CS/CS/HB 1259 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1259-02-c2
Page 1 of 12
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 education; amending s. 212.055, 2
F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the 3
act; amending s. 1013.62, F.S.; deleting obsolete 4
language; making technical changes; revising charter 5
school eligibility and ineligibility criteria to 6
receive capital outlay funds; revising the calculation 7
methodologies for the distribution of specified funds 8
to eligible charter schools; providing school district 9
requirements for the distribution of capital outlay 10
funds to eligible charter schools; providing 11
requirements for the use of capital outlay funds; 12
providing an effective date. 13
14
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15
16
Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (6) of section 17
212.055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 18
212.055 Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent; 19
authorization and use of proceeds. —It is the legislative intent 20
that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales 21
surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a 22
subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the 23
levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties 24
authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the 25
CS/CS/HB 1259 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1259-02-c2
Page 2 of 12
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
maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the 26
procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if 27
required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended; 28
and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide. 29
Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as 30
provided in s. 212.054. 31
(6) SCHOOL CAPITAL OUTLAY SURTAX. — 32
(c) The resolution providing for the imposition of the 33
surtax must set forth a plan for use of the surtax proceeds for 34
fixed capital expenditures or fixed capital costs associated 35
with the construction, reconstruction, or improvement of school 36
facilities and campuses which have a useful life expectancy of 5 37
or more years, and any land acquisition, land improvement, 38
design, and engineering costs related thereto, or any purchase, 39
lease-purchase, lease, or maintenance of school buses, as 40
defined in s. 1006.25, which have a life expectancy of 5 years 41
or more. Additionally, the plan shall include the costs of 42
retrofitting and providing for tech nology implementation, 43
including hardware and software, for the various sites within 44
the school district. Surtax revenues may be used to service bond 45
indebtedness to finance projects authorized by this subsection, 46
and any interest accrued thereto may be he ld in trust to finance 47
such projects. Neither the proceeds of the surtax nor any 48
interest accrued thereto shall be used for operational expenses. 49
Surtax revenues shared with charter schools shall be shared 50
CS/CS/HB 1259 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1259-02-c2
Page 3 of 12
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
based on their proportionate share of total school district 51
capital outlay full-time equivalent enrollment as adopted by the 52
education estimating conference established in s. 216.136 and 53
expended by the charter school in a manner consistent with the 54
allowable uses set forth in s. 1013.62(4). All revenues and 55
expenditures shall be accounted for in a charter school's 56
monthly or quarterly financial statement pursuant to s. 57
1002.33(9). The eligibility of a charter school to receive funds 58
under this subsection shall be determined in accordance with s. 59
1013.62(1). If a school's charter is not renewed or is 60
terminated and the school is dissolved under the provisions of 61
law under which the school was organized, any unencumbered funds 62
received under this subsection shall revert to the sponsor. 63
Section 2. Subsections (1), (2), (3), and (4) of section 64
1013.62, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 65
1013.62 Charter schools capital outlay funding. — 66
(1) For the 2022-2023 fiscal year, charter school capital 67
outlay funding shall consist of state funds appropriated i n the 68
2022-2023 General Appropriations Act. Beginning in fiscal year 69
2023-2024, Charter school capital outlay funding shall consist 70
of state funds when such funds are appropriated in the General 71
Appropriations Act and revenue resulting from the discretiona ry 72
millage authorized in s. 1011.71(2) if the amount of state funds 73
appropriated for charter school capital outlay in any fiscal 74
year is less than the average charter school capital outlay 75
CS/CS/HB 1259 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1259-02-c2
Page 4 of 12
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
funds per unweighted full -time equivalent student for the 2018 -76
2019 fiscal year, multiplied by the estimated number of charter 77
school students for the applicable fiscal year, and adjusted by 78
changes in the Consumer Price Index issued by the United States 79
Department of Labor from the previous fiscal year. Nothing in 80
this subsection prohibits a school district from distributing to 81
charter schools funds resulting from the discretionary millage 82
authorized in s. 1011.71(2) . 83
(a) To be eligible to receive capital outlay funds, a 84
charter school must: 85
1.a. Have been in operatio n for 2 or more years; 86
b. Be governed by a governing board established in the 87
state for 2 or more years which operates both charter schools 88
and conversion charter schools within the state; 89
c. Be an expanded feeder chain of a charter school within 90
the same school district that is currently receiving charter 91
school capital outlay funds; 92
d. Have been accredited by a regional accrediting 93
association as defined by State Board of Education rule; 94
e. Serve students in facilities that are provided by a 95
business partner for a charter school -in-the-workplace pursuant 96
to s. 1002.33(15)(b); or 97
f. Be operated by a hope operator pursuant to s. 1002.333. 98
2. Have an annual audit that does not reveal any of the 99
financial emergency conditions provided in s. 218.503(1) for the 100
CS/CS/HB 1259 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1259-02-c2
Page 5 of 12
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
most recent fiscal year for which such audit results are 101
available. 102
3. Have satisfactory student achievement based on state 103
accountability standards applicable to the charter school. 104
4. Have received final approval from its sponsor pursuant 105
to s. 1002.33 for operation during that fiscal year. 106
5. Serve students in facilities that are not provided by 107
the charter school's sponsor. 108
6. Attest in writing to the department that if the charter 109
school is nonrenewed or terminated, any unencumbered funds and 110
all equipment and property purchased with public funds shall 111
revert pursuant to subsection (5). 112
(b) A charter school is not eligible to receive capital 113
outlay funds if: 114
1. It was created by the conversion of a public school and 115
operates in facilities provided by the charter school's sponsor 116
for a nominal fee, or at no charge, or if it is directly or 117
indirectly operated by the school d istrict; 118
2. It is a developmental research (laboratory) school that 119
receives state funding for capital improvement purposes pursuant 120
to s. 1002.32(9)(e); or 121
3. A member of the governing board, or his or her spouse, 122
has an interest in or is an employee of the lessor, excluding 123
charter schools operating pursuant to s. 1002.33(15) . 124
(2) The department shall use the following calculation 125
CS/CS/HB 1259 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1259-02-c2
Page 6 of 12
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
methodology to allocate state funds appropriated in the General 126
Appropriations Act to eligible charter schools: 127
(a) Eligible charter schools shall be grouped into 128
categories based on their student populations according to the 129
following criteria: 130
1. Seventy-five percent or greater who are eligible for 131
free or reduced-price school meals under the National School 132
Lunch Program or, for schools operating programs under the 133
Community Eligibility Provision of the Healthy, Hunger -Free Kids 134
Act of 2010, an equivalent percentage of the student population 135
eligible for free and reduced -price meals as determined by 136
applying the multiplier authorized under the National School 137
Lunch Act, 42 U.S.C. s. 1759a(a)(1)(F)(vii), to the number of 138
students reported for direct certification. 139
2. Twenty-five percent or greater with disabilities as 140
defined in state board rule and consistent with th e requirements 141
of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. 142
(b) If an eligible charter school does not meet the 143
criteria for either category under paragraph (a), its FTE shall 144
be provided as the base amount of funding and shall be assigned 145
a weight of 1.0. An eligible charter school that meets the 146
criteria under subparagraph (a)1. or subparagraph (a)2. shall be 147
provided an additional 25 percent above the base funding amount, 148
and the total FTE shall be multiplied by a weight of 1.25. An 149
eligible charter school that meets the criteria under both 150
CS/CS/HB 1259 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1259-02-c2
Page 7 of 12
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
subparagraphs (a)1. and (a)2. shall be provided an additional 50 151
percent above the base funding amount, and the FTE for that 152
school shall be multiplied by a weight of 1.5. 153
(a)(c) Divide the state appropriati on for charter school 154
capital outlay shall be divided by the total weighted FTE for 155
all eligible charter schools to determine the base charter 156
school per weighted FTE allocation amount. The base charter 157
school per weighted FTE allocation amount shall be mu ltiplied by 158
the weighted FTE of each charter school to determine each 159
charter school's capital outlay allocation. 160
(b)(d) The department shall calculate the eligible charter 161
school funding allocations. Funds shall be allocated using full -162
time equivalent membership from the second and third enrollment 163
surveys and free and reduced -price school lunch data . The 164
department shall recalculate the allocations periodically based 165
on the receipt of revised information, on a schedule established 166
by the Commissioner of Education. 167
(c)(e) The department shall distribute capital outlay 168
funds monthly, beginning in the first quarter of the fiscal 169
year, based on one-twelfth of the amount the department 170
reasonably expects the charter school to receive during that 171
fiscal year. The commissioner shall adjust subsequent 172
distributions as necessary to reflect each charter school's 173
recalculated allocation. 174
(3) If the school board levies the discretionary millage 175
CS/CS/HB 1259 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1259-02-c2
Page 8 of 12
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
authorized in s. 1011.71(2), and the state funds appropriated 176
for charter school capital outlay in any fiscal year are less 177
than the average charter school capital outlay funds per 178
unweighted full-time equivalent student for the 2018 -2019 fiscal 179
year, multiplied by the estimated number of charter school 180
students for the app licable fiscal year, and adjusted by changes 181
in the Consumer Price Index issued by the United States 182
Department of Labor from the previous fiscal year, the 183
department shall use the following calculation methodology to 184
determine the amount of revenue that a school district must 185
distribute to each eligible charter school: 186
(a) Reduce the total discretionary millage revenue by the 187
school district's annual debt service obligation incurred as of 188
March 1, 2017, which has not been subsequently retired, and any 189
amount of participation requirement pursuant to s. 190
1013.64(2)(a)8. that is being satisfied by revenues raised by 191
the discretionary millage. 192
(b) Divide the school district's adjusted discretionary 193
millage revenue by the district's total capital outlay full -time 194
equivalent membership and the total number of unweighted full-195
time equivalent students of each eligible charter school to 196
determine a capital outlay allocation per full -time equivalent 197
student. 198
(c) Multiply the capital outlay allocation per full -time 199
equivalent student by the total number of full -time equivalent 200
CS/CS/HB 1259 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1259-02-c2
Page 9 of 12
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
students of each eligible charter school to determine the 201
capital outlay allocation for each charter school. 202
(d) If applicable, reduce the capital outlay allocation 203
identified in paragraph (c) by the total amount of state funds 204
allocated to each eligible charter school in subsection (2) to 205
determine the maximum calculated capital outlay allocation. The 206
amount of funds a school district must distribute to charter 207
schools shall be as follows: 208
1. For fiscal year 2023 -2024, the amount is 20 percent of 209
the amount calculated under this paragraph. 210
2. For fiscal year 2024 -2025, the amount is 40 percent of 211
the amount calculated under this paragraph. 212
3. For fiscal year 2025 -2026, the amount is 60 percent of 213
the amount calculated under this paragraph. 214
4. For fiscal year 2026 -2027, the amount is 80 percent of 215
the amount calculated under this paragraph. 216
5. For fiscal year 2027 -2028, and each fiscal year 217
thereafter, the amount is 100 percent of th e amount calculated 218
under this paragraph. 219
(e) School districts shall distribute capital outlay funds 220
to eligible charter schools no later than February 1 of each 221
year, as required by this subsection, based on the amount of 222
funds received by the district school board. School districts 223
shall distribute any remaining capital outlay funds, as required 224
by this subsection, upon the receipt of such funds until the 225
CS/CS/HB 1259 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1259-02-c2
Page 10 of 12
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
total amount calculated pursuant to this subsection is 226
distributed. 227
228
By October 1 of each year, each school district shall certify to 229
the department the amount of debt service and participation 230
requirement that complies with the requirement of paragraph (a) 231
and can be reduced from the total discretionary millage revenue. 232
The Auditor General shall ver ify compliance with the 233
requirements of paragraph (a) and s. 1011.71(2)(e) during 234
scheduled operational audits of school districts. 235
(4) A charter school's governing body may use charter 236
school capital outlay funds for the following purposes: 237
(a) Purchase of real property. 238
(b) Construction of school facilities. 239
(c) Purchase, lease -purchase, or lease of permanent or 240
relocatable school facilities. 241
(d) Purchase of vehicles to transport students to and from 242
the charter school. 243
(e) Renovation, repair, and maintenance of school 244
facilities that the charter school owns or is purchasing through 245
a lease-purchase or long-term lease of 5 years or longer. 246
(f) Payment of the cost of premiums for property and 247
casualty insurance necessary to insure the school f acilities. 248
(g) Purchase, lease -purchase, or lease of driver's 249
education vehicles; motor vehicles used for the maintenance or 250
CS/CS/HB 1259 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1259-02-c2
Page 11 of 12
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
operation of plants and equipment; security vehicles; or 251
vehicles used in storing or distributing materials and 252
equipment. 253
(h) Purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of computer and 254
device hardware and operating system software necessary for 255
gaining access to or enhancing the use of electronic and digital 256
instructional content and resources; and enterprise resource 257
software applications that are classified as capital assets in 258
accordance with definitions of the Governmental Accounting 259
Standards Board, have a useful life of at least 5 years, and are 260
used to support schoolwide administration or state -mandated 261
reporting requirements. Ente rprise resource software may be 262
acquired by annual license fees, maintenance fees, or lease 263
agreement. 264
(i) Payment of the cost of the opening day collection for 265
the library media center of a new school. 266
267
Any purchase, lease-purchase, or lease made pursua nt to this 268
subsection must be at the appraised value. For purposes of this 269
subsection, the term "appraised value" means the fair market 270
value as determined by an independent, Florida -licensed, 271
qualified appraiser selected by the governing board. 272
Documentation of the appraised value shall be provided to the 273
department upon its request. Conversion charter schools may use 274
capital outlay funds received through the reduction in the 275
CS/CS/HB 1259 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1259-02-c2
Page 12 of 12
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
administrative fee provided in s. 1002.33(20) for renovation, 276
repair, and maintenance of school facilities that are owned by 277
the sponsor. 278
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 279