F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
HB 1183 2024
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Florida Main Street Program and
3 historic preservation tax credits; creating s.
4 220.197, F.S.; providing a short title; defining
5 terms; specifying eligibility requirements for
6 receiving specified tax credits; specifying
7 requirements for the Department of Revenue relating to
8 approving and denying certain applications and
9 granting credits; specifying requirements for such tax
10 credits; requiring applications to be rolled forward
11 in certain circumstances; authorizing the
12 carryforward, sale, and transfer of such tax credits;
13 providing a limitation; authorizing the department to
14 perform certain audits and examinations; specifying
15 requirements for taxpayers; authorizing the department
16 to issue a notice of deficiency under certain
17 circumstances; providing penalties; requiring the
18 department to submit specified annual reports to the
19 Legislature; providing duties of the department;
20 authorizing the department to adopt rules; amending s.
21 213.053, F.S.; authorizing the department to make
22 certain information available to the Division of
23 Historical Resources and the Secretary of the United
24 States Department of the Interior for specified
25 purposes; amending s. 220.02, F.S.; revising the order
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HB 1183 2024
26 in which tax credits against the corporate income tax
27 or the franchise tax are applied; amending s. 220.13,
28 F.S.; revising the definition of the term "adjusted
29 federal income"; amending s. 624.509, F.S.; revising
30 the order in which tax credits and deductions against
31 the insurance premium tax are applied; creating s.
32 624.5095, F.S.; authorizing certain tax credits to be
33 used against a specified tax; providing applicability;
34 providing construction; authorizing the Department of
35 Revenue to adopt emergency rules for a specified
36 timeframe; providing for expiration of such authority;
37 providing applicability; providing effective dates.
38
39 WHEREAS, historic revitalization creates highly paid local
40 construction jobs, and
41 WHEREAS, historic rehabilitation increases the value of
42 buildings and results in a growing state and local tax base, and
43 WHEREAS, historic revitalization boosts heritage tourism
44 and creates thriving downtowns that are attractive to main
45 street businesses, and
46 WHEREAS, reusing historic buildings creates affordable
47 spaces for small business incubation, and
48 WHEREAS, repurposing historic buildings saves resources and
49 activates vacant spaces, and
50 WHEREAS, historic rehabilitation projects leverage
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51 significant private investment, and
52 WHEREAS, leveraging state tax incentives increases the
53 effectiveness of federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives
54 and the Opportunity Zones Program to encourage the historic
55 preservation of existing buildings, and
56 WHEREAS, an increase in rehabilitation activity occurs when
57 a state incentive is combined with federal Historic Preservation
58 Tax Incentives, and
59 WHEREAS, many historic buildings in this state need safety
60 upgrades and other improvements that require both public and
61 private investment to return these buildings as assets of their
62 local communities, NOW, THEREFORE,
63
64 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
65
66 Section 1. Section 220.197, Florida Statutes, is created
67 to read:
68 220.197 Main Street Historical Tourism and Revitalization
69 Act; tax credits; reports.—
70 (1) SHORT TITLE.—This act may be cited as the "Main Street
71 Historical Tourism and Revitalization Act."
72 (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
73 (a) "Active Main Street program" means an area
74 participating under a recognized coordinated Main Street America
75 licensed program or the Orlando Main Streets program. An Active
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76 Main Street program must:
77 1. Have broad-based community support for the commercial
78 district revitalization process with strong support from the
79 public and private sectors.
80 2. Have a developed vision and mission statement relevant
81 to community conditions.
82 3. Have a comprehensive work plan.
83 4. Possess a historic preservation ethic.
84 5. Have an active board of directors and committees.
85 6. Have an adequate operating budget.
86 7. Have a paid professional program manager.
87 8. Conduct a program of ongoing training for staff and
88 volunteers.
89 9. Report key statistics.
90 10. Be a current designated Florida Main Street program.
91 (b) "Affordable housing unit" means a housing unit that is
92 affordable, as defined in s. 420.0004(3).
93 (c) "Certified historic structure" means a building and
94 its structural components, as defined in 36 C.F.R. s. 67.2,
95 which is of a character subject to the allowance for
96 depreciation provided in s. 167 of the Internal Revenue Code of
97 1986, as amended, and which is:
98 1. Individually listed in the National Register of
99 Historic Places; or
100 2. Located within a registered historic district and
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101 certified by the United States Secretary of the Interior as
102 being of historic significance to the registered historic
103 district as set forth in 36 C.F.R. s. 67.2.
104 (d) "Certified rehabilitation" means the rehabilitation of
105 a certified historic structure that the United States Secretary
106 of the Interior has certified to the United States Secretary of
107 the Treasury as being consistent with the historic character of
108 the certified historic structure and, if applicable, consistent
109 with the registered historic district in which the certified
110 historic structure is located as set forth in 36 C.F.R. s. 67.2.
111 (e) "Division" means the Division of Historical Resources
112 of the Department of State.
113 (f) "Florida Main Street program" means a statewide
114 historic preservation-based downtown revitalization assistance
115 program created, maintained, and administered by the division
116 under s. 267.031(5).
117 (g) "Local program area" means the specific geographic
118 area in which an Active Main Street program is conducted as
119 approved and maintained by the division or in which the Orlando
120 Main Streets program is conducted.
121 (h) "Long-term leasehold" means a leasehold in a
122 nonresidential real property for a term of 39 years or more or a
123 leasehold in a residential real property for a term of 27.5
124 years or more.
125 (i) "National Register of Historic Places" means the list
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126 of historic properties significant in American history,
127 architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture maintained by
128 the United States Secretary of the Interior as authorized in 54
129 U.S.C. s. 302101.
130 (j) "Orlando Main Streets program" means a historic
131 preservation-based district revitalization program administered
132 by the City of Orlando.
133 (k) "Placed in service" means when the property is p laced
134 in a condition or state of readiness and availability for a
135 specifically assigned function. A building is placed in service
136 when the appropriate work has been completed which would allow
137 for occupancy of either the entire building or some identifiabl e
138 portion of the building as detailed in Treasury Regulation 1.46 -
139 3(d).
140 (l) "Qualified expenses" means rehabilitation expenditures
141 that qualify for the credit under 26 U.S.C. s. 47 incurred in
142 this state.
143 (m) "Registered historic district" means a district listed
144 in the National Register of Historic Places or a district:
145 1. Designated under general law or local ordinance and
146 certified by the United States Secretary of the Interior as
147 meeting criteria that will substantially achieve the purposes of
148 preserving and rehabilitating buildings of historic significance
149 to the district; and
150 2. Certified by the United States Secretary of the
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151 Interior as meeting substantially all of the requirements for
152 listing a district in the National Register of Historic Pl aces.
153 (3) ELIGIBILITY FOR TAX CREDIT.—For taxable years
154 beginning on or after January 1, 2025, there is allowed a credit
155 against any tax due for a taxable year under this chapter after
156 the application of any other allowable credits by the taxpayer.
157 (a) To claim and receive a tax credit under this section,
158 a taxpayer must submit an application to the department for a
159 tax credit for qualified expenses in the amount and under the
160 conditions and limitations provided in this section against the
161 tax due for a taxable year under this chapter and must provide
162 the department with all of the following:
163 1. An official certificate of eligibility from the
164 division, signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer or
165 the Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer, attesting that
166 the project has been approved by the National Park Service and
167 indicating whether the project is located within a local program
168 area in this state.
169 2. National Park Service Form 10-168c (Rev. 2023), titled
170 "Historic Preservation Certification Application Part 3-Request
171 for Certification of Completed Work," or a similar form, signed
172 by an officer of the National Park Service, attesting that the
173 completed rehabilitation meets the United States Secretary of
174 the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and is consistent
175 with the historic character of the property and, if applicable,
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176 the district in which the completed rehabilitation is located.
177 The form may be obtained through the National Park Service.
178 3. An identification of the dates during which the
179 certified historic structure was rehabilitated and the date on
180 which the certified historic structure was placed in service.
181 4. Documentation that the taxpayer had an ownership or a
182 long-term leasehold interest in the certified historic structure
183 in the year during which such structure was placed in service
184 after the certified rehabilitation was completed.
185 5. A list of total qualified expenses incurred by the
186 taxpayer in rehabilitating the certified historic structure. The
187 taxpayer must submit an audited cost report issued by a
188 certified public accountant which itemizes the qualified
189 expenses incurred in rehabilitating the certified historic
190 structure.
191 6. An attestation of the total qualified expenses incurred
192 in this state by the taxpayer in rehabilitating the certified
193 historic structure in this state.
194 7. The information required to be reported by the
195 department in subsection (8) to enable the department to compile
196 its annual report.
197 (b) Within 60 days after receipt of the information
198 required under paragraph (a), the department must approve or
199 deny the application. If approved, the department must provide a
200 letter of certification to the taxpayer consistent with any
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201 restrictions imposed. If the department denies any part of the
202 requested credit, the department must inform the taxpayer of the
203 grounds for the denial.
204 (4) AMOUNT AND DISTRIBUTION OF TAX CREDIT.—
205 (a) The total tax credit claimed annually may not exceed
206 the amount of tax due after any other applicable tax credits and
207 may not exceed the following:
208 1. Twenty percent, up to a maximum of $200,000, of the
209 total qualified expenses incurred in this state in
210 rehabilitating at least one certified historic structure that
211 has been approved by the National Park Service to receive the
212 federal historic rehabilitation tax credit; or
213 2. Thirty percent, up to a maximum of $200,000, of the
214 total qualified expenses incurred in this state in
215 rehabilitating at least one certified historic structure that
216 has been approved by the National Park Service to receive the
217 federal historic rehabilitation