Florida Senate - 2023 SB 698 By Senator Ingoglia 11-00367B-23 2023698__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to local tax referenda requirements; 3 amending ss. 125.0104 and 125.0108, F.S.; requiring a 4 referendum to reenact an expiring tourist development 5 tax or tourist impact tax, respectively, to be held at 6 the general election immediately preceding the 7 expiration date of the tax; amending s. 125.901, F.S.; 8 requiring a referendum to approve a millage rate 9 increase for a childrens services independent special 10 district property tax to be held at the general 11 election immediately preceding the effective date of 12 the increase; amending ss. 200.091 and 200.101, F.S.; 13 requiring a referendum to approve a county or 14 municipal ad valorem tax millage increase, 15 respectively, to be held at the general election 16 immediately preceding the effective date of the 17 increase; amending s. 212.055, F.S.; requiring a 18 referendum to reenact an expiring local government 19 discretionary sales surtax to be held at the general 20 election immediately preceding the expiration date of 21 the surtax; amending ss. 336.021 and 336.025, F.S.; 22 requiring a referendum to reenact an expiring ninth 23 cent fuel tax or expiring local option fuel taxes, 24 respectively, to be held at the general election 25 immediately preceding the expiration date of the tax; 26 amending s. 1011.73, F.S.; deleting provisions that 27 authorize school district millage elections to be held 28 at any time and specify a limit on such elections; 29 requiring such elections to be held at the general 30 election immediately preceding the effective date of 31 the millage; providing an effective date. 32 33 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 34 35 Section 1.Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (6) of 36 section 125.0104, Florida Statutes, to read: 37 125.0104Tourist development tax; procedure for levying; 38 authorized uses; referendum; enforcement. 39 (6)REFERENDUM. 40 (e)A referendum to reenact an expiring tourist development 41 tax must be held at the general election immediately preceding 42 the expiration date of the tax. 43 Section 2.Subsection (5) of section 125.0108, Florida 44 Statutes, is amended to read: 45 125.0108Areas of critical state concern; tourist impact 46 tax. 47 (5)The tourist impact tax authorized by this section shall 48 take effect only upon express approval by a majority vote of 49 those qualified electors in the area or areas of critical state 50 concern in the county seeking to levy such tax, voting in a 51 referendum to be held in conjunction with a general election, as 52 defined in s. 97.021. However, if the area or areas of critical 53 state concern are greater than 50 percent of the land area of 54 the county and the tax is to be imposed throughout the entire 55 county, the tax shall take effect only upon express approval of 56 a majority of the qualified electors of the county voting in 57 such a referendum. A referendum to reenact an expiring tourist 58 impact tax must be held at the general election immediately 59 preceding the expiration date of the tax. 60 Section 3.Subsection (1) of section 125.901, Florida 61 Statutes, is amended to read: 62 125.901Childrens services; independent special district; 63 council; powers, duties, and functions; public records 64 exemption. 65 (1)Each county may by ordinance create an independent 66 special district, as defined in ss. 189.012 and 200.001(8)(e), 67 to provide funding for childrens services throughout the county 68 in accordance with this section. The boundaries of such district 69 shall be coterminous with the boundaries of the county. The 70 county governing body shall obtain approval at a general 71 election, as defined in s. 97.021, by a majority vote of those 72 electors voting on the question, to annually levy ad valorem 73 taxes which shall not exceed the maximum millage rate authorized 74 by this section. Any district created pursuant to the provisions 75 of this subsection shall be required to levy and fix millage 76 subject to the provisions of s. 200.065. Once such millage is 77 approved by the electorate, the district shall not be required 78 to seek approval of the electorate in future years to levy the 79 previously approved millage. However, a referendum to approve a 80 millage rate increase under s. 200.065 must be held at the 81 general election immediately preceding the effective date of the 82 increase. 83 (a)The governing body of the district shall be a council 84 on childrens services, which may also be known as a juvenile 85 welfare board or similar name as established in the ordinance by 86 the county governing body. Such council shall consist of 10 87 members, including the superintendent of schools; a local school 88 board member; the district administrator from the appropriate 89 district of the Department of Children and Families, or his or 90 her designee who is a member of the Senior Management Service or 91 of the Selected Exempt Service; one member of the county 92 governing body; and the judge assigned to juvenile cases who 93 shall sit as a voting member of the board, except that said 94 judge shall not vote or participate in the setting of ad valorem 95 taxes under this section. If there is more than one judge 96 assigned to juvenile cases in a county, the chief judge shall 97 designate one of said juvenile judges to serve on the board. The 98 remaining five members shall be appointed by the Governor, and 99 shall, to the extent possible, represent the demographic 100 diversity of the population of the county. After soliciting 101 recommendations from the public, the county governing body shall 102 submit to the Governor the names of at least three persons for 103 each vacancy occurring among the five members appointed by the 104 Governor, and the Governor shall appoint members to the council 105 from the candidates nominated by the county governing body. The 106 Governor shall make a selection within a 45-day period or 107 request a new list of candidates. All members appointed by the 108 Governor shall have been residents of the county for the 109 previous 24-month period. Such members shall be appointed for 4 110 year terms, except that the length of the terms of the initial 111 appointees shall be adjusted to stagger the terms. The Governor 112 may remove a member for cause or upon the written petition of 113 the county governing body. If any of the members of the council 114 required to be appointed by the Governor under the provisions of 115 this subsection shall resign, die, or be removed from office, 116 the vacancy thereby created shall, as soon as practicable, be 117 filled by appointment by the Governor, using the same method as 118 the original appointment, and such appointment to fill a vacancy 119 shall be for the unexpired term of the person who resigns, dies, 120 or is removed from office. 121 (b)However, any county as defined in s. 125.011(1) may 122 instead have a governing body consisting of 33 members, 123 including the superintendent of schools, or his or her designee; 124 two representatives of public postsecondary education 125 institutions located in the county; the county manager or the 126 equivalent county officer; the district administrator from the 127 appropriate district of the Department of Children and Families, 128 or the administrators designee who is a member of the Senior 129 Management Service or the Selected Exempt Service; the director 130 of the county health department or the directors designee; the 131 state attorney for the county or the state attorneys designee; 132 the chief judge assigned to juvenile cases, or another juvenile 133 judge who is the chief judges designee and who shall sit as a 134 voting member of the board, except that the judge may not vote 135 or participate in setting ad valorem taxes under this section; 136 an individual who is selected by the board of the local United 137 Way or its equivalent; a member of a locally recognized faith 138 based coalition, selected by that coalition; a member of the 139 local chamber of commerce, selected by that chamber or, if more 140 than one chamber exists within the county, a person selected by 141 a coalition of the local chambers; a member of the early 142 learning coalition, selected by that coalition; a representative 143 of a labor organization or union active in the county; a member 144 of a local alliance or coalition engaged in cross-system 145 planning for health and social service delivery in the county, 146 selected by that alliance or coalition; a member of the local 147 Parent-Teachers Association/Parent-Teacher-Student Association, 148 selected by that association; a youth representative selected by 149 the local school systems student government; a local school 150 board member appointed by the chair of the school board; the 151 mayor of the county or the mayors designee; one member of the 152 county governing body, appointed by the chair of that body; a 153 member of the state Legislature who represents residents of the 154 county, selected by the chair of the local legislative 155 delegation; an elected official representing the residents of a 156 municipality in the county, selected by the county municipal 157 league; and 4 members-at-large, appointed to the council by the 158 majority of sitting council members. The remaining 7 members 159 shall be appointed by the Governor in accordance with procedures 160 set forth in paragraph (a), except that the Governor may remove 161 a member for cause or upon the written petition of the council. 162 Appointments by the Governor must, to the extent reasonably 163 possible, represent the geographic and demographic diversity of 164 the population of the county. Members who are appointed to the 165 council by reason of their position are not subject to the 166 length of terms and limits on consecutive terms as provided in 167 this section. The remaining appointed members of the governing 168 body shall be appointed to serve 2-year terms, except that those 169 members appointed by the Governor shall be appointed to serve 4 170 year terms, and the youth representative and the legislative 171 delegate shall be appointed to serve 1-year terms. A member may 172 be reappointed; however, a member may not serve for more than 173 three consecutive terms. A member is eligible to be appointed 174 again after a 2-year hiatus from the council. 175 (c)This subsection does not prohibit a county from 176 exercising such power as is provided by general or special law 177 to provide childrens services or to create a special district 178 to provide such services. 179 Section 4.Section 200.091, Florida Statutes, is amended to 180 read: 181 200.091Referendum to increase millage.The millage 182 authorized to be levied in s. 200.071 for county purposes, 183 including dependent districts therein, may be increased for 184 periods not exceeding 2 years, provided such levy has been 185 approved by majority vote of the qualified electors in the 186 county or district voting in the a general election, as defined 187 in s. 97.021, immediately preceding the effective date of the 188 increase and called for such purpose. Such an election may be 189 called by the governing body of any such county or district on 190 its own motion and shall be called upon submission of a petition 191 specifying the amount of millage sought to be levied and the 192 purpose for which the proceeds will be expended and containing 193 the signatures of at least 10 percent of the persons qualified 194 to vote in such election, signed within 60 days prior to the 195 date the petition is filed. 196 Section 5.Section 200.101, Florida Statutes, is amended to 197 read: 198 200.101Referendum for millage in excess of limits.The 199 qualified electors of a municipality may, by majority vote at a 200 general election, as defined in s. 97.021, increase millage 201 above those limits imposed by s. 200.081 in a referendum called 202 for such purpose by the governing body of the municipality and 203 held at the general election, as defined in s. 97.021, 204 immediately preceding the effective date of the increase, but 205 the period of such increase may not exceed 2 years. Such 206 referendum also may be initiated by submission of a petition to 207 the governing body of the municipality containing the signatures 208 of 10 percent of those persons eligible to vote in such 209 referendum, which signatures were affixed to the petition within 210 60 days prior to its submission. 211 Section 6.Subsection (10) of section 212.055, Florida 212 Statutes, is amended to read: 213 212.055Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent; 214 authorization and use of proceeds.It is the legislative intent 215 that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales 216 surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a 217 subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the 218 levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties 219 authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the 220 maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the 221 procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if 222 required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended; 223 and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide. 224 Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as 225 provided in s. 212.054. 226 (10)DATES FOR REFERENDA.A referendum to adopt or amend a 227 local government discretionary sales surtax under this section 228 must be held at a general election as defined in s. 97.021. A 229 referendum to reenact an expiring local government discretionary 230 sales surtax under this section must be held at the general 231 election immediately preceding the expiration date of the 232 surtax. 233 Section 7.Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section 234 336.021, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 235 336.021County transportation system; levy of ninth-cent 236 fuel tax on motor fuel and diesel fuel. 237 (4)(a)1.A certified copy of the ordinance proposing to 238 levy the tax pursuant to referendum shall be furnished by the 239 county to the department within 10 days after approval of such 240 ordinance. 241 2.A referendum under this subsection shall be held only at 242 a general election, as defined in s. 97.021. A referendum to 243 reenact an expiring tax must be held at the general election 244 immediately preceding the expiration date of the tax. 245 3.The county levying the tax pursuant to referendum shall 246 notify the department within 10 days after the passage of the 247 referendum of such passage and of the time period during which 248 the tax will be levied. The failure to furnish the certified 249 copy will not invalidate the passage of the ordinance. 250 Section 8.Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) and paragraph 251 (b) of subsection (3) of section 336.025, Florida Statutes, are 252 amended to read: 253 336.025County transportation system; levy of local option 254 fuel tax on motor fuel and diesel fuel. 255 (1) 256 (b)In addition to other taxes allowed by law, there may be 257 levied as provided in s. 206.41(1)(e) a 1-cent, 2-cent, 3-cent, 258 4-cent, or 5-cent local option fuel tax upon every gallon of 259 motor fuel sold in a county and taxed under the provisions of 260 part I of chapter 206. The tax shall be levied by an ordinance 261 adopted by a majority plus one vote of the membership of the 262 governing body of the county or by referendum. A referendum 263 under this subsection shall be held only at a general election, 264 as defined in s. 97.021. A referendum to reenact an expiring tax 265 must be held at the general election immediately preceding the 266 expiration date of the tax. 267 1.All impositions and rate changes of the tax shall be 268 levied before October 1, to be effective January 1 of the 269 following year. However, levies of the tax which were in effect 270 on July 1, 2002, and which expire on August 31 of any year may 271 be reimposed at the current authorized rate provided the tax is 272 levied before July 1 and is effective September 1 of the year of 273 expiration. 274 2.The county may, prior to levy of the tax, establish by 275 interlocal agreement with one or more municipalities located 276 therein, representing a majority of the population of the 277 incorporated area within the county, a distribution formula for 278 dividing the entire proceeds of the tax among county government 279 and all eligible municipalities within the county. If no 280 interlocal agreement is adopted before the effective date of the 281 tax, tax revenues shall be distributed pursuant to the 282 provisions of subsection (4). If no interlocal agreement exists, 283 a new interlocal agreement may be established prior to June 1 of 284 any year pursuant to this subparagraph. However, any interlocal 285 agreement agreed to under this subparagraph after the initial 286 levy of the tax or change in the tax rate authorized in this 287 section shall under no circumstances materially or adversely 288 affect the rights of holders of outstanding bonds which are 289 backed by taxes authorized by this paragraph, and the amounts 290 distributed to the county government and each municipality shall 291 not be reduced below the amount necessary for the payment of 292 principal and interest and reserves for principal and interest 293 as required under the covenants of any bond resolution 294 outstanding on the date of establishment of the new interlocal 295 agreement. 296 3.County and municipal governments shall use moneys 297 received pursuant to this paragraph for transportation 298 expenditures needed to meet the requirements of the capital 299 improvements element of an adopted comprehensive plan or for 300 expenditures needed to meet immediate local transportation 301 problems and for other transportation-related expenditures that 302 are critical for building comprehensive roadway networks by 303 local governments. For purposes of this paragraph, expenditures 304 for the construction of new roads, the reconstruction or 305 resurfacing of existing paved roads, or the paving of existing 306 graded roads shall be deemed to increase capacity and such 307 projects shall be included in the capital improvements element 308 of an adopted comprehensive plan. Expenditures for purposes of 309 this paragraph shall not include routine maintenance of roads. 310 (3)The tax authorized pursuant to paragraph (1)(a) shall 311 be levied using either of the following procedures: 312 (b)If no interlocal agreement or resolution is adopted 313 pursuant to subparagraph (a)1. or subparagraph (a)2., 314 municipalities representing more than 50 percent of the county 315 population may, prior to June 20, adopt uniform resolutions 316 approving the local option tax, establishing the duration of the 317 levy and the rate authorized in paragraph (1)(a), and setting 318 the date for a countywide referendum on whether to levy the tax. 319 A referendum under this subsection shall be held only at a 320 general election, as defined in s. 97.021. A referendum to 321 reenact an expiring tax must be held at the general election 322 immediately preceding the expiration date of the tax. The tax 323 shall be levied and collected countywide on January 1 following 324 30 days after voter approval. 325 Section 9.Subsections (1), (2), and (3) of section 326 1011.73, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 327 1011.73District millage elections. 328 (1)MILLAGE AUTHORIZED NOT TO EXCEED 2 YEARS.The district 329 school board, pursuant to resolution adopted at a regular 330 meeting, shall direct the county commissioners to call an 331 election at which the electors within the school districts may 332 approve an ad valorem tax millage as authorized in s. 9, Art. 333 VII of the State Constitution. Such election may be held at any 334 time, except that not more than one such election shall be held 335 during any 12-month period. Any millage so authorized shall be 336 levied for a period not in excess of 2 years or until changed by 337 another millage election, whichever is the earlier. In the event 338 any such election is invalidated by a court of competent 339 jurisdiction, such invalidated election shall be considered not 340 to have been held. 341 (2)MILLAGE AUTHORIZED NOT TO EXCEED 4 YEARS.The district 342 school board, pursuant to resolution adopted at a regular 343 meeting, shall direct the county commissioners to call an 344 election at which the electors within the school district may 345 approve an ad valorem tax millage as authorized under s. 346 1011.71(9). Such election may be held at any time, except that 347 not more than one such election shall be held during any 12 348 month period. Any millage so authorized shall be levied for a 349 period not in excess of 4 years or until changed by another 350 millage election, whichever is earlier. If any such election is 351 invalidated by a court of competent jurisdiction, such 352 invalidated election shall be considered not to have been held. 353 (3)HOLDING ELECTIONS.All school district millage 354 elections shall be held and conducted in the manner prescribed 355 by law for holding general elections, except as provided in this 356 chapter. A referendum under this part shall be held only at the 357 a general election, as defined in s. 97.021, immediately 358 preceding the effective date of the millage. 359 Section 10.This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.