Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

       Florida Senate - 2024                                    SB 1330
       
       
        
       By Senator Calatayud
       
       
       
       
       
       38-00607-24                                           20241330__
                      A bill to be entitled                      
       An act relating to resilience districts; creating s.
       190.101, F.S.; providing a short title; creating s.
       190.102, F.S.; providing legislative findings;
       creating s. 190.103, F.S.; defining terms; creating s.
       190.104, F.S.; declaring that this act constitutes the
       sole authority for resilience districts; creating s.
       190.105, F.S.; providing that the establishment of
       resilience districts is through a petition by certain
       persons; prohibiting a local government from
       initiating a resilience district without such
       petition; specifying the requirements for the
       petition; requiring the petitioner to send copies of
       the petition to specified counties and municipalities
       and pay a certain fee; authorizing petitioners to
       engage in certain meetings before the filing of the
       petition; requiring certain counties and
       municipalities to conduct public hearings; specifying
       a timeframe for conducting such hearings; authorizing
       counties or municipalities to express support of or
       objection to the resilience district by resolution;
       specifying the requirements for such resolution;
       requiring the public hearing on a petition to be
       conducted in accordance with local regulations and at
       an accessible location; requiring the petitioner to
       publish notice of the hearing; specifying the
       requirements of the notice; requiring the local
       government to give an opportunity to provide oral or
       written comments on the petition; providing that the
       local government where the petition is filed may
       consider specified factors in granting or denying a
       petition for a resilience district; specifying certain
       requirements if the petition is denied on a specified
       basis; requiring that an interlocal agreement be
       signed in certain circumstances; requiring counties to
       develop a process to receive such petitions by a
       certain date; specifying the requirements of the
       petition; requiring the petitioner to submit a
       petition to a specified county and to pay certain
       fees; requiring the county to make certain
       notifications; requiring the county to conduct a
       public hearing under certain circumstances; specifying
       a timeframe and requirements for such hearing;
       authorizing counties to express support of or
       objection to the resilience district by resolution;
       specifying the requirements for such resolution;
       requiring that the hearing be conducted in accordance
       with local regulations and at an accessible location;
       requiring the petitioner to publish notice of the
       hearing; specifying the requirements of the notice;
       requiring the county to give certain individuals an
       opportunity to provide oral or written comments on the
       petition; specifying factors that may be considered in
       granting or denying petitions; providing procedures
       for the rehearing or revision of petitions; requiring
       implementation of a project under specified
       circumstances; requiring affected governments to sign
       an interlocal agreement with a local government
       receiving a petition under certain circumstances;
       creating s. 190.1052, F.S.; specifying requirements
       for the size of resilience districts; prohibiting
       certain configurations; requiring resilience districts
       to replace certain other special taxing districts
       under certain circumstances; requiring that certain
       funds be transferred to the resilience district;
       specifying that the resilience district includes
       certain consolidated property; creating s. 190.1054,
       F.S.; specifying acceptable uses of resilience
       districts; providing limitations on the use of
       resilience districts; requiring that certain
       modifications be approved through an amended petition;
       creating s. 190.1056, F.S.; authorizing the payment of
       certain fees for project management of resilience
       districts; specifying a certain fee to the property
       appraiser for certain administration; requiring that
       all fees be factored into the loan amount; creating s.
       190.106, F.S.; specifying the composition, length of
       terms, and procedure for filling vacancies of the
       board for resilience districts; requiring board
       members to follow applicable laws; prohibiting board
       members from receiving compensation; prohibiting board
       members from performing the work of the resilience
       district; requiring board members to be residents of
       this state and citizens of the United States; creating
       s. 190.108, F.S.; requiring each resilience district
       to publish an annual budget; requiring resilience
       districts to provide certain financial reports;
       authorizing the local government to review and submit
       comments regarding a district’s annual budget;
       creating s. 190.111, F.S.; specifying the powers of
       resilience districts and their boards of supervisors;
       creating s. 190.133, F.S.; requiring resilience
       districts to follow a specified procurement process;
       creating s. 190.136, F.S.; authorizing resilience
       districts to recover unpaid fees, rental charges, or
       penalties; creating s. 190.146, F.S.; specifying the
       circumstances in which resilience districts may be
       expanded or reduced; providing for automatic
       termination of resilience districts upon payment of
       debt; creating s. 190.148, F.S.; requiring a specified
       disclosure for sales of real property located in a
       resilience district; creating s. 190.149, F.S.;
       requiring resilience districts to record a specified
       notice of establishment within a specified timeframe;
       amending ss. 190.002, 190.003, 190.046, and 190.048,
       F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the
       act; making technical changes; providing a directive
       to the Division of Law Revision; providing an
       effective date.
        
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

       Section 1. Section 190.101, Florida Statutes, is created to
read:
       190.101 Short title.—Sections 190.101-190.149 may be cited
as the “Resilience District Act of 2024.”
       Section 2. Section 190.102, Florida Statutes, is created to
read:
       190.102 Legislative findings.—The Legislature finds that:
       (1) There is a need for uniform, focused, and fair
procedures in state law which provide financial mechanisms to
help communities mitigate the risk from rising sea levels and
increased flooding while improving the quality of life for their
residents.
       (2) Local governments need support to address these
challenges in a timely manner, including providing new,
resident-focused solutions to solve infrastructure problems.
       (3) Even though more than half of this state’s
municipalities have fewer than 6,000 residents, current
financing mechanisms disproportionately benefit larger and more
affluent communities.
       (4) Allowing current special districts to exist in
perpetuity, even long after their functional responsibilities
have ended and their initial debt financing is satisfied, is not
in the state’s best interest.
       Section 3. Section 190.103, Florida Statutes, is created to
read:
       190.103 Definitions.—As used in ss. 190.101-190.149, the
term:
       (1) “Board” or “board of supervisors” has the same meaning
as in s. 190.003.
       (2) “Bond” means any general obligation bond, assessment
bond, refunding bond, revenue bond, and other such obligation in
the nature of a bond as is provided for in this act.
       (3) “District” means a resilience district.
       (4) “District boundaries” means a continuous geographic
area with a common interest.
       (5) “District manager” means the manager of a resilience
district, who may include a staff member of the local
government.
       (6) “Infrastructure” means any fixed capital expenditure or
fixed capital costs associated with the construction,
reconstruction, or improvement of facilities that have a life
expectancy of 5 or more years and any land acquisition, land
improvement, design, and engineering costs related thereto.
       (7) “Landowner” means the owner of a freehold estate as it
appears by the deed record, including a trustee, a private
corporation, and an owner of a condominium unit. The term does
not include a reversioner, remainderman, mortgagee, or any
governmental entity that may not be counted and need not be
notified of proceedings under this act. The term includes the
owner of a ground lease from a governmental entity, which
leasehold interest has a remaining term, excluding all renewal
options, in excess of 50 years.
       (8) “Parcel” means any quantity of land capable of being
described with such definiteness that its location and
boundaries may be established, which is designated by its owner
or developer as land to be used or developed as a unit, or which
has been used or developed as a unit.
       (9) “Resilience district” means a citizen-initiated
financing district created pursuant to this act and limited to
the performance of those specialized functions authorized by
this act which address infrastructure and resilience problems
affecting the district’s geographic area, specifically for
public infrastructure.
       (10) “Taxpayer” means any person or corporation paying
property taxes for property owned within the resilience district
boundary.
       (11) “Local general-purpose government” has the same
meaning as in 190.003.
       Section 4. Section 190.104, Florida Statutes, is created to
read:
       190.104 Sole authority.—This act constitutes the sole
authorization for the establishment of resilience districts that
have any of the specified functions and powers provided by this
act.
       Section 5. Section 190.105, Florida Statutes, is created to
read:
       190.105 Establishment of resilience districts.—The
exclusive and uniform method for the establishment of a
resilience district to address infrastructure is through a
petition by the taxpayers who own real property within the
district boundaries. A local government may not initiate the
creation of the resilience district without such petition.
       (1) A petition for the establishment of a resilience
district must be filed by the petitioner with the local
government having jurisdiction, which must serve as the project
manager for the proposed district unless the proposed district
hires a private individual to provide this service. The petition
must contain all of the following:
       (a) A metes and bounds description of the boundaries of the
proposed district. Any real property within the boundaries of
the proposed district which is to be excluded from the proposed
district must be specifically described, and the last known
address of all owners of such real property must be provided.
The petition must also address the impact of the proposed
district on any such real property within the external
boundaries of the proposed district which is to be excluded from
the proposed district.
       (b) Written consent to the establishment of the district by
70 percent of the landowners whose real property is within the
boundaries of the district or documentation demonstrating that
the petitioner has control by deed, trust agreement, contract,
or option of 100 percent of such real property. When such real
property to be included in the district is owned by a
governmental entity and is subject to a ground lease as
described in s. 190.103(7), the governmental entity must provide
its written consent. The petitioner must verify ownership of
property with the county property appraiser.
       (c) The name of the proposed district.
       (d) Identification that the use of the proposed district is
an acceptable use under s. 190.1054(1).
       (e) A written description of the need for the proposed
district.
       (f) Designation of five persons who will be the initial
members of the proposed district’s board of supervisors and
serve in that office until replaced by members elected pursuant
to s. 190.106.
       (g) Based upon available data, the budget of the proposed
district and the timeline for expenditure of funds. These
estimates must be submitted in good faith but are not binding,
and may be revised as needed. The proposed budget must include
the overall cost of the infrastructure project, the number of
years of repayment, the cost per property, and any fees to be
paid to a local general-purpose government in support of the
development and operation of the district.
       (2) The petitioner shall submit the petition to the local
government that will serve as the project manager, along with an
application fee of $500, and shall provide a copy of the
petition to each municipality or county having jurisdiction over
all, or a portion of, the land within the boundaries of the
proposed district. In cases where conflicts arise over the
formation of a district, the petitioner may engage the local
government in meetings before the petition is filed to attempt
to find a resolution that is mutually agreeable to all parties.
       (3) Each county or municipality required under this section
to receive a petition shall conduct a public hearing to consider
the merits of the petition and whether it meets the requirements
specified in subsection (4).
       (a) A public hearing conducted under this section must:
       1. Be held within 90 days after the date the petition is
filed, unless an extension of time is requested by the
petitioner and granted by the local general-purpose government,
as applicable. The local general-purpose government holding the
public hearing may express its support of or objection to the
creation of the resilience district by resolution, in which any
objection to the granting of the petition must be based upon the
factors specified in subsection (4). Such resolution must be
adopted by a supermajority of the governing body of the local
general-purpose government.
       2. Be conducted in accordance with local ordinances
regarding public hearings.
       3. Be held at an accessible location of the local
government that receives the petition.
       (b) The petitioner shall publish a notice of the hearing
for 4 successive weeks on a publicly accessible website as
provided in s. 50.0311(2) and mail a notice to each landowner of
real property within the boundaries of the proposed district at
least 30 days before the hearing. Such notice must give the time
and place of the hearing; a description of the area to be
included in the district, including a map clearly showing the
boundaries of the district and the real property located within
those boundaries; and any other relevant information that the
county or municipality, as applicable, requires. All affected
units of the local general-purpose government and the general
public must be given an opportunity to appear at the hearing and
present oral or written comments on the petition.
       (4) The local general-purpose government with which the
petition is filed may consider any of the following factors in
granting or denying the petition for the establishment of a
resilience district:
       (a) Whether all statements contained in the petition have
been found to be true and correct.
       (b) Whether the proposed district boundaries are in
compliance with s. 190.1052.
       (c) Whether the local general-purpose government has
committed to funding the proposed infrastructure project and
will implement the project within the next 5 years. The project
must be cl