest 291
as required under the covenants of any bond resolution 292
outstanding on the date of establishment of the new interlocal 293
agreement. 294
3. County and municipal governments shall use moneys 295
received pursuant to this paragraph for transportation 296
expenditures needed to me et the requirements of the capital 297
improvements element of an adopted comprehensive plan or for 298
expenditures needed to meet immediate local transportation 299
problems and for other transportation -related expenditures that 300
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are critical for building comprehensi ve roadway networks by 301
local governments. For purposes of this paragraph, expenditures 302
for the construction of new roads, the reconstruction or 303
resurfacing of existing paved roads, or the paving of existing 304
graded roads shall be deemed to increase capacity and such 305
projects shall be included in the capital improvements element 306
of an adopted comprehensive plan. Expenditures for purposes of 307
this paragraph shall not include routine maintenance of roads. 308
(3) The tax authorized pursuant to paragraph (1)(a) sha ll 309
be levied using either of the following procedures: 310
(b) If no interlocal agreement or resolution is adopted 311
pursuant to subparagraph (a)1. or subparagraph (a)2., 312
municipalities representing more than 50 percent of the county 313
population may, prior to J une 20, adopt uniform resolutions 314
approving the local option tax, establishing the duration of the 315
levy and the rate authorized in paragraph (1)(a), and setting 316
the date for a countywide referendum on whether to levy the tax. 317
A referendum to adopt, amend, or reenact a tax under this 318
subsection must shall be held only at a general election, as 319
defined in s. 97.021. Such a referendum may be held only once 320
during the 48-month period preceding the effective date of the 321
referendum. The tax shall be levied and co llected countywide on 322
January 1 following 30 days after voter approval. 323
Section 9. Subsections (1), (2), and (3) of section 324
1011.73, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 325
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1011.73 District millage elections. — 326
(1) MILLAGE AUTHORIZED NOT TO EXCEED 2 YEARS.—The district 327
school board, pursuant to resolution adopted at a regular 328
meeting, shall direct the county commissioners to call an 329
election at which the electors within the school districts may 330
approve an ad valorem tax millage as authorized in s. 9, Art. 331
VII of the State Constitution. Such election may be held at any 332
time, except that not more than one such election shall be held 333
during any 12-month period. Any millage so authorized shall be 334
levied for a period not in excess of 2 years or until change d by 335
another millage election, whichever is the earlier. In the event 336
any such election is invalidated by a court of competent 337
jurisdiction, such invalidated election shall be considered not 338
to have been held. 339
(2) MILLAGE AUTHORIZED NOT TO EXCEED 4 YEARS .—The district 340
school board, pursuant to resolution adopted at a regular 341
meeting, shall direct the county commissioners to call an 342
election at which the electors within the school district may 343
approve an ad valorem tax millage as authorized under s. 344
1011.71(9). Such election may be held at any time, except that 345
not more than one such election shall be held during any 12 -346
month period. Any millage so authorized shall be levied for a 347
period not in excess of 4 years or until changed by another 348
millage election, whichever is earlier. If any such election is 349
invalidated by a court of competent jurisdiction, such 350
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invalidated election shall be considered not to have been held. 351
(3) HOLDING ELECTIONS. —All school district millage 352
elections shall be held and conducted in the manner prescribed 353
by law for holding general elections, except as provided in this 354
chapter. A referendum under this part must shall be held only at 355
a general election, as defined in s. 97.021. Such a referendum 356
may be held only once during the 48 -month period preceding the 357
effective date of the referendum. 358
Section 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 359