Florida Senate - 2025 SB 432 By Senator McClain 9-01323-25 2025432__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to the power of county commissioners 3 to levy special assessments; amending s. 125.01, F.S.; 4 deleting special assessments as a source of funding 5 for certain municipal facilities and services; 6 deleting the ability of the legislative and governing 7 body of a county to levy and collect special 8 assessments; deleting special assessments as a 9 mechanism to finance services or programs rendered 10 specially for the benefit of property or residents in 11 unincorporated areas; providing an effective date. 12 13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14 15 Section 1.Paragraphs (q) and (r) of subsection (1), 16 paragraph (a) of subsection (5), and paragraph (a) of subsection 17 (6) of section 125.01, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 18 125.01Powers and duties. 19 (1)The legislative and governing body of a county shall 20 have the power to carry on county government. To the extent not 21 inconsistent with general or special law, this power includes, 22 but is not restricted to, the power to: 23 (q)Establish, and subsequently merge or abolish those 24 created hereunder, municipal service taxing or benefit units for 25 any part or all of the unincorporated area of the county, within 26 which may be provided fire protection; law enforcement; beach 27 erosion control; recreation service and facilities; water; 28 alternative water supplies, including, but not limited to, 29 reclaimed water and water from aquifer storage and recovery and 30 desalination systems; streets; sidewalks; street lighting; 31 garbage and trash collection and disposal; waste and sewage 32 collection and disposal; drainage; transportation; indigent 33 health care services; mental health care services; and other 34 essential facilities and municipal services from funds derived 35 from service charges, special assessments, or taxes within such 36 unit only. Subject to the consent by ordinance of the governing 37 body of the affected municipality given either annually or for a 38 term of years, the boundaries of a municipal service taxing or 39 benefit unit may include all or part of the boundaries of a 40 municipality. If ad valorem taxes are levied to provide 41 essential facilities and municipal services within the unit, the 42 millage levied on any parcel of property for municipal purposes 43 by all municipal service taxing units and the municipality may 44 not exceed 10 mills. This paragraph authorizes all counties to 45 levy additional taxes, within the limits fixed for municipal 46 purposes, within such municipal service taxing units under the 47 authority of the second sentence of s. 9(b), Art. VII of the 48 State Constitution. 49 (r)Levy and collect taxes, both for county purposes and 50 for the providing of municipal services within any municipal 51 service taxing unit, and special assessments; borrow and expend 52 money; and issue bonds, revenue certificates, and other 53 obligations of indebtedness, which power shall be exercised in 54 such manner, and subject to such limitations, as may be provided 55 by general law. There shall be no referendum required for the 56 levy by a county of ad valorem taxes, both for county purposes 57 and for the providing of municipal services within any municipal 58 service taxing unit. 59 1.Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county may 60 not levy special assessments on lands classified as agricultural 61 lands under s. 193.461 unless the revenue from such assessments 62 has been pledged for debt service and is necessary to meet 63 obligations of bonds or certificates issued by the county which 64 remain outstanding on July 1, 2023, including refundings thereof 65 for debt service savings where the maturity of the debt is not 66 extended. For bonds or certificates issued after July 1, 2023, 67 special assessments securing such bonds may not be levied on 68 lands classified as agricultural under s. 193.461. 69 2.The provisions of subparagraph 1. do not apply to 70 residential structures and their curtilage. 71 (5)(a)To an extent not inconsistent with general or 72 special law, the governing body of a county shall have the power 73 to establish, and subsequently merge or abolish those created 74 hereunder, special districts to include both incorporated and 75 unincorporated areas subject to the approval of the governing 76 body of the incorporated area affected, within which may be 77 provided municipal services and facilities from funds derived 78 from service charges, special assessments, or taxes within such 79 district only. Such ordinance may be subsequently amended by the 80 same procedure as the original enactment. 81 (6)(a)The governing body of a municipality or 82 municipalities by resolution, or the citizens of a municipality 83 or county by petition of 10 percent of the qualified electors of 84 such unit, may identify a service or program rendered specially 85 for the benefit of the property or residents in unincorporated 86 areas and financed from countywide revenues and petition the 87 board of county commissioners to develop an appropriate 88 mechanism to finance such activity for the ensuing fiscal year, 89 which may be by taxes, special assessments, or service charges 90 levied or imposed solely upon residents or property in the 91 unincorporated area, by the establishment of a municipal service 92 taxing or benefit unit pursuant to paragraph (1)(q), or by 93 remitting the identified cost of service paid from revenues 94 required to be expended on a countywide basis to the 95 municipality or municipalities, within 6 months of the adoption 96 of the county budget, in the proportion that the amount of 97 county ad valorem taxes collected within such municipality or 98 municipalities bears to the total amount of countywide ad 99 valorem taxes collected by the county, or by any other method 100 prescribed by state law. 101 Section 2.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.