Title: Transportation Accessibility

Summary: Providing a tax exemption for the sale or lease of accessible vehicles, etc.

Full Text:
An act relating to transportation accessibility; amending s. 212.08, F.S.; providing a tax exemption for the sale or lease of accessible vehicles; providing a definition; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Paragraph (hhh) is added to subsection (7) of section 212.08, Florida Statutes, to read: 212.08 Sales, rental, use, consumption, distribution, and storage tax; specified exemptions. The sale at retail, the rental, the use, the consumption, the distribution, and the storage to be used or consumed in this state of the following are hereby specifically exempt from the tax imposed by this chapter. (7) MISCELLANEOUS EXEMPTIONS. Exemptions provided to any entity by this chapter do not inure to any transaction that is otherwise taxable under this chapter when payment is made by a representative or employee of the entity by any means, including, but not limited to, cash, check, or credit card, even when that representative or employee is subsequently reimbursed by the entity. In addition, exemptions provided to any entity by this subsection do not inure to any transaction that is otherwise taxable under this chapter unless the entity has obtained a sales tax exemption certificate from the department or the entity obtains or provides other documentation as required by the department. Eligible purchases or leases made with such a certificate must be in strict compliance with this subsection and departmental rules, and any person who makes an exempt purchase with a certificate that is not in strict compliance with this subsection and the rules is liable for and shall pay the tax. The department may adopt rules to administer this subsection. (hhh)  Accessible vehicles.  The sale or lease of accessible taxicabs is exempt from the tax imposed by this chapter. As used in this paragraph, the term  accessible taxicab  means a chauffe ur-driven taxi, limousine, sedan, van, or other passenger vehicle where the operator and the motor vehicle are hired and used for the transportation of persons for compensation, and which transports eight passengers or fewer and is equipped with a lift or ramp designed specifically to transport physically disabled persons or contains any other device designed to permit access to and enable the transportation of physically disabled persons, including persons who use wheelchairs, motorized wheelchairs, or similar mobility aids; complies with the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, C.F.R., ss. 38.23,38.25,and 38.31,as amended, whether or not such regulations would apply under federal law; and meets all applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards and regulations adopted thereunder. If such equipment is installed through an aftermarket conversion of a stock vehicle, only the value of the conversion is exempt from the tax imposed by this chapter. Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.