Florida Senate - 2025 SB 996 By Senator Collins 14-01799A-25 2025996__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to revenues from ad valorem taxes; 3 amending s. 200.065, F.S.; revising the method of 4 computing the rolled-back rate; revising the maximum 5 millage rate that may be levied in a fiscal year; 6 prohibiting a higher rate from being levied; requiring 7 that revenues collected in excess of a certain amount 8 be disposed of in a specified manner; providing an 9 effective date. 10 11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 12 13 Section 1.Subsections (1) and (5) of section 200.065, 14 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 15 200.065Method of fixing millage. 16 (1)Upon completion of the assessment of all property 17 pursuant to s. 193.023, the property appraiser shall certify to 18 each taxing authority the taxable value within the jurisdiction 19 of the taxing authority. This certification shall include a copy 20 of the statement required to be submitted under s. 195.073(3), 21 as applicable to that taxing authority. The form on which the 22 certification is made shall include instructions to each taxing 23 authority describing the proper method of computing a millage 24 rate which, inclusive exclusive of new construction, additions 25 to structures, deletions, increases in the value of improvements 26 that have undergone a substantial rehabilitation which increased 27 the assessed value of such improvements by at least 100 percent, 28 property added due to geographic boundary changes, total taxable 29 value of tangible personal property within the jurisdiction in 30 excess of 115 percent of the previous years total taxable 31 value, and any dedicated increment value, will provide the same 32 ad valorem tax revenue for each taxing authority as was levied 33 during the prior year less the amount, if any, paid or applied 34 as a consequence of an obligation measured by the dedicated 35 increment value. That millage rate shall be known as the 36 rolled-back rate. The property appraiser shall also include 37 instructions, as prescribed by the Department of Revenue, to 38 each county and municipality, each special district dependent to 39 a county or municipality, each municipal service taxing unit, 40 and each independent special district describing the proper 41 method of computing the millage rates and taxes levied as 42 specified in subsection (5). The Department of Revenue shall 43 prescribe the instructions and forms that are necessary to 44 administer this subsection and subsection (5). The information 45 provided pursuant to this subsection shall also be sent to the 46 tax collector by the property appraiser at the time it is sent 47 to each taxing authority. 48 (5)In each fiscal year: 49 (a)The maximum millage rate that a county, municipality, 50 special district dependent to a county or municipality, 51 municipal service taxing unit, or independent special district 52 may levy is 102 percent of the a rolled-back rate based on the 53 amount of taxes which would have been levied in the prior year 54 if the maximum millage rate had been applied, adjusted for 55 change in per capita Florida personal income, unless a higher 56 rate was adopted, in which case the maximum is the adopted rate. 57 The maximum millage rate applicable to a county authorized to 58 levy a county public hospital surtax under s. 212.055 and which 59 did so in fiscal year 2007 shall exclude the revenues required 60 to be contributed to the county public general hospital in the 61 current fiscal year for the purposes of making the maximum 62 millage rate calculation, but shall be added back to the maximum 63 millage rate allowed after the roll back has been applied, the 64 total of which shall be considered the maximum millage rate for 65 such a county for purposes of this subsection. The revenue 66 required to be contributed to the county public general hospital 67 for the upcoming fiscal year shall be calculated as 11.873 68 percent times the millage rate levied for countywide purposes in 69 fiscal year 2007 times 95 percent of the preliminary tax roll 70 for the upcoming fiscal year. A higher rate may not be adopted 71 only under the following conditions: 72 1.A rate of not more than 110 percent of the rolled-back 73 rate based on the previous years maximum millage rate, adjusted 74 for change in per capita Florida personal income, may be adopted 75 if approved by a two-thirds vote of the membership of the 76 governing body of the county, municipality, or independent 77 district; or 78 2.A rate in excess of 110 percent may be adopted if 79 approved by a unanimous vote of the membership of the governing 80 body of the county, municipality, or independent district or by 81 a three-fourths vote of the membership of the governing body if 82 the governing body has nine or more members, or if the rate is 83 approved by a referendum. 84 (b)The millage rate of a county or municipality, municipal 85 service taxing unit of that county, and any special district 86 dependent to that county or municipality may exceed the maximum 87 millage rate calculated pursuant to this subsection if the total 88 county ad valorem taxes levied or total municipal ad valorem 89 taxes levied do not exceed the maximum total county ad valorem 90 taxes levied or maximum total municipal ad valorem taxes levied 91 respectively. Voted millage and taxes levied by a municipality 92 or independent special district that has levied ad valorem taxes 93 for less than 5 years are not subject to this limitation. The 94 millage rate of a county authorized to levy a county public 95 hospital surtax under s. 212.055 may exceed the maximum millage 96 rate calculated pursuant to this subsection to the extent 97 necessary to account for the revenues required to be contributed 98 to the county public hospital. Total taxes levied may exceed the 99 maximum calculated pursuant to subsection (6) as a result of an 100 increase in taxable value above that certified in subsection (1) 101 if such increase is less than the percentage amounts contained 102 in subsection (6) or if the administrative adjustment cannot be 103 made because the value adjustment board is still in session at 104 the time the tax roll is extended; otherwise, millage rates 105 subject to this subsection may be reduced so that total taxes 106 levied do not exceed the maximum. In the event any taxing 107 authority collects ad valorem revenues in excess of 102 percent 108 of the rolled-back rate, such excess amount must be returned to 109 the taxpayers on a prorated basis, or must be used to pay down 110 debt. 111 112 Any unit of government operating under a home rule charter 113 adopted pursuant to ss. 10, 11, and 24, Art. VIII of the State 114 Constitution of 1885, as preserved by s. 6(e), Art. VIII of the 115 State Constitution, which is granted the authority in the State 116 Constitution to exercise all the powers conferred now or 117 hereafter by general law upon municipalities and which exercises 118 such powers in the unincorporated area shall be recognized as a 119 municipality under this subsection. For a downtown development 120 authority established before the effective date of the State 121 Constitution which has a millage that must be approved by a 122 municipality, the governing body of that municipality shall be 123 considered the governing body of the downtown development 124 authority for purposes of this subsection. 125 Section 2.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.