HB 885 2023
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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 authorized use of discretionary 2
sales surtaxes; amending s. 212.055, F.S.; authorizing 3
certain tax proceeds to be used towards specified 4
purposes; providing an effective date. 5
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 7
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Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 9
212.055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 10
212.055 Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislat ive intent; 11
authorization and use of proceeds. —It is the legislative intent 12
that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales 13
surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a 14
subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of th e 15
levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties 16
authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the 17
maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the 18
procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if 19
required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended; 20
and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide. 21
Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as 22
provided in s. 212.054. 23
(2) LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE SURTAX. — 24
(d) The proceeds of the surtax authorized by this 25
HB 885 2023
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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
subsection and any accrued interest shall be expended by the 26
school district, within the county and municipalities within the 27
county, or, in the case of a negotiated joint county agreement, 28
within another county, to finance, plan, and construct, and 29
maintain infrastructure; to acquire any interest in land for 30
public recreation, conservation, or protection of natural 31
resources or to prevent or satisfy private property rights 32
claims resulting from limitations imposed by the designation of 33
an area of critical state concern; to provide loans, grants, or 34
rebates to residential or commercial property owners who make 35
energy efficiency improvements to their residential or 36
commercial property, if a local government ordinance authorizing 37
such use is approved by referendum; or to finance the closure of 38
county-owned or municipally owned solid waste landfills that 39
have been closed or are required to be closed by order of the 40
Department of Environmental Protection. Any use of the proceeds 41
or interest for purposes of landfill closure before July 1, 42
1993, is ratified. The proceeds and any interest may not be used 43
for the operational expenses of infrastructure , except that a 44
county that has a population of fewer than 75,000 and that i s 45
required to close a landfill may use the proceeds or interest 46
for long-term maintenance costs associated with landfill 47
closure. Counties, as defined in s. 125.011, and charter 48
counties may, in addition, use the proceeds or interest to 49
retire or service indebtedness incurred for bonds issued before 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
July 1, 1987, for infrastructure purposes, and for bonds 51
subsequently issued to refund such bonds. Any use of the 52
proceeds or interest for purposes of retiring or servicing 53
indebtedness incurred for refunding bo nds before July 1, 1999, 54
is ratified. 55
1. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term 56
"infrastructure" means: 57
a. Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay 58
associated with the construction, reconstruction, or 59
improvement, or maintenance of public facilities that have a 60
life expectancy of 5 or more years, any related land 61
acquisition, land improvement, design, and engineering costs, 62
and all other professional and related costs required to bring 63
the public facilities into service. For purposes of this sub-64
subparagraph, the term "public facilities" means facilities as 65
defined in s. 163.3164(39), s. 163.3221(13), or s. 189.012(5), 66
and includes facilities that are necessary to carry out 67
governmental purposes, including, but not limited to, fire 68
stations, general governmental office buildings, and animal 69
shelters, regardless of whether the facilities are owned by the 70
local taxing authority or another governmental entity. 71
b. A fire department vehicle, an emergency medical service 72
vehicle, a sheriff's office vehicle, a police department 73
vehicle, or any other vehicle, and the equipment necessary to 74
outfit the vehicle for its official use or equipment that has a 75
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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
life expectancy of at least 5 years. 76
c. Any expenditure for the construction, lease, or 77
maintenance of, or provision of utilities or security for, 78
facilities, as defined in s. 29.008. 79
d. Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay 80
associated with the improvement of private facilities that have 81
a life expectancy of 5 or more years an d that the owner agrees 82
to make available for use on a temporary basis as needed by a 83
local government as a public emergency shelter or a staging area 84
for emergency response equipment during an emergency officially 85
declared by the state or by the local gov ernment under s. 86
252.38. Such improvements are limited to those necessary to 87
comply with current standards for public emergency evacuation 88
shelters. The owner must enter into a written contract with the 89
local government providing the improvement funding to make the 90
private facility available to the public for purposes of 91
emergency shelter at no cost to the local government for a 92
minimum of 10 years after completion of the improvement, with 93
the provision that the obligation will transfer to any 94
subsequent owner until the end of the minimum period. 95
e. Any land acquisition expenditure for a residential 96
housing project in which at least 30 percent of the units are 97
affordable to individuals or families whose total annual 98
household income does not exceed 120 per cent of the area median 99
income adjusted for household size, if the land is owned by a 100
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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
local government or by a special district that enters into a 101
written agreement with the local government to provide such 102
housing. The local government or special district may enter into 103
a ground lease with a public or private person or entity for 104
nominal or other consideration for the construction of the 105
residential housing project on land acquired pursuant to this 106
sub-subparagraph. 107
f. Instructional technology used solel y in a school 108
district's classrooms. As used in this sub -subparagraph, the 109
term "instructional technology" means an interactive device that 110
assists a teacher in instructing a class or a group of students 111
and includes the necessary hardware and software to operate the 112
interactive device. The term also includes support systems in 113
which an interactive device may mount and is not required to be 114
affixed to the facilities. 115
2. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "energy 116
efficiency improvement" means any energy conservation and 117
efficiency improvement that reduces consumption through 118
conservation or a more efficient use of electricity, natural 119
gas, propane, or other forms of energy on the property, 120
including, but not limited to, air sealing; installation o f 121
insulation; installation of energy -efficient heating, cooling, 122
or ventilation systems; installation of solar panels; building 123
modifications to increase the use of daylight or shade; 124
replacement of windows; installation of energy controls or 125
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energy recovery systems; installation of electric vehicle 126
charging equipment; installation of systems for natural gas fuel 127
as defined in s. 206.9951; and installation of efficient 128
lighting equipment. 129
3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, 130
a local government infrastructure surtax imposed or extended 131
after July 1, 1998, may allocate up to 15 percent of the surtax 132
proceeds for deposit into a trust fund within the county's 133
accounts created for the purpose of funding economic development 134
projects having a general public purpose of improving local 135
economies, including the funding of operational costs and 136
incentives related to economic development. The ballot statement 137
must indicate the intention to make an allocation under the 138
authority of this subparagra ph. 139
Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 140