Title: Santa Rosa County

Summary: Creates Navarre Beach Fire Rescue District & district charter; provides for district boundaries, purposes, board of commissioners, powers & duties of district & board, modification of district boundaries, & amendment of charter by special act of Legislature; requires referendum.

Full Text:
An act relating to Santa Rosa County; creating the Navarre Beach Fire Rescue District; providing a short title; creating the district and providing boundaries; providing purposes; providing for a district board of commissioners and membership, officers, and meetings thereof; providing powers and duties of the district and board; providing for modification of district boundaries; providing for amendment of the cha rter by special act of the Legislature; providing severability; requiring a referendum; providing effective dates. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Short title.-This act may be cited as the "Navarre Beach Fire Rescue District Act," hereinafter referred to as the "charter." Section 2. Formation; boundaries.-For the purpose of providing fire control, fire prevention, and emergency medical, rescue response, and public safety services pursuant to chapter 191, Florida Statutes, an independent special district is hereby created, incorporated, and established pursuant to chapters 23 and 191, Florida Statutes, to be known as the Navarre Beach Fire Rescue District, hereinafter referred to as the "district," in HB 1107 2021 Santa Rosa County and shall embrace and include the territory described as: That portion of Santa Rosa County including all of sections-2S-27, 31-2S-26, 32-2S-26, 33-2S-26 and 28-2S-26, and also including the southern half of the Navarre Beach Causeway. Section 3. Intent.-The purposes of this act are to provide: (1) Standards, direction, and procedures concerning the operation and governance of the special fire control district known as the Navarre Beach Fire Rescue District. (2) A financing authorit yof the Navarre Beach Fire Rescue District without hampering the efficiency and effectiveness of current authorized and implemented methods and procedures of raising revenues. (3) Improved communication and coordination between the Navarre Beach Fire Re scue District and other local governments with respect to short-range and long-range planning to meet the demands for service delivery while maintaining fiscal responsibility. (4) Uniform procedures for electing members of the board of commissioners of the Navarre Beach Fire Rescue District to ensure greater accountability to the public. HB 1107 2021 Section 4. District board of commissioners; membership, officers, and meetings.-The business affairs of the district shall be conducted and administered, pursuant to chapter 191, Florida Statutes, by the board of commissioners of the Navarre Beach Fire Rescue District, which is established as a board of five commissioners, elected, organized, and operating pursuant to chapter 191, Florida Statutes. Section 5. Powers and duties.-The district shall have, and the board may exercise, all the powers and duties set forth in chapters and 191, Florida Statutes, and this act, as they may be amended from time to time, which shall include fire control, fire prevention, and emergency medical, rescue response, and public safety services. Before exercising ad valorem taxing authority, a majority of district electors voting in a referendum conducted by the Supervisor of Elections of Santa Rosa County must approve the exercise of said authority. Section 6. Boundaries.-The boundaries of the district may be modified, extended, or enlarged upon approval or ratification by the Legislature. Section 7. Amendment of charter.-This charter may be amended only by special act of the Legislature. Section 8. Severability.-If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held to be invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this act which can be given effect without the HB 1107 2021 invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable. Section 9. Referendum.-On or before December 31, 2022, the Supervisor of Elections of Santa Rosa County shall conduct a referendum of the qualified electors of the district on the question of whether the district shall be created by special act of the Legislature pursuant to chapter 191, Florida Statutes. The referendum question shall be posed as follows: "Shall an independent special district be created to provide fire, rescue, and emergency medical services to the Navarre Beach Community, to operate pursuant to chapter 191, Florida Statutes, including an initial Non-Ad Valorem Assessment not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) for residential properties,sixty-three dollars ($63.00) for vacant land, and forty-one cents ($0.41) per square foot for commercial properties. Future assessment increases shall be limited by chapter 191.009, Florida Statutes." Section 10. This act shall take effect only upon its approval by a majority vote of those qualified electors residing within the district voting in a referendum no later than December 31, 2022,except that this section and section shall take effect upon this act becoming a law.