HB 6031 2025
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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 tourist development taxes; amending 2
s. 125.0104, F.S.; deleting a provision requiring a 3
specified percentage of all tourist development tax 4
revenues to be used to promote and advertise tourism; 5
providing an effective date. 6
7
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 8
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Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section 10
125.0104, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 11
125.0104 Tourist development tax; procedure for levying; 12
authorized uses; referendum; enforcement. — 13
(5) AUTHORIZED USES OF REVENUE. — 14
(a) All tax revenues received pursuant to this section by 15
a county imposing the tourist development tax shall be used by 16
that county for the following purposes only: 17
1. To acquire, construct, extend, enlarge, remodel, 18
repair, improve, maintain, operate, or promote one or more: 19
a. Publicly owned and operated convention centers, sports 20
stadiums, sports arenas, coliseums, or auditoriums within the 21
boundaries of the county or subcounty special taxing district in 22
which the tax is levied; 23
b. Auditoriums that are publicly owned but are operated by 24
organizations that are exempt from federal taxation pursuant to 25
HB 6031 2025
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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
26 U.S.C. s. 501(c)(3) and open to the public, within the 26
boundaries of the county or subcounty special taxing district in 27
which the tax is levied; or 28
c. Aquariums or museums that are publicly owned and 29
operated or owned and operated by not -for-profit organizations 30
and open to the public, within the boundaries of the county or 31
subcounty special taxing district in which the tax is levied; 32
2. To promote zoological parks that are publicly owned and 33
operated or owned and operated by not -for-profit organizations 34
and open to the public; 35
3. To promote and advertise tourism in this state and 36
nationally and internationally; however, if tax revenues are 37
expended for an activity, service, venue, or event, the 38
activity, service, venue, or event must have as one of its main 39
purposes the attraction of tourists as evidenced by the 40
promotion of the activity, service, venue, or event to tourists; 41
4. To fund convention bureaus, tourist bureaus, tourist 42
information centers, and news bureaus as county agencies or by 43
contract with the chambers of commerce or similar associations 44
in the county, which may include any indirect administrative 45
costs for services performed by the county on behalf of the 46
promotion agency; 47
5. To finance beach park facilities, or beach, channel, 48
estuary, or lagoon improvement, maintenance, renourishment, 49
restoration, and erosion control, including construction of 50
HB 6031 2025
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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
beach groins and shoreline protection, enhancement, cleanup, or 51
restoration of inland lakes and rivers to which there is public 52
access as those uses re late to the physical preservation of the 53
beach, shoreline, channel, estuary, lagoon, or inland lake or 54
river. However, any funds identified by a county as the local 55
matching source for beach renourishment, restoration, or erosion 56
control projects included in the long-range budget plan of the 57
state's Beach Management Plan, pursuant to s. 161.091, or funds 58
contractually obligated by a county in the financial plan for a 59
federally authorized shore protection project may not be used or 60
loaned for any other purpo se. In counties of fewer than 100,000 61
population, up to 10 percent of the revenues from the tourist 62
development tax may be used for beach park facilities; or 63
6. To acquire, construct, extend, enlarge, remodel, 64
repair, improve, maintain, operate, or finan ce public facilities 65
within the boundaries of the county or subcounty special taxing 66
district in which the tax is levied, if the public facilities 67
are needed to increase tourist -related business activities in 68
the county or subcounty special district and ar e recommended by 69
the county tourist development council created pursuant to 70
paragraph (4)(e). Tax revenues may be used for any related land 71
acquisition, land improvement, design and engineering costs, and 72
all other professional and related costs required t o bring the 73
public facilities into service. As used in this subparagraph, 74
the term "public facilities" means major capital improvements 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
that have a life expectancy of 5 or more years, including, but 76
not limited to, transportation, sanitary sewer, solid was te, 77
drainage, potable water, and pedestrian facilities. Tax revenues 78
may be used for these purposes only if the following conditions 79
are satisfied: 80
a. In the county fiscal year immediately preceding the 81
fiscal year in which the tax revenues were initially used for 82
such purposes, at least $10 million in tourist development tax 83
revenue was received; 84
b. The county governing board approves the use for the 85
proposed public facilities by a vote of at least two -thirds of 86
its membership; 87
c. No more than 70 percent of the cost of the proposed 88
public facilities will be paid for with tourist development tax 89
revenues, and sources of funding for the remaining cost are 90
identified and confirmed by the county governing board; and 91
d. At least 40 percent of all tourist development tax 92
revenues collected in the county are spent to promote and 93
advertise tourism as provided by this subsection; and 94
d.e. An independent professional analysis, performed at 95
the expense of the county tourist development council, 96
demonstrates the positive impact of the infrastructure project 97
on tourist-related businesses in the county. 98
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Subparagraphs 1. and 2. may be implemented through service 100
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contracts and leases with lessees that have sufficient expertise 101
or financial capability to op erate such facilities. 102
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 103