Title: Energy Economic Zones

Summary: Revises the date by which the Department of Community Affairs, with the assistance of the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development, must submit a report to the Governor and Legislature evaluating whether the Energy Economic Zone Pilot Program has demonstrated success. Requires that all incentives and benefits provided to enterprise zones be made available to energy economic zones by a specified date. Provides that certain developments in an energy economic zone are exempt from review as a development of regional impact, etc.

Full Text:
An act relating to energy economic zones; amending s. 377.809, F.S.; deleting an obsolete provision; revising the date by which the Department of Community Affairs, with the assistance of the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development, must submit a report to the Governor and Legislature evaluating whether the Energy Economic Zone Pilot Program has demonstrated success; requiring that all incentives and benefits provided to enterprise zones be made available to energy economic zones by a specified date; requiring each local governing body having jurisdiction over an energy economic zone to establish boundaries of the energy economic zone, specify applicable energy efficiency standards, and determine eligibility criteria for application of state and local incentives and benefits; requiring that a business be a qualified target industry business for state purposes; providing that boundaries may be revised by local ordinance; specifying the incentives and benefits; requiring that applicable requirements for employee residency for higher refund or credit thresholds be based on employee residency in the energy economic zone or an enterprise zone; providing that certain businesses are eligible for funding and other businesses have priority for funding; providing a cap on the total amount of state credits, refunds, and exemptions that may be provided to eligible businesses for energy economic-zone incentives; authorizing the unused amount of a credit to be carried forward for a limited period; providing that the local governing body having jurisdiction over the energy economic zone is responsible for allocating the incentives and verifying eligibility of businesses to receive incentives; requiring the governing body to provide the taxpayer with a certificate indicating eligibility; requiring the local governing body to certify to the Department of Revenue or the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development which businesses or properties are eligible to receive state incentives; requiring the Department of Revenue to send written instructions to the eligible businesses on claiming the credit on a sales and use tax return initiated through an electronic data interchange; authorizing the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development and the Department of Revenue to adopt emergency rules; providing for renewal of the rules; amending s. 380.06, F.S.; providing that certain developments in an energy economic zone are exempt from review as a development of regional impact; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Subsection (4) of section 377.809, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsections (5) through (8) are added to that section, to read: 377.809 Energy Economic Zone Pilot Program.  (4)  If the pilot project is ongoing, The Department of Community Affairs, with the assistance of the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development, shall submit a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by February 15, 2015 2012,evaluating whether the pilot program has demonstrated success. The report shall contain recommendations with regard to whether the program should be expanded for use by other local governments and whether state policies should be revised to encourage the goals of the program. (5) Beginning July 1, 2012, all the incentives and benefits provided to enterprise zones pursuant to state law shall be available to the energy economic zones designated by July 1, 2010, pursuant to s. 377.809.In order to provide incentives, no later than March 1, 2012, each local governing body having jurisdiction over an energy economic zone shall, by local ordinance, establish boundaries of the energy economic zone, specify applicable energy-efficiency standards, and determine eligibility criteria for application of state and local incentives and benefits in the energy economic zone. However, in order to receive benefits provided under s. 288.106,a business must be a qualified target industry business under s. 288.106 for state purposes. Boundaries may be revised by local ordinance. Such incentives and benefits include those in ss. 220.181,220.182,212.08,220.183,624.5105,212.096,and 288.106 and the public utility discounts provided in s. 290.007 (8). The exemption provided in s. 212.08 (5)(c) shall be for renewable energy as defined in s. 377.803 (4). For purposes of this section, any applicable requirements for employee residency for higher refund or credit thresholds shall be based on employee residency in the energy economic zone or an enterprise zone. A business in an energy economic zone may also be eligible for funding under ss. 288.047 and 445.003,and a transportation project in an energy economic zone shall be provided priority in funding under s. 288.063.Other projects shall be given priority ranking to the extent practicable for grants administered under state energy programs. (6) Effective July 1, 2012, the total amount of state credits, refunds, and exemptions that may be provided by the governing body of each energy economic zone to eligible businesses for energy-economic-zone incentives pursuant to subsection (5) is $300,000 per designated energy economic zone in any state fiscal year. A credit or refund that is applied for after each $300,000 limit is reached shall be disallowed by the governing body of the energy economic zone. If the $300,000 incentive cap is not fully used in any one state fiscal year by an energy economic zone, the unused amount under the cap may be carried forward for not more than years. The local governing body having jurisdiction over the energy economic zone is responsible for allocating the incentives, for verifying that businesses receiving such incentives are eligible for the incentives provided, and for ensuring that the incentives provided do not exceed the cap for the state fiscal year. (7) Upon approving an incentive for an eligible business, the governing body having jurisdiction over the energy economic zone shall provide the taxpayer with a certificate indicating the eligible businesses  name, federal identification number, date the incentive is provided, name of the energy economic zone, incentive type, and the incentive amount. The local governing body shall certify to the Department of Revenue or the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development, whichever is applicable, which businesses or properties are eligible to receive any or all of the state incentives according to their statutory requirements. The governing body having jurisdiction over the energy economic zone shall provide a copy of the certificate to the Department of Revenue and the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development as notification that such incentives were approved for the specific eligible business or property. For incentives to be claimed against the sales and use tax under chapter 212, the Department of Revenue shall send, within days after receipt, written instructions to an eligible business on how to claim the credit on a sales and use tax return initiated through an electronic data interchange. Any credit against the sales and use tax shall be deducted from any sales and use tax remitted by the dealer to the Department of Revenue by electronic funds transfer and may be deducted only on a sales and use tax return initiated through an electronic data interchange. The dealer shall separately state the credit on the electronic return. The net amount of tax due and payable must be remitted by electronic funds transfer. If the credit is larger than the amount owed on the sales and use tax return, such excess amounts may be carried forward for a period not to exceed months following the date the credit is initially claimed. (8) If all conditions are deemed met, the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development and the Department of Revenue may adopt emergency rules pursuant to ss. 120.536 (1) and 120.54 to administer the provisions of subsections (5)-(7). The emergency rules shall remain in effect for months after the rules are adopted, and the rules may be renewed during the pendency of procedures to adopt permanent rules addressing the subject of the emergency rules. Section 2. Paragraph (u) is added to subsection (24) of section 380.06, Florida Statutes, to read: 380.06 Developments of regional impact.  (24) STATUTORY EXEMPTIONS.  (u) Any development in an energy economic zone designated pursuant to s. 377.809,shall be exempt from this section upon approval of its local governing body. If a use is exempt from review as a development of regional impact under paragraphs (a)-(s), but will be part of a larger project that is subject to review as a development of regional impact, the impact of the exempt use must be included in the review of the larger project, unless such exempt use involves a development of regional impact that includes a landowner, tenant, or user that has entered into a funding agreement with the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development under the Innovation Incentive Program and the agreement contemplates a state award of at least $50 million. Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.