H 789

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    1  A bill to be entitled
    2  An act relating to ad valorem tax levies; providing a
    3  short title; amending ss. 125.01, 159.16, 163.3182,
    4  190.021, 191.009, 192.001, 192.091, 192.102, 193.114,
    5  193.1145, 193.1554, 193.1555, 195.052, 196.031,
    6  200.001, 200.011, 200.065, 200.069, 200.071, and
    7  200.091, F.S.; removing references to county and
    8  school district ad valorem tax levies; amending s.
    9  218.67, F.S., removing references to county ad valorem
10  tax levies; amending ss. 259.042, 985.6865, 1001.42,
11  1002.32, 1002.33, 1011.01, 1011.02, 1011.03, 1011.62,
12  and 1011.69, F.S.; removing references to county and
13  school district ad valorem tax levies; repealing s.
14  1011.71, F.S., relating to district school tax;
15  repealing s. 1011.715, F.S., relating to resolution
16  regarding school capital outlay surcharge; repealing
17  s. 1011.72, F.S., relating to levy based on interim
18  assessment roll; reimbursement to state for additional
19  taxes collected upon reconciliation of roll; repealing
20  s. 1011.73, F.S., relating to district millage
21  elections; amending ss. 1013.15, 1013.62, 1013.736,
22  and 1011.19, F.S.; removing references to county and
23  school district ad valorem tax levies; amending ss.
24  192.0105, 193.1142, 197.363, 197.3632, 212.055,
25  218.63, 373.536, 402.22, 1002.37, 1002.394, 1002.45,
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26  1003.4203, 1003.4935, 1006.12, 1010.20, 1011.15,
27  1011.18, 1012.22, 1013.64, 1013.738, and 1013.75 F.S.;
28  conforming cross-references; providing a contingent
29  effective date.
30
31      Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
32
33  Section 1.        This act may be cited as the "Freedom 2 – The
34      School and Non-school Ad Valorem Elimination Act."
35  Section 2.        Paragraph (r) of subsection (1) of section
36      125.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
37  125.01      Powers and duties.—
38  (1)     The legislative and governing body of a county shall
39      have the power to carry on county government. To the extent not
40      inconsistent with general or special law, this power includes,
41      but is not restricted to, the power to:
42  (r)     Levy and collect taxes, both for county purposes and
43      for the providing of municipal services within any municipal
44      service taxing unit, and special assessments; borrow and expend
45      money; and issue bonds, revenue certificates, and other
46      obligations of indebtedness, which power shall be exercised in
47      such manner, and subject to such limitations, as may be provided
48      by general law. There shall be no referendum required for the
49      levy by a county of ad valorem taxes, both for county purposes
50      and for the providing of municipal services within any municipal
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51      service taxing unit.
52  1.      Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county
53      may not levy special assessments on lands classified as
54      agricultural lands under s. 193.461 unless the revenue from such
55      assessments has been pledged for debt service and is necessary
56      to meet obligations of bonds or certificates issued by the
57      county which remain outstanding on July 1, 2023, including
58      refundings thereof for debt service savings where the maturity
59      of the debt is not extended. For bonds or certificates issued
60      after July 1, 2023, special assessments securing such bonds may
61      not be levied on lands classified as agricultural under s.
62      193.461.
63  2.      The provisions of subparagraph 1. do not apply to
64      residential structures and their curtilage.
65  Section 3.        Section 159.16, Florida Statutes, is amended to
66      read:
67  159.16      Additional pledge of faith and credit.—
68  (1)      Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, any
69      county or municipality issuing revenue bonds hereunder for any
70      of the purposes provided in this part, shall have power to
71      pledge the full faith and credit and ad valorem taxing power of
72      such county or municipality for the payment of the principal of
73      or interest on such revenue bonds if the issuance of such
74      revenue bonds with such additional pledge shall have approval by
75      the qualified electors who are freeholders residing in such
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76       county or municipality in an election called, conducted and held
77       in the manner provided in the constitution and statutes of
78       Florida for the holding of freeholder elections.
79  (2)     In the event such additional pledge is made the county
80       or municipality shall be obligated to levy ad valorem taxes
81       without limit as to rate or amount for the payment of the
82       principal of and interest on such revenue bonds, and the
83       issuance of such revenue bonds with such additional pledge of
84       the faith and credit of such county or municipality shall not be
85       subject to any debt limitation contained in any other law,
86       general, special or local.
87  Section 4.        Paragraph (i) of subsection (1) of section
88       163.3182, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
89  163.3182  Transportation deficiencies.—
90  (1)     DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the term:
91  (i)     "Taxing authority" means a public body that levies or
92       is authorized to levy an ad valorem tax on real property located
93       within a transportation deficiency area, except a school
94       district.
95  Section 5.        Subsection (1) of section 190.021, Florida
96       Statutes, is amended to read:
97  190.021      Taxes; non-ad valorem assessments.—
98  (1)     AD VALOREM TAXES.—An elected board shall have the
99       power to levy and assess an ad valorem tax on all the taxable
100      property in the district to construct, operate, and maintain
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101      assessable improvements; to pay the principal of, and interest
102      on, any general obligation bonds of the district; and to provide
103      for any sinking or other funds established in connection with
104      any such bonds. An ad valorem tax levied by the board for
105      operating purposes, exclusive of debt service on bonds, shall
106      not exceed 3 mills, except that a district authorized by a local
107      general-purpose government to exercise one or more powers
108      specified in s. 190.012(2) may levy an additional 2 mills for
109      operating purposes, exclusive of debt service on bonds. The ad
110      valorem tax provided for herein shall be in addition to county
111      and all other ad valorem taxes provided for by law. Such tax
112      shall be assessed, levied, and collected in the same manner and
113      same time as other ad valorem county taxes. The levy of ad
114      valorem taxes shall be approved by referendum when required by
115      the State Constitution.
116  Section 6.        Subsection (1) of section 191.009, Florida
117      Statutes, is amended to read:
118  191.009      Taxes; non-ad valorem assessments; impact fees and
119      user charges.—
120  (1)     AD VALOREM TAXES.—An elected board may levy and assess
121      ad valorem taxes on all taxable property in the district to
122      construct, operate, and maintain district facilities and
123      services, to pay the principal of, and interest on, general
124      obligation bonds of the district, and to provide for any sinking
125      or other funds established in connection with such bonds. An ad
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126      valorem tax levied by the board for operating purposes,
127      exclusive of debt service on bonds, may not exceed 3.75 mills
128      unless a higher amount has been previously authorized by law,
129      subject to a referendum as required by the State Constitution
130      and this act. The ballot question on such referendum shall state
131      the currently authorized millage rate and the year of its
132      approval by referendum. The levy of ad valorem taxes pursuant to
133      this section must be approved by referendum called by the board
134      when the proposed levy of ad valorem taxes exceeds the amount
135      authorized by prior special act, general law of local
136      application, or county ordinance approved by referendum. Nothing
137      in this act shall require a referendum on the levy of ad valorem
138      taxes in an amount previously authorized by special act, general
139      law of local application, or county ordinance approved by
140      referendum. Such tax shall be assessed, levied, and collected in
141      the same manner as other ad valorem county taxes. The levy of ad
142      valorem taxes approved by referendum shall be reported within 60
143      days after the vote to the Department of Commerce.
144  Section 7.        Subsection (4) of section 192.001, Florida
145      Statutes, is amended to read:
146  192.001      Definitions.—All definitions set out in chapters 1
147      and 200 that are applicable to this chapter are included herein.
148      In addition, the following definitions shall apply in the
149      imposition of ad valorem taxes:
150  (4)     "County tax collector" means the county officer
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151      charged with the collection of ad valorem taxes levied by the
152      county, the school board, any special taxing districts within
153      the county, and all municipalities within the county.
154  Section 8.        Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and subsections
155      (2) and (4) of section 192.091, Florida Statutes, are amended to
156      read:
157  192.091      Commissions of property appraisers and tax
158      collectors.—
159  (1)(a)      The budget of the property appraiser's office, as
160      approved by the Department of Revenue, shall be the basis upon
161      which the several tax authorities of each county, except
162      municipalities and the district school board, shall be billed by
163      the property appraiser for services rendered. Each such taxing
164      authority shall be billed an amount that bears the same
165      proportion to the total amount of the budget as its share of ad
166      valorem taxes bore to the total levied for the preceding year.
167      All municipal and school district taxes shall be considered as
168      taxes levied by the county for purposes of this computation.
169  (2)      The tax collectors of the several counties of the
170      state shall be entitled to receive, upon the amount of all real
171      and tangible personal property taxes and special assessments
172      collected and remitted, the following commissions:
173  (a)      On the county tax:
174  1.      Ten percent on the first $100,000;
175  2.      Five percent on the next $100,000;
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176  3.      Three percent on the balance up to the amount of taxes
177      collected and remitted on an assessed valuation of $50 million;
178      and
179  4.      Two percent on the balance.
180  (b)     On collections on behalf of each taxing district and
181      special assessment district:
182  (a)1.a.       Three percent on the amount of taxes collected and
183      remitted on an assessed valuation of $50 million; and
184  2.b.        Two percent on the balance; and
185  (b)2.       Actual costs of collection, not to exceed 2 percent,
186      on the amount of special assessments collected and remitted.
187
188      For the purposes of this subsection, the commissions on the
189      amount of taxes collected from the nonvoted school millage, and
190      on the amount of additional taxes that would be collected for
191      school districts if the exemptions applicable to homestead
192      property for school district taxation were the same as
193      exemptions applicable for all other ad valorem taxation, shall
194      be paid by the board of county commissioners.
195  (4)      The commissions for collecting taxes assessed for or
196      levied by the state shall be audited, allowed, and paid by the
197      Chief Financial Officer as other warrants are paid; and
198      commissions for collecting the county taxes shall be audited and
199      paid by the boards of county commissioners of the several
200      counties of this state. The commissions for collecting all
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201      special school district taxes shall be audited by the school
202      board of each respective district and taken out of the funds of
203      the respective special school district under its control and
204      allowed and paid to the tax collectors for collecting such
205      taxes; and the commissions for collecting all other district
206      taxes, whether special or not, shall be audited and paid by the
207      governing board or commission having charge of the financial
208      obligations of such district. All commissions for collecting
209      special tax district taxes shall be paid at the time and in the
210      manner now, or as may hereafter be, provided for the payment of
211      the commissions for the collection of county taxes. All amounts
212      paid as compensation to any tax collector under the provisions
213      of this or any other law shall be a part of the general income
214      or compensation of such officer for the year in which received,
215      and nothing contained in this section shall be held or construed
216      to affect or increase the maximum salary as now provided by law
217      for any such officer.
218  Section 9.        Subsections (1) and (2) of section 192.102,
219      Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
220  192.102      Payment of property appraisers' and collectors'
221      commissions.—
222  (1)     Each taxing authority and the board of county
223      commissioners and school board of each county shall advance and
224      pay to the county tax collector of each such county, at the
225      first meeting of such board each month from October through July
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226      of each year, on demand of the county tax collector, an amount
227      equal to one-twelfth of the commissions on the county taxes
228      levied on the county tax roll for such authority during the
229      preceding year and one-twelfth of the commissions on county
230      occupational and beverage licenses paid to the tax collector in
231      the preceding fiscal year. To demand the first advance under
232      this section, each tax collector shall submit to the taxing
233      authority or board of county commissioners a statement showing
234      the calculation of the commissions on which the amount of each
235      advance is to be based.
236  (2)     On or before November 1 of each year, each tax
237      collector who has received advances under the provisions of this
238      section shall make an accounting to the taxing authority and the
239      board of county commissioners and the school board, and any
240      adjustments necessary shall be made so that the total advances
241      and commissions paid by the taxing authority and board of county
242      commissioners and the school board shall be the amount of
243      commissions earned. At no time within the year shall there be
244      paid by the taxing authority and board of county commissioners
245      and the school board more than the total advances due to that
246      date or the commissions earned to that date, whichever is the
247      greater. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to abrogate
248      any law providing a salary for the tax collector or require the
249      tax collector to accept the benefits of this section.
250  Section 10.  Paragraphs (g) through (w) of subsection (2)
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251      of section 193.114, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
252      paragraphs (e) through (u), respectively, and present paragraphs
253      (b) through (f) of subsection (2) and paragraph (f) of
254      subsection (3) of that section are amended, to read:
255  193.114        Preparation of assessment rolls.—
256  (2)     The real property assessment roll shall include:
257  (b)     The school district assessed value.
258  (c)     The nonschool district assessed value.
259  (c)(d)       The difference between just value and school
260      district and nonschool district assessed value for each
261      statutory provision resulting in such difference.
262  (d)(e)       The school taxable value.
263  (f)     The nonschool taxable value.
264  (3)     The tangible personal property roll shall include:
265  (f)     The difference between just value and school district
266      and nonschool district assessed value for each statutory
267      provision resulting in such difference.
268  Section 11.  Subsection (11) of section 193.1145, Florida
269      Statutes, is amended to read:
270  193.1145  Interim assessment rolls.—
271  (11)        A recomputation of millage rates under this section
272      shall not reduce or increase the total of all revenues available
273      from state or local sources to a school district or to a unit of
274      local government as defined in part II of chapter 218.
275      Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (7), the
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276      provisional millage rates levied by a multicounty taxing
277      authority against an interim roll shall not be recomputed, but
278      shall be considered the official or final tax rate for the year
279      in question; and the interim roll shall be considered the final
280      roll for each such taxing authority. Notwithstanding the
281      provisions of subsection (7), millage rates adopted by vote of
282      the electors pursuant to s. 9(b) or s. 12, Art. VII of the State
283      Constitution shall not be recomputed.
284  Section 12.  Subsection (2) of section 193.1554, Florida
285      Statutes, is amended to read:
286  193.1554  Assessment of nonhomestead residential property.—
287  (2)     For all levies other than school district levies,
288      nonhomestead residential property shall be assessed at just
289      value as of January 1 of the year that the property becomes
290      eligible for assessment pursuant to this section.
291  Section 13.  Subsection (2) of section 193.1555, Florida
292      Statutes, is amended to read:
293  193.1555  Assessment of certain residential and
294      nonresidential real property.—
295  (2)     For all levies other than school district levies,
296      nonresidential real property and residential real property that
297      is not assessed under s. 193.155 or s. 193.1554 shall be
298      assessed at just value as of January 1 of the year that the
299      property becomes eligible for assessment pursuant to this
300      section.
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301  Section 14.  Section 195.052, Florida Statutes, is amended
302      to read:
303  195.052      Research and tabulation of data.—The department
304      shall conduct constant research and maintain accurate
305      tabulations of data and conditions existing as to ad valorem
306      taxation, shall annually publish such data as may be appropriate
307      to facilitate fiscal policymaking, and shall annually make such
308      recommendations to the Legislature as are necessary to ensure
309      that property is valued according to its just value and is
310      equitably taxed throughout the state. Such data shall include
311      the annual percentage increase in total nonvoted ad valorem
312      taxes levied by each taxing authority city and county and shall
313      include information on the distribution of ad valorem taxes
314      levied among the various classifications of property, including
315      homestead, nonhomestead residential, new construction,
316      commercial, and industrial properties. Such data shall include
317      the previous year's adopted millage rate, the current year's
318      millage rate, and the current percentage increase in taxes
319      levied above the rolled-back rate. Such data shall be published,
320      at a minimum, on the department's website and on the websites of
321      all property appraisers of this state, if available. Publication
322      shall occur not later than 90 days after receipt of extended
323      rolls for all counties pursuant to s. 193.122(7).
324  Section 15.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
325      196.031, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
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326  196.031      Exemption of homesteads.—
327  (1)
328  (b)     Every person who qualifies to receive the exemption
329      provided in paragraph (a) is entitled to an additional exemption
330      of up to $25,000 on the assessed valuation greater than $50,000
331      for all levies other than school district levies. The $25,000
332      value of the additional exemption provided in this paragraph
333      shall be adjusted annually on January 1 of each year for
334      inflation using the percentage change in the Consumer Price
335      Index for All Urban Consumers, U.S. City Average, all items
336      1967=100, or successor reports for the preceding calendar year
337      as initially reported by the United States Department of Labor,
338      Bureau of Labor Statistics, if such percent change is positive.
339  Section 16.  Subsections (1) and (3) of section 200.001,
340      Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
341  200.001      Millages; definitions and general provisions.—
342  (1)     County millages shall be composed of two four
343      categories of millage rates, as follows:
344  (a)     General county millage, which shall be that nonvoted
345      millage rate set by the governing body of the county.
346  (a)(b)      County debt service millage, which shall be that
347      millage rate necessary to raise taxes for debt service as
348      authorized by a vote of the electors pursuant to s. 12, Art. VII
349      of the State Constitution.
350  (c)     County voted millage, which shall be that millage rate
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351      set by the governing body of the county as authorized by a vote
352      of the electors pursuant to s. 9(b), Art. VII of the State
353      Constitution.
354  (b)(d)      County dependent special district millage, as
355      provided in subsection (5).
356  (3)     School millages shall be composed of one category five
357      categories of millage rates, as follows:
358  (a)     Nonvoted required school operating millage, which
359      shall be that nonvoted millage rate set by the county school
360      board for current operating purposes and imposed pursuant to s.
361      1011.60(6).
362  (b)     Nonvoted discretionary school operating millage, which
363      shall be that nonvoted millage rate set by the county school
364      board for operating purposes other than the rate imposed
365      pursuant to s. 1011.60(6) and other than the rate authorized in
366      s. 1011.71(2).
367  (c)     Voted district school operating millage, which shall
368      be that millage rate set by the district school board for
369      current school operating purposes as authorized by the electors
370      pursuant to s. 9(b), Art. VII of the State Constitution.
371  (d)     Nonvoted district school capital improvement millage,
372      which shall be that millage rate set by the district school
373      board for capital improvements as authorized in s. 1011.71(2).
374  (e)     voted district school debt service millage, which
375      shall be that millage rate set by the district school board as
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376      authorized by a vote of the electors pursuant to s. 12, Art. VII
377      of the State Constitution.
378  Section 17.  Section 200.011, Florida Statutes, is amended
379      to read:
380  200.011      Duty of county commissioners and school board in
381      setting rate of taxation.—
382  (1)     The county commissioners shall determine the amount to
383      be raised for all county purposes, except for county school
384      purposes, and shall enter upon their minutes the rates to be
385      levied for each fund respectively, together with the rates
386      certified to be levied by the board of county commissioners for
387      use of the county, special taxing district, board, agency, or
388      other taxing unit within the county for which the board of
389      county commissioners is required by law to levy taxes.
390  (2)     The county commissioners shall ascertain the aggregate
391      rate necessary to cover all such taxes and certify the same to
392      the property appraiser within 30 days after the adjournment of
393      the value adjustment board. The property appraiser shall carry
394      out the full amount of taxes for all county purposes, except for
395      school purposes, under one heading in the assessment roll to be
396      provided for that purpose, and the county commissioners shall
397      notify the clerk and auditor and tax collector of the county of
398      the amounts to be apportioned to the different accounts out of
399      the total taxes levied for all purposes.
400  (3)     The county depository, in issuing receipts to the tax
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401      collector, shall state in each of his or her receipts, which
402      shall be in duplicate, the amount deposited to each fund out of
403      the deposits made with it by the tax collector. When any such
404      receipts shall be given to the tax collector by the county
405      depository, the tax collector shall immediately file one of the
406      same with the clerk and auditor of the county, who shall credit
407      the same to the tax collector with the amount thereof and make
408      out and deliver to the tax collector a certificate setting forth
409      the payment in detail, as shown by the receipt of the county
410      depository.
411  (4)     The county commissioners and school board shall file
412      written statements with the property appraiser setting forth the
413      boundary of each special school district and the district or
414      territory in which other special taxes are to be assessed, and
415      the property appraiser shall, upon receipt of such statements
416      and orders from the board of county commissioners and school
417      board setting forth the rate of taxation to be levied on the
418      real and personal property therein, proceed to assess such
419      property and enter the taxes thereon in the assessment rolls to
420      be provided for that purpose.
421  (5)     The property appraiser shall designate and separately
422      identify by certificate to the tax collector the rate of
423      taxation to be levied for the use of the county and school board
424      and the total rate of taxation for all other taxing authorities
425      in the county.
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426  (6)     The board of county commissioners shall certify to the
427      property appraiser and tax collector the millage rates to be
428      levied for the use of the county and special taxing districts,
429      boards, and authorities and all other taxing units within the
430      county for which the board of county commissioners is required
431      by law to levy taxes. The district school board, Each
432      municipality, and the governing board or governing authority of
433      each special taxing district or other taxing unit within the
434      county the taxes of which are assessed on the tax roll prepared
435      by the property appraiser, but for which the board of county
436      commissioners is not required by law to levy taxes, shall
437      certify to the property appraiser and tax collector the millage
438      rate set by such board, municipality, authority, special taxing
439      district, or taxing unit. The certifications required by this
440      subsection shall be made within 30 days after the value
441      adjustment board adjourns.
442  Section 18.  Subsections (12) through (15) of section
443      200.065, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (11)
444      through (14), respectively, and subsection (1), paragraphs (a),
445      (d), (e), (f), and (g) of subsection (2), subsections (3), (5),
446      (6), (9), and (10), and present subsection (11) of that section
447      are amended, to read:
448  200.065      Method of fixing millage.—
449  (1)     Upon completion of the assessment of all property
450      pursuant to s. 193.023, the property appraiser shall certify to
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451      each taxing authority the taxable value within the jurisdiction
452      of the taxing authority. This certification shall include a copy
453      of the statement required to be submitted under s. 195.073(3),
454      as applicable to that taxing authority. The form on which the
455      certification is made shall include instructions to each taxing
456      authority describing the proper method of computing a millage
457      rate which, exclusive of new construction, additions to
458      structures, deletions, increases in the value of improvements
459      that have undergone a substantial rehabilitation which increased
460      the assessed value of such improvements by at least 100 percent,
461      property added due to geographic boundary changes, total taxable
462      value of tangible personal property within the jurisdiction in
463      excess of 115 percent of the previous year's total taxable
464      value, and any dedicated increment value, will provide the same
465      ad valorem tax revenue for each taxing authority as was levied
466      during the prior year less the amount, if any, paid or applied
467      as a consequence of an obligation measured by the dedicated
468      increment value. That millage rate shall be known as the
469      "rolled-back rate." The property appraiser shall also include
470      instructions, as prescribed by the Department of Revenue, to
471      each county and municipality, each special district dependent to
472      a county or municipality, each municipal service taxing unit,
473      and each independent special district describing the proper
474      method of computing the millage rates and taxes levied as
475      specified in subsection (5). The Department of Revenue shall
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476      prescribe the instructions and forms that are necessary to
477      administer this subsection and subsection (5). The information
478      provided pursuant to this subsection shall also be sent to the
479      tax collector by the property appraiser at the time it is sent
480      to each taxing authority.
481  (2)      No millage shall be levied until a resolution or
482      ordinance has been approved by the governing board of the taxing
483      authority which resolution or ordinance must be approved by the
484      taxing authority according to the following procedure:
485  (a)1.       Upon preparation of a tentative budget, but prior to
486      adoption thereof, each taxing authority shall compute a proposed
487      millage rate necessary to fund the tentative budget other than
488      the portion of the budget to be funded from sources other than
489      ad valorem taxes. In computing proposed or final millage rates,
490      each taxing authority shall utilize not less than 95 percent of
491      the taxable value certified pursuant to subsection (1).
492  2.      The tentative budget of the county commission shall be
493      prepared and submitted in accordance with s. 129.03.
494  3.      The tentative budget of the school district shall be
495      prepared and submitted in accordance with chapter 1011, provided
496      that the date of submission shall not be later than 24 days
497      after certification of value pursuant to subsection (1).
498  2.4.        Taxing authorities other than the county and school
499      district shall prepare and consider tentative and final budgets
500      in accordance with this section and applicable provisions of
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501      law, including budget procedures applicable to the taxing
502      authority, provided such procedures do not conflict with general
503      law.
504  (d)     Within 15 days after the meeting adopting the
505      tentative budget, the taxing authority shall advertise in a
506      newspaper of general circulation in the county as provided in
507      subsection (3), its intent to finally adopt a millage rate and
508      budget. A public hearing to finalize the budget and adopt a
509      millage rate shall be held not less than 2 days nor more than 5
510      days after the day that the advertisement is first published. In
511      the event of a need to postpone or recess the final meeting due
512      to a declared state of emergency, the taxing authority may
513      postpone or recess the hearing for up to 7 days and shall post a
514      prominent notice at the place of the original hearing showing
515      the date, time, and place where the hearing will be reconvened.
516      The posted notice shall measure not less than 8.5 by 11 inches.
517      The taxing authority shall make every reasonable effort to
518      provide reasonable notification of the continued hearing to the
519      taxpayers. The information must also be posted on the taxing
520      authority's website. During the hearing, the governing body of
521      the taxing authority shall amend the adopted tentative budget as
522      it sees fit, adopt a final budget, and adopt a resolution or
523      ordinance stating the millage rate to be levied. The resolution
524      or ordinance shall state the percent, if any, by which the
525      millage rate to be levied exceeds the rolled-back rate computed
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526      pursuant to subsection (1), which shall be characterized as the
527      percentage increase in property taxes adopted by the governing
528      body. The adoption of the budget and the millage-levy resolution
529      or ordinance shall be by separate votes. For each taxing
530      authority levying millage, the name of the taxing authority, the
531      rolled-back rate, the percentage increase, and the millage rate
532      to be levied shall be publicly announced before the adoption of
533      the millage-levy resolution or ordinance. In no event may the
534      millage rate adopted pursuant to this paragraph exceed the
535      millage rate tentatively adopted pursuant to paragraph (c). If
536      the rate tentatively adopted pursuant to paragraph (c) exceeds
537      the proposed rate provided to the property appraiser pursuant to
538      paragraph (b), or as subsequently adjusted pursuant to
539      subsection (11), each taxpayer within the jurisdiction of the
540      taxing authority shall be sent notice by first-class mail of his
541      or her taxes under the tentatively adopted millage rate and his
542      or her taxes under the previously proposed rate. The notice must
543      be prepared by the property appraiser, at the expense of the
544      taxing authority, and must generally conform to the requirements
545      of s. 200.069. If such additional notice is necessary, its
546      mailing must precede the hearing held pursuant to this paragraph
547      by not less than 10 days and not more than 15 days.
548  (e)1.       In the hearings required pursuant to paragraphs (c)
549      and (d), the first substantive issue discussed shall be the
550      percentage increase in millage over the rolled-back rate
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551      necessary to fund the budget, if any, and the specific purposes
552      for which ad valorem tax revenues are being increased. During
553      such discussion, the governing body shall hear comments
554      regarding the proposed increase and explain the reasons for the
555      proposed increase over the rolled-back rate. The general public
556      shall be allowed to speak and to ask questions before adoption
557      of any measures by the governing body. The governing body shall
558      adopt its tentative or final millage rate before adopting its
559      tentative or final budget.
560  2.      These hearings shall be held after 5 p.m. if scheduled
561      on a day other than Saturday. No hearing shall be held on a
562      Sunday. The county commission shall not schedule its hearings on
563      days scheduled for hearings by the school board. The hearing
564      dates scheduled by a taxing authority the county commission and
565      school board shall not be utilized by any other taxing authority
566      within the county for its public hearings. However, in counties
567      for which a state of emergency was declared by executive order
568      or proclamation of the Governor pursuant to chapter 252 and the
569      rescheduling of hearings on the same day is unavoidable, the
570      county commission and school board must conduct their hearings
571      at different times, and other taxing authorities must schedule
572      their hearings so as not to conflict with the times of one
573      another the county commission and school board hearings. A
574      multicounty taxing authority shall make every reasonable effort
575      to avoid scheduling hearings on days utilized by another taxing
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576      authority the counties or school districts within its
577      jurisdiction. Tax levies and budgets for dependent special
578      taxing districts shall be adopted at the hearings for the taxing
579      authority to which such districts are dependent, following such
580      discussion and adoption of levies and budgets for the superior
581      taxing authority. A taxing authority may adopt the tax levies
582      for all of its dependent special taxing districts, and may adopt
583      the budgets for all of its dependent special taxing districts,
584      by a single unanimous vote. However, if a member of the general
585      public requests that the tax levy or budget of a dependent
586      special taxing district be separately discussed and separately
587      adopted, the taxing authority shall discuss and adopt that tax
588      levy or budget separately. If, due to circumstances beyond the
589      control of the taxing authority, including a state of emergency
590      declared by executive order or proclamation of the Governor
591      pursuant to chapter 252, the hearing provided for in paragraph
592      (c) or paragraph (d) is recessed or postponed, the taxing
593      authority shall publish a notice in a newspaper of general paid
594      circulation in the county. The notice shall state the time and
595      place for the continuation of the hearing and shall be published
596      at least 2 days but not more than 5 days before the date the
597      hearing will be continued. In the event of postponement or
598      recess due to a declared state of emergency, all subsequent
599      dates in this section shall be extended by the number of days of
600      the postponement or recess. Notice of the postponement or recess
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601      must be in writing by the affected taxing authority to the tax
602      collector, the property appraiser, and the Department of Revenue
603      within 3 calendar days after the postponement or recess. In the
604      event of such extension, the affected taxing authority must work
605      with the county tax collector and property appraiser to ensure
606      timely assessment and collection of taxes.
607  (f)1.       Notwithstanding any provisions of paragraph (c) to
608      the contrary, each school district shall advertise its intent to
609      adopt a tentative budget on a publicly accessible website
610      pursuant to s. 50.0311 or in a newspaper of general circulation
611      pursuant to subsection (3) within 29 days after certification of
612      value pursuant to subsection (1). For the purpose of this
613      paragraph, the term "publicly accessible website" includes a
614      district school board's official website if the school board
615      website satisfies the remaining requirements of s. 50.0311. Not
616      less than 2 days or more than 5 days thereafter, the district
617      shall hold a public hearing on the tentative budget pursuant to
618      the applicable provisions of paragraph (c). In the event of
619      postponement or recess due to a declared state of emergency, the
620      school district may postpone or recess the hearing for up to 7
621      days and shall post a prominent notice at the place of the
622      original hearing showing the date, time, and place where the
623      hearing will be reconvened. The posted notice shall measure not
624      less than 8.5 by 11 inches. The school district shall make every
625      reasonable effort to provide reasonable notification of the
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626      continued hearing to the taxpayers. The information must also be
627      posted on the school district's website if the district school
628      board uses a different method of advertisement.
629  2.      Notwithstanding any provisions of paragraph (b) to the
630      contrary, each school district shall advise the property
631      appraiser of its recomputed proposed millage rate within 35 days
632      of certification of value pursuant to subsection (1). The
633      recomputed proposed millage rate of the school district shall be
634      considered its proposed millage rate for the purposes of
635      paragraph (b).
636  3.      Notwithstanding any provisions of paragraph (d) to the
637      contrary, each school district shall hold a public hearing to
638      finalize the budget and adopt a millage rate within 80 days of
639      certification of value pursuant to subsection (1), but not
640      earlier than 65 days after certification. The hearing shall be
641      held in accordance with the applicable provisions of paragraph
642      (d), except that a newspaper advertisement need not precede the
643      hearing.
644  (f)(g)      Notwithstanding other provisions of law to the
645      contrary, a taxing authority may:
646  1.      Expend moneys based on its tentative budget after
647      adoption pursuant to paragraph (c) and until such time as its
648      final budget is adopted pursuant to paragraph (d), only if the
649      fiscal year of the taxing authority begins prior to adoption of
650      the final budget or, in the case of a school district, if the
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651      fall term begins prior to adoption of the final budget; or
652  2.      Readopt its prior year's adopted final budget, as
653      amended, and expend moneys based on that budget until such time
654      as its tentative budget is adopted pursuant to paragraph (c),
655      only if the fiscal year of the taxing authority begins prior to
656      adoption of the tentative budget. The readopted budget shall be
657      adopted by resolution without notice pursuant to this section at
658      a duly constituted meeting of the governing body.
659  (3)      The advertisement shall be published as provided in
660      chapter 50. If the advertisement is published in the print
661      edition of a newspaper, the advertisement must be no less than
662      one-quarter page in size of a standard size or a tabloid size
663      newspaper, and the headline in the advertisement shall be in a
664      type no smaller than 18 point. The advertisement shall not be
665      placed in that portion of the newspaper where legal notices and
666      classified advertisements appear. The advertisement shall be
667      published in a newspaper in the county or in a geographically
668      limited insert of such newspaper. The geographic boundaries in
669      which such insert is circulated shall include the geographic
670      boundaries of the taxing authority. It is the legislative intent
671      that, whenever possible, the advertisement appear in a newspaper
672      that is published at least weekly unless the only newspaper in
673      the county is published less than weekly, or that the
674      advertisement appear in a geographically limited insert of such
675      newspaper which insert is published throughout the taxing
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676      authority's jurisdiction at least twice each week. It is further
677      the legislative intent that the newspaper selected be one of
678      general interest and readership in the community pursuant to
679      chapter 50.
680  (a)      For taxing authorities other than school districts
681      which have tentatively adopted a millage rate in excess of 100
682      percent of the rolled-back rate computed pursuant to subsection
683      (1), the advertisement shall be in the following form:
684  NOTICE OF PROPOSED TAX INCREASE
685  The ...(name of the taxing authority)... has tentatively
686      adopted a measure to increase its property tax levy.
687      Last year's property tax levy:
688  A.      Initially proposed tax levy..................$XX,XXX,XXX
689  B.      Less tax reductions due to Value Adjustment Board and
690      other assessment
691      changes.............................................($XX,XXX,XXX)
692  C.      Actual property tax levy.....................$XX,XXX,XXX
693      This year's proposed tax levy.........................$XX,XXX,XXX
694  All concerned citizens are invited to attend a public
695      hearing on the tax increase to be held on ...(date and time)...
696      at ...(meeting place)....
697  A FINAL DECISION on the proposed tax increase and the
698      budget will be made at this hearing.
699  (b)     In all instances in which the provisions of paragraph
700      (a) are inapplicable for taxing authorities other than school
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701      districts, the advertisement shall be in the following form:
702  NOTICE OF BUDGET HEARING
703  The ...(name of taxing authority)... has tentatively
704      adopted a budget for ...(fiscal year).... A public hearing to
705      make a FINAL DECISION on the budget AND TAXES will be held on
706      ...(date and time)... at ...(meeting place)....
707  (c)      For school districts which have proposed a millage
708      rate in excess of 100 percent of the rolled-back rate computed
709      pursuant to subsection (1) and which propose to levy nonvoted
710      millage in excess of the minimum amount required pursuant to s.
711      1011.60(6), the advertisement shall be in the following form:
712  NOTICE OF PROPOSED TAX INCREASE
713  The ...(name of school district)... will soon consider a
714      measure to increase its property tax levy.
715      Last year's property tax levy:
716  A.      Initially proposed tax levy..................$XX,XXX,XXX
717  B.      Less tax reductions due to Value Adjustment Board and
718      other assessment
719      changes.............................................($XX,XXX,XXX)
720  C.      Actual property tax levy.....................$XX,XXX,XXX
721      This year's proposed tax levy.........................$XX,XXX,XXX
722  A portion of the tax levy is required under state law in
723      order for the school board to receive $...(amount A)... in state
724      education grants. The required portion has ...(increased or
725      decreased)... by ...(amount B)... percent and represents
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726      approximately ...(amount C)... of the total proposed taxes.
727  The remainder of the taxes is proposed solely at the
728      discretion of the school board.
729  All concerned citizens are invited to a public hearing on
730      the tax increase to be held on ...(date and time)... at
731      ...(meeting place)....
732  A DECISION on the proposed tax increase and the budget will
733      be made at this hearing.
734  1.      AMOUNT A shall be an estimate, provided by the
735      Department of Education, of the amount to be received in the
736      current fiscal year by the district from state appropriations
737      for the Florida Education Finance Program.
738  2.      AMOUNT B shall be the percent increase over the rolled-
739      back rate necessary to levy only the required local effort in
740      the current fiscal year, computed as though in the preceding
741      fiscal year only the required local effort was levied.
742  3.      AMOUNT C shall be the quotient of required local-effort
743      millage divided by the total proposed nonvoted millage, rounded
744      to the nearest tenth and stated in words; however, the stated
745      amount shall not exceed nine-tenths.
746  (d)      For school districts which have proposed a millage
747      rate in excess of 100 percent of the rolled-back rate computed
748      pursuant to subsection (1) and which propose to levy as nonvoted
749      millage only the minimum amount required pursuant to s.
750      1011.60(6), the advertisement shall be the same as provided in
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751      paragraph (c), except that the second and third paragraphs shall
752      be replaced with the following paragraph:
753  This increase is required under state law in order for the
754      school board to receive $...(amount A)... in state education
755      grants.
756  (e)     In all instances in which the provisions of paragraphs
757      (c) and (d) are inapplicable for school districts, the
758      advertisement shall be in the following form:
759  NOTICE OF BUDGET HEARING
760  The ...(name of school district)... will soon consider a
761      budget for ...(fiscal year).... A public hearing to make a
762      DECISION on the budget AND TAXES will be held on ...(date and
763      time)... at ...(meeting place)....
764  (c)(f)      In lieu of publishing the notice set out in this
765      subsection, the taxing authority may mail a copy of the notice
766      to each elector residing within the jurisdiction of the taxing
767      authority.
768  (d)(g)      In the event that the mailing of the notice of
769      proposed property taxes is delayed beyond September 3 in a
770      county, any multicounty taxing authority which levies ad valorem
771      taxes within that county shall advertise its intention to adopt
772      a tentative budget and millage rate in a newspaper within that
773      county which meets the requirements of chapter 50, as provided
774      in this subsection, and shall hold the hearing required pursuant
775      to paragraph (2)(c) not less than 2 days or more than 5 days
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776      thereafter, and not later than September 18. The advertisement
777      shall be in the following form, unless the proposed millage rate
778      is less than or equal to the rolled-back rate, computed pursuant
779      to subsection (1), in which case the advertisement shall be as
780      provided in paragraph (e):
781  NOTICE OF TAX INCREASE
782  The ...(name of the taxing authority)... proposes to
783      increase its property tax levy by ...(percentage of increase
784      over rolled-back rate)... percent.
785  All concerned citizens are invited to attend a public
786      hearing on the proposed tax increase to be held on ...(date and
787      time)... at ...(meeting place)....
788  (e)     The advertisement shall be in the following form, if
789      the proposed millage rate is less than or equal to the rolled-
790      back rate.
791  NOTICE OF BUDGET HEARING
792  The ...(name of taxing authority)... will soon consider a
793      budget for ...(fiscal year).... A public hearing to make a
794      DECISION on the budget AND TAXES will be held on ...(date and
795      time)... at ...(meeting place)....
796  (f)(h)      In no event shall any taxing authority add to or
797      delete from the language of the advertisements as specified
798      herein unless expressly authorized by law, except that, if an
799      increase in ad valorem tax rates will affect only a portion of
800      the jurisdiction of a taxing authority, advertisements may
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801      include a map or geographical description of the area to be
802      affected and the proposed use of the tax revenues under
803      consideration. In addition, if published in the print edition of
804      the newspaper, the map must be included in the online
805      advertisement required by s. 50.0211. The advertisements
806      required herein shall not be accompanied, preceded, or followed
807      by other advertising or notices which conflict with or modify
808      the substantive content prescribed herein.
809  (g)(i)      The advertisements required pursuant to paragraphs
810      (b) and (e) need not be one-quarter page in size or have a
811      headline in type no smaller than 18 point.
812  (h)(j)      The amounts to be published as percentages of
813      increase over the rolled-back rate pursuant to this subsection
814      shall be based on aggregate millage rates and shall exclude
815      voted millage levies unless expressly provided otherwise in this
816      subsection.
817  (i)(k)      Any taxing authority which will levy an ad valorem
818      tax for an upcoming budget year but does not levy an ad valorem
819      tax currently shall, in the advertisement specified in paragraph
820      (a) or, paragraph (c), paragraph (d), or paragraph (g), replace
821      the phrase "increase its property tax levy by ...(percentage of
822      increase over rolled-back rate)... percent" with the phrase
823      "impose a new property tax levy of $...(amount)... per $1,000
824      value."
825  (j)(l)      Any advertisement required pursuant to this section
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826      shall be accompanied by an adjacent notice meeting the budget
827      summary requirements of s. 129.03(3)(b). Except for those taxing
828      authorities proposing to levy ad valorem taxes for the first
829      time, the following statement shall appear in the budget summary
830      in boldfaced type immediately following the heading, if the
831      applicable percentage is greater than zero:
832  THE PROPOSED OPERATING BUDGET EXPENDITURES OF ...(name of
833      taxing authority)... ARE ...(percent rounded to one decimal
834      place)... MORE THAN LAST YEAR'S TOTAL OPERATING EXPENDITURES.
835      For purposes of this paragraph, "proposed operating budget
836      expenditures" or "operating expenditures" means all moneys of
837      the local government, including dependent special districts,
838      that:
839  1.      Were or could be expended during the applicable fiscal
840      year, or
841  2.      Were or could be retained as a balance for future
842      spending in the fiscal year.
843
844      Provided, however, those moneys held in or used in trust,
845      agency, or internal service funds, and expenditures of bond
846      proceeds for capital outlay or for advanced refunded debt
847      principal, shall be excluded.
848  (5)      In each fiscal year:
849  (a)      The maximum millage rate that a county, municipality,
850      special district dependent to a county or municipality,
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851      municipal service taxing unit, or independent special district
852      may levy is a rolled-back rate based on the amount of taxes
853      which would have been levied in the prior year if the maximum
854      millage rate had been applied, adjusted for change in per capita
855      Florida personal income, unless a higher rate was adopted, in
856      which case the maximum is the adopted rate. The maximum millage
857      rate applicable to a county authorized to levy a county public
858      hospital surtax under s. 212.055 and which did so in fiscal year
859      2007 shall exclude the revenues required to be contributed to
860      the county public general hospital in the current fiscal year
861      for the purposes of making the maximum millage rate calculation,
862      but shall be added back to the maximum millage rate allowed
863      after the roll back has been applied, the total of which shall
864      be considered the maximum millage rate for such a county for
865      purposes of this subsection. The revenue required to be
866      contributed to the county public general hospital for the
867      upcoming fiscal year shall be calculated as 11.873 percent times
868      the millage rate levied for countywide purposes in fiscal year
869      2007 times 95 percent of the preliminary tax roll for the
870      upcoming fiscal year. A higher rate may be adopted only under
871      the following conditions:
872  1.      A rate of not more than 110 percent of the rolled-back
873      rate based on the previous year's maximum millage rate, adjusted
874      for change in per capita Florida personal income, may be adopted
875      if approved by a two-thirds vote of the membership of the
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876      governing body of the county, municipality, or independent
877      district; or
878  2.      A rate in excess of 110 percent may be adopted if
879      approved by a unanimous vote of the membership of the governing
880      body of the county, municipality, or independent district or by
881      a three-fourths vote of the membership of the governing body if
882      the governing body has nine or more members, or if the rate is
883      approved by a referendum.
884  (b)      The millage rate of a county or municipality,
885      municipal service taxing unit of a that county, and any special
886      district dependent to a that county or municipality may exceed
887      the maximum millage rate calculated pursuant to this subsection
888      if the total county ad valorem taxes levied or total municipal
889      ad valorem taxes levied do not exceed the maximum total county
890      ad valorem taxes levied or maximum total municipal ad valorem
891      taxes levied respectively. Voted millage and taxes levied by a
892      municipality or independent special district that has levied ad
893      valorem taxes for less than 5 years are not subject to this
894      limitation. The millage rate of a county authorized to levy a
895      county public hospital surtax under s. 212.055 may exceed the
896      maximum millage rate calculated pursuant to this subsection to
897      the extent necessary to account for the revenues required to be
898      contributed to the county public hospital. Total taxes levied
899      may exceed the maximum calculated pursuant to subsection (6) as
900      a result of an increase in taxable value above that certified in
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901      subsection (1) if such increase is less than the percentage
902      amounts contained in subsection (6) or if the administrative
903      adjustment cannot be made because the value adjustment board is
904      still in session at the time the tax roll is extended;
905      otherwise, millage rates subject to this subsection may be
906      reduced so that total taxes levied do not exceed the maximum.
907
908      Any unit of government operating under a home rule charter
909      adopted pursuant to ss. 10, 11, and 24, Art. VIII of the State
910      Constitution of 1885, as preserved by s. 6(e), Art. VIII of the
911      State Constitution, which is granted the authority in the State
912      Constitution to exercise all the powers conferred now or
913      hereafter by general law upon municipalities and which exercises
914      such powers in the unincorporated area shall be recognized as a
915      municipality under this subsection. For a downtown development
916      authority established before the effective date of the State
917      Constitution which has a millage that must be approved by a
918      municipality, the governing body of that municipality shall be
919      considered the governing body of the downtown development
920      authority for purposes of this subsection.
921  (6)     Prior to extension of the rolls pursuant to s.
922      193.122, the property appraiser shall notify each taxing
923      authority of the aggregate change in the assessment roll, if
924      any, from that certified pursuant to subsection (1), including,
925      but not limited to, those changes which result from actions by
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926      the value adjustment board or from corrections of errors in the
927      assessment roll. Municipalities, counties, school boards, and
928      water management districts may adjust administratively their
929      adopted millage rate without a public hearing if the taxable
930      value within the jurisdiction of the taxing authority as
931      certified pursuant to subsection (1) is at variance by more than
932      1 percent with the taxable value shown on the roll to be
933      extended. Any other taxing authority may adjust administratively
934      its adopted millage rate without a public hearing if the taxable
935      value within the jurisdiction of the taxing authority as
936      certified pursuant to subsection (1) is at variance by more than
937      3 percent with the taxable value shown on the roll to be
938      extended. The adjustment shall be such that the taxes computed
939      by applying the adopted rate against the certified taxable value
940      are equal to the taxes computed by applying the adjusted adopted
941      rate to the taxable value on the roll to be extended. However,
942      no adjustment shall be made to levies required by law to be a
943      specific millage amount. Not later than 3 days after receipt of
944      notification pursuant to this subsection, each affected taxing
945      authority shall certify to the property appraiser its adjusted
946      adopted rate. Failure to so certify shall constitute waiver of
947      the adjustment privilege.
948  (9)     Multicounty taxing authorities are subject to the
949      provisions of this section. The term "taxable value" means the
950      taxable value of all property subject to taxation by the
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951      authority. If a multicounty taxing authority has not received a
952      certification pursuant to subsection (1) from a county by July
953      15, it shall compute its proposed millage rate and rolled-back
954      rate based upon estimates of taxable value supplied by the
955      Department of Revenue. All dates for public hearings and
956      advertisements specified in this section shall, with respect to
957      multicounty taxing authorities, be computed as though
958      certification of value pursuant to subsection (1) were made July
959      1. The multicounty district shall add the following sentence to
960      the advertisement set forth in paragraphs (3)(a) and (d)(g):
961      This tax increase is applicable to ...(name of county or
962      counties)....
963  (10)(a)      In addition to the notice required in subsection
964      (3), a district school board shall publish a second notice of
965      intent to levy additional taxes under s. 1011.71(2) or (3). The
966      notice shall specify the projects or number of school buses
967      anticipated to be funded by the additional taxes and shall be
968      published in the size, within the time periods, adjacent to, and
969      in substantial conformity with the advertisement required under
970      subsection (3). The projects shall be listed in priority within
971      each category as follows: construction and remodeling;
972      maintenance, renovation, and repair; motor vehicle purchases;
973      new and replacement equipment; payments for educational
974      facilities and sites due under a lease-purchase agreement;
975      payments for renting and leasing educational facilities and
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976       sites; payments of loans approved pursuant to ss. 1011.14 and
977       1011.15; payment of costs of compliance with environmental
978       statutes and regulations; payment of premiums for property and
979       casualty insurance necessary to insure the educational and
980       ancillary plants of the school district; payment of costs of
981       leasing relocatable educational facilities; and payments to
982       private entities to offset the cost of school buses pursuant to
983       s. 1011.71(2)(i). The additional notice shall be in the
984       following form, except that if the district school board is
985       proposing to levy the same millage under s. 1011.71(2) or (3)
986       which it levied in the prior year, the words "continue to" shall
987       be inserted before the word "impose" in the first sentence, and
988       except that the second sentence of the second paragraph shall be
989       deleted if the district is advertising pursuant to paragraph
990       (3)(e):
991  NOTICE OF TAX FOR SCHOOL
992  CAPITAL OUTLAY
993  The ...(name of school district)... will soon consider a
994       measure to impose a ...(number)... mill property tax for the
995       capital outlay projects listed herein.
996  This tax is in addition to the school board's proposed tax
997       of ...(number)... mills for operating expenses and is proposed
998       solely at the discretion of the school board. THE PROPOSED
999       COMBINED SCHOOL BOARD TAX INCREASE FOR BOTH OPERATING EXPENSES
1000      AND CAPITAL OUTLAY IS SHOWN IN THE ADJACENT NOTICE.
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1001  The capital outlay tax will generate approximately
1002      $...(amount)..., to be used for the following projects:
1003  ...(list of capital outlay projects)...
1004  All concerned citizens are invited to a public hearing to
1005      be held on ...(date and time)... at ...(meeting place)....
1006  A DECISION on the proposed CAPITAL OUTLAY TAXES will be
1007      made at this hearing.
1008  (b)     In the event a school district needs to amend the list
1009      of capital outlay projects previously advertised and adopted, a
1010      notice of intent to amend the notice of tax for school capital
1011      outlay shall be published in conformity with the advertisement
1012      required in subsection (3). A public hearing to adopt the
1013      amended project list shall be held not less than 2 days nor more
1014      than 5 days after the day the advertisement is first published.
1015      The projects should be listed under each category of new,
1016      amended, or deleted projects in the same order as required in
1017      paragraph (a). The notice shall appear in the following form,
1018      except that any of the categories of new, amended, or deleted
1019      projects may be omitted if not appropriate for the changes
1020      proposed:
1021  AMENDED NOTICE OF TAX FOR
1022  SCHOOL CAPITAL OUTLAY
1023  The School Board of ...(name)... County will soon consider
1024      a measure to amend the use of property tax for the capital
1025      outlay projects previously advertised for the ...(year)... to
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1026      ...(year)... school year.
1027  New projects to be funded:
1028  ...(list of capital outlay projects)...
1029  Amended projects to be funded:
1030  ...(list of capital outlay projects)...
1031  Projects to be deleted:
1032  ...(list of capital outlay projects)...
1033  All concerned citizens are invited to a public hearing to
1034      be held on ...(date and time)... at ...(meeting place)....
1035  A DECISION on the proposed amendment to the projects funded
1036      from CAPITAL OUTLAY TAXES will be made at this meeting.
1037  (10)(11)  Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph
1038      (2)(b) and s. 200.069(4)(f) to the contrary, the proposed
1039      millage rates provided to the property appraiser by the taxing
1040      authority, except for millage rates adopted by referendum, for
1041      rates authorized by s. 1011.71, and for rates required by law to
1042      be in a specified millage amount, shall be adjusted in the event
1043      that a review notice is issued pursuant to s. 193.1142(4) and
1044      the taxable value on the approved roll is at variance with the
1045      taxable value certified pursuant to subsection (1). The
1046      adjustment shall be made by the property appraiser, who shall
1047      notify the taxing authorities affected by the adjustment within
1048      5 days of the date the roll is approved pursuant to s.
1049      193.1142(4). The adjustment shall be such as to provide for no
1050      change in the dollar amount of taxes levied from that initially
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1051      proposed by the taxing authority.
1052  Section 19.  Subsection (3) of section 200.069, Florida
1053      Statutes, is amended to read:
1054  200.069      Notice of proposed property taxes and non-ad
1055      valorem assessments.—Pursuant to s. 200.065(2)(b), the property
1056      appraiser, in the name of the taxing authorities and local
1057      governing boards levying non-ad valorem assessments within his
1058      or her jurisdiction and at the expense of the county, shall
1059      prepare and deliver by first-class mail to each taxpayer to be
1060      listed on the current year's assessment roll a notice of
1061      proposed property taxes, which notice shall contain the elements
1062      and use the format provided in the following form.
1063      Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 195.022, no county officer
1064      shall use a form other than that provided herein. The Department
1065      of Revenue may adjust the spacing and placement on the form of
1066      the elements listed in this section as it considers necessary
1067      based on changes in conditions necessitated by various taxing
1068      authorities. If the elements are in the order listed, the
1069      placement of the listed columns may be varied at the discretion
1070      and expense of the property appraiser, and the property
1071      appraiser may use printing technology and devices to complete
1072      the form, the spacing, and the placement of the information in
1073      the columns. In addition, the property appraiser may not include
1074      in the mailing of the notice of ad valorem taxes and non-ad
1075      valorem assessments additional information or items unless such
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1076      information or items explain a component of the notice or
1077      provide information directly related to the assessment and
1078      taxation of the property. A county officer may use a form other
1079      than that provided by the department for purposes of this part,
1080      but only if his or her office pays the related expenses and he
1081      or she obtains prior written permission from the executive
1082      director of the department; however, a county officer may not
1083      use a form the substantive content of which is at variance with
1084      the form prescribed by the department. The county officer may
1085      continue to use such an approved form until the law that
1086      specifies the form is amended or repealed or until the officer
1087      receives written disapproval from the executive director.
1088  (3)     There shall be under each column heading an entry for
1089      the county; the school district levy required pursuant to s.
1090      1011.60(6); other operating school levies; the municipality or
1091      municipal service taxing unit or units in which the parcel lies,
1092      if any; the water management district levying pursuant to s.
1093      373.503; the independent special districts in which the parcel
1094      lies, if any; and for all voted levies for debt service
1095      applicable to the parcel, if any.
1096  Section 20.  Subsection (2) of section 200.071, Florida
1097      Statutes, is amended to read:
1098  200.071      Limitation of millage; counties.—
1099  (2)     The board of county commissioners shall, in the event
1100      the sum of the proposed millage for the county and dependent
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1101      districts of a county therein is more than the maximum allowed
1102      hereunder, reduce the millage to be levied for county officers,
1103      departments, divisions, commissions, authorities, and dependent
1104      special districts so as not to exceed the maximum millage
1105      provided under this section or s. 200.091.
1106  Section 21.  Section 200.091, Florida Statutes, is amended
1107      to read:
1108  200.091      Referendum to increase millage.—The millage
1109      authorized to be levied in s. 200.071 for county purposes,
1110      including dependent districts of a county therein, may be
1111      increased for periods not exceeding 2 years, provided such levy
1112      has been approved by majority vote of the qualified electors in
1113      the county or district voting in a general election, as defined
1114      in s. 97.021, called for such purpose. Such an election may be
1115      called by the governing body of any such county or district on
1116      its own motion and shall be called upon submission of a petition
1117      specifying the amount of millage sought to be levied and the
1118      purpose for which the proceeds will be expended and containing
1119      the signatures of at least 10 percent of the persons qualified
1120      to vote in such election, signed within 60 days prior to the
1121      date the petition is filed.
1122  Section 22.  Section 218.67, Florida Statutes, is amended
1123      to read:
1124  218.67      Distribution for fiscally constrained counties.—
1125  (1)     Each county that is entirely within a rural area of
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1126      opportunity as designated by the Governor pursuant to s.
1127      288.0656 or each county for which the value of a mill will raise
1128      no more than $5 million in revenue, based on the taxable value
1129      certified pursuant to s. 1011.62(4)(a)1.a., from the previous
1130      July 1, shall be considered a fiscally constrained county.
1131  (2)     Each fiscally constrained county government that
1132      participates in the local government half-cent sales tax shall
1133      be eligible to receive an additional distribution from the Local
1134      Government Half-cent Sales Tax Clearing Trust Fund, as provided
1135      in s. 202.18(2)(c)1., in addition to its regular monthly
1136      distribution provided under this part and any emergency or
1137      supplemental distribution under s. 218.65.
1138  (3)     The amount to be distributed to each fiscally
1139      constrained county shall be determined by the Department of
1140      Revenue at the beginning of the fiscal year, using the prior
1141      fiscal year's July 1 taxable value certified pursuant to s.
1142      1011.62(4)(a)1.a., tax data, population as defined in s. 218.21,
1143      and millage rate levied for the prior fiscal year. The amount
1144      distributed shall be allocated based upon the following factors:
1145  (a)     The relative revenue-raising-capacity factor shall be
1146      the ability of the eligible county to generate ad valorem
1147      revenues from 1 mill of taxation on a per capita basis. A county
1148      that raises no more than $25 per capita from 1 mill shall be
1149      assigned a value of 1; a county that raises more than $25 but no
1150      more than $30 per capita from 1 mill shall be assigned a value
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1151      of 0.75; and a county that raises more than $30 but no more than
1152      $50 per capita from 1 mill shall be assigned a value of 0.5. No
1153      value shall be assigned to counties that raise more than $50 per
1154      capita from 1 mill of ad valorem taxation.
1155  (b)     The local-effort factor shall be a measure of the
1156      relative level of local effort of the eligible county as
1157      indicated by the millage rate levied for the prior fiscal year.
1158      The local-effort factor shall be the most recently adopted
1159      countywide operating millage rate for each eligible county
1160      multiplied by 0.1.
1161  (c)     Each eligible county's proportional allocation of the
1162      total amount available to be distributed to all of the eligible
1163      counties shall be in the same proportion as the sum of the
1164      county's two factors is to the sum of the two factors for all
1165      eligible counties. The counties that are eligible to receive an
1166      allocation under this subsection and the amount available to be
1167      distributed to such counties shall not include counties
1168      participating in the phaseout period under subsection (4) or the
1169      amounts they remain eligible to receive during the phaseout.
1170  (4)     For those counties that no longer qualify under the
1171      requirements of subsection (1) after the effective date of this
1172      act, there shall be a 2-year phaseout period. Beginning on July
1173      1 of the year following the year in which the value of a mill
1174      for that county exceeds $5 million in revenue, the county shall
1175      receive two-thirds of the amount received in the prior year, and
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1176      beginning on July 1 of the second year following the year in
1177      which the value of a mill for that county exceeds $5 million in
1178      revenue, the county shall receive one-third of the amount
1179      received in the last year that the county qualified as a
1180      fiscally constrained county. Following the 2-year phaseout
1181      period, the county shall no longer be eligible to receive any
1182      distributions under this section unless the county can be
1183      considered a fiscally constrained county as provided in
1184      subsection (1).
1185  (3)(5)      The revenues received under this section may be
1186      used by a county for any public purpose, except that such
1187      revenues may not be used to pay debt service on bonds, notes,
1188      certificates of participation, or any other forms of
1189      indebtedness.
1190  Section 23.  Subsection (9) of section 259.042, Florida
1191      Statutes, is amended to read:
1192  259.042      Tax increment financing for conservation lands.—
1193  (9)     The public bodies and taxing authorities listed in s.
1194      163.387(2)(c), school districts, and special districts that levy
1195      ad valorem taxes within a tax increment area are exempt from
1196      this section.
1197  Section 24.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
1198      985.6865, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
1199  985.6865  Juvenile detention costs.—
1200  (1)     As used in this section, the term:
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1201  (b)     "Fiscally constrained county" means a county within a
1202      rural area of opportunity as designated by the Governor pursuant
1203      to s. 288.0656 or each county for which the value of a mill will
1204      raise no more than $5 million in revenue, based on the certified
1205      school taxable value certified pursuant to s. 1011.62(4)(a)1.a.,
1206      from the previous July 1.
1207  Section 25.  Paragraphs (d) through (m) of subsection (12)
1208      of section 1001.42, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
1209      paragraphs (c) through (n), respectively, and present paragraph
1210      (c) of that subsection is amended, to read:
1211  1001.42       Powers and duties of district school board.—The
1212      district school board, acting as a board, shall exercise all
1213      powers and perform all duties listed below:
1214  (12)        FINANCE.—Take steps to assure students adequate
1215      educational facilities through the financial procedure
1216      authorized in chapters 1010 and 1011 and as prescribed below:
1217  (c)     Tax levies.—Adopt and spread on its minutes a
1218      resolution fixing the district school tax levy, provided for
1219      under s. 9, Art. VII of the State Constitution, necessary to
1220      carry on the school program adopted for the district for the
1221      next ensuing fiscal year as required by law, and fixing the
1222      district bond interest and sinking fund tax levy necessary for
1223      districts against which bonds are outstanding; and adopt and
1224      spread on its minutes a resolution suggesting the tax levy
1225      provided for in s. 9, Art. VII of the State Constitution, found
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1226      necessary to carry on the school program adopted for the
1227      district for the next ensuing fiscal year.
1228  Section 26.  Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (9) and
1229      paragraph (a) of subsection (10) of section 1002.32, Florida
1230      Statutes, are amended to read:
1231  1002.32      Developmental research (laboratory) schools.—
1232  (9)      FUNDING.—Funding for a lab school, including a charter
1233      lab school, shall be provided as follows:
1234  (a)      Each lab school shall receive state funds for
1235      operating purposes as provided in the Florida Education Finance
1236      Program as defined in s. 1011.61(4) based on the county in which
1237      the lab school is located and as specified in the General
1238      Appropriations Act.
1239  1.      The nonvoted required local effort millage established
1240      pursuant to s. 1011.71(1) that would otherwise be required for
1241      lab schools shall be allocated from state funds.
1242  2.      An equivalent amount of funds for the operating
1243      discretionary millage authorized pursuant to s. 1011.71(1) shall
1244      be allocated to each lab school through a state-funded
1245      discretionary contribution established pursuant to s.
1246      1011.62(6).
1247  (c)      Each lab school shall receive funds for capital
1248      improvement purposes in an amount determined as follows:
1249      multiply the maximum allowable nonvoted discretionary millage
1250      for capital improvements pursuant to s. 1011.71(2) by 96 percent
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1251      of the current year's taxable value for school purposes for the
1252      district in which each lab school is located; divide the result
1253      by the total full-time equivalent membership of the district;
1254      and multiply the result by the full-time equivalent membership
1255      of the lab school. The amount obtained shall be discretionary
1256      capital improvement funds and shall be appropriated from state
1257      funds in the General Appropriations Act.
1258  (10)        EXCEPTIONS TO LAW.—To encourage innovative practices
1259      and facilitate the mission of the lab schools, in addition to
1260      the exceptions to law specified in s. 1001.23(1), the following
1261      exceptions shall be permitted for lab schools:
1262  (a)     The methods and requirements of the following statutes
1263      shall be held in abeyance: ss. 316.75; 1001.30; 1001.31;
1264      1001.32; 1001.33; 1001.34; 1001.35; 1001.36; 1001.361; 1001.362;
1265      1001.363; 1001.37; 1001.371; 1001.372; 1001.38; 1001.39;
1266      1001.395; 1001.40; 1001.41; 1001.44; 1001.453; 1001.46;
1267      1001.461; 1001.462; 1001.463; 1001.464; 1001.47; 1001.48;
1268      1001.49; 1001.50; 1001.51; 1006.12(2); 1006.21(3), (4); 1006.23;
1269      1010.07(2); 1010.40; 1010.41; 1010.42; 1010.43; 1010.44;
1270      1010.45; 1010.46; 1010.47; 1010.48; 1010.49; 1010.50; 1010.51;
1271      1010.52; 1010.53; 1010.54; 1010.55; 1011.02(1), (2), (4)
1272      1011.02(1)-(3), (5); 1011.04; 1011.20; 1011.21; 1011.22;
1273      1011.23; 1011.71; 1011.72; 1011.73; and 1011.74.
1274  Section 27.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (17) and
1275      subsection (19) of section 1002.33, Florida Statutes, are
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1276      amended to read:
1277  1002.33       Charter schools.—
1278  (17)        FUNDING.—Students enrolled in a charter school,
1279      regardless of the sponsorship, shall be funded based upon the
1280      applicable program pursuant to s. 1011.62(1)(c), the same as
1281      students enrolled in other public schools in a school district.
1282      Funding for a charter lab school shall be as provided in s.
1283      1002.32.
1284  (b)1.       Funding for students enrolled in a charter school
1285      sponsored by a school district shall be the sum of the school
1286      district's operating funds from the Florida Education Finance
1287      Program as defined in s. 1011.61(4) and the General
1288      Appropriations Act, including gross state and local funds, and
1289      funds from the school district's current operating discretionary
1290      millage levy; divided by total funded weighted full-time
1291      equivalent students in the school district; and multiplied by
1292      the weighted full-time equivalent students for the charter
1293      school. Charter schools whose students or programs meet the
1294      eligibility criteria in law are entitled to their proportionate
1295      share of categorical program funds included in the total funds
1296      available in the Florida Education Finance Program by the
1297      Legislature, including the student transportation allocation and
1298      the educational enrichment allocation. Total funding for each
1299      charter school shall be recalculated during the year to reflect
1300      the revised calculations under the Florida Education Finance
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1301      Program by the state and the actual weighted full-time
1302      equivalent students reported by the charter school during the
1303      full-time equivalent student survey periods designated by the
1304      Commissioner of Education. For charter schools operated by a
1305      not-for-profit or municipal entity, any unrestricted current and
1306      capital assets identified in the charter school's annual
1307      financial audit may be used for other charter schools operated
1308      by the not-for-profit or municipal entity within the school
1309      district. For charter schools operated by a not-for-profit
1310      entity, any unrestricted current or capital assets identified in
1311      the charter school's annual audit may be used for other charter
1312      schools operated by the not-for-profit entity which are located
1313      outside of the originating charter school's school district, but
1314      within the state, through an unforgivable loan that must be
1315      repaid within 5 years to the originating charter school by the
1316      receiving charter school. Unrestricted current assets shall be
1317      used in accordance with s. 1011.62, and any unrestricted capital
1318      assets shall be used in accordance with s. 1013.62(2).
1319  2.a.        Funding for students enrolled in a charter school
1320      sponsored by a state university or Florida College System
1321      institution pursuant to paragraph (5)(a) shall be provided in
1322      the Florida Education Finance Program as defined in s.
1323      1011.61(4) and as specified in the General Appropriations Act.
1324      The calculation to determine the amount of state funds includes
1325      the sum of the base Florida Education Finance Program
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1326      established in s. 1011.62(1)(n), the discretionary millage
1327      compression supplement established in s. 1011.62(5), and the
1328      state-funded discretionary contribution established in s.
1329      1011.62(6). Charter schools whose students or programs meet the
1330      eligibility criteria in law are entitled to their proportionate
1331      share of categorical program funds included in the total funds
1332      available in the Florida Education Finance Program. The Florida
1333      College System institution or state university sponsoring the
1334      charter school shall be the fiscal agent for these funds, and
1335      all rules of the institution governing the budgeting and
1336      expenditure of state funds shall apply to these funds unless
1337      otherwise provided by law or rule of the State Board of
1338      Education.
1339  (I)     The nonvoted required local millage established
1340      pursuant to s. 1011.71(1) that would otherwise be required for
1341      the charter schools shall be allocated from state funds.
1342  (II)        An equivalent amount of funds for the operating
1343      discretionary millage authorized pursuant to s. 1011.71(1) shall
1344      be allocated to each charter school through a state-funded
1345      discretionary contribution established pursuant to s.
1346      1011.62(6).
1347  (III)       The comparable wage factor as provided in s.
1348      1011.62(2) shall be established as 1.000.
1349  b.      Total funding for each charter school shall be
1350      recalculated during the year to reflect the revised calculations
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1351      under the Florida Education Finance Program by the state and the
1352      actual weighted full-time equivalent students reported by the
1353      charter school during the full-time equivalent student survey
1354      periods designated by the Commissioner of Education.
1355  c.      The Department of Education shall develop a tool that
1356      each state university or Florida College System institution
1357      sponsoring a charter school shall use for purposes of
1358      calculating the funding amount for each eligible charter school
1359      student. The total amount obtained from the calculation must be
1360      appropriated from state funds in the General Appropriations Act
1361      to the charter school.
1362  d.      Capital outlay funding for a charter school sponsored
1363      by a state university or Florida College System institution
1364      pursuant to paragraph (5)(a) is determined as follows: multiply
1365      the maximum allowable nonvoted discretionary millage under s.
1366      1011.71(2) by 96 percent of the current year's taxable value for
1367      school purposes for the district in which the charter school is
1368      located; divide the result by the total full-time equivalent
1369      student membership; and multiply the result by the full-time
1370      equivalent student membership of the charter school. The amount
1371      obtained shall be the discretionary capital improvement funds
1372      and shall be appropriated from state funds in the General
1373      Appropriations Act.
1374  (19)        CAPITAL OUTLAY FUNDING.—Charter schools sponsored by
1375      a school district are eligible for capital outlay funds pursuant
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1376      to ss. 1011.71(2) and 1013.62. Capital outlay funds authorized
1377      in ss. 1011.71(2) and 1013.62 which have been shared with a
1378      charter school-in-the-workplace prior to July 1, 2010, are
1379      deemed to have met the authorized expenditure requirements for
1380      such funds.
1381  Section 28.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
1382      1011.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
1383  1011.01      Budget system established.—
1384  (3)(a)      Each district school board and each Florida College
1385      System institution board of trustees shall prepare, adopt, and
1386      submit to the Commissioner of Education an annual operating
1387      budget. Operating budgets shall be prepared and submitted in
1388      accordance with the provisions of law, rules of the State Board
1389      of Education, and the General Appropriations Act, and for
1390      district school boards in accordance with the provisions of s.
1391      200.065.
1392  Section 29.  Subsections (4) and (5) of section 1011.02,
1393      Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (3) and (4),
1394      respectively, and present subsection (3) of that section is
1395      amended, to read:
1396  1011.02      District school boards to adopt tentative budget.—
1397  (3)     The proposed budget shall include an amount for local
1398      required effort for current operation, in accordance with the
1399      requirements of s. 1011.62(4).
1400  Section 30.  Subsections (1) and (3) of section 1011.03,
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1401      Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
1402  1011.03      Public hearings; budget to be submitted to
1403      Department of Education.—
1404  (1)     Each district school board shall cause a summary of
1405      its tentative budget, including the proposed millage levies as
1406      provided for by law, to be posted on the district's official
1407      website or on a publicly accessible website as provided in s.
1408      50.0311.
1409  (3)     The board shall hold public hearings to adopt
1410      tentative and final budgets in the same manner as hearings under
1411      pursuant to s. 200.065. The hearings shall be primarily for the
1412      purpose of hearing requests and complaints from the public
1413      regarding the budgets and the proposed tax levies and for
1414      explaining the budget and proposed or adopted amendments
1415      thereto, if any. The tentative budget must be posted on the
1416      district's official website at least 2 days before the budget
1417      hearing held pursuant to s. 200.065 or other law. The final
1418      adopted budget must be posted on the district's official website
1419      within 30 days after adoption. The board shall require the
1420      superintendent to transmit the adopted budget to the Department
1421      of Education as prescribed by law and rules of the State Board
1422      of Education.
1423  Section 31.  Subsections (7) through (15), (17), (18), and
1424      (19) of section 1011.62, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as
1425      subsections (4) through (12), (13), (14), and (15),
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1426      respectively, and paragraphs (d) and (h) of subsection (1),
1427      subsections (4), (5), and (6), present subsections (10), (11),
1428      (15), and (16), and paragraph (b) of present subsection (19) of
1429      that section are amended, to read:
1430  1011.62      Funds for operation of schools.—If the annual
1431      allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each
1432      district for operation of schools is not determined in the
1433      annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing
1434      the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as
1435      follows:
1436  (1)      COMPUTATION OF THE BASE FLORIDA EDUCATION FINANCE
1437      PROGRAM.—The following procedure shall be followed in
1438      determining the base Florida Education Finance Program funds for
1439      each district:
1440  (d)      Funding model for exceptional student education
1441      programs.—The funding model for exceptional student education
1442      programs shall include all of the following:
1443  1.      For programs for exceptional students in support levels
1444      IV and V as established in paragraph (c), the funding model
1445      shall include program cost factors.
1446  a.      Exceptional education cost factors are determined by
1447      using a matrix of services to document the services that each
1448      support level IV and support level V exceptional student will
1449      receive. The nature and intensity of the services indicated on
1450      the matrix shall be consistent with the services described in
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1451      each exceptional student's individual educational plan.
1452  b.      In order to generate funds using one of the two
1453      weighted cost factors, a matrix of services must be completed at
1454      the time of the student's initial placement into an exceptional
1455      student education program and at least once every 3 years by
1456      personnel who have received approved training. Nothing listed in
1457      the matrix shall be construed as limiting the services a school
1458      district must provide in order to ensure that exceptional
1459      students are provided a free, appropriate public education.
1460  2.      For students identified as exceptional in accordance
1461      with chapter 6A-6, Florida Administrative Code, who do not have
1462      a matrix of services as specified in subparagraph 1. and for
1463      students who are gifted in grades kindergarten through 8, the
1464      funding model shall include the funds generated on the basis of
1465      full-time equivalent student membership in the Florida Education
1466      Finance Program at the same funding level per student as
1467      provided for a basic student and additional funds provided by
1468      the exceptional student education guaranteed allocation
1469      established pursuant to subsection (5) (8).
1470  (h)      Small, isolated schools.—Districts that levy the
1471      maximum nonvoted discretionary millage, exclusive of millage for
1472      capital outlay purposes levied pursuant to s. 1011.71(2), may
1473      calculate full-time equivalent students for small, isolated
1474      district-operated schools by multiplying the number of
1475      unweighted full-time equivalent students times 2.75. The
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1476      following schools may be considered small, isolated schools
1477      under this paragraph:
1478  1.      A high school that is located at least 28 miles by the
1479      shortest route from another high school; has been serving
1480      students primarily in basic studies provided by sub-
1481      subparagraphs (c)1.b. and c. and may include subparagraph (c)4.;
1482      and has a membership of at least 28, but no more than 100,
1483      students in grades 9 through 12; or
1484  2.      A district elementary school with a grade configuration
1485      of kindergarten through grade 5, but which may also include
1486      prekindergarten, grade 6, grade 7, or grade 8, that is located
1487      at least 35 miles by the shortest route from another elementary
1488      school within the district; has been serving students primarily
1489      in basic studies provided by sub-subparagraphs (c)1.a. and b.
1490      and may include subparagraph (c)4.; has a student population in
1491      which 75 percent or greater of students are eligible for free
1492      and reduced-price school lunch; and has a membership of at least
1493      28, but no more than 100, students.
1494  (4)      COMPUTATION OF DISTRICT REQUIRED LOCAL EFFORT.—The
1495      Legislature shall prescribe the aggregate required local effort
1496      for all school districts collectively as an item in the General
1497      Appropriations Act for each fiscal year. The amount that each
1498      district shall provide annually toward the cost of the Florida
1499      Education Finance Program for kindergarten through grade 12
1500      programs shall be calculated as follows:
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1501  (a)      Estimated taxable value calculations.—
1502  1.a.        Not later than 2 working days before July 19, the
1503      Department of Revenue shall certify to the Commissioner of
1504      Education its most recent estimate of the taxable value for
1505      school purposes in each school district and the total for all
1506      school districts in the state for the current calendar year
1507      based on the latest available data obtained from the local
1508      property appraisers. The value certified shall be the taxable
1509      value for school purposes for that year, and no further
1510      adjustments shall be made, except those made pursuant to
1511      paragraphs (c) and (d), or an assessment roll change required by
1512      final judicial decisions as specified in paragraph (15)(b). Not
1513      later than July 19, the Commissioner of Education shall compute
1514      a millage rate, rounded to the next highest one one-thousandth
1515      of a mill, which, when applied to 96 percent of the estimated
1516      state total taxable value for school purposes, would generate
1517      the prescribed aggregate required local effort for that year for
1518      all districts. The Commissioner of Education shall certify to
1519      each district school board the millage rate, computed as
1520      prescribed in this subparagraph, as the minimum millage rate
1521      necessary to provide the district required local effort for that
1522      year.
1523  b.      The General Appropriations Act shall direct the
1524      computation of the statewide adjusted aggregate amount for
1525      required local effort for all school districts collectively from
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1526      ad valorem taxes to ensure that no school district's revenue
1527      from required local effort millage will produce more than 90
1528      percent of the district's total Florida Education Finance
1529      Program calculation as calculated and adopted by the
1530      Legislature, and the adjustment of the required local effort
1531      millage rate of each district that produces more than 90 percent
1532      of its total Florida Education Finance Program entitlement to a
1533      level that will produce only 90 percent of its total Florida
1534      Education Finance Program entitlement in the July calculation.
1535  2.      On the same date as the certification in sub-
1536      subparagraph 1.a., the Department of Revenue shall certify to
1537      the Commissioner of Education for each district:
1538  a.      Each year for which the property appraiser has
1539      certified the taxable value pursuant to s. 193.122(2) or (3), if
1540      applicable, since the prior certification under sub-subparagraph
1541      1.a.
1542  b.      For each year identified in sub-subparagraph a., the
1543      taxable value certified by the appraiser pursuant to s.
1544      193.122(2) or (3), if applicable, since the prior certification
1545      under sub-subparagraph 1.a. This is the certification that
1546      reflects all final administrative actions of the value
1547      adjustment board.
1548  (b)      Equalization of required local effort.—
1549  1.      The Department of Revenue shall include with its
1550      certifications provided pursuant to paragraph (a) its most
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1551      recent determination of the assessment level of the prior year's
1552      assessment roll for each county and for the state as a whole.
1553  2.      The Commissioner of Education shall adjust the required
1554      local effort millage of each district for the current year,
1555      computed pursuant to paragraph (a), as follows:
1556  a.      The equalization factor for the prior year's assessment
1557      roll of each district shall be multiplied by 96 percent of the
1558      taxable value for school purposes shown on that roll and by the
1559      prior year's required local-effort millage, exclusive of any
1560      equalization adjustment made pursuant to this paragraph. The
1561      dollar amount so computed shall be the additional required local
1562      effort for equalization for the current year.
1563  b.      Such equalization factor shall be computed as the
1564      quotient of the prior year's assessment level of the state as a
1565      whole divided by the prior year's assessment level of the
1566      county, from which quotient shall be subtracted 1.
1567  c.      The dollar amount of additional required local effort
1568      for equalization for each district shall be converted to a
1569      millage rate, based on 96 percent of the current year's taxable
1570      value for that district, and added to the required local effort
1571      millage determined pursuant to paragraph (a).
1572  3.      Notwithstanding the limitations imposed pursuant to s.
1573      1011.71(1), the total required local-effort millage, including
1574      additional required local effort for equalization, shall be an
1575      amount not to exceed 10 minus the maximum millage allowed as
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1576      nonvoted discretionary millage, exclusive of millage authorized
1577      pursuant to s. 1011.71(2). Nothing herein shall be construed to
1578      allow a millage in excess of that authorized in s. 9, Art. VII
1579      of the State Constitution.
1580  4.      For the purposes of this chapter, the term "assessment
1581      level" means the value-weighted mean assessment ratio for the
1582      county or state as a whole, as determined pursuant to s.
1583      195.096, or as subsequently adjusted. However, for those parcels
1584      studied pursuant to s. 195.096(3)(a)1. which are receiving the
1585      assessment limitation set forth in s. 193.155, and for which the
1586      assessed value is less than the just value, the department shall
1587      use the assessed value in the numerator and the denominator of
1588      such assessment ratio. In the event a court has adjudicated that
1589      the department failed to establish an accurate estimate of an
1590      assessment level of a county and recomputation resulting in an
1591      accurate estimate based upon the evidence before the court was
1592      not possible, that county shall be presumed to have an
1593      assessment level equal to that of the state as a whole.
1594  5.      If, in the prior year, taxes were levied against an
1595      interim assessment roll pursuant to s. 193.1145, the assessment
1596      level and prior year's nonexempt assessed valuation used for the
1597      purposes of this paragraph shall be those of the interim
1598      assessment roll.
1599  (c)      Exclusion.—
1600  1.      In those instances in which:
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1601  a.      There is litigation either attacking the authority of
1602      the property appraiser to include certain property on the tax
1603      assessment roll as taxable property or contesting the assessed
1604      value of certain property on the tax assessment roll, and
1605  b.      The assessed value of the property in contest involves
1606      more than 6 percent of the total nonexempt assessment roll, the
1607      plaintiff shall provide to the district school board of the
1608      county in which the property is located and to the Department of
1609      Education a certified copy of the petition and receipt for the
1610      good faith payment at the time they are filed with the court.
1611  2.      For purposes of computing the required local effort for
1612      each district affected by such petition, the Department of
1613      Education shall exclude from the district's total nonexempt
1614      assessment roll the assessed value of the property in contest
1615      and shall add the amount of the good faith payment to the
1616      district's required local effort.
1617  (d)      Recomputation.—Following final adjudication of any
1618      litigation on the basis of which an adjustment in taxable value
1619      was made pursuant to paragraph (c), the department shall
1620      recompute the required local effort for each district for each
1621      year affected by such adjustments, utilizing taxable values
1622      approved by the court, and shall adjust subsequent allocations
1623      to such districts accordingly.
1624  (e)     Prior period funding adjustment millage.—
1625  1.      An additional millage to be known as the Prior Period
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1626      Funding Adjustment Millage shall be levied by a school district
1627      if the prior period unrealized required local effort funds are
1628      greater than zero. The Commissioner of Education shall calculate
1629      the amount of the prior period unrealized required local effort
1630      funds as specified in subparagraph 2. and the millage required
1631      to generate that amount as specified in this subparagraph. The
1632      Prior Period Funding Adjustment Millage shall be the quotient of
1633      the prior period unrealized required local effort funds divided
1634      by the current year taxable value certified to the Commissioner
1635      of Education pursuant to sub-subparagraph (a)1.a. This levy
1636      shall be in addition to the required local effort millage
1637      certified pursuant to this subsection. Such millage shall not
1638      affect the calculation of the current year's required local
1639      effort, and the funds generated by such levy shall not be
1640      included in the district's Florida Education Finance Program
1641      allocation for that fiscal year. For purposes of the millage to
1642      be included on the Notice of Proposed Taxes, the Commissioner of
1643      Education shall adjust the required local effort millage
1644      computed pursuant to paragraph (a) as adjusted by paragraph (b)
1645      for the current year for any district that levies a Prior Period
1646      Funding Adjustment Millage to include all Prior Period Funding
1647      Adjustment Millage. For the purpose of this paragraph, a Prior
1648      Period Funding Adjustment Millage shall be levied for each year
1649      certified by the Department of Revenue pursuant to sub-
1650      subparagraph (a)2.a. since the previous year certification and
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1651      for which the calculation in sub-subparagraph 2.b. is greater
1652      than zero.
1653  2.a.        As used in this subparagraph, the term:
1654  (I)     "Prior year" means a year certified under sub-
1655      subparagraph (a)2.a.
1656  (II)        "Preliminary taxable value" means:
1657  (A)     If the prior year is the 2009-2010 fiscal year or
1658      later, the taxable value certified to the Commissioner of
1659      Education pursuant to sub-subparagraph (a)1.a.
1660  (B)     If the prior year is the 2008-2009 fiscal year or
1661      earlier, the taxable value certified pursuant to the final
1662      calculation as specified in former paragraph (b) as that
1663      paragraph existed in the prior year.
1664  (III)        "Final taxable value" means the district's taxable
1665      value as certified by the property appraiser pursuant to s.
1666      193.122(2) or (3), if applicable. This is the certification that
1667      reflects all final administrative actions of the value
1668      adjustment board.
1669  b.      For purposes of this subsection and with respect to
1670      each year certified pursuant to sub-subparagraph (a)2.a., if the
1671      district's prior year preliminary taxable value is greater than
1672      the district's prior year final taxable value, the prior period
1673      unrealized required local effort funds are the difference
1674      between the district's prior year preliminary taxable value and
1675      the district's prior year final taxable value, multiplied by the
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1676      prior year district required local effort millage. If the
1677      district's prior year preliminary taxable value is less than the
1678      district's prior year final taxable value, the prior period
1679      unrealized required local effort funds are zero.
1680  c.      If a district's prior period unrealized required local
1681      effort funds and prior period district required local effort
1682      millage cannot be determined because such district's final
1683      taxable value has not yet been certified pursuant to s.
1684      193.122(2) or (3), the Prior Period Funding Adjustment Millage
1685      for such fiscal year shall be levied, if not previously levied,
1686      in an amount equal to 75 percent of such district's most recent
1687      unrealized required local effort for which a Prior Period
1688      Funding Adjustment Millage was determined as provided in this
1689      section. Upon certification of the final taxable value in
1690      accordance with s. 193.122(2) or (3) for a tax roll for which a
1691      75 percent Prior Period Funding Adjustment Millage was levied,
1692      the next Prior Period Funding Adjustment Millage shall be
1693      adjusted to include any shortfall or surplus in the prior period
1694      unrealized required local effort funds that would have been
1695      levied, had the district's final taxable value been certified
1696      pursuant to s. 193.122(2) or (3). If this adjustment is made for
1697      a surplus, the reduction in prior period millage may not exceed
1698      the prior period funding adjustment millage calculated pursuant
1699      to subparagraph 1. and sub-subparagraphs a. and b., or pursuant
1700      to this sub-subparagraph, whichever is applicable, and any
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1701      additional reduction shall be carried forward to the subsequent
1702      fiscal year.
1703  (5)     DISCRETIONARY MILLAGE COMPRESSION SUPPLEMENT.—The
1704      Legislature shall prescribe in the General Appropriations Act,
1705      pursuant to s. 1011.71(1), the rate of nonvoted current
1706      operating discretionary millage that shall be used to calculate
1707      a discretionary millage compression supplement. If the
1708      prescribed millage generates an amount of funds per unweighted
1709      full-time equivalent student for the district that is less than
1710      the state average, the district shall receive an amount per
1711      full-time equivalent student that, when added to the funds per
1712      full-time equivalent student generated by the designated levy,
1713      shall equal the state average. The discretionary millage
1714      compression supplement shall be recalculated during the fiscal
1715      year based on actual full-time equivalent student membership.
1716  (6)     STATE-FUNDED DISCRETIONARY CONTRIBUTION.—The state-
1717      funded discretionary contribution is created to fund the
1718      nonvoted discretionary millage for operations pursuant to s.
1719      1011.71(1) and (3) for developmental research schools (lab
1720      schools) established in s. 1002.32, charter schools sponsored by
1721      a Florida College System institution or a state university
1722      pursuant to s. 1002.33(5), and the Florida Virtual School
1723      established in s. 1002.37.
1724  (a)     To calculate the state-funded discretionary
1725      contribution for lab schools, multiply the maximum allowable
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1726      nonvoted discretionary millage for operations pursuant to s.
1727      1011.71(1) and (3) by the value of 96 percent of the current
1728      year's taxable value for school purposes for the school district
1729      in which the lab school is located; divide the result by the
1730      total full-time equivalent membership of the school district;
1731      and multiply the result by the full-time equivalent membership
1732      of the lab school. The amount obtained shall be appropriated in
1733      the General Appropriations Act.
1734  (b)     To calculate the state-funded discretionary
1735      contribution for a charter school sponsored by a Florida College
1736      System institution or a state university and the Florida Virtual
1737      School, multiply the maximum allowable nonvoted discretionary
1738      millage for operations pursuant to s. 1011.71(1) and (3) by the
1739      value of 96 percent of the current year's taxable value for
1740      school purposes for the state; divide the result by the total
1741      full-time equivalent membership of the state; and multiply the
1742      result by the full-time equivalent membership of the Florida
1743      Virtual School.
1744  (c)     The state-funded discretionary contribution shall be
1745      recalculated during the fiscal year based on actual full-time
1746      equivalent student membership.
1747  (7)(10)      FEDERALLY CONNECTED STUDENT SUPPLEMENT.—The
1748      federally connected student supplement is created to provide
1749      supplemental funding for school districts to support the
1750      education of students connected with federally owned military
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1751      installations, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
1752      (NASA) real property, and Indian lands. To be eligible for this
1753      supplement, the district must be eligible for federal Impact Aid
1754      Program funds under s. 8003 of Title VIII of the Elementary and
1755      Secondary Education Act of 1965. The supplement shall be
1756      allocated annually to each eligible school district in the
1757      General Appropriations Act. The supplement shall be the sum of
1758      the student allocation and an exempt property allocation.
1759  (a)      The supplement student allocation shall be calculated
1760      based on the number of students reported for federal Impact Aid
1761      Program funds, including students with disabilities, who meet
1762      one of the following criteria:
1763  1.      The student has a parent who is on active duty in the
1764      uniformed services or is an accredited foreign government
1765      official and military officer. Students with disabilities shall
1766      also be reported separately for this category.
1767  2.      The student resides on eligible federally owned Indian
1768      land. Students with disabilities shall also be reported
1769      separately for this category.
1770  3.      The student resides with a civilian parent who lives or
1771      works on eligible federal property connected with a military
1772      installation or NASA. The number of these students shall be
1773      multiplied by a factor of 0.5.
1774  (b)     The total number of federally connected students
1775      calculated under paragraph (a) shall be multiplied by a
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1776      percentage of the base student allocation as provided in the
1777      General Appropriations Act. The total of the number of students
1778      with disabilities as reported separately under subparagraphs
1779      (a)1. and 2. shall be multiplied by an additional percentage of
1780      the base student allocation as provided in the General
1781      Appropriations Act. The base amount and the amount for students
1782      with disabilities shall be summed to provide the student
1783      allocation.
1784  (c)     The exempt property allocation shall be equal to the
1785      tax-exempt value of federal impact aid lands reserved as
1786      military installations, real property owned by NASA, or eligible
1787      federally owned Indian lands located in the district, multiplied
1788      by the millage authorized and levied under s. 1011.71(2).
1789  (c)(d)      The amount allocated for each eligible school
1790      district shall be recalculated during the year based on actual
1791      full-time equivalent student membership, as amended, from the
1792      most recent February survey and the tax-exempt valuation from
1793      the most recent assessment roll.
1794  (8)(11)      QUALITY ASSURANCE GUARANTEE.—The Legislature may
1795      annually in the General Appropriations Act determine a
1796      percentage increase in funds per kindergarten through grade 12
1797      unweighted full-time equivalent student as a minimum guarantee
1798      to each school district. The guarantee shall be calculated from
1799      prior year base funding per unweighted full-time equivalent
1800      student which shall include the adjusted full-time equivalent
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1801      dollars as provided in subsection (12) and (15), quality
1802      guarantee funds, and actual nonvoted discretionary local effort
1803      from taxes. From the base funding per unweighted full-time
1804      equivalent student, the increase shall be calculated for the
1805      current year. The current year funds from which the guarantee
1806      shall be determined shall include the adjusted full-time
1807      equivalent dollars as provided in subsection (12) (15) and
1808      potential nonvoted discretionary local effort from taxes. A
1809      comparison of current year funds per unweighted full-time
1810      equivalent student to prior year funds per unweighted full-time
1811      equivalent student shall be computed. For those school districts
1812      which have less than the legislatively assigned percentage
1813      increase, funds shall be provided to guarantee the assigned
1814      percentage increase in funds per unweighted full-time equivalent
1815      student. Should appropriated funds be less than the sum of this
1816      calculated amount for all districts, the commissioner shall
1817      prorate each district's allocation. This provision shall be
1818      implemented to the extent specifically funded.
1819  (12)(15)  TOTAL ALLOCATION OF STATE FUNDS TO EACH
1820      DISTRICT.—The total annual state allocation to each district for
1821      current operation for the Florida Education Finance Program
1822      shall be distributed to districts pursuant to s. 1011.66 and
1823      based on the results of the full-time equivalent membership
1824      surveys established in paragraph (1)(a).
1825  (a)     When the Florida Education Finance Program allocation
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1826      is recalculated, if the gross state Florida Education Finance
1827      Program funds are not sufficient to pay the state requirement in
1828      full, the department shall prorate the available state funds to
1829      each district in the following manner:
1830  1.      To calculate the gross state and local Florida
1831      Education Finance Program funding, add the base Florida
1832      Education Finance Program and the categorical funds, except for
1833      the categorical funding provided in subsection (16) and s.
1834      1011.685.
1835  2.      To calculate the gross state Florida Education Finance
1836      Program funding, subtract the required local effort in
1837      subsection (4) from the gross and local Florida Education
1838      Finance Program funding.
1839  2.3.        To determine the amount that must be prorated among
1840      all school districts, subtract the gross state Florida Education
1841      Finance Program and any prior year adjustments pursuant to
1842      paragraph (b) from the corresponding amount of state funds
1843      appropriated in the General Appropriations Act.
1844  3.4.        Each school district's amount of the proration is
1845      calculated based on its proportionate share of the gross state
1846      and local Florida Education Finance Program funding.
1847  (b)      The amount thus obtained shall be the net annual
1848      allocation to each school district. However, if it is determined
1849      that any school district received an under allocation or over
1850      allocation for any prior year because of an arithmetical error,
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1851      assessment roll change required by final judicial decision,
1852      full-time equivalent student membership error, or any allocation
1853      error revealed in an audit report, the allocation to that
1854      district shall be appropriately adjusted. An under allocation in
1855      a prior year caused by a school district's error may not be the
1856      basis for a positive allocation adjustment for the current year.
1857      If a special program cost factor is less than the basic program
1858      cost factor, an audit adjustment may not result in the
1859      reclassification of the special program FTE to the basic program
1860      FTE. If the Department of Education audit adjustment
1861      recommendation is based upon controverted findings of fact, the
1862      Commissioner of Education is authorized to establish the amount
1863      of the adjustment based on the best interests of the state.
1864  (16)        STATE-FUNDED DISCRETIONARY SUPPLEMENT.—
1865  (a)     The state-funded discretionary supplement is created
1866      to fund the nonvoted discretionary millage for operations
1867      pursuant to s. 1011.71(1) and (3) for students awarded a Family
1868      Empowerment Scholarship in accordance with s. 1002.394. To
1869      calculate the state-funded discretionary supplement for
1870      inclusion in the amount of the scholarship funding:
1871  1.      For fiscal year 2023-2024, multiply the maximum
1872      allowable nonvoted discretionary millage for operations pursuant
1873      to s. 1011.71(1) and (3) by the value of 96 percent of the
1874      current year's taxable value for school purposes for the school
1875      district where the student is reported for purposes of the
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1876      Florida Education Finance Program as appropriated in the General
1877      Appropriations Act; divide the result by the school district's
1878      total unweighted full-time equivalent membership as appropriated
1879      in the General Appropriations Act; and multiply the result by
1880      the total unweighted full-time equivalent membership associated
1881      with the number of Family Empowerment Scholarship students
1882      included in the school district's total unweighted full-time
1883      equivalent membership. A base amount as specified in the General
1884      Appropriations Act shall be added to this amount for purposes of
1885      calculating the total amount of the supplement.
1886  2.      Beginning in fiscal year 2024-2025 and thereafter,
1887      multiply the maximum allowable nonvoted discretionary millage
1888      for operations pursuant to s. 1011.71(1) and (3) by the value of
1889      96 percent of the current year's taxable value for school
1890      purposes for the school district where the student is reported
1891      for purposes of the Florida Education Finance Program as
1892      appropriated in the General Appropriations Act; divide the
1893      result by the school district's total unweighted full-time
1894      equivalent membership as appropriated in the General
1895      Appropriations Act; and multiply the result by the total
1896      unweighted full-time equivalent membership associated with the
1897      number of Family Empowerment Scholarship students. The prior
1898      year's base amount shall be adjusted based on changes in the
1899      eligible number of unweighted full-time equivalent membership
1900      associated with the number of Family Empowerment Scholarship
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1901      students.
1902  (b)     The state-funded discretionary supplement shall be
1903      recalculated during the fiscal year based on actual full-time
1904      equivalent student membership.
1905  (15)(19)  EDUCATIONAL ENROLLMENT STABILIZATION PROGRAM.—
1906  (b)     The Legislature shall annually appropriate funds in
1907      the General Appropriations Act to the Department of Education
1908      for this program in an amount necessary to maintain a projected
1909      minimum balance of $250 million at the beginning of the upcoming
1910      fiscal year. The Department of Education shall use funds as
1911      appropriated to ensure that based on each recalculation of the
1912      Florida Education Finance Program pursuant to paragraph (1)(a),
1913      a school district's funds per unweighted full-time equivalent
1914      student are not less than the greater of either the school
1915      district's funds per unweighted full-time equivalent student as
1916      appropriated in the General Appropriations Act or the school
1917      district's funds per unweighted full-time equivalent student as
1918      recalculated based upon the receipt of the certified taxable
1919      value for school purposes pursuant to s. 1011.62(4).
1920  Section 32.  Subsection (2) of section 1011.69, Florida
1921      Statutes, is amended to read:
1922  1011.69      Equity in School-Level Funding Act.—
1923  (2)     District school boards shall allocate to schools
1924      within the district an average of 90 percent of the funds
1925      generated by all schools and guarantee that each school receives
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1926      at least 80 percent, except schools participating in the
1927      Principal Autonomy Program Initiative under s. 1011.6202 are
1928      guaranteed to receive at least 90 percent, of the funds
1929      generated by that school based upon the Florida Education
1930      Finance Program as provided in s. 1011.62 and the General
1931      Appropriations Act, including gross state and local funds and,
1932      discretionary lottery funds, and funds from the school
1933      district's current operating discretionary millage levy. Total
1934      funding for each school shall be recalculated during the year to
1935      reflect the revised calculations under the Florida Education
1936      Finance Program by the state and the actual weighted full-time
1937      equivalent students reported by the school during the full-time
1938      equivalent student survey periods designated by the Commissioner
1939      of Education. If the district school board is providing programs
1940      or services to students funded by federal funds, any eligible
1941      students enrolled in the schools in the district shall be
1942      provided federal funds.
1943  Section 33.  Section 1011.71, Florida Statutes, is
1944      repealed.
1945  Section 34.  Section 1011.715, Florida Statutes, is
1946      repealed.
1947  Section 35.  Section 1011.72, Florida Statutes, is
1948      repealed.
1949  Section 36.  Section 1011.73, Florida Statutes, is
1950      repealed.
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1951  Section 37.  Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (2) and
1952      paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section 1013.15, Florida
1953      Statutes, are amended to read:
1954  1013.15      Lease, rental, and lease-purchase of educational
1955      plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary facilities and sites.—
1956  (2)(a)      A district school board may rent or lease
1957      educational plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary facilities
1958      and sites as defined in s. 1013.01. Educational plants,
1959      ancillary plants, and auxiliary facilities and sites rented or
1960      leased for 1 year or less shall be funded through the operations
1961      budget or funds derived from millage proceeds pursuant to s.
1962      1011.71(2). A lease contract for 1 year or less, when extended
1963      or renewed beyond a year, becomes a multiple-year lease.
1964      Operational funds or funds derived from millage proceeds
1965      pursuant to s. 1011.71(2) may be authorized to be expended for
1966      multiple-year leases. All leased educational plants, ancillary
1967      plants, and auxiliary facilities and sites must be inspected
1968      before occupancy by the authority having jurisdiction.
1969  1.      All newly leased spaces must be inspected and brought
1970      into compliance with the Florida Building Code pursuant to
1971      chapter 553 and the life safety codes pursuant to chapter 633,
1972      before occupancy, using the board's operations budget or funds
1973      derived from millage proceeds pursuant to s. 1011.71(2).
1974  2.      Plans for renovation or remodeling of leased space
1975      shall conform to the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire
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1976      Prevention Code for educational occupancies or other
1977      occupancies, as appropriate and as required in chapters 553 and
1978      633, before occupancy.
1979  3.      All leased facilities must be inspected annually for
1980      firesafety deficiencies in accordance with the applicable code
1981      and have corrections made in accordance with s. 1013.12.
1982      Operational funds or funds derived from millage proceeds
1983      pursuant to s. 1011.71(2) may be used to correct deficiencies in
1984      leased space.
1985  4.      When the board declares that a public emergency exists,
1986      it may take up to 30 days to bring the leased facility into
1987      compliance with the requirements of State Board of Education
1988      rules.
1989  (c)1.       The term of any lease-purchase agreement, including
1990      the initial term and any subsequent renewals, shall not exceed
1991      the useful life of the educational facilities and sites for
1992      which the agreement is made, or 30 years, whichever is less.
1993  2.      The initial term or any renewal term of any lease-
1994      purchase agreement shall expire on June 30 of each fiscal year,
1995      but may be automatically renewed annually, subject to a board
1996      making sufficient annual appropriations therefor. Under no
1997      circumstances shall the failure of a board to renew a lease-
1998      purchase agreement constitute a default or require payment of
1999      any penalty or in any way limit the right of a board to purchase
2000      or utilize educational plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary
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2001      facilities and sites similar in function to the educational
2002      plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary facilities and sites
2003      that are the subject of the said lease-purchase agreement.
2004      Educational plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary facilities
2005      and sites being acquired pursuant to a lease-purchase agreement
2006      shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation.
2007  3.      No lease-purchase agreement entered into pursuant to
2008      this subsection shall constitute a debt, liability, or
2009      obligation of the state or a board or shall be a pledge of the
2010      faith and credit of the state or a board.
2011  4.      Any lease-purchase agreement entered into pursuant to
2012      this subsection shall stipulate an annual rate which may consist
2013      of a principal component and an interest component, provided
2014      that the maximum interest rate of any interest component payable
2015      under any such lease-purchase agreement, or any participation or
2016      certificated portion thereof, shall be calculated in accordance
2017      with and be governed by the provisions of s. 215.84.
2018  (4)(a)      A board may rent or lease existing buildings, or
2019      space within existing buildings, originally constructed or used
2020      for purposes other than education, for conversion to use as
2021      educational facilities. Such buildings rented or leased for 1
2022      year or less shall be funded through the operations budget or
2023      funds derived from millage pursuant to s. 1011.71(2). A rental
2024      agreement or lease contract for 1 year or less, when extended or
2025      renewed beyond a year, becomes a multiple-year rental or lease.
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2026      Operational funds or funds derived from millage proceeds
2027      pursuant to s. 1011.71(2) may be authorized to be expended for
2028      multiple-year rentals or leases. Notwithstanding any other
2029      provisions of this section, if a building was constructed in
2030      conformance with all applicable building and life safety codes,
2031      it shall be deemed to meet the requirements for use and
2032      occupancy as an educational facility subject only to the
2033      provisions of this subsection.
2034  Section 38.  Subsections (4) through (7) of section
2035      1013.62, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (3)
2036      through (6), respectively, and subsection (1) and present
2037      subsection (3) of that section are amended, to read:
2038  1013.62        Charter schools capital outlay funding.—
2039  (1)      Charter school capital outlay funding shall consist of
2040      state funds when such funds are appropriated in the General
2041      Appropriations Act and revenue resulting from the discretionary
2042      millage authorized in s. 1011.71(2).
2043  (a)      To be eligible to receive capital outlay funds, a
2044      charter school must:
2045  1.a.        Have been in operation for 2 or more years;
2046  b.      Be governed by a governing board established in the
2047      state for 2 or more years which operates both charter schools
2048      and conversion charter schools within the state;
2049  c.      Be an expanded feeder chain of a charter school within
2050      the same school district that is currently receiving charter
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2051      school capital outlay funds;
2052  d.      Have been accredited by a regional accrediting
2053      association as defined by State Board of Education rule;
2054  e.      Serve students in facilities that are provided by a
2055      business partner for a charter school-in-the-workplace pursuant
2056      to s. 1002.33(15)(b); or
2057  f.      Be operated by a hope operator pursuant to s. 1002.333.
2058  2.      Have an annual audit that does not reveal any of the
2059      financial emergency conditions provided in s. 218.503(1) for the
2060      most recent fiscal year for which such audit results are
2061      available.
2062  3.      Have not earned two consecutive grades of "F," three
2063      consecutive grades below a "C," or two consecutive school
2064      improvement ratings of "Unsatisfactory."
2065  4.      Have received final approval from its sponsor pursuant
2066      to s. 1002.33 for operation during that fiscal year.
2067  5.      Serve students in facilities that are not provided by
2068      the charter school's sponsor.
2069  6.      Attest in writing to the department that if the charter
2070      school is nonrenewed or terminated, any unencumbered funds and
2071      all equipment and property purchased with public funds shall
2072      revert pursuant to subsection (4) (5).
2073  (b)      A charter school is not eligible to receive capital
2074      outlay funds if:
2075  1.      It was created by the conversion of a public school and
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2076      operates in facilities provided by the charter school's sponsor
2077      for a nominal fee, or at no charge, or if it is directly or
2078      indirectly operated by the school district;
2079  2.      It is a developmental research (laboratory) school that
2080      receives state funding for capital improvement purposes pursuant
2081      to s. 1002.32(9)(d);
2082  3.      A member of the governing board, or his or her family
2083      member as defined in s. 440.13(1)(b), has an interest in or is
2084      an employee of the lessor, excluding charter schools operating
2085      pursuant to s. 1002.33(15); or
2086  4.      It is a Florida College System institution or state
2087      university sponsored charter school that receives state funding
2088      for capital improvement purposes pursuant to s.
2089      1002.33(17)(b)2.d.
2090  (3)      If the school board levies the discretionary millage
2091      authorized in s. 1011.71(2), the department shall use the
2092      following calculation methodology to determine the amount of
2093      revenue that a school district must distribute to each eligible
2094      charter school:
2095  (a)      Reduce the total discretionary millage revenue by the
2096      school district's annual debt service obligation incurred as of
2097      March 1, 2017, which has not been subsequently retired, and any
2098      amount of participation requirement pursuant to s.
2099      1013.64(2)(a)8. that is being satisfied by revenues raised by
2100      the discretionary millage.
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2101  (b)     Divide the school district's adjusted discretionary
2102      millage revenue by the district's total capital outlay full-time
2103      equivalent membership and the total number of full-time
2104      equivalent students of each eligible charter school to determine
2105      a capital outlay allocation per full-time equivalent student.
2106  (c)     Multiply the capital outlay allocation per full-time
2107      equivalent student by the total number of full-time equivalent
2108      students of each eligible charter school to determine the
2109      capital outlay allocation for each charter school.
2110  (d)     If applicable, reduce the capital outlay allocation
2111      identified in paragraph (c) by the total amount of state funds
2112      allocated to each eligible charter school in subsection (2) to
2113      determine the maximum calculated capital outlay allocation. The
2114      amount of funds a school district must distribute to charter
2115      schools shall be as follows:
2116  1.      For fiscal year 2023-2024, the amount is 20 percent of
2117      the amount calculated under this paragraph.
2118  2.      For fiscal year 2024-2025, the amount is 40 percent of
2119      the amount calculated under this paragraph.
2120  3.      For fiscal year 2025-2026, the amount is 60 percent of
2121      the amount calculated under this paragraph.
2122  4.      For fiscal year 2026-2027, the amount is 80 percent of
2123      the amount calculated under this paragraph.
2124  5.      For fiscal year 2027-2028, and each fiscal year
2125      thereafter, the amount is 100 percent of the amount calculated
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2126      under this paragraph.
2127  (e)     School districts shall distribute capital outlay funds
2128      to eligible charter schools no later than February 1 of each
2129      year, as required by this subsection, based on the amount of
2130      funds received by the district school board. School districts
2131      shall distribute any remaining capital outlay funds, as required
2132      by this subsection, upon the receipt of such funds until the
2133      total amount calculated pursuant to this subsection is
2134      distributed.
2135
2136      By October 1 of each year, each school district shall certify to
2137      the department the amount of debt service and participation
2138      requirement that complies with the requirement of paragraph (a)
2139      and can be reduced from the total discretionary millage revenue.
2140      The Auditor General shall verify compliance with the
2141      requirements of paragraph (a) and s. 1011.71(2)(e) during
2142      scheduled operational audits of school districts.
2143  Section 39.  Subsections (2) and (3) of section 1013.736,
2144      Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
2145  1013.736  District Effort Recognition Program.—
2146  (2)     ELIGIBILITY.—Annually, the Department of Education
2147      shall determine each district's compliance with the provisions
2148      of s. 1003.03 and determine the district's eligibility to
2149      receive a district effort recognition grant for local school
2150      facilities projects pursuant to this section. Districts shall be
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2151      eligible for a district effort recognition grant based upon
2152      participation in any of the following:
2153  (a)     The district levies a half-cent school capital outlay
2154      surtax authorized in s. 212.055(6).
2155  (b)     The district participates in the levy of the local
2156      government infrastructure sales surtax authorized in s.
2157      212.055(2).
2158  (c)     The district levies voted millage for capital outlay
2159      purposes as authorized in s. 9, Art. VII of the State
2160      Constitution.
2161  (3)     DISTRICT EFFORT RECOGNITION PROGRAM.—The department
2162      shall annually calculate a district effort amount for each
2163      district by September 1 after each fiscal year. The total amount
2164      of revenue for the prior year from each revenue levied as
2165      described in subsection (2) shall be divided by the number of
2166      months for which revenue was received and multiplied by the
2167      number of authorized months remaining in each voter referendum.
2168      The amount so determined for each revenue levied shall be
2169      totaled. The Department of Revenue shall report the amount of
2170      voter-approved revenue described in paragraphs (2)(a) and (b).
2171      The district shall report the amount of revenue described in
2172      paragraph (2)(b) identified for district fixed capital outlay in
2173      the prior fiscal year. To determine the amount of revenue levied
2174      pursuant to paragraph (2)(c), the district shall annually report
2175      to the Department of Education the outstanding debt service by
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2176      bond series and date of maturity. The total of annual debt
2177      service to maturity remaining as of July 1 of each year shall be
2178      added to the other revenues levied pursuant to paragraphs (2)(a)
2179      and (b) in determining the total district effort amount. Only
2180      the amount of voter-approved revenue described in paragraph
2181      (2)(b) which has been identified for district fixed capital
2182      outlay from the prior fiscal year shall be used in the
2183      calculation.
2184  Section 40.  Section 1011.19, Florida Statutes, is amended
2185      to read:
2186  1011.19      Sources of district school fund.—The district
2187      school fund shall consist of funds derived from the district
2188      school tax levy; state appropriations; appropriations by county
2189      commissioners; local, state, and federal school food service
2190      funds; any and all other sources for school purposes; national
2191      forest trust funds and other federal sources; and gifts and
2192      other sources.
2193  Section 41.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
2194      192.0105, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
2195  192.0105  Taxpayer rights.—There is created a Florida
2196      Taxpayer's Bill of Rights for property taxes and assessments to
2197      guarantee that the rights, privacy, and property of the
2198      taxpayers of this state are adequately safeguarded and protected
2199      during tax levy, assessment, collection, and enforcement
2200      processes administered under the revenue laws of this state. The
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2201      Taxpayer's Bill of Rights compiles, in one document, brief but
2202      comprehensive statements that summarize the rights and
2203      obligations of the property appraisers, tax collectors, clerks
2204      of the court, local governing boards, the Department of Revenue,
2205      and taxpayers. Additional rights afforded to payors of taxes and
2206      assessments imposed under the revenue laws of this state are
2207      provided in s. 213.015. The rights afforded taxpayers to assure
2208      that their privacy and property are safeguarded and protected
2209      during tax levy, assessment, and collection are available only
2210      insofar as they are implemented in other parts of the Florida
2211      Statutes or rules of the Department of Revenue. The rights so
2212      guaranteed to state taxpayers in the Florida Statutes and the
2213      departmental rules include:
2214  (1)     THE RIGHT TO KNOW.—
2215  (a)     The right to be sent a notice of proposed property
2216      taxes and proposed or adopted non-ad valorem assessments (see
2217      ss. 194.011(1), 200.065(2)(b) and (d) and (12)(a) (13)(a), and
2218      200.069). The notice must also inform the taxpayer that the
2219      final tax bill may contain additional non-ad valorem assessments
2220      (see s. 200.069(9)).
2221
2222      Notwithstanding the right to information contained in this
2223      subsection, under s. 197.122 property owners are held to know
2224      that property taxes are due and payable annually and are charged
2225      with a duty to ascertain the amount of current and delinquent
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2226      taxes and obtain the necessary information from the applicable
2227      governmental officials.
2228  Section 42.  Subsection (5) of section 193.1142, Florida
2229      Statutes, is amended to read:
2230  193.1142  Approval of assessment rolls.—
2231  (5)     Whenever an assessment roll submitted to the
2232      department is returned to the property appraiser for additional
2233      evaluation, a review notice shall be issued for the express
2234      purpose of the adjustment provided in s. 200.065(10)  s.
2235      200.065(11).
2236  Section 43.  Subsection (3) of section 197.363, Florida
2237      Statutes, is amended to read:
2238  197.363      Special assessments and service charges; optional
2239      method of collection.—
2240  (3)     When collected by using the method provided for ad
2241      valorem taxes, special assessments shall be subject to all
2242      collection provisions of this chapter, including provisions
2243      relating to discount for early payment, prepayment by
2244      installment method, penalty for delinquent payment, and issuance
2245      of tax certificates and tax deeds for nonpayment, and shall also
2246      be subject to the provisions of s. 192.091(2)(b) s.
2247      192.091(2)(b)2.
2248  Section 44.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (8) of section
2249      197.3632, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
2250  197.3632  Uniform method for the levy, collection, and
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2251      enforcement of non-ad valorem assessments.—
2252  (8)
2253  (c)     Non-ad valorem assessments shall also be subject to
2254      the provisions of s. 192.091(2) s. 192.091(2)(b), or the tax
2255      collector at his or her option shall be compensated for the
2256      collection of non-ad valorem assessments based on the actual
2257      cost of collection, whichever is greater. However, a municipal
2258      or county government shall only compensate the tax collector for
2259      the actual cost of collecting non-ad valorem assessments.
2260  Section 45.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) and paragraph
2261      (c) of subsection (6) of section 212.055, Florida Statutes, are
2262      amended to read:
2263  212.055      Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent;
2264      authorization and use of proceeds.—It is the legislative intent
2265      that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales
2266      surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a
2267      subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the
2268      levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties
2269      authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the
2270      maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the
2271      procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if
2272      required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended;
2273      and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide.
2274      Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as
2275      provided in s. 212.054.
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2276  (2)     LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE SURTAX.—
2277  (d)     The proceeds of the surtax authorized by this
2278      subsection and any accrued interest shall be expended by the
2279      school district, within the county and municipalities within the
2280      county, or, in the case of a negotiated joint county agreement,
2281      within another county, to finance, plan, and construct
2282      infrastructure; to acquire any interest in land for public
2283      recreation, conservation, or protection of natural resources or
2284      to prevent or satisfy private property rights claims resulting
2285      from limitations imposed by the designation of an area of
2286      critical state concern; to provide loans, grants, or rebates to
2287      residential or commercial property owners who make energy
2288      efficiency improvements to their residential or commercial
2289      property, if a local government ordinance authorizing such use
2290      is approved by referendum; or to finance the closure of county-
2291      owned or municipally owned solid waste landfills that have been
2292      closed or are required to be closed by order of the Department
2293      of Environmental Protection. Any use of the proceeds or interest
2294      for purposes of landfill closure before July 1, 1993, is
2295      ratified. The proceeds and any interest may not be used for the
2296      operational expenses of infrastructure, except that a county
2297      that has a population of fewer than 75,000 and that is required
2298      to close a landfill may use the proceeds or interest for long-
2299      term maintenance costs associated with landfill closure.
2300      Counties, as defined in s. 125.011, and charter counties may, in
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2301      addition, use the proceeds or interest to retire or service
2302      indebtedness incurred for bonds issued before July 1, 1987, for
2303      infrastructure purposes, and for bonds subsequently issued to
2304      refund such bonds. Any use of the proceeds or interest for
2305      purposes of retiring or servicing indebtedness incurred for
2306      refunding bonds before July 1, 1999, is ratified.
2307  1.      For the purposes of this paragraph, the term
2308      "infrastructure" means:
2309  a.      Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay
2310      associated with the construction, reconstruction, or improvement
2311      of public facilities that have a life expectancy of 5 or more
2312      years, any related land acquisition, land improvement, design,
2313      and engineering costs, and all other professional and related
2314      costs required to bring the public facilities into service. For
2315      purposes of this sub-subparagraph, the term "public facilities"
2316      means facilities as defined in s. 163.3164(41), s. 163.3221(13),
2317      or s. 189.012(5), and includes facilities that are necessary to
2318      carry out governmental purposes, including, but not limited to,
2319      fire stations, general governmental office buildings, and animal
2320      shelters, regardless of whether the facilities are owned by the
2321      local taxing authority or another governmental entity.
2322  b.      A fire department vehicle, an emergency medical service
2323      vehicle, a sheriff's office vehicle, a police department
2324      vehicle, or any other vehicle, and the equipment necessary to
2325      outfit the vehicle for its official use or equipment that has a
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2326      life expectancy of at least 5 years.
2327  c.      Any expenditure for the construction, lease, or
2328      maintenance of, or provision of utilities or security for,
2329      facilities, as defined in s. 29.008.
2330  d.      Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay
2331      associated with the improvement of private facilities that have
2332      a life expectancy of 5 or more years and that the owner agrees
2333      to make available for use on a temporary basis as needed by a
2334      local government as a public emergency shelter or a staging area
2335      for emergency response equipment during an emergency officially
2336      declared by the state or by the local government under s.
2337      252.38. Such improvements are limited to those necessary to
2338      comply with current standards for public emergency evacuation
2339      shelters. The owner must enter into a written contract with the
2340      local government providing the improvement funding to make the
2341      private facility available to the public for purposes of
2342      emergency shelter at no cost to the local government for a
2343      minimum of 10 years after completion of the improvement, with
2344      the provision that the obligation will transfer to any
2345      subsequent owner until the end of the minimum period.
2346  e.      Any land acquisition expenditure for a residential
2347      housing project in which at least 30 percent of the units are
2348      affordable to individuals or families whose total annual
2349      household income does not exceed 120 percent of the area median
2350      income adjusted for household size, if the land is owned by a
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2351      local government or by a special district that enters into a
2352      written agreement with the local government to provide such
2353      housing. The local government or special district may enter into
2354      a ground lease with a public or private person or entity for
2355      nominal or other consideration for the construction of the
2356      residential housing project on land acquired pursuant to this
2357      sub-subparagraph.
2358  f.      Instructional technology used solely in a school
2359      district's classrooms. As used in this sub-subparagraph, the
2360      term "instructional technology" means an interactive device that
2361      assists a teacher in instructing a class or a group of students
2362      and includes the necessary hardware and software to operate the
2363      interactive device. The term also includes support systems in
2364      which an interactive device may mount and is not required to be
2365      affixed to the facilities.
2366  2.      For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "energy
2367      efficiency improvement" means any energy conservation and
2368      efficiency improvement that reduces consumption through
2369      conservation or a more efficient use of electricity, natural
2370      gas, propane, or other forms of energy on the property,
2371      including, but not limited to, air sealing; installation of
2372      insulation; installation of energy-efficient heating, cooling,
2373      or ventilation systems; installation of solar panels; building
2374      modifications to increase the use of daylight or shade;
2375      replacement of windows; installation of energy controls or
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2376      energy recovery systems; installation of electric vehicle
2377      charging equipment; installation of systems for natural gas fuel
2378      as defined in s. 206.9951; and installation of efficient
2379      lighting equipment.
2380  3.      Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection,
2381      a local government infrastructure surtax imposed or extended
2382      after July 1, 1998, may allocate up to 15 percent of the surtax
2383      proceeds for deposit into a trust fund within the county's
2384      accounts created for the purpose of funding economic development
2385      projects having a general public purpose of improving local
2386      economies, including the funding of operational costs and
2387      incentives related to economic development. The ballot statement
2388      must indicate the intention to make an allocation under the
2389      authority of this subparagraph.
2390  4.      Surtax revenues that are shared with eligible charter
2391      schools pursuant to paragraph (c) shall be allocated among such
2392      schools based on each school's proportionate share of total
2393      school district capital outlay full-time equivalent enrollment
2394      as adopted by the education estimating conference established in
2395      s. 216.136. Surtax revenues must be expended by the charter
2396      school in a manner consistent with the allowable uses provided
2397      in s. 1013.62(3) s. 1013.62(4). All revenues and expenditures
2398      shall be accounted for in a charter school's monthly or
2399      quarterly financial statement pursuant to s. 1002.33(9). If a
2400      school's charter is not renewed or is terminated and the school
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2401      is dissolved under the provisions of law under which the school
2402      was organized, any unencumbered funds received under this
2403      paragraph shall revert to the sponsor.
2404  (6)     SCHOOL CAPITAL OUTLAY SURTAX.—
2405  (c)     The resolution providing for the imposition of the
2406      surtax must set forth a plan for use of the surtax proceeds for
2407      fixed capital expenditures or fixed capital costs associated
2408      with the construction, reconstruction, or improvement of school
2409      facilities and campuses which have a useful life expectancy of 5
2410      or more years, and any land acquisition, land improvement,
2411      design, and engineering costs related thereto, or any purchase,
2412      lease-purchase, lease, or maintenance of school buses, as
2413      defined in s. 1006.25, which have a life expectancy of 5 years
2414      or more. Additionally, the plan shall include the costs of
2415      retrofitting and providing for technology implementation,
2416      including hardware and software, for the various sites within
2417      the school district. Surtax revenues may be used to service bond
2418      indebtedness to finance projects authorized by this subsection,
2419      and any interest accrued thereto may be held in trust to finance
2420      such projects. Neither the proceeds of the surtax nor any
2421      interest accrued thereto shall be used for operational expenses.
2422      Surtax revenues shared with charter schools shall be shared
2423      based on their proportionate share of total school district
2424      capital outlay full-time equivalent enrollment as adopted by the
2425      education estimating conference established in s. 216.136 and
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2426      expended by the charter school in a manner consistent with the
2427      allowable uses set forth in s. 1013.62(3) s. 1013.62(4). All
2428      revenues and expenditures shall be accounted for in a charter
2429      school's monthly or quarterly financial statement pursuant to s.
2430      1002.33(9). The eligibility of a charter school to receive funds
2431      under this subsection shall be determined in accordance with s.
2432      1013.62(1). If a school's charter is not renewed or is
2433      terminated and the school is dissolved under the provisions of
2434      law under which the school was organized, any unencumbered funds
2435      received under this subsection shall revert to the sponsor.
2436  Section 46.  Subsection (3) of section 218.63, Florida
2437      Statutes, is amended to read:
2438  218.63      Participation requirements.—
2439  (3)     A county or municipality may not participate in the
2440      distribution of local government half-cent sales tax revenues
2441      during the 12 months following a determination of noncompliance
2442      by the Department of Revenue as provided in s. 200.065(12)(e) s.
2443      200.065(13)(e).
2444  Section 47.  Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (3) of
2445      section 373.536, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
2446  373.536      District budget and hearing thereon.—
2447  (3)     BUDGET HEARINGS AND WORKSHOPS; NOTICE.—
2448  (c)     The tentative budget shall be adopted in accordance
2449      with the provisions of s. 200.065; however, if the mailing of
2450      the notice of proposed property taxes is delayed beyond
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2451      September 3 in any county in which the district lies, the
2452      district shall advertise its intention to adopt a tentative
2453      budget and millage rate, pursuant to s. 200.065(3)(d) s.
2454      200.065(3)(g), in a newspaper of general paid circulation in
2455      that county.
2456  (d)     As provided in s. 200.065(2)(d), the board shall
2457      publish one or more notices of its intention to adopt a final
2458      budget for the district for the ensuing fiscal year. The notice
2459      shall appear adjacent to an advertisement that sets forth the
2460      tentative budget in a format meeting the budget summary
2461      requirements of s. 129.03(3)(b). The district shall not include
2462      expenditures of federal special revenues and state special
2463      revenues when preparing the statement required by s.
2464      200.065(3)(j) s. 200.065(3)(l). The notice and advertisement
2465      shall be published in one or more newspapers having a combined
2466      general paid circulation in each county in which the district
2467      lies. Districts may include explanatory phrases and examples in
2468      budget advertisements published under s. 200.065 to clarify or
2469      illustrate the effect that the district budget may have on ad
2470      valorem taxes.
2471  Section 48.  Subsection (6) of section 402.22, Florida
2472      Statutes, is amended to read:
2473  402.22      Education program for students who reside in
2474      residential care facilities operated by the Department of
2475      Children and Families or the Agency for Persons with
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2476      Disabilities.—
2477  (6)     Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 1001.42(4)(m),
2478      the educational program at the Marianna Sunland Center in
2479      Jackson County shall be operated by the Department of Education,
2480      either directly or through grants or contractual agreements with
2481      other public educational agencies. The annual state allocation
2482      to any such agency shall be computed pursuant to s. 101.62(1),
2483      (2), and (14) s. 1011.62(1), (2), and (18) and allocated in the
2484      amount that would have been provided the local school district
2485      in which the residential facility is located.
2486  Section 49.  Paragraph (f) of subsection (3) of section
2487      1002.37, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
2488  1002.37      The Florida Virtual School.—
2489  (3)     Funding for the Florida Virtual School shall be
2490      provided as follows:
2491  (f)     The Florida Virtual School shall receive state funds
2492      for operating purposes as provided in the General Appropriations
2493      Act. The calculation to determine the amount of state funds
2494      includes: the sum of the basic amount for current operations
2495      established in s. 1011.62(1)(n), the discretionary millage
2496      compression supplement established in s. 1011.62(5), the state-
2497      funded discretionary contribution established in s. 1011.62(6),
2498      a per-full-time equivalent share of the exceptional student
2499      education guaranteed allocation established in s. 1011.62(5) s.
2500      1011.62(8), and the mental health assistance allocation
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2501      established in s. 1011.62(10) s. 1011.62(13).
2502  Section 50.  Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (12) of
2503      section 1002.394, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
2504  1002.394  The Family Empowerment Scholarship Program.—
2505  (12)        SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING AND PAYMENT.—
2506  (a)1.        The calculated scholarship amount for a
2507      participating student determined eligible pursuant to paragraph
2508      (3)(a) shall be based upon the grade level and school district
2509      in which the student was assigned as 100 percent of the funds
2510      per unweighted full-time equivalent in the Florida Education
2511      Finance Program for a student in the basic program established
2512      pursuant to s. 1011.62(1)(c)1., plus a per-full-time equivalent
2513      share of funds for the categorical programs established in s.
2514      1011.62(4)(a) s. 1011.62(5), (7)(a), and (16), as funded in the
2515      General Appropriations Act.
2516  2.a.        For renewing scholarship students, the organization
2517      must verify the student's continued eligibility to participate
2518      in the scholarship program at least 30 days before each payment.
2519      Upon receiving the verified list of eligible scholarship
2520      students, the department shall release, from state funds only,
2521      the amount calculated pursuant to subparagraph 1. to the
2522      organization for deposit into the student's account in quarterly
2523      payments no later than August 1, November 1, February 1, and
2524      April 1 of each school year in which the scholarship is in
2525      force.
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2526  b.      For new scholarship students, the organization must
2527      verify the student's eligibility to participate in the
2528      scholarship program at least 30 days before each payment. Upon
2529      receiving the verified list of eligible scholarship students,
2530      the department shall release, from state funds only, the amount
2531      calculated pursuant to subparagraph 1. to the organization for
2532      deposit into the student's account in quarterly payments no
2533      later than September 1, November 1, February 1, and April 1 of
2534      each school year in which the scholarship is in force. For a
2535      student exiting a Department of Juvenile Justice commitment
2536      program who chooses to participate in the scholarship program,
2537      the amount calculated pursuant to subparagraph 1. must be
2538      transferred from the school district in which the student last
2539      attended a public school before commitment to the Department of
2540      Juvenile Justice.
2541  c.      The department is authorized to release the state funds
2542      contingent upon verification that the organization will comply
2543      with s. 1002.395(6)(l) based upon the organization's submitted
2544      verified list of eligible scholarship students pursuant to s.
2545      1002.395.
2546  3.      The initial payment shall be made after the
2547      organization's verification of admission acceptance, and
2548      subsequent payments shall be made upon verification of continued
2549      enrollment and attendance at the participating private school.
2550      Payments for tuition and fees for full-time enrollment shall be
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2551      made within 7 business days after approval by the parent
2552      pursuant to paragraph (10)(a) and the private school pursuant to
2553      paragraph (9)(b). Payment must be by funds transfer or any other
2554      means of payment that the department deems to be commercially
2555      viable or cost-effective. An organization shall ensure that the
2556      parent has approved a funds transfer before any scholarship
2557      funds are deposited.
2558  4.      An organization may not transfer any funds to an
2559      account of a student determined eligible pursuant to paragraph
2560      (3)(a) which has a balance in excess of $24,000.
2561  (b)1.       For the 2024-2025 school year, the maximum number of
2562      scholarships funded under paragraph (3)(b) shall be 72,615.
2563      Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, the maximum number of
2564      scholarships funded under paragraph (3)(b) shall annually
2565      increase by 5 percent of the state's total exceptional student
2566      education full-time equivalent student membership, not including
2567      gifted students. The maximum number of scholarships funded shall
2568      increase by 1 percent of the state's total exceptional student
2569      education full-time equivalent student membership, not including
2570      gifted students, in the school year following any school year in
2571      which the number of scholarships funded exceeds 95 percent of
2572      the number of available scholarships for that school year. An
2573      eligible student who meets any of the following requirements
2574      shall be excluded from the maximum number of students if the
2575      student:
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2576  a.      Received specialized instructional services under the
2577      Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program pursuant to s.
2578      1002.66 during the previous school year and the student has a
2579      current IEP developed by the district school board in accordance
2580      with rules of the State Board of Education;
2581  b.      Is a dependent child of a law enforcement officer or a
2582      member of the United States Armed Forces, a foster child, or an
2583      adopted child; or
2584  c.      Spent the prior school year in attendance at a Florida
2585      public school or the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind.
2586      For purposes of this subparagraph, the term "prior school year
2587      in attendance" means that the student was enrolled and reported
2588      by:
2589  (I)      A school district for funding during either the
2590      preceding October or February full-time equivalent student
2591      membership surveys in kindergarten through grade 12, which
2592      includes time spent in a Department of Juvenile Justice
2593      commitment program if funded under the Florida Education Finance
2594      Program;
2595  (II)        The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind during
2596      the preceding October or February full-time equivalent student
2597      membership surveys in kindergarten through grade 12;
2598  (III)       A school district for funding during the preceding
2599      October or February full-time equivalent student membership
2600      surveys, was at least 4 years of age when enrolled and reported,
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2601      and was eligible for services under s. 1003.21(1)(e); or
2602  (IV)        Received a John M. McKay Scholarship for Students
2603      with Disabilities in the 2021-2022 school year.
2604  2.      For a student who has a Level I to Level III matrix of
2605      services or a diagnosis by a physician or psychologist, the
2606      calculated scholarship amount for a student participating in the
2607      program must be based upon the grade level and school district
2608      in which the student would have been enrolled as the total funds
2609      per unweighted full-time equivalent in the Florida Education
2610      Finance Program for a student in the basic exceptional student
2611      education program pursuant to s. 1011.62(1)(c) and (d), plus a
2612      per full-time equivalent share of funds for the categorical
2613      programs established in s. 1011.62(4)(a) and (5) s. 1011.62(5),
2614      (7)(a), (8), and (16), as funded in the General Appropriations
2615      Act. For the categorical program established in s. 1011.62(5) s.
2616      1011.62(8), the funds must be allocated based on the school
2617      district's average exceptional student education guaranteed
2618      allocation funds per exceptional student education full-time
2619      equivalent student.
2620  3.      For a student with a Level IV or Level V matrix of
2621      services, the calculated scholarship amount must be based upon
2622      the school district to which the student would have been
2623      assigned as the total funds per full-time equivalent for the
2624      Level IV or Level V exceptional student education program
2625      pursuant to s. 1011.62(1)(c)2.a. or b., plus a per-full time
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2626      equivalent share of funds for the categorical programs
2627      established in s. 1011.62(4)(a) s. 1011.62(5), (7)(a), and (16),
2628      as funded in the General Appropriations Act.
2629  4.      For a student who received a Gardiner Scholarship
2630      pursuant to former s. 1002.385 in the 2020-2021 school year, the
2631      amount shall be the greater of the amount calculated pursuant to
2632      subparagraph 2. or the amount the student received for the 2020-
2633      2021 school year.
2634  5.      For a student who received a John M. McKay Scholarship
2635      pursuant to former s. 1002.39 in the 2020-2021 school year, the
2636      amount shall be the greater of the amount calculated pursuant to
2637      subparagraph 2. or the amount the student received for the 2020-
2638      2021 school year.
2639  6.      The organization must verify the student's eligibility
2640      to participate in the scholarship program at least 30 days
2641      before each payment.
2642  7.a.        For renewing scholarship students, upon receiving the
2643      verified list of eligible scholarship students, the department
2644      shall release, from state funds only, the amount calculated
2645      pursuant to subparagraph 1. to the organization for deposit into
2646      the student's account in quarterly payments no later than August
2647      1, November 1, February 1, and April 1 of each school year in
2648      which the scholarship is in force.
2649  b.      For new scholarship students, upon receiving the
2650      verified list of eligible scholarship students, the department
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2651      shall release, from state funds only, the amount calculated
2652      pursuant to subparagraph 1. to the organization for deposit into
2653      the student's account in quarterly payments no later than
2654      September 1, November 1, February 1, and April 1 of each school
2655      year in which the scholarship is in force.
2656  8.      If a scholarship student is attending an eligible
2657      private school full time, the initial payment shall be made
2658      after the organization's verification of admission acceptance,
2659      and subsequent payments shall be made upon verification of
2660      continued enrollment and attendance at the eligible private
2661      school. Payments for tuition and fees for full-time enrollment
2662      shall be made within 7 business days after approval by the
2663      parent pursuant to paragraph (10)(b) and the private school
2664      pursuant to paragraph (9)(b).
2665  9.      Accrued interest in the student's account is in
2666      addition to, and not part of, the awarded funds. Program funds
2667      include both the awarded funds and accrued interest.
2668  10.     The organization may develop a system for payment of
2669      benefits by funds transfer, including, but not limited to, debit
2670      cards, electronic payment cards, or any other means of payment
2671      which the department deems to be commercially viable or cost-
2672      effective. A student's scholarship award may not be reduced for
2673      debit card or electronic payment fees. Commodities or services
2674      related to the development of such a system must be procured by
2675      competitive solicitation unless they are purchased from a state
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2676      term contract pursuant to s. 287.056.
2677  11.     An organization may not transfer any funds to an
2678      account of a student determined to be eligible pursuant to
2679      paragraph (3)(b) which has a balance in excess of $50,000.
2680  12.     Moneys received pursuant to this section do not
2681      constitute taxable income to the qualified student or the parent
2682      of the qualified student.
2683  Section 51.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (6) of section
2684      1002.45, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
2685  1002.45      Virtual instruction programs.—
2686  (6)     VIRTUAL INSTRUCTION PROGRAM AND VIRTUAL CHARTER SCHOOL
2687      FUNDING.—
2688  (b)     Students enrolled in a virtual instruction program
2689      shall be funded in the Florida Education Finance Program as
2690      provided in the General Appropriations Act. The calculation to
2691      determine the amount of funds for each student through the
2692      Florida Education Finance Program shall include the sum of the
2693      basic amount for current operations established in s.
2694      1011.62(1)(n) and all categorical programs except for the
2695      categorical programs established in ss. 1011.62(4) and (9),
2696      1011.68, and 1011.685 ss. 1011.62(7), (12), and (16), 1011.68,
2697      and 1011.685. Students residing outside of the school district
2698      reporting the full-time equivalent virtual student shall be
2699      funded from state funds only.
2700  Section 52.  Subsections (2) through (5) of section
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2701      1003.4203, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
2702  1003.4203        Digital materials, CAPE Digital Tool
2703      certificates, CAPE industry certifications, and technical
2704      assistance.—
2705  (2)     CAPE DIGITAL TOOL CERTIFICATES.—The department shall
2706      identify, in the CAPE Industry Certification Funding List under
2707      ss. 1003.492 and 1008.44, CAPE Digital Tool certificates that
2708      indicate a student's digital skills. The department shall notify
2709      each school district when the certificates are available. The
2710      certificates shall be made available to all public elementary
2711      grades students. Targeted skills to be mastered for the
2712      certificate include digital skills that are necessary to the
2713      student's academic work and skills the student may need in
2714      future employment. CAPE Digital Tool certificates earned by
2715      students are eligible for additional funding pursuant to s.
2716      1011.62(13) s. 1011.62(17).
2717  (3)     BASIC CAPE INDUSTRY CERTIFICATIONS.—
2718  (a)     CAPE industry certifications, issued to middle school
2719      and high school students, which do not articulate for college
2720      credit, are eligible for additional funding pursuant to s.
2721      1011.62(13) s. 1011.62(17). Each approved industry certification
2722      must be specifically identified in the CAPE Industry
2723      Certification Funding List as a CAPE Basic Non-articulated
2724      industry certification.
2725  (b)     CAPE industry certifications, issued to high school
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2726      students, which articulate for college credit, are eligible for
2727      additional funding pursuant to s. 1011.62(13) s. 1011.62(17).
2728      Each approved industry certification must be specifically
2729      identified in the CAPE Industry Certification Funding List as a
2730      CAPE Basic Articulated industry certification.
2731  (4)     CAPE ACCELERATION.—Industry certifications that
2732      articulate for 15 or more college credit hours and, if
2733      successfully completed, are eligible for additional funding
2734      pursuant to s. 1011.62(13) s. 1011.62(17). Each approved
2735      industry certification must be specifically identified in the
2736      CAPE Industry Certification Funding List as a CAPE Acceleration
2737      industry certification.
2738  (5)     CAPE PATHWAYS.—Industry certifications issued to high
2739      school students who complete at least three courses and an
2740      industry certification in a single career and technical
2741      education program or program of study and who exit with a
2742      standard high school diploma are eligible for additional funding
2743      pursuant to s. 1011.62(13) s. 1011.62(17). Each approved
2744      industry certification must be specifically identified in the
2745      CAPE Industry Certification Funding List as a CAPE Pathways
2746      industry certification.
2747  Section 53.  Subsection (3) of section 1003.4935, Florida
2748      Statutes, is amended to read:
2749  1003.4935        Middle grades career and professional academy
2750      courses and career-themed courses.—
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2751  (3)     CAPE industry certifications offered in the middle
2752      grades that are included on the CAPE Industry Certification
2753      Funding List, if earned by students, are eligible for additional
2754      funding pursuant to s. 1011.62(13) s. 1011.62(17).
2755  Section 54.  Section 1006.12, Florida Statutes, is amended
2756      to read:
2757  1006.12      Safe-school officers at each public school.—For
2758      the protection and safety of school personnel, property,
2759      students, and visitors, each district school board and school
2760      district superintendent shall partner with law enforcement
2761      agencies or security agencies to establish or assign one or more
2762      safe-school officers at each school facility within the
2763      district, including charter schools. A district school board
2764      must collaborate with charter school governing boards to
2765      facilitate charter school access to all safe-school officer
2766      options available under this section. The school district may
2767      implement any combination of the options in subsections (1)-(4)
2768      to best meet the needs of the school district and charter
2769      schools.
2770  (1)     SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER.—A school district may
2771      establish school resource officer programs through a cooperative
2772      agreement with law enforcement agencies.
2773  (a)     School resource officers shall undergo criminal
2774      background checks, drug testing, and a psychological evaluation
2775      and be certified law enforcement officers, as defined in s.
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2776      943.10(1), who are employed by a law enforcement agency as
2777      defined in s. 943.10(4). The powers and duties of a law
2778      enforcement officer shall continue throughout the employee's
2779      tenure as a school resource officer.
2780  (b)     School resource officers shall abide by district
2781      school board policies and shall consult with and coordinate
2782      activities through the school principal, but shall be
2783      responsible to the law enforcement agency in all matters
2784      relating to employment, subject to agreements between a district
2785      school board and a law enforcement agency. The agreements shall
2786      identify the entity responsible for maintaining records relating
2787      to training. Activities conducted by the school resource officer
2788      which are part of the regular instructional program of the
2789      school shall be under the direction of the school principal.
2790  (2)     SCHOOL SAFETY OFFICER.—A school district may
2791      commission one or more school safety officers for the protection
2792      and safety of school personnel, property, and students within
2793      the school district. The district school superintendent may
2794      recommend, and the district school board may appoint, one or
2795      more school safety officers.
2796  (a)     School safety officers shall undergo criminal
2797      background checks, drug testing, and a psychological evaluation
2798      and be law enforcement officers, as defined in s. 943.10(1),
2799      certified under chapter 943 and employed by either a law
2800      enforcement agency or by the district school board. If the
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2801      officer is employed by the district school board, the district
2802      school board is the employing agency for purposes of chapter
2803      943, and must comply with that chapter.
2804  (b)     A school safety officer has and shall exercise the
2805      power to make arrests for violations of law on district school
2806      board property or on property owned or leased by a charter
2807      school under a charter contract, as applicable, and to arrest
2808      persons, whether on or off such property, who violate any law on
2809      such property under the same conditions that deputy sheriffs are
2810      authorized to make arrests. A school safety officer has the
2811      authority to carry weapons when performing his or her official
2812      duties.
2813  (c)     School safety officers must complete mental health
2814      crisis intervention training using a curriculum developed by a
2815      national organization with expertise in mental health crisis
2816      intervention. The training shall improve officers' knowledge and
2817      skills as first responders to incidents involving students with
2818      emotional disturbance or mental illness, including de-escalation
2819      skills to ensure student and officer safety.
2820  (d)     A district school board may enter into mutual aid
2821      agreements with one or more law enforcement agencies as provided
2822      in chapter 23. A school safety officer's salary may be paid
2823      jointly by the district school board and the law enforcement
2824      agency, as mutually agreed to.
2825  (3)     SCHOOL GUARDIAN.—
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2826  (a)     At the school district's or the charter school
2827      governing board's discretion, as applicable, pursuant to s.
2828      30.15, a school district or charter school governing board may
2829      participate in the Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, and Coach
2830      Scott Beigel Guardian Program to meet the requirement of
2831      establishing a safe-school officer. The following individuals
2832      may serve as a school guardian, in support of school-sanctioned
2833      activities for purposes of s. 790.115, upon satisfactory
2834      completion of the requirements under s. 30.15(1)(k) and
2835      certification by a sheriff:
2836  1.      A school district employee or personnel, as defined
2837      under s. 1012.01, or a charter school employee, as provided
2838      under s. 1002.33(12)(a), who volunteers to serve as a school
2839      guardian in addition to his or her official job duties; or
2840  2.      An employee of a school district or a charter school
2841      who is hired for the specific purpose of serving as a school
2842      guardian.
2843  (b)     Before appointing an individual as a school guardian,
2844      the school district or charter school shall contact the
2845      Department of Law Enforcement and review all information
2846      maintained under s. 30.15(1)(k)3.c. related to the individual.
2847  (c)     The department shall provide to the Department of Law
2848      Enforcement any information relating to a school guardian
2849      received pursuant to subsection (5).
2850  (4)     SCHOOL SECURITY GUARD.—A school district or charter
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2851      school governing board may contract with a security agency as
2852      defined in s. 493.6101(18) to employ as a school security guard
2853      an individual who holds a Class "D" and Class "G" license
2854      pursuant to chapter 493, provided the following training and
2855      contractual conditions are met:
2856  (a)      An individual who serves as a school security guard,
2857      for purposes of satisfying the requirements of this section,
2858      must:
2859  1.      Demonstrate completion of 144 hours of required
2860      training conducted by a sheriff pursuant to s. 30.15(1)(k)2.
2861  2.      Pass a psychological evaluation administered by a
2862      psychologist licensed under chapter 490 and designated by the
2863      Department of Law Enforcement and submit the results of the
2864      evaluation to the sheriff's office and school district, charter
2865      school governing board, or employing security agency, as
2866      applicable. The Department of Law Enforcement is authorized to
2867      provide the sheriff's office, school district, charter school
2868      governing board, or employing security agency with mental health
2869      and substance abuse data for compliance with this paragraph.
2870  3.      Submit to and pass an initial drug test and subsequent
2871      random drug tests in accordance with the requirements of s.
2872      112.0455 and the sheriff's office, school district, charter
2873      school governing board, or employing security agency, as
2874      applicable.
2875  4.      Be approved to work as a school security guard by the
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2876      sheriff of each county in which the school security guard will
2877      be assigned to a school before commencing work at any school in
2878      that county. The sheriff's approval authorizes the security
2879      agency to assign the school security guard to any school in the
2880      county, and the sheriff's approval is not limited to any
2881      particular school.
2882  5.      Successfully complete ongoing training, weapon
2883      inspection, and firearm qualification conducted by a sheriff
2884      pursuant to s. 30.15(1)(k)2.e. on at least an annual basis and
2885      provide documentation to the sheriff's office, school district,
2886      charter school governing board, or employing security agency, as
2887      applicable.
2888  (b)      The contract between a security agency and a school
2889      district or a charter school governing board regarding
2890      requirements applicable to school security guards serving in the
2891      capacity of a safe-school officer for purposes of satisfying the
2892      requirements of this section shall define the entity or entities
2893      responsible for maintaining records relating to training,
2894      inspection, and firearm qualification.
2895  (c)      School security guards serving in the capacity of a
2896      safe-school officer pursuant to this subsection are in support
2897      of school-sanctioned activities for purposes of s. 790.115, and
2898      must aid in the prevention or abatement of active assailant
2899      incidents on school premises.
2900  (d)      The Office of Safe Schools shall provide the
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2901      Department of Law Enforcement any information related to a
2902      school security guard that the office receives pursuant to
2903      subsection (5).
2904  (5)     NOTIFICATION.—The district school superintendent or
2905      charter school administrator, or a respective designee shall
2906      notify the county sheriff and the Office of Safe Schools
2907      immediately after, but no later than 72 hours after:
2908  (a)     A safe-school officer is dismissed for misconduct or
2909      is otherwise disciplined.
2910  (b)     A safe-school officer discharges his or her firearm in
2911      the exercise of the safe-school officer's duties, other than for
2912      training purposes.
2913  (6)     CRISIS INTERVENTION TRAINING.—Each safe-school officer
2914      who is also a sworn law enforcement officer shall complete
2915      mental health crisis intervention training using a curriculum
2916      developed by a national organization with expertise in mental
2917      health crisis intervention. The training must improve the
2918      officer's knowledge and skills as a first responder to incidents
2919      involving students with emotional disturbance or mental illness,
2920      including de-escalation skills to ensure student and officer
2921      safety.
2922  (7)     LIMITATIONS.—An individual must satisfy the background
2923      screening, psychological evaluation, and drug test requirements
2924      and be approved by the sheriff before participating in any
2925      training required by s. 30.15(1)(k), which may be conducted only
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2926      by a sheriff.
2927  (8)     EXEMPTION.—Any information that would identify whether
2928      a particular individual has been appointed as a safe-school
2929      officer pursuant to this section held by a law enforcement
2930      agency, school district, or charter school is exempt from s.
2931      119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.
2932
2933      If a district school board, through its adopted policies,
2934      procedures, or actions, denies a charter school access to any
2935      safe-school officer options pursuant to this section, the school
2936      district must assign a school resource officer or school safety
2937      officer to the charter school. Under such circumstances, the
2938      charter school's share of the costs of the school resource
2939      officer or school safety officer may not exceed the safe school
2940      allocation funds provided to the charter school pursuant to s.
2941      1011.62(9) s. 1011.62(12) and shall be retained by the school
2942      district.
2943  Section 55.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) and paragraph
2944      (b) of subsection (3) of section 1010.20, Florida Statutes, are
2945      amended to read:
2946  1010.20      Cost accounting and reporting for school
2947      districts.—
2948  (2)     COST REPORTING.—
2949  (a)     Each district shall report on a district-aggregate
2950      basis expenditures for inservice training pursuant to s.
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2951      1011.62(3) and for categorical programs as provided in s.
2952      1011.62(14) s. 1011.62(18).
2953  (3)     PROGRAM EXPENDITURE REQUIREMENTS.—
2954  (b)     Funds for inservice training established in s.
2955      1011.62(3) and for categorical programs established in s.
2956      1011.62(14) s. 1011.62(18) shall be expended for the costs of
2957      the identified programs as provided by law and in accordance
2958      with the rules of the State Board of Education.
2959  Section 56.  Section 1011.15, Florida Statutes, is amended
2960      to read:
2961  1011.15      Obligations to eliminate major emergency
2962      conditions.—The district school board of any district
2963      experiencing a major emergency condition in an existing school
2964      plant that demands immediate correction in order to prevent
2965      further damage to the building or equipment or to eliminate a
2966      safety hazard that constitutes an immediate danger to the
2967      students and other occupants is authorized to create an
2968      obligation for a period of 1 year by way of anticipation of
2969      revenues for capital outlay purposes accruing on a current basis
2970      without pledging the credit of the district. Such obligation may
2971      be extended from year to year with the consent of the lender for
2972      a period not to exceed 4 years, or for a total of 5 years
2973      including the initial year of the loan. Obligations occurring
2974      under this section may be repaid from funds to be received from
2975      taxes authorized by s. 1011.71(2) and from any other funds
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2976      available to the district school board for the purpose under the
2977      following conditions:
2978  (1)     DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD TO ADOPT PROPOSAL.—When the
2979      district school board proposes to incur obligations of the
2980      nature authorized in this section, it shall adopt and spread
2981      upon its minutes a resolution fully describing the emergency
2982      condition outlined above, giving the nature of the obligations
2983      to be incurred, stating the plan of payment, and providing that
2984      such funds will be budgeted during the period of the loan from
2985      the current revenue to retire the obligations maturing during
2986      the year. This plan of payment shall not extend over a period
2987      longer than 1 year.
2988  (2)     INTEREST-BEARING NOTES AUTHORIZED.—Each district
2989      school board which has authorized the incurring of the
2990      obligations as provided in this section shall issue interest-
2991      bearing notes for the obligations. The notes shall provide the
2992      terms of payment and shall not bear interest in excess of the
2993      rate authorized in s. 1010.59.
2994  Section 57.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (6) of section
2995      1011.18, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
2996  1011.18      School depositories; payments into and withdrawals
2997      from depositories.—
2998  (6)     EXEMPTION FOR SELF-INSURANCE PROGRAMS AND THIRD-PARTY
2999      ADMINISTERED EMPLOYEES' FRINGE BENEFIT PROGRAMS.—
3000  (b)     The district school board may contract with an
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3001      insurance company or professional administrator who holds a
3002      valid certificate of authority issued by the Office of Insurance
3003      Regulation of the Financial Services Commission to provide any
3004      services that a third-party administrator is authorized by law
3005      to perform. Pursuant to such contract, the district school board
3006      may advance or remit money to the administrator to be deposited
3007      in a designated special checking account for paying claims
3008      against the district school board under its self-insurance
3009      programs, and remitting premiums to the providers of insured
3010      benefits on behalf of the district school board and the
3011      participants in such programs, and otherwise fulfilling the
3012      obligations imposed upon the administrator by law and the
3013      contractual agreements between the district school board and the
3014      administrator. The special checking account shall be maintained
3015      in a designated district school depository. The district school
3016      board may replenish such account as often as necessary upon the
3017      presentation by the service organization of documentation for
3018      claims or premiums due paid equal to the amount of the requested
3019      reimbursement. Such replenishment shall be made by a warrant
3020      signed by the chair of the district school board and
3021      countersigned by the district school superintendent. Such
3022      replenishment may be made by electronic, telephonic, or other
3023      medium, and each transfer shall be confirmed in writing and
3024      signed by the district school superintendent or his or her
3025      designee. The provisions of strict accountability of all funds
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3026      and an annual audit by an independent certified public
3027      accountant as provided in s. 1001.42(12)(j) s. 1001.42(12)(k)
3028      apply to this subsection.
3029  Section 58.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section
3030      1012.22, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
3031  1012.22      Public school personnel; powers and duties of the
3032      district school board.—The district school board shall:
3033  (3)
3034  (b)     Appearances before the board.—If a district school
3035      superintendent appears before the state board to provide an
3036      update under s. 1011.62(11)(e)  s. 1011.62(14)(e), the state
3037      board must require that the president of the collective
3038      bargaining unit that represents the school district also must
3039      appear.
3040  Section 59.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (2), paragraph (e)
3041      of subsection (3), and paragraph (b) of subsection (6) of
3042      section 1013.64, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
3043  1013.64      Funds for comprehensive educational plant needs;
3044      construction cost maximums for school district capital
3045      projects.—Allocations from the Public Education Capital Outlay
3046      and Debt Service Trust Fund to the various boards for capital
3047      outlay projects shall be determined as follows:
3048  (2)(a)      The department shall establish, as a part of the
3049      Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund, a
3050      separate account, in an amount determined by the Legislature, to
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3051      be known as the "Special Facility Construction Account." The
3052      Special Facility Construction Account shall be used to provide
3053      necessary construction funds to school districts which have
3054      urgent construction needs but which lack sufficient resources at
3055      present, and cannot reasonably anticipate sufficient resources
3056      within the period of the next 3 years, for these purposes from
3057      currently authorized sources of capital outlay revenue. A school
3058      district requesting funding from the Special Facility
3059      Construction Account shall submit one specific construction
3060      project, not to exceed one complete educational plant, to the
3061      Special Facility Construction Committee. A district may not
3062      receive funding for more than one approved project in any 3-year
3063      period or while any portion of the district's participation
3064      requirement is outstanding. The first year of the 3-year period
3065      shall be the first year a district receives an appropriation.
3066      The department shall encourage a construction program that
3067      reduces the average size of schools in the district. The request
3068      must meet the following criteria to be considered by the
3069      committee:
3070  1.      The project must be deemed a critical need and must be
3071      recommended for funding by the Special Facility Construction
3072      Committee. Before developing construction plans for the proposed
3073      facility, the district school board must request a
3074      preapplication review by the Special Facility Construction
3075      Committee or a project review subcommittee convened by the chair
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3076      of the committee to include two representatives of the
3077      department and two staff members from school districts not
3078      eligible to participate in the program. A school district may
3079      request a preapplication review at any time; however, if the
3080      district school board seeks inclusion in the department's next
3081      annual capital outlay legislative budget request, the
3082      preapplication review request must be made before February 1.
3083      Within 90 days after receiving the preapplication review
3084      request, the committee or subcommittee must meet in the school
3085      district to review the project proposal and existing facilities.
3086      To determine whether the proposed project is a critical need,
3087      the committee or subcommittee shall consider, at a minimum, the
3088      capacity of all existing facilities within the district as
3089      determined by the Florida Inventory of School Houses; the
3090      district's pattern of student growth; the district's existing
3091      and projected capital outlay full-time equivalent student
3092      enrollment as determined by the demographic, revenue, and
3093      education estimating conferences established in s. 216.136; the
3094      district's existing satisfactory student stations; the use of
3095      all existing district property and facilities; grade level
3096      configurations; and any other information that may affect the
3097      need for the proposed project.
3098  2.      The construction project must be recommended in the
3099      most recent survey or survey amendment cooperatively prepared by
3100      the district and the department, and approved by the department
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3101      under the rules of the State Board of Education. If a district
3102      employs a consultant in the preparation of a survey or survey
3103      amendment, the consultant may not be employed by or receive
3104      compensation from a third party that designs or constructs a
3105      project recommended by the survey.
3106  3.      The construction project must appear on the district's
3107      approved project priority list under the rules of the State
3108      Board of Education.
3109  4.      The district must have selected and had approved a site
3110      for the construction project in compliance with s. 1013.36 and
3111      the rules of the State Board of Education.
3112  5.      The district shall have developed a district school
3113      board adopted list of facilities that do not exceed the norm for
3114      net square feet occupancy requirements under the State
3115      Requirements for Educational Facilities, using all possible
3116      programmatic combinations for multiple use of space to obtain
3117      maximum daily use of all spaces within the facility under
3118      consideration.
3119  6.      Upon construction, the total cost per student station,
3120      including change orders, must not exceed the cost per student
3121      station as provided in subsection (6) unless approved by the
3122      Special Facility Construction Committee. At the discretion of
3123      the committee, costs that exceed the cost per student station
3124      for special facilities may include legal and administrative
3125      fees, the cost of site improvements or related offsite
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3126      improvements, the cost of complying with public shelter and
3127      hurricane hardening requirements, cost overruns created by a
3128      disaster as defined in s. 252.34(2), costs of security
3129      enhancements approved by the school safety specialist, and
3130      unforeseeable circumstances beyond the district's control.
3131  7.      There shall be an agreement signed by the district
3132      school board stating that it will advertise for bids within 30
3133      days of receipt of its encumbrance authorization from the
3134      department.
3135  8.      For construction projects for which Special Facilities
3136      Construction Account funding is sought before the 2019-2020
3137      fiscal year, the district shall, at the time of the request and
3138      for a continuing period necessary to meet the district's
3139      participation requirement, levy the maximum millage against its
3140      nonexempt assessed property value as allowed in s. 1011.71(2) or
3141      shall raise an equivalent amount of revenue from the school
3142      capital outlay surtax authorized under s. 212.055(6). Beginning
3143      with construction projects for which Special Facilities
3144      Construction Account funding is sought in the 2019-2020 fiscal
3145      year, the district shall, for a minimum of 3 years before
3146      submitting the request and for a continuing period necessary to
3147      meet its participation requirement, levy the maximum millage
3148      against the district's nonexempt assessed property value as
3149      authorized under s. 1011.71(2) or shall raise an equivalent
3150      amount of revenue from the school capital outlay surtax
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3151      authorized under s. 212.055(6). Any district with a new or
3152      active project, funded under the provisions of this subsection,
3153      shall be required to budget no more than the value of 1 mill per
3154      year to the project until the district's participation
3155      requirement relating to the local discretionary capital
3156      improvement millage or the equivalent amount of revenue from the
3157      school capital outlay surtax is satisfied.
3158  8.9.        If a contract has not been signed 90 days after the
3159      advertising of bids, the funding for the specific project shall
3160      revert to the Special Facility New Construction Account to be
3161      reallocated to other projects on the list. However, an
3162      additional 90 days may be granted by the commissioner.
3163  9.10.       The department shall certify the inability of the
3164      district to fund the survey-recommended project over a
3165      continuous 3-year period using projected capital outlay revenue
3166      derived from s. 9(d), Art. XII of the State Constitution, as
3167      amended, and paragraph (3)(a) of this section, and s.
3168      1011.71(2).
3169  10.11.       The district shall have on file with the department
3170      an adopted resolution acknowledging its commitment to satisfy
3171      its participation requirement, which is equivalent to all
3172      unencumbered and future revenue acquired from s. 9(d), Art. XII
3173      of the State Constitution, as amended, and paragraph (3)(a) of
3174      this section, and s. 1011.71(2), in the year of the initial
3175      appropriation and for the 2 years immediately following the
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3176      initial appropriation.
3177  11.12.      Phase I plans must be approved by the district
3178      school board as being in compliance with the building and life
3179      safety codes before June 1 of the year the application is made.
3180  (3)
3181  (e)     A district school board may lease relocatable
3182      educational facilities for up to 3 years using nonbonded PECO
3183      funds and for any time period using local capital outlay
3184      millage.
3185  (6)
3186  (b)1.       A district school board may not use funds from the
3187      following sources: Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt
3188      Service Trust Fund; School District and Community College
3189      District Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund; Classrooms
3190      First Program funds provided in s. 1013.68; nonvoted 1.5-mill
3191      levy of ad valorem property taxes provided in s. 1011.71(2);
3192      Classrooms for Kids Program funds provided in s. 1013.735;
3193      District Effort Recognition Program funds provided in s.
3194      1013.736; or High Growth District Capital Outlay Assistance
3195      Grant Program funds provided in s. 1013.738 to pay for any
3196      portion of the cost of any new construction of educational plant
3197      space with a total cost per student station, including change
3198      orders, which exceeds:
3199  a.      $17,952 for an elementary school;
3200  b.      $19,386 for a middle school; or
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3201  c.      $25,181 for a high school,
3202
3203      (January 2006) as adjusted annually to reflect increases or
3204      decreases in the Consumer Price Index. The department, in
3205      conjunction with the Office of Economic and Demographic
3206      Research, shall review and adjust the cost per student station
3207      limits to reflect actual construction costs by January 1, 2020,
3208      and annually thereafter. The adjusted cost per student station
3209      shall be used by the department for computation of the statewide
3210      average costs per student station for each instructional level
3211      pursuant to paragraph (d). The department shall also collaborate
3212      with the Office of Economic and Demographic Research to select
3213      an industry-recognized construction index to replace the
3214      Consumer Price Index by January 1, 2020, adjusted annually to
3215      reflect changes in the construction index.
3216  2.      School districts shall maintain accurate documentation
3217      related to the costs of all new construction of educational
3218      plant space reported to the Department of Education pursuant to
3219      paragraph (d). The Auditor General shall review the
3220      documentation maintained by the school districts and verify
3221      compliance with the limits under this paragraph during its
3222      scheduled operational audits of the school district.
3223  3.      Except for educational facilities and sites subject to
3224      a lease-purchase agreement entered pursuant to s. 1011.71(2)(e)
3225      or funded solely through local impact fees, in addition to the
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3226      funding sources listed in subparagraph 1., a district school
3227      board may not use funds from any sources for new construction of
3228      educational plant space with a total cost per student station,
3229      including change orders, which equals more than the current
3230      adjusted amounts provided in sub-subparagraphs 1.a.-c. However,
3231      if a contract has been executed for architectural and design
3232      services or for construction management services before July 1,
3233      2017, a district school board may use funds from any source for
3234      the new construction of educational plant space and such funds
3235      are exempt from the total cost per student station requirements.
3236  4.      A district school board must not use funds from the
3237      Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund or
3238      the School District and Community College District Capital
3239      Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund for any new construction of
3240      an ancillary plant that exceeds 70 percent of the average cost
3241      per square foot of new construction for all schools.
3242  Section 60.  Section 1013.738, Florida Statutes, is amended
3243      to read:
3244  1013.738  High Growth District Capital Outlay Assistance
3245      Grant Program.—
3246  (1)     Subject to funds provided in the General
3247      Appropriations Act, the High Growth District Capital Outlay
3248      Assistance Grant Program is hereby established. Funds provided
3249      pursuant to this section may only be used for the purposes
3250      identified in s. 1011.71(2).
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3251  (2)     In order to qualify for a grant, a school district
3252      must meet the following criteria:
3253  (a)     The district must have levied the maximum mills of
3254      nonvoted discretionary capital outlay millage authorized in s.
3255      1011.71(2) for each of the prior 5 fiscal years.
3256  (a)(b)      The district must receive revenue from a current
3257      voted school capital outlay sales surtax or a portion of the
3258      local government infrastructure surtax as authorized in s.
3259      212.055.
3260  (c)     The revenue derived from the nonvoted discretionary
3261      capital outlay millage, when divided by the district's capital
3262      outlay FTE students, produces a value that is less than the
3263      statewide average maximum potential funds per capital outlay FTE
3264      student for the most recent fiscal year.
3265  (b)(d)      The district must have equaled or exceeded the
3266      greater of 1 percent average growth or twice the statewide
3267      average of growth in capital outlay FTE students over the prior
3268      5-year period.
3269  (c)(e)      The total capital outlay FTE students of the
3270      district is greater than 24,000 students.
3271  (3)     The funds provided in the General Appropriations Act
3272      shall be allocated pursuant to the following methodology:
3273  (a)     For each eligible district, the Department of
3274      Education shall take sum the calculated revenue from the maximum
3275      potential nonvoted discretionary capital outlay millage and the
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3276      revenue received from the voted sales surtax as provided in
3277      paragraph (2)(a) (2)(b) and divide that sum by the number of
3278      capital outlay FTE students for the same period.
3279  (b)     The Department of Education shall determine, for each
3280      eligible district, the amount that must be added to the funds
3281      per capital outlay FTE calculated pursuant to paragraph (a) to
3282      produce the statewide average value per capital outlay FTE for
3283      the revenues identified pursuant to paragraph (a).
3284  (c)     The value calculated for each eligible district
3285      pursuant to paragraph (b) shall be the maximum amount of a grant
3286      that may be awarded to a district pursuant to this section.
3287  (d)     In the event the funds provided are insufficient to
3288      fully fund the maximum grants calculated pursuant to this
3289      section, the Department of Education shall allocate the funds
3290      based on each district's prorated share of the total maximum
3291      award amount calculated for all eligible districts.
3292  Section 61.  Subsections (1) and (5) of section 1013.75,
3293      Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
3294  1013.75      Cooperative funding of career center facilities.—
3295  (1)     Each district school board operating a designated
3296      career center may submit, prior to August 1 of each year, a
3297      request to the commissioner for funds from the Public Education
3298      Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund to plan, construct,
3299      and equip a career center facility identified as being critical
3300      to the economic development and the workforce needs of the
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3301      school district. Prior to submitting a request, each school
3302      district shall:
3303  (a)     Adopt and submit to the commissioner a resolution
3304      indicating its commitment to fund the planning, construction,
3305      and equipping of the proposed facility at 40 percent of the
3306      requested project amount. The resolution shall also designate
3307      the locale of the proposed facility. If funds from a private or
3308      noneducational public entity are to be committed to the project,
3309      then a joint resolution shall be required.
3310  (b)     Except as provided in paragraph (5)(b), levy the
3311      maximum millage against the nonexempt assessed property value as
3312      provided in s. 1011.71(2).
3313  (b)(c)      Certify to the Office of Workforce and Economic
3314      Development that the project has been survey recommended.
3315  (c)(d)      Certify to the Office of Workforce and Economic
3316      Development that final phase III construction documents comply
3317      with applicable building codes and life safety codes.
3318  (d)(e)      Sign an agreement that the district school board
3319      shall advertise for bids within 90 days of receiving an
3320      encumbrance authorization from the department.
3321  (e)(f)      If a construction contract has not been signed 90
3322      days after the advertising of bids, certify to the Office of
3323      Workforce and Economic Development and the department the cause
3324      for delay. Upon request, an additional 90 days may be granted by
3325      the commissioner.
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3326  (5)(a)      Upon approval of a project, the commissioner shall
3327      include up to 60 percent of the total cost of the project in the
3328      legislative capital outlay budget request as provided in s.
3329      1013.60 for educational plants. The participating district
3330      school board shall provide 40 percent of the total cost of the
3331      project. When practical, the district school board shall solicit
3332      and encourage a private or noneducational public entity to
3333      commit to finance a portion of the funds to complete the
3334      planning, construction, and equipping of the facility. If a site
3335      does not exist, the purchase price or, if donated, the assessed
3336      value of a site may be included in meeting the funding
3337      requirements of the district school board, a private or
3338      noneducational public entity, or the educational agency. The
3339      value of existing sites, intended to satisfy any portion of the
3340      funding requirement of a private or noneducational public
3341      entity, shall be determined by an independent appraiser under
3342      contract with the board. The size of the site to adequately
3343      provide for the implementation of the proposed educational
3344      programs shall be determined by the board. Funds from the Public
3345      Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund may not be
3346      expended on any project unless specifically authorized by the
3347      Legislature.
3348  (b)     In the event that a school district is not levying the
3349      maximum millage against the nonexempt assessed property value
3350      pursuant to paragraph (1)(b), state and school district funding
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3351      pursuant to paragraph (a) shall be reduced by the same
3352      proportion as the millage actually being levied bears to the
3353      maximum allowable millage.
3354  Section 62.  This act shall take effect on the effective
3355      date of the amendment to the State Constitution proposed by HJR
3356      787 or a similar joint resolution having substantially the same
3357      specific intent and purpose, if such amendment is approved at
3358      the next general election or at an earlier special election
3359      specifically authorized by law for that purpose.
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