The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Community Affairs
BILL: SB 958
INTRODUCER: Senator Martin
SUBJECT: Local Government Employees
DATE: January 19, 2024
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Hackett Ryon CA Pre-meeting
2. AHS
3. FP
I. Summary:
SB 958 raises by $5,000 the statutory base salary rates for tax collectors and district school
superintendents. The bill also:
Provides that tax collector employees who adopt children from the child welfare system are
eligible for a one-time, lump-sum monetary benefit;
Provides that a county tax collector may budget for and pay a hiring or retention bonus if
such expenditure is approved; and
Provides that a district school board may contract with the county tax collector for a tax
collector employee to administer road tests for driver licensure on school grounds at one or
more schools within the district.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2024.
II. Present Situation:
Compensation of County Officials
Article II, s. 5(c), of the Florida Constitution provides that “the powers, duties, compensation and
method of payment of state and county officers shall be fixed by law.”
1
Chapter 145, F.S.,
articulates legislative intent to provide uniform compensation of county officials that have
substantially equal duties and responsibilities.
2
Chapter 145, F.S., outlines the salary schedules
for specified county officials “based on a classification of counties according to each county’s
population.”
3
1
FLA. CONST. art. II, s. 5(c).
2
Section 145.011(3), F.S.
3
Section 145.011(4), F.S.
REVISED: BILL: SB 958 Page 2
The salary schedules for the following county officers are provided respectively in ss. 145.031-
145.11, F.S.: board of county commissioners, clerk of the circuit court, county comptroller,
sheriff, supervisor of elections, property appraiser, and tax collector (see below). Each county
officer receives a salary of the amount indicated in the schedule, based on the population of the
officer’s county. Additional compensation is made “for population increments over the minimum
for each population group, which shall be determined by multiplying the population in excess of
the minimum for the group times the group rate.”
4
The statutory salary provisions apply to all designated officers in all counties, except those
officials whose salaries are not subject to being set by the Legislature due to the provisions of a
county home rule charter, as well as those officials of counties that have a chartered consolidated
form of government as provided in ch. 67-1320, L.O.F., (i.e., Duval County).
5
The adoption of a
charter provides the county’s electors with a mechanism to fundamentally alter the form of
county government and the status of constitutional officers.
Salary Computation Methodology and Formula
Computation of a county official’s salary begins by determining the following figures provided
in the statutory salary schedules for county officials, outlined in ss.145.031-145.11, F.S.:
The relevant population group number for the elected officer, based on the county’s
population range;
The official’s relevant base salary and group rate according to his or her prescribed salary
schedule; and
The difference between the county’s population estimate and the minimum group rate.
6
After determining these figures, the following computation formula is then used to calculate the
county official’s salary:
7
Section 145.19(1), F.S., defines the terms “annual factor,” “cumulative annual factor,” and
“initial factor,” as follows:
Annual Factor means 1 plus the lesser of either: 1) the average percentage increase in the
salaries of state career service employees for the current fiscal year as determined by the
Department of Management Services or as provided in the General Appropriations Act; or 2)
7 percent.
Cumulative Annual Factor means the product of all annual factors certified under this act
prior to the fiscal year for which salaries are being calculated.
4
Sections 145.031, 145.051, 145.071, 145.09, 145.10 and 145.11, F.S.
5
Section 145.011, F.S.
6
Office of Economic and Demographic Research, Salaries of Elected County Constitutional Officers and School District
Officials for Fiscal Year 2022-23, at 4. (Sept. 2022) available at http://edr.state.fl.us/Content/local-
government/reports/finsal22.pdf (last visited Jan. 14, 2024).
7
Id.
Salary = [Base Salary + (Population above Group Minimum x Group Rate)] x
Initial Factor x Certified Annual Factor x Certified Cumulative Annual Factor BILL: SB 958 Page 3
Initial Factor means a factor of 1.292, which is the product, rounded to the nearest
thousandth, of an earlier cost-of-living increase factor authorized by Chapter 73-173, Laws of
Florida, and intended by the Legislature to be preserved in adjustments to salaries made prior
to the enactment of Chapter 76-80, Laws of Florida, multiplied by the annual increase factor
authorized by Chapter 79-327, Laws of Florida.
In 2022, the Office of Economic and Demographic Research provided the following sample
computation:
Sample Computation of Salary
8
Officer: Alachua County Clerk of Court, Property Appraiser, Supervisor
of Elections, and Tax Collector
2021 Population Estimate: 284,607
Group Number Minimum (IV): 200,000
Corresponding Base Salary (Group IV): $30,175
Corresponding Group Rate (Group IV): $0.01575
Initial Factor: 1.292
Certified Annual Factor: 1.0700
Certified Cumulative Annual Factor: 3.6524
Salary = [$30,175 + [(284,607-200,000) x 0.01575]] x 1.292 x 1.0700 x 3.6524 = $159,089
Salary Schedules for County Officials
9
Elected County
Constitutional Officers
Population Group
Numbers
County Population Range Base
Salary
Group
Rate Minimum Maximum
-Clerk of Circuit Court
-Supervisor of Elections
-County Comptroller
-Property Appraiser
-Tax Collector
ss. 145.051, 145.09, 145.10,
and 145.11, F.S.
I -0- 49,999 $21,250 $0.07875
II 50,000 99,999 $24,400 $0.06300
III 100,000 199,999 $27,550 $0.02625
IV 200,000 399,999 $30,175 $0.01575
V 400,000 999,999 $33,325 $0.00525
VI 1,000,000 $36,475 $0.00400
-Sheriff
10
s.145.071, F.S
I -0- 49,999 $28,350 $0.07875
II 50,000 99,999 $31,500 $0.06300
III 100,000 199,999 $34,650 $0.02625
IV 200,000 399,999 $37,275 $0.01575
V 400,000 999,999 $40,425 $0.00525
VI 1,000,000 $43,575 $0.00400
Compensation of Elected District School Superintendents
District school superintendents may be either an elected position or one employed by the district
school board.
11
Elected district school superintendents are compensated as provided by s.
8
Id.
9
Sections 145.031(1), 145.051(1), 145.071(1), 145.09(1), 145.10(1) and 145.11(1), F.S.
10
Sheriff salary base rates were raised by $5,000 by the Legislature in 2022. See ch. 2022-23, Laws of Fla.
11
FLA. CONST., art. IX, s. 5. BILL: SB 958 Page 4
1004.47, F.S., which mirrors precisely the compensation schemes and base salary rates for
County Constitutional Officers other than the Sheriff, discussed above.
Bonuses and Severance Pay Prohibited
Section 215.425, F.S., prohibits state employers from paying extra compensation after a service
has been rendered or a contract made unless such compensation is allowed by a law enacted by
two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the Legislature.
Florida Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Payment Program
In 2022, the Legislature established the Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Payment Program,
which administers one-time bonus payments of up to $5,000 to newly employed officers in
Florida, subject to legislative appropriation.
12
This program expires on July 1, 2025.
Adoption Benefits
Section 409.1664, F.S., provides a one-time, lump-sum monetary benefit to a qualifying adoptive
employee,
13
veteran, or servicemember who adopts a child within Florida’s child welfare
system
14
of $10,000 for adopting a child who has special needs
15
or $5,000 for adopting a child
who does not have special needs. A Florida law enforcement officer may receive a similar
benefit, of $25,000 for adopting a child who has special needs and $10,000 for adopting a child
who does not have special needs.
Adoption benefits are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis and subject to appropriation.
16
To obtain the adoption benefit, a qualifying adoptive employee must apply to his or her agency
head or to his or her school director. A veteran or servicemember must apply directly to the
Department of Children and Families to receive the benefit, while a law enforcement officer
must apply to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
17
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
Section 1 amends s. 145.11, F.S., to raise the salary base rates for tax collectors by $5,000.
Section 4 amends s. 1001.47, F.S., to raise the salary base rates for district school
superintendents by $5,000.
12
Section 445.08, F.S.
13
“Qualifying adoptive employee” means a full-time or part-time employee of a state agency, a charter school, or the Florida
Virtual School, who is not an independent contractor and who adopts a child within the child welfare system pursuant to
ch 63, F.S. Section 409.1664(1)(b), F.S.
14
“Child within the child welfare system” means a special needs child and any other child who was removed from the child's
caregiver due to abuse or neglect and whose permanent custody has been awarded to the department or to a licensed child-
placing agency. Section 409.166(2)(c), F.S.
15
For purposes of the adoption benefit program, a child who has special needs is a child whose permanent custody has been
awarded to the Department of Children and Families or to a licensed child-placing agency and who has established
significant emotional ties with his or her foster parents or is not likely to be adopted. Section 409.166(2), F.S.
16
Section 409.1664(2)(c) and (3), F.S.
17
Section 409.1664(3), F.S. BILL: SB 958 Page 5
The table below reflects salary adjustments made by the bill:
Elected County Officials Population
Group #
County Population Range Current Law
Base Salary
Base Salary
Under Bill Minimum Maximum
Tax Collectors and District
School Superintendents
I -0- 49,999 $21,250 $26,250
II 50,000 99,999 $24,400 $29,400
III 100,000 199,999 $27,550 $32,550
IV 200,000 399,999 $30,175 $35,175
V 400,000 999,999 $33,325 $38,325
VI 1,000,000 $36,475 $41,475
Section 2 amends s. 409.1664, F.S., to add tax collector employees who are domiciled in Florida
and who adopt children on or after July 1, 2024, as eligible for the one-time, lump-sum monetary
benefit.
The benefit is $25,000 for adopting a child who has special needs and $10,000 for adopting a
child who does not have special needs. The bill requires a tax collector employee to apply to the
Florida Department of Children and Families to obtain the adoption benefit.
Section 3 creates s. 445.09, F.S., to provide that, notwithstanding any other law, a county tax
collector may budget for and pay a hiring or retention bonus if such expenditure is approved by
the department of Revenue in the respective budgets of the property appraiser and the tax
collector.
Section 5 amends s. 1003.48, F.S., to provide that a district school board may contract with the
county tax collector for a tax collector employee to administer road tests for driver licensure on
school grounds at one or more schools within the district.
Section 6 provides the bill takes effect July 1, 2024.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
Article VII, section 18 (a) of the Florida Constitution provides in part that a county or
municipality may not be bound by a general law requiring a county or municipality to
spend funds or take an action that requires the expenditure of funds unless certain
specified exemptions or exceptions are met. Under the bill salaries for constitutional
officers will rise. The mandate requirement does not apply to laws having an insignificant
impact,
18
which for Fiscal Year 2024-2025 is forecast at approximately $2.3 million.
19
Fiscal impact on local governments from this bill are indeterminate at this time. If costs
imposed by through raising the base rate of compensation for certain elected county
officials exceed $2.3 million, the mandates provisions may apply. If the bill does qualify
18
FLA. CONST. art. VII, s. 18(d).
19
An insignificant fiscal impact is the amount not greater than the average statewide population for the applicable fiscal year
times $0.10. See Florida Senate Committee on Community Affairs, Interim Report 2012-115: Insignificant Impact, (Sept.
2011), available at http://www.flsenate.gov/PublishedContent/Session/2012/InterimReports/2012-115ca.pdf (last visited Jan.
14, 2024). BILL: SB 958 Page 6
as a mandate, in order to be binding upon counties, the bill must contain a finding of
important state interest and be approved by a two-thirds vote of the membership of each
house.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
None.
C. Government Sector Impact:
Tax collectors and district school superintendents will have higher salaries under the bill.
While the base rate increases by $5,000, actual salaries will increase by a larger amount
due to calculations involved in setting those salaries. As the effect of base statutory
salaries vary per county based on population and chartered status, the cumulative fiscal
impact of the bill is indeterminate at this time.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill substantially amends sections 145.11, 409.1664, 1001.47, and 1003.48 of the Florida
Statutes. BILL: SB 958 Page 7
This bill creates section 445.09, Florida Statutes.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
None.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.