CHAPTER 2003-98

Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 1842

An act relating to municipal parking facility space surcharges; creating s. 166.271, F.S.; authorizing certain municipalities to impose and collect a surcharge on certain parking facility space sale, lease, or rental charges; requiring referendum approval; providing for a maximum surcharge rate; providing an exception; providing a limitation; specifying uses and limits of surcharge proceeds; providing for local administration of the surcharge; providing an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1.

Section 166.271, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 166.271 Surcharge on municipal facility parking fees.---

(1) The governing authority of any municipality with a resident population of 200,000 or more, more than 20 percent of the real property of which is exempt from ad valorem taxes, and which is located in a county with a population of more than 500,000 may impose and collect, subject to referendum approval by voters in the municipality, a discretionary per-vehicle surcharge of up to 15 percent of the amount charged for the sale, lease, or rental of space at parking facilities within the municipality which are open for use to the general public and which are not airports, seaports, county administration buildings, or other projects as defined under ss. 125.011 and 125.015, provided that this surcharge shall not take effect while any surcharge imposed amount pursuant to s. 218.503(5)(a), is in effect.

(2) A municipal governing authority that imposes the surcharge authorized by this subsection may use the proceeds of such surcharge for the following purposes only:

(a) No less than 60 percent and no more than 80 percent of surcharge proceeds shall be used to reduce the municipality's ad valorem tax millage or to reduce or eliminate non-ad valorem assessments, unless the municipality has previously used the proceeds from the surcharge levied under s. 218.503(5)(b) to reduce the municipality's ad valorem tax millage or to reduce non-ad valorem assessments.

(b) Not more than 40 percent and not less than 20 percent of surcharge proceeds shall be used to improve transporatation, including, but not limited to, street, sidewalk, roadway, landscape, transit, and streetscape beautification improvements. These designated surcharge proceeds shall be used in downtown or urban core areas. Downtown or urban core areas shall be coterminous with any downtown development district established pursuant to s. 166.0497 or chapter 65-11090, Laws of Florida. Alternatively, any eligible local governmental entity may identify the downtown or urban core area as any contiguous area consisting of lands where the predominant acreage is designated as commercial or its substantial equivalent pursuant to the local government comprehensive plan or other implementing land development regulations.

(3) Any municipality imposing a surcharge authorized by this section shall administer the surcharge locally and should provide for brackets applicable to transactions subject to the surcharge.

Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

Approved by the Governor June 4, 2003.

Filed in Office Secretary of State June 4, 2003.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.