Title: Municipal Service Taxing Units and Municipal Service Benefit Units

Summary: Requiring that the establishment, merger, or abolishment of a municipal service taxing or benefit unit be approved by majority vote of certain qualified electors in an election that is called for such purpose by the governing body of the county on its own motion; providing procedures for the dissolution of a municipal service taxing or benefit unit, etc.

Full Text:
An act relating to municipal service taxing units and municipal service benefit units; amending s. 125.01, F.S.; requiring that the establishment, merger, or abolishment of a municipal service taxing or benefit unit be approved by majority vote of certain qualified electors in an election that is called for such purpose by the governing body of the county on its own motion; requiring that the continued existence of certain municipal service taxing or benefit units be approved by majority vote of certain qualified electors; providing procedures for the dissolution of a municipal service taxing or benefit unit; conforming provisions to changes made by the act; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Paragraphs (q) and (r) of subsection (1) and subsections (2) and (6) of section 125.01, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 125.01 Powers and duties.  (1) The legislative and governing body of a county shall have the power to carry on county government. To the extent not inconsistent with general or special law, this power includes, but is not restricted to, the power to: (q)  Subject to the requirements provided in subsection (2), establish, and subsequently merge or abolish those created hereunder, municipal service taxing or benefit units for any part or all of the unincorporated area of the county, within which may be provided fire protection; law enforcement; beach erosion control; recreation service and facilities; water; alternative water supplies, including, but not limited to, reclaimed water and water from aquifer storage and recovery and desalination systems; streets; sidewalks; street lighting; garbage and trash collection and disposal; waste and sewage collection and disposal; drainage; transportation; indigent health care services; mental health care services; and other essential facilities and municipal services from funds derived from service charges, special assessments, or taxes within such unit only. Subject to the consent by ordinance of the governing body of the affected municipality given either annually or for a term of years, the boundaries of a municipal service taxing or benefit unit may include all or part of the boundaries of a municipality. If ad valorem taxes are levied to provide essential facilities and municipal services within the unit, the millage levied on any parcel of property for municipal purposes by all municipal service taxing units and the municipality may not exceed mills. This paragraph authorizes all counties to levy additional taxes, within the limits fixed for municipal purposes, within such municipal service taxing units under the authority of the second sentence of s. 9(b), Art. VII of the State Constitution. (r) Levy and collect taxes, both for county purposes and for the providing of municipal services within any municipal service taxing unit, and special assessments; borrow and expend money; and issue bonds, revenue certificates, and other obligations of indebtedness, which power shall be exercised in such manner, and subject to such limitations, as may be provided by general law. There shall be no referendum required for the levy by a county of ad valorem taxes, both for county purposes and for the providing of municipal services within any municipal service taxing unit;however, the creation of any municipal service taxing unit is subject to voting and other requirements as provided in subsection (2).Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county may not levy special assessments for the provision of fire protection services on lands classified as agricultural lands under s. 193.461 unless the land contains a residential dwelling or nonresidential farm building, with the exception of an agricultural pole barn, provided the nonresidential farm building exceeds a just value of $10,000. Such special assessments must be based solely on the special benefit accruing to that portion of the land consisting of the residential dwelling and curtilage, and qualifying nonresidential farm buildings. As used in this paragraph, the term  agricultural pole barn  means a nonresidential farm building in which percent or more of the perimeter walls are permanently open and allow free ingress and egress. (2) (a)   The es tablishment, merger, or abolishment of a municipal service taxing or benefit unit under paragraph (1)(q) must be approved by majority vote of the qualified electors who would be or are subject to any service charg e, special assessment, or tax within such unit,voting in an election that is called for such purpose by the governing body of the county on its own motion.The boundaries of a municipal service taxing or benefit unit may include all or part of the boundaries of a municipality if, i naddition to the majority approval of qualifi ed electors required under this paragraph,consent by ordinance of the governing body of the affected municipality is given either annually or for a ter mof years.The board of county commissioners shall be the governing body of any municipal service taxing or benefit unit created pursuant to paragraph (1)(q) and this paragraph.(b)  For any municipal service taxing or benefit unit that was created on or before July 1, 2020, without a majority approval of qualified electors as required under paragraph (a), the continued existence of such unit must be approved by majority vote of the qualified electors who are subject to any service charge, special assessment, or tax within such unit.If a majority vote for the continued existence of the municipal service taxing or benefit unit is not achieved, such unit must be dissolved within months after the election and any remaining funds of th eunit must be used as decided by the board of county commissioners. (6)(a) The governing body of a municipality or municipalities by resolution, or the citizens of a municipality or county by petition of percent of the qualified electors of such unit, may identify a service or program rendered specially for the benefit of the property or residents in unincorporated areas and financed from countywide revenues and petition the board of county commissioners to develop an appropriate mechanism to finance such activity for the ensuing fiscal year, which may be by taxes, special assessments, or service charges levied or imposed solely upon residents or property in the unincorporated area, by the establishment of a municipal service taxing or benefit unit pursuant to paragraph (1)(q) and subsection (2),or by remitting the identified cost of service paid from revenues required to be expended on a countywide basis to the municipality or municipalities, within months of the adoption of the county budget, in the proportion that the amount of county ad valorem taxes collected within such municipality or municipalities bears to the total amount of countywide ad valorem taxes collected by the county, or by any other method prescribed by state law. (b) The board of county commissioners shall, within days, file a response to such petition, which response shall either reflect action to develop appropriate mechanisms or shall reject such petition and state findings of fact demonstrating that the service does not specially benefit the property or residents of the unincorporated areas. Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.