Ad Valorem Tax Levies

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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to ad valorem tax levies; providing a 2
short title; amending ss. 125.01, 159.16, 163.3182, 3
190.021, 191.009, 192.001, 192.091, 192.102, 193.114, 4
193.1145, 193.1554, 193.1555, 195.052, 196.031, 5
200.001, 200.011, 200.065, 200.069, 200.071, and 6
200.091, F.S.; removing references to county and 7
school district ad valorem tax levies; amending s. 8
218.67, F.S., removing references to county ad valorem 9
tax levies; amending ss. 259.042, 985.6865, 1001.42, 10
1002.32, 1002.33, 1011.01, 1011.02, 1011.03, 1011.62, 11
and 1011.69, F.S.; removing references to county and 12
school district ad valorem tax levies; repealing s. 13
1011.71, F.S., relating to district school tax; 14
repealing s. 1011.715, F.S., relating to resolution 15
regarding school capital outlay surcharge; repealing 16
s. 1011.72, F.S., relating to levy based on interim 17
assessment roll; reimbursement to state for additional 18
taxes collected upon reconciliation of roll; repealing 19
s. 1011.73, F.S., relating to district millage 20
elections; amending ss. 1013.15, 1013.62, 1013.736, 21
and 1011.19, F.S.; removing references to county and 22
school district ad valorem tax levies; amending ss. 23
192.0105, 193.1142, 197.363, 197.3632, 212.055, 24
218.63, 373.536, 402.22, 1002.37, 1002.394, 1002.45, 25

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1003.4203, 1003.4935, 1006.12, 1010.20, 1011.15, 26
1011.18, 1012.22, 1013.64, 1013.738, and 1013.75 F.S.; 27
conforming cross-references; providing a contingent 28
effective date. 29
30
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 31
32
Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Freedom 2 – The 33
School and Non-school Ad Valorem Elimination Act." 34
Section 2. Paragraph (r) of subsection (1) of section 35
125.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 36
125.01 Powers and duties.— 37
(1) The legislative and governing body of a county shall 38
have the power to carry on county government. To the extent not 39
inconsistent with general or special law, this power includes, 40
but is not restricted to, the power to: 41
(r) Levy and collect taxes, both for county purposes and 42
for the providing of municipal services within any municipal 43
service taxing unit, and special assessments; borrow and expend 44
money; and issue bonds, revenue certificates, and other 45
obligations of indebtedness, which power shall be exercised in 46
such manner, and subject to such limitations, as may be provided 47
by general law. There shall be no referendum required for the 48
levy by a county of ad valorem taxes, both for county purposes 49
and for the providing of municipal services within any municipal 50

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service taxing unit. 51
1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county 52
may not levy special assessments on lands classified as 53
agricultural lands under s. 193.461 unless the revenue from such 54
assessments has been pledged for debt service and is necessary 55
to meet obligations of bonds or certificates issued by the 56
county which remain outstanding on July 1, 2023, including 57
refundings thereof for debt service savings where the maturity 58
of the debt is not extended. For bonds or certificates issued 59
after July 1, 2023, special assessments securing such bonds may 60
not be levied on lands classified as agricultural under s. 61
193.461. 62
2. The provisions of subparagraph 1. do not apply to 63
residential structures and their curtilage. 64
Section 3. Section 159.16, Florida Statutes, is amended to 65
read: 66
159.16 Additional pledge of faith and credit.— 67
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, any 68
county or municipality issuing revenue bonds hereunder for any 69
of the purposes provided in this part, shall have power to 70
pledge the full faith and credit and ad valorem taxing power of 71
such county or municipality for the payment of the principal of 72
or interest on such revenue bonds if the issuance of such 73
revenue bonds with such additional pledge shall have approval by 74
the qualified electors who are freeholders residing in such 75

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county or municipality in an election called, conducted and held 76
in the manner provided in the constitution and statutes of 77
Florida for the holding of freeholder elections. 78
(2) In the event such additional pledge is made the county 79
or municipality shall be obligated to levy ad valorem taxes 80
without limit as to rate or amount for the payment of the 81
principal of and interest on such revenue bonds, and the 82
issuance of such revenue bonds with such additional pledge of 83
the faith and credit of such county or municipality shall not be 84
subject to any debt limitation contained in any other law, 85
general, special or local. 86
Section 4. Paragraph (i) of subsection (1) of section 87
163.3182, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 88
163.3182 Transportation deficiencies.— 89
(1) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the term: 90
(i) "Taxing authority" means a public body that levies or 91
is authorized to levy an ad valorem tax on real property located 92
within a transportation deficiency area, except a school 93
district. 94
Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 190.021, Florida 95
Statutes, is amended to read: 96
190.021 Taxes; non-ad valorem assessments.— 97
(1) AD VALOREM TAXES.—An elected board shall have the 98
power to levy and assess an ad valorem tax on all the taxable 99
property in the district to construct, operate, and maintain 100

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assessable improvements; to pay the principal of, and interest 101
on, any general obligation bonds of the district; and to provide 102
for any sinking or other funds established in connection with 103
any such bonds. An ad valorem tax levied by the board for 104
operating purposes, exclusive of debt service on bonds, shall 105
not exceed 3 mills, except that a district authorized by a local 106
general-purpose government to exercise one or more powers 107
specified in s. 190.012(2) may levy an additional 2 mills for 108
operating purposes, exclusive of debt service on bonds. The ad 109
valorem tax provided for herein shall be in addition to county 110
and all other ad valorem taxes provided for by law. Such tax 111
shall be assessed, levied, and collected in the same manner and 112
same time as other ad valorem county taxes. The levy of ad 113
valorem taxes shall be approved by referendum when required by 114
the State Constitution. 115
Section 6. Subsection (1) of section 191.009, Florida 116
Statutes, is amended to read: 117
191.009 Taxes; non-ad valorem assessments; impact fees and 118
user charges.— 119
(1) AD VALOREM TAXES.—An elected board may levy and assess 120
ad valorem taxes on all taxable property in the district to 121
construct, operate, and maintain district facilities and 122
services, to pay the principal of, and interest on, general 123
obligation bonds of the district, and to provide for any sinking 124
or other funds established in connection with such bonds. An ad 125

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valorem tax levied by the board for operating purposes, 126
exclusive of debt service on bonds, may not exceed 3.75 mills 127
unless a higher amount has been previously authorized by law, 128
subject to a referendum as required by the State Constitution 129
and this act. The ballot question on such referendum shall state 130
the currently authorized millage rate and the year of its 131
approval by referendum. The levy of ad valorem taxes pursuant to 132
this section must be approved by referendum called by the board 133
when the proposed levy of ad valorem taxes exceeds the amount 134
authorized by prior special act, general law of local 135
application, or county ordinance approved by referendum. Nothing 136
in this act shall require a referendum on the levy of ad valorem 137
taxes in an amount previously authorized by special act, general 138
law of local application, or county ordinance approved by 139
referendum. Such tax shall be assessed, levied, and collected in 140
the same manner as other ad valorem county taxes. The levy of ad 141
valorem taxes approved by referendum shall be reported within 60 142
days after the vote to the Department of Commerce. 143
Section 7. Subsection (4) of section 192.001, Florida 144
Statutes, is amended to read: 145
192.001 Definitions.—All definitions set out in chapters 1 146
and 200 that are applicable to this chapter are included herein. 147
In addition, the following definitions shall apply in the 148
imposition of ad valorem taxes: 149
(4) "County tax collector" means the county officer 150

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charged with the collection of ad valorem taxes levied by the 151
county, the school board, any special taxing districts within 152
the county, and all municipalities within the county. 153
Section 8. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and subsections 154
(2) and (4) of section 192.091, Florida Statutes, are amended to 155
read: 156
192.091 Commissions of property appraisers and tax 157
collectors.— 158
(1)(a) The budget of the property appraiser's office, as 159
approved by the Department of Revenue, shall be the basis upon 160
which the several tax authorities of each county, except 161
municipalities and the district school board, shall be billed by 162
the property appraiser for services rendered. Each such taxing 163
authority shall be billed an amount that bears the same 164
proportion to the total amount of the budget as its share of ad 165
valorem taxes bore to the total levied for the preceding year. 166
All municipal and school district taxes shall be considered as 167
taxes levied by the county for purposes of this computation. 168
(2) The tax collectors of the several counties of the 169
state shall be entitled to receive, upon the amount of all real 170
and tangible personal property taxes and special assessments 171
collected and remitted, the following commissions: 172
(a) On the county tax: 173
1. Ten percent on the first $100,000; 174
2. Five percent on the next $100,000; 175

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3. Three percent on the balance up to the amount of taxes 176
collected and remitted on an assessed valuation of $50 million; 177
and 178
4. Two percent on the balance. 179
(b) On collections on behalf of each taxing district and 180
special assessment district: 181
(a)1.a. Three percent on the amount of taxes collected and 182
remitted on an assessed valuation of $50 million; and 183
2.b. Two percent on the balance; and 184
(b)2. Actual costs of collection, not to exceed 2 percent, 185
on the amount of special assessments collected and remitted. 186
187
For the purposes of this subsection, the commissions on the 188
amount of taxes collected from the nonvoted school millage, and 189
on the amount of additional taxes that would be collected for 190
school districts if the exemptions applicable to homestead 191
property for school district taxation were the same as 192
exemptions applicable for all other ad valorem taxation, shall 193
be paid by the board of county commissioners. 194
(4) The commissions for collecting taxes assessed for or 195
levied by the state shall be audited, allowed, and paid by the 196
Chief Financial Officer as other warrants are paid; and 197
commissions for collecting the county taxes shall be audited and 198
paid by the boards of county commissioners of the several 199
counties of this state. The commissions for collecting all 200

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special school district taxes shall be audited by the school 201
board of each respective district and taken out of the funds of 202
the respective special school district under its control and 203
allowed and paid to the tax collectors for collecting such 204
taxes; and the commissions for collecting all other district 205
taxes, whether special or not, shall be audited and paid by the 206
governing board or commission having charge of the financial 207
obligations of such district. All commissions for collecting 208
special tax district taxes shall be paid at the time and in the 209
manner now, or as may hereafter be, provided for the payment of 210
the commissions for the collection of county taxes. All amounts 211
paid as compensation to any tax collector under the provisions 212
of this or any other law shall be a part of the general income 213
or compensation of such officer for the year in which received, 214
and nothing contained in this section shall be held or construed 215
to affect or increase the maximum salary as now provided by law 216
for any such officer. 217
Section 9. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 192.102, 218
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 219
192.102 Payment of property appraisers' and collectors' 220
commissions.— 221
(1) Each taxing authority and the board of county 222
commissioners and school board of each county shall advance and 223
pay to the county tax collector of each such county, at the 224
first meeting of such board each month from October through July 225

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of each year, on demand of the county tax collector, an amount 226
equal to one-twelfth of the commissions on the county taxes 227
levied on the county tax roll for such authority during the 228
preceding year and one-twelfth of the commissions on county 229
occupational and beverage licenses paid to the tax collector in 230
the preceding fiscal year. To demand the first advance under 231
this section, each tax collector shall submit to the taxing 232
authority or board of county commissioners a statement showing 233
the calculation of the commissions on which the amount of each 234
advance is to be based. 235
(2) On or before November 1 of each year, each tax 236
collector who has received advances under the provisions of this 237
section shall make an accounting to the taxing authority and the 238
board of county commissioners and the school board, and any 239
adjustments necessary shall be made so that the total advances 240
and commissions paid by the taxing authority and board of county 241
commissioners and the school board shall be the amount of 242
commissions earned. At no time within the year shall there be 243
paid by the taxing authority and board of county commissioners 244
and the school board more than the total advances due to that 245
date or the commissions earned to that date, whichever is the 246
greater. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to abrogate 247
any law providing a salary for the tax collector or require the 248
tax collector to accept the benefits of this section. 249
Section 10. Paragraphs (g) through (w) of subsection (2) 250

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of section 193.114, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as 251
paragraphs (e) through (u), respectively, and present paragraphs 252
(b) through (f) of subsection (2) and paragraph (f) of 253
subsection (3) of that section are amended, to read: 254
193.114 Preparation of assessment rolls.— 255
(2) The real property assessment roll shall include: 256
(b) The school district assessed value. 257
(c) The nonschool district assessed value. 258
(c)(d) The difference between just value and school 259
district and nonschool district assessed value for each 260
statutory provision resulting in such difference. 261
(d)(e) The school taxable value. 262
(f) The nonschool taxable value. 263
(3) The tangible personal property roll shall include: 264
(f) The difference between just value and school district 265
and nonschool district assessed value for each statutory 266
provision resulting in such difference. 267
Section 11. Subsection (11) of section 193.1145, Florida 268
Statutes, is amended to read: 269
193.1145 Interim assessment rolls.— 270
(11) A recomputation of millage rates under this section 271
shall not reduce or increase the total of all revenues available 272
from state or local sources to a school district or to a unit of 273
local government as defined in part II of chapter 218. 274
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (7), the 275

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provisional millage rates levied by a multicounty taxing 276
authority against an interim roll shall not be recomputed, but 277
shall be considered the official or final tax rate for the year 278
in question; and the interim roll shall be considered the final 279
roll for each such taxing authority. Notwithstanding the 280
provisions of subsection (7), millage rates adopted by vote of 281
the electors pursuant to s. 9(b) or s. 12, Art. VII of the State 282
Constitution shall not be recomputed. 283
Section 12. Subsection (2) of section 193.1554, Florida 284
Statutes, is amended to read: 285
193.1554 Assessment of nonhomestead residential property.— 286
(2) For all levies other than school district levies, 287
nonhomestead residential property shall be assessed at just 288
value as of January 1 of the year that the property becomes 289
eligible for assessment pursuant to this section. 290
Section 13. Subsection (2) of section 193.1555, Florida 291
Statutes, is amended to read: 292
193.1555 Assessment of certain residential and 293
nonresidential real property.— 294
(2) For all levies other than school district levies, 295
nonresidential real property and residential real property that 296
is not assessed under s. 193.155 or s. 193.1554 shall be 297
assessed at just value as of January 1 of the year that the 298
property becomes eligible for assessment pursuant to this 299
section. 300

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Section 14. Section 195.052, Florida Statutes, is amended 301
to read: 302
195.052 Research and tabulation of data.—The department 303
shall conduct constant research and maintain accurate 304
tabulations of data and conditions existing as to ad valorem 305
taxation, shall annually publish such data as may be appropriate 306
to facilitate fiscal policymaking, and shall annually make such 307
recommendations to the Legislature as are necessary to ensure 308
that property is valued according to its just value and is 309
equitably taxed throughout the state. Such data shall include 310
the annual percentage increase in total nonvoted ad valorem 311
taxes levied by each taxing authority city and county and shall 312
include information on the distribution of ad valorem taxes 313
levied among the various classifications of property, including 314
homestead, nonhomestead residential, new construction, 315
commercial, and industrial properties. Such data shall include 316
the previous year's adopted millage rate, the current year's 317
millage rate, and the current percentage increase in taxes 318
levied above the rolled-back rate. Such data shall be published, 319
at a minimum, on the department's website and on the websites of 320
all property appraisers of this state, if available. Publication 321
shall occur not later than 90 days after receipt of extended 322
rolls for all counties pursuant to s. 193.122(7). 323
Section 15. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 324
196.031, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 325

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196.031 Exemption of homesteads.— 326
(1) 327
(b) Every person who qualifies to receive the exemption 328
provided in paragraph (a) is entitled to an additional exemption 329
of up to $25,000 on the assessed valuation greater than $50,000 330
for all levies other than school district levies. The $25,000 331
value of the additional exemption provided in this paragraph 332
shall be adjusted annually on January 1 of each year for 333
inflation using the percentage change in the Consumer Price 334
Index for All Urban Consumers, U.S. City Average, all items 335
1967=100, or successor reports for the preceding calendar year 336
as initially reported by the United States Department of Labor, 337
Bureau of Labor Statistics, if such percent change is positive. 338
Section 16. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 200.001, 339
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 340
200.001 Millages; definitions and general provisions.— 341
(1) County millages shall be composed of two four 342
categories of millage rates, as follows: 343
(a) General county millage, which shall be that nonvoted 344
millage rate set by the governing body of the county. 345
(a)(b) County debt service millage, which shall be that 346
millage rate necessary to raise taxes for debt service as 347
authorized by a vote of the electors pursuant to s. 12, Art. VII 348
of the State Constitution. 349
(c) County voted millage, which shall be that millage rate 350

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set by the governing body of the county as authorized by a vote 351
of the electors pursuant to s. 9(b), Art. VII of the State 352
Constitution. 353
(b)(d) County dependent special district millage, as 354
provided in subsection (5). 355
(3) School millages shall be composed of one category five 356
categories of millage rates, as follows: 357
(a) Nonvoted required school operating millage, which 358
shall be that nonvoted millage rate set by the county school 359
board for current operating purposes and imposed pursuant to s. 360
1011.60(6). 361
(b) Nonvoted discretionary school operating millage, which 362
shall be that nonvoted millage rate set by the county school 363
board for operating purposes other than the rate imposed 364
pursuant to s. 1011.60(6) and other than the rate authorized in 365
s. 1011.71(2). 366
(c) Voted district school operating millage, which shall 367
be that millage rate set by the district school board for 368
current school operating purposes as authorized by the electors 369
pursuant to s. 9(b), Art. VII of the State Constitution. 370
(d) Nonvoted district school capital improvement millage, 371
which shall be that millage rate set by the district school 372
board for capital improvements as authorized in s. 1011.71(2). 373
(e) voted district school debt service millage, which 374
shall be that millage rate set by the district school board as 375

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authorized by a vote of the electors pursuant to s. 12, Art. VII 376
of the State Constitution. 377
Section 17. Section 200.011, Florida Statutes, is amended 378
to read: 379
200.011 Duty of county commissioners and school board in 380
setting rate of taxation.— 381
(1) The county commissioners shall determine the amount to 382
be raised for all county purposes, except for county school 383
purposes, and shall enter upon their minutes the rates to be 384
levied for each fund respectively, together with the rates 385
certified to be levied by the board of county commissioners for 386
use of the county, special taxing district, board, agency, or 387
other taxing unit within the county for which the board of 388
county commissioners is required by law to levy taxes. 389
(2) The county commissioners shall ascertain the aggregate 390
rate necessary to cover all such taxes and certify the same to 391
the property appraiser within 30 days after the adjournment of 392
the value adjustment board. The property appraiser shall carry 393
out the full amount of taxes for all county purposes, except for 394
school purposes, under one heading in the assessment roll to be 395
provided for that purpose, and the county commissioners shall 396
notify the clerk and auditor and tax collector of the county of 397
the amounts to be apportioned to the different accounts out of 398
the total taxes levied for all purposes. 399
(3) The county depository, in issuing receipts to the tax 400

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collector, shall state in each of his or her receipts, which 401
shall be in duplicate, the amount deposited to each fund out of 402
the deposits made with it by the tax collector. When any such 403
receipts shall be given to the tax collector by the county 404
depository, the tax collector shall immediately file one of the 405
same with the clerk and auditor of the county, who shall credit 406
the same to the tax collector with the amount thereof and make 407
out and deliver to the tax collector a certificate setting forth 408
the payment in detail, as shown by the receipt of the county 409
depository. 410
(4) The county commissioners and school board shall file 411
written statements with the property appraiser setting forth the 412
boundary of each special school district and the district or 413
territory in which other special taxes are to be assessed, and 414
the property appraiser shall, upon receipt of such statements 415
and orders from the board of county commissioners and school 416
board setting forth the rate of taxation to be levied on the 417
real and personal property therein, proceed to assess such 418
property and enter the taxes thereon in the assessment rolls to 419
be provided for that purpose. 420
(5) The property appraiser shall designate and separately 421
identify by certificate to the tax collector the rate of 422
taxation to be levied for the use of the county and school board 423
and the total rate of taxation for all other taxing authorities 424
in the county. 425

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(6) The board of county commissioners shall certify to the 426
property appraiser and tax collector the millage rates to be 427
levied for the use of the county and special taxing districts, 428
boards, and authorities and all other taxing units within the 429
county for which the board of county commissioners is required 430
by law to levy taxes. The district school board, Each 431
municipality, and the governing board or governing authority of 432
each special taxing district or other taxing unit within the 433
county the taxes of which are assessed on the tax roll prepared 434
by the property appraiser, but for which the board of county 435
commissioners is not required by law to levy taxes, shall 436
certify to the property appraiser and tax collector the millage 437
rate set by such board, municipality, authority, special taxing 438
district, or taxing unit. The certifications required by this 439
subsection shall be made within 30 days after the value 440
adjustment board adjourns. 441
Section 18. Subsections (12) through (15) of section 442
200.065, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (11) 443
through (14), respectively, and subsection (1), paragraphs (a), 444
(d), (e), (f), and (g) of subsection (2), subsections (3), (5), 445
(6), (9), and (10), and present subsection (11) of that section 446
are amended, to read: 447
200.065 Method of fixing millage.— 448
(1) Upon completion of the assessment of all property 449
pursuant to s. 193.023, the property appraiser shall certify to 450

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each taxing authority the taxable value within the jurisdiction 451
of the taxing authority. This certification shall include a copy 452
of the statement required to be submitted under s. 195.073(3), 453
as applicable to that taxing authority. The form on which the 454
certification is made shall include instructions to each taxing 455
authority describing the proper method of computing a millage 456
rate which, exclusive of new construction, additions to 457
structures, deletions, increases in the value of improvements 458
that have undergone a substantial rehabilitation which increased 459
the assessed value of such improvements by at least 100 percent, 460
property added due to geographic boundary changes, total taxable 461
value of tangible personal property within the jurisdiction in 462
excess of 115 percent of the previous year's total taxable 463
value, and any dedicated increment value, will provide the same 464
ad valorem tax revenue for each taxing authority as was levied 465
during the prior year less the amount, if any, paid or applied 466
as a consequence of an obligation measured by the dedicated 467
increment value. That millage rate shall be known as the 468
"rolled-back rate." The property appraiser shall also include 469
instructions, as prescribed by the Department of Revenue, to 470
each county and municipality, each special district dependent to 471
a county or municipality, each municipal service taxing unit, 472
and each independent special district describing the proper 473
method of computing the millage rates and taxes levied as 474
specified in subsection (5). The Department of Revenue shall 475

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prescribe the instructions and forms that are necessary to 476
administer this subsection and subsection (5). The information 477
provided pursuant to this subsection shall also be sent to the 478
tax collector by the property appraiser at the time it is sent 479
to each taxing authority. 480
(2) No millage shall be levied until a resolution or 481
ordinance has been approved by the governing board of the taxing 482
authority which resolution or ordinance must be approved by the 483
taxing authority according to the following procedure: 484
(a)1. Upon preparation of a tentative budget, but prior to 485
adoption thereof, each taxing authority shall compute a proposed 486
millage rate necessary to fund the tentative budget other than 487
the portion of the budget to be funded from sources other than 488
ad valorem taxes. In computing proposed or final millage rates, 489
each taxing authority shall utilize not less than 95 percent of 490
the taxable value certified pursuant to subsection (1). 491
2. The tentative budget of the county commission shall be 492
prepared and submitted in accordance with s. 129.03. 493
3. The tentative budget of the school district shall be 494
prepared and submitted in accordance with chapter 1011, provided 495
that the date of submission shall not be later than 24 days 496
after certification of value pursuant to subsection (1). 497
2.4. Taxing authorities other than the county and school 498
district shall prepare and consider tentative and final budgets 499
in accordance with this section and applicable provisions of 500

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law, including budget procedures applicable to the taxing 501
authority, provided such procedures do not conflict with general 502
law. 503
(d) Within 15 days after the meeting adopting the 504
tentative budget, the taxing authority shall advertise in a 505
newspaper of general circulation in the county as provided in 506
subsection (3), its intent to finally adopt a millage rate and 507
budget. A public hearing to finalize the budget and adopt a 508
millage rate shall be held not less than 2 days nor more than 5 509
days after the day that the advertisement is first published. In 510
the event of a need to postpone or recess the final meeting due 511
to a declared state of emergency, the taxing authority may 512
postpone or recess the hearing for up to 7 days and shall post a 513
prominent notice at the place of the original hearing showing 514
the date, time, and place where the hearing will be reconvened. 515
The posted notice shall measure not less than 8.5 by 11 inches. 516
The taxing authority shall make every reasonable effort to 517
provide reasonable notification of the continued hearing to the 518
taxpayers. The information must also be posted on the taxing 519
authority's website. During the hearing, the governing body of 520
the taxing authority shall amend the adopted tentative budget as 521
it sees fit, adopt a final budget, and adopt a resolution or 522
ordinance stating the millage rate to be levied. The resolution 523
or ordinance shall state the percent, if any, by which the 524
millage rate to be levied exceeds the rolled-back rate computed 525

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pursuant to subsection (1), which shall be characterized as the 526
percentage increase in property taxes adopted by the governing 527
body. The adoption of the budget and the millage-levy resolution 528
or ordinance shall be by separate votes. For each taxing 529
authority levying millage, the name of the taxing authority, the 530
rolled-back rate, the percentage increase, and the millage rate 531
to be levied shall be publicly announced before the adoption of 532
the millage-levy resolution or ordinance. In no event may the 533
millage rate adopted pursuant to this paragraph exceed the 534
millage rate tentatively adopted pursuant to paragraph (c). If 535
the rate tentatively adopted pursuant to paragraph (c) exceeds 536
the proposed rate provided to the property appraiser pursuant to 537
paragraph (b), or as subsequently adjusted pursuant to 538
subsection (11), each taxpayer within the jurisdiction of the 539
taxing authority shall be sent notice by first-class mail of his 540
or her taxes under the tentatively adopted millage rate and his 541
or her taxes under the previously proposed rate. The notice must 542
be prepared by the property appraiser, at the expense of the 543
taxing authority, and must generally conform to the requirements 544
of s. 200.069. If such additional notice is necessary, its 545
mailing must precede the hearing held pursuant to this paragraph 546
by not less than 10 days and not more than 15 days. 547
(e)1. In the hearings required pursuant to paragraphs (c) 548
and (d), the first substantive issue discussed shall be the 549
percentage increase in millage over the rolled-back rate 550

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necessary to fund the budget, if any, and the specific purposes 551
for which ad valorem tax revenues are being increased. During 552
such discussion, the governing body shall hear comments 553
regarding the proposed increase and explain the reasons for the 554
proposed increase over the rolled-back rate. The general public 555
shall be allowed to speak and to ask questions before adoption 556
of any measures by the governing body. The governing body shall 557
adopt its tentative or final millage rate before adopting its 558
tentative or final budget. 559
2. These hearings shall be held after 5 p.m. if scheduled 560
on a day other than Saturday. No hearing shall be held on a 561
Sunday. The county commission shall not schedule its hearings on 562
days scheduled for hearings by the school board. The hearing 563
dates scheduled by a taxing authority the county commission and 564
school board shall not be utilized by any other taxing authority 565
within the county for its public hearings. However, in counties 566
for which a state of emergency was declared by executive order 567
or proclamation of the Governor pursuant to chapter 252 and the 568
rescheduling of hearings on the same day is unavoidable, the 569
county commission and school board must conduct their hearings 570
at different times, and other taxing authorities must schedule 571
their hearings so as not to conflict with the times of one 572
another the county commission and school board hearings. A 573
multicounty taxing authority shall make every reasonable effort 574
to avoid scheduling hearings on days utilized by another taxing 575

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authority the counties or school districts within its 576
jurisdiction. Tax levies and budgets for dependent special 577
taxing districts shall be adopted at the hearings for the taxing 578
authority to which such districts are dependent, following such 579
discussion and adoption of levies and budgets for the superior 580
taxing authority. A taxing authority may adopt the tax levies 581
for all of its dependent special taxing districts, and may adopt 582
the budgets for all of its dependent special taxing districts, 583
by a single unanimous vote. However, if a member of the general 584
public requests that the tax levy or budget of a dependent 585
special taxing district be separately discussed and separately 586
adopted, the taxing authority shall discuss and adopt that tax 587
levy or budget separately. If, due to circumstances beyond the 588
control of the taxing authority, including a state of emergency 589
declared by executive order or proclamation of the Governor 590
pursuant to chapter 252, the hearing provided for in paragraph 591
(c) or paragraph (d) is recessed or postponed, the taxing 592
authority shall publish a notice in a newspaper of general paid 593
circulation in the county. The notice shall state the time and 594
place for the continuation of the hearing and shall be published 595
at least 2 days but not more than 5 days before the date the 596
hearing will be continued. In the event of postponement or 597
recess due to a declared state of emergency, all subsequent 598
dates in this section shall be extended by the number of days of 599
the postponement or recess. Notice of the postponement or recess 600

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must be in writing by the affected taxing authority to the tax 601
collector, the property appraiser, and the Department of Revenue 602
within 3 calendar days after the postponement or recess. In the 603
event of such extension, the affected taxing authority must work 604
with the county tax collector and property appraiser to ensure 605
timely assessment and collection of taxes. 606
(f)1. Notwithstanding any provisions of paragraph (c) to 607
the contrary, each school district shall advertise its intent to 608
adopt a tentative budget on a publicly accessible website 609
pursuant to s. 50.0311 or in a newspaper of general circulation 610
pursuant to subsection (3) within 29 days after certification of 611
value pursuant to subsection (1). For the purpose of this 612
paragraph, the term "publicly accessible website" includes a 613
district school board's official website if the school board 614
website satisfies the remaining requirements of s. 50.0311. Not 615
less than 2 days or more than 5 days thereafter, the district 616
shall hold a public hearing on the tentative budget pursuant to 617
the applicable provisions of paragraph (c). In the event of 618
postponement or recess due to a declared state of emergency, the 619
school district may postpone or recess the hearing for up to 7 620
days and shall post a prominent notice at the place of the 621
original hearing showing the date, time, and place where the 622
hearing will be reconvened. The posted notice shall measure not 623
less than 8.5 by 11 inches. The school district shall make every 624
reasonable effort to provide reasonable notification of the 625

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continued hearing to the taxpayers. The information must also be 626
posted on the school district's website if the district school 627
board uses a different method of advertisement. 628
2. Notwithstanding any provisions of paragraph (b) to the 629
contrary, each school district shall advise the property 630
appraiser of its recomputed proposed millage rate within 35 days 631
of certification of value pursuant to subsection (1). The 632
recomputed proposed millage rate of the school district shall be 633
considered its proposed millage rate for the purposes of 634
paragraph (b). 635
3. Notwithstanding any provisions of paragraph (d) to the 636
contrary, each school district shall hold a public hearing to 637
finalize the budget and adopt a millage rate within 80 days of 638
certification of value pursuant to subsection (1), but not 639
earlier than 65 days after certification. The hearing shall be 640
held in accordance with the applicable provisions of paragraph 641
(d), except that a newspaper advertisement need not precede the 642
hearing. 643
(f)(g) Notwithstanding other provisions of law to the 644
contrary, a taxing authority may: 645
1. Expend moneys based on its tentative budget after 646
adoption pursuant to paragraph (c) and until such time as its 647
final budget is adopted pursuant to paragraph (d), only if the 648
fiscal year of the taxing authority begins prior to adoption of 649
the final budget or, in the case of a school district, if the 650

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fall term begins prior to adoption of the final budget; or 651
2. Readopt its prior year's adopted final budget, as 652
amended, and expend moneys based on that budget until such time 653
as its tentative budget is adopted pursuant to paragraph (c), 654
only if the fiscal year of the taxing authority begins prior to 655
adoption of the tentative budget. The readopted budget shall be 656
adopted by resolution without notice pursuant to this section at 657
a duly constituted meeting of the governing body. 658
(3) The advertisement shall be published as provided in 659
chapter 50. If the advertisement is published in the print 660
edition of a newspaper, the advertisement must be no less than 661
one-quarter page in size of a standard size or a tabloid size 662
newspaper, and the headline in the advertisement shall be in a 663
type no smaller than 18 point. The advertisement shall not be 664
placed in that portion of the newspaper where legal notices and 665
classified advertisements appear. The advertisement shall be 666
published in a newspaper in the county or in a geographically 667
limited insert of such newspaper. The geographic boundaries in 668
which such insert is circulated shall include the geographic 669
boundaries of the taxing authority. It is the legislative intent 670
that, whenever possible, the advertisement appear in a newspaper 671
that is published at least weekly unless the only newspaper in 672
the county is published less than weekly, or that the 673
advertisement appear in a geographically limited insert of such 674
newspaper which insert is published throughout the taxing 675

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authority's jurisdiction at least twice each week. It is further 676
the legislative intent that the newspaper selected be one of 677
general interest and readership in the community pursuant to 678
chapter 50. 679
(a) For taxing authorities other than school districts 680
which have tentatively adopted a millage rate in excess of 100 681
percent of the rolled-back rate computed pursuant to subsection 682
(1), the advertisement shall be in the following form: 683
NOTICE OF PROPOSED TAX INCREASE 684
The ...(name of the taxing authority)... has tentatively 685
adopted a measure to increase its property tax levy. 686
Last year's property tax levy: 687
A. Initially proposed tax levy..................$XX,XXX,XXX 688
B. Less tax reductions due to Value Adjustment Board and 689
other assessment 690
changes.............................................($XX,XXX,XXX) 691
C. Actual property tax levy.....................$XX,XXX,XXX 692
This year's proposed tax levy.........................$XX,XXX,XXX 693
All concerned citizens are invited to attend a public 694
hearing on the tax increase to be held on ...(date and time)... 695
at ...(meeting place).... 696
A FINAL DECISION on the proposed tax increase and the 697
budget will be made at this hearing. 698
(b) In all instances in which the provisions of paragraph 699
(a) are inapplicable for taxing authorities other than school 700

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districts, the advertisement shall be in the following form: 701
NOTICE OF BUDGET HEARING 702
The ...(name of taxing authority)... has tentatively 703
adopted a budget for ...(fiscal year).... A public hearing to 704
make a FINAL DECISION on the budget AND TAXES will be held on 705
...(date and time)... at ...(meeting place).... 706
(c) For school districts which have proposed a millage 707
rate in excess of 100 percent of the rolled-back rate computed 708
pursuant to subsection (1) and which propose to levy nonvoted 709
millage in excess of the minimum amount required pursuant to s. 710
1011.60(6), the advertisement shall be in the following form: 711
NOTICE OF PROPOSED TAX INCREASE 712
The ...(name of school district)... will soon consider a 713
measure to increase its property tax levy. 714
Last year's property tax levy: 715
A. Initially proposed tax levy..................$XX,XXX,XXX 716
B. Less tax reductions due to Value Adjustment Board and 717
other assessment 718
changes.............................................($XX,XXX,XXX) 719
C. Actual property tax levy.....................$XX,XXX,XXX 720
This year's proposed tax levy.........................$XX,XXX,XXX 721
A portion of the tax levy is required under state law in 722
order for the school board to receive $...(amount A)... in state 723
education grants. The required portion has ...(increased or 724
decreased)... by ...(amount B)... percent and represents 725

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approximately ...(amount C)... of the total proposed taxes. 726
The remainder of the taxes is proposed solely at the 727
discretion of the school board. 728
All concerned citizens are invited to a public hearing on 729
the tax increase to be held on ...(date and time)... at 730
...(meeting place).... 731
A DECISION on the proposed tax increase and the budget will 732
be made at this hearing. 733
1. AMOUNT A shall be an estimate, provided by the 734
Department of Education, of the amount to be received in the 735
current fiscal year by the district from state appropriations 736
for the Florida Education Finance Program. 737
2. AMOUNT B shall be the percent increase over the rolled-738
back rate necessary to levy only the required local effort in 739
the current fiscal year, computed as though in the preceding 740
fiscal year only the required local effort was levied. 741
3. AMOUNT C shall be the quotient of required local-effort 742
millage divided by the total proposed nonvoted millage, rounded 743
to the nearest tenth and stated in words; however, the stated 744
amount shall not exceed nine-tenths. 745
(d) For school districts which have proposed a millage 746
rate in excess of 100 percent of the rolled-back rate computed 747
pursuant to subsection (1) and which propose to levy as nonvoted 748
millage only the minimum amount required pursuant to s. 749
1011.60(6), the advertisement shall be the same as provided in 750

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paragraph (c), except that the second and third paragraphs shall 751
be replaced with the following paragraph: 752
This increase is required under state law in order for the 753
school board to receive $...(amount A)... in state education 754
grants. 755
(e) In all instances in which the provisions of paragraphs 756
(c) and (d) are inapplicable for school districts, the 757
advertisement shall be in the following form: 758
NOTICE OF BUDGET HEARING 759
The ...(name of school district)... will soon consider a 760
budget for ...(fiscal year).... A public hearing to make a 761
DECISION on the budget AND TAXES will be held on ...(date and 762
time)... at ...(meeting place).... 763
(c)(f) In lieu of publishing the notice set out in this 764
subsection, the taxing authority may mail a copy of the notice 765
to each elector residing within the jurisdiction of the taxing 766
authority. 767
(d)(g) In the event that the mailing of the notice of 768
proposed property taxes is delayed beyond September 3 in a 769
county, any multicounty taxing authority which levies ad valorem 770
taxes within that county shall advertise its intention to adopt 771
a tentative budget and millage rate in a newspaper within that 772
county which meets the requirements of chapter 50, as provided 773
in this subsection, and shall hold the hearing required pursuant 774
to paragraph (2)(c) not less than 2 days or more than 5 days 775

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thereafter, and not later than September 18. The advertisement 776
shall be in the following form, unless the proposed millage rate 777
is less than or equal to the rolled-back rate, computed pursuant 778
to subsection (1), in which case the advertisement shall be as 779
provided in paragraph (e): 780
NOTICE OF TAX INCREASE 781
The ...(name of the taxing authority)... proposes to 782
increase its property tax levy by ...(percentage of increase 783
over rolled-back rate)... percent. 784
All concerned citizens are invited to attend a public 785
hearing on the proposed tax increase to be held on ...(date and 786
time)... at ...(meeting place).... 787
(e) The advertisement shall be in the following form, if 788
the proposed millage rate is less than or equal to the rolled-789
back rate. 790
NOTICE OF BUDGET HEARING 791
The ...(name of taxing authority)... will soon consider a 792
budget for ...(fiscal year).... A public hearing to make a 793
DECISION on the budget AND TAXES will be held on ...(date and 794
time)... at ...(meeting place).... 795
(f)(h) In no event shall any taxing authority add to or 796
delete from the language of the advertisements as specified 797
herein unless expressly authorized by law, except that, if an 798
increase in ad valorem tax rates will affect only a portion of 799
the jurisdiction of a taxing authority, advertisements may 800

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include a map or geographical description of the area to be 801
affected and the proposed use of the tax revenues under 802
consideration. In addition, if published in the print edition of 803
the newspaper, the map must be included in the online 804
advertisement required by s. 50.0211. The advertisements 805
required herein shall not be accompanied, preceded, or followed 806
by other advertising or notices which conflict with or modify 807
the substantive content prescribed herein. 808
(g)(i) The advertisements required pursuant to paragraphs 809
(b) and (e) need not be one-quarter page in size or have a 810
headline in type no smaller than 18 point. 811
(h)(j) The amounts to be published as percentages of 812
increase over the rolled-back rate pursuant to this subsection 813
shall be based on aggregate millage rates and shall exclude 814
voted millage levies unless expressly provided otherwise in this 815
subsection. 816
(i)(k) Any taxing authority which will levy an ad valorem 817
tax for an upcoming budget year but does not levy an ad valorem 818
tax currently shall, in the advertisement specified in paragraph 819
(a) or, paragraph (c), paragraph (d), or paragraph (g), replace 820
the phrase "increase its property tax levy by ...(percentage of 821
increase over rolled-back rate)... percent" with the phrase 822
"impose a new property tax levy of $...(amount)... per $1,000 823
value." 824
(j)(l) Any advertisement required pursuant to this section 825

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shall be accompanied by an adjacent notice meeting the budget 826
summary requirements of s. 129.03(3)(b). Except for those taxing 827
authorities proposing to levy ad valorem taxes for the first 828
time, the following statement shall appear in the budget summary 829
in boldfaced type immediately following the heading, if the 830
applicable percentage is greater than zero: 831
THE PROPOSED OPERATING BUDGET EXPENDITURES OF ...(name of 832
taxing authority)... ARE ...(percent rounded to one decimal 833
place)... MORE THAN LAST YEAR'S TOTAL OPERATING EXPENDITURES. 834
For purposes of this paragraph, "proposed operating budget 835
expenditures" or "operating expenditures" means all moneys of 836
the local government, including dependent special districts, 837
that: 838
1. Were or could be expended during the applicable fiscal 839
year, or 840
2. Were or could be retained as a balance for future 841
spending in the fiscal year. 842
843
Provided, however, those moneys held in or used in trust, 844
agency, or internal service funds, and expenditures of bond 845
proceeds for capital outlay or for advanced refunded debt 846
principal, shall be excluded. 847
(5) In each fiscal year: 848
(a) The maximum millage rate that a county, municipality, 849
special district dependent to a county or municipality, 850

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municipal service taxing unit, or independent special district 851
may levy is a rolled-back rate based on the amount of taxes 852
which would have been levied in the prior year if the maximum 853
millage rate had been applied, adjusted for change in per capita 854
Florida personal income, unless a higher rate was adopted, in 855
which case the maximum is the adopted rate. The maximum millage 856
rate applicable to a county authorized to levy a county public 857
hospital surtax under s. 212.055 and which did so in fiscal year 858
2007 shall exclude the revenues required to be contributed to 859
the county public general hospital in the current fiscal year 860
for the purposes of making the maximum millage rate calculation, 861
but shall be added back to the maximum millage rate allowed 862
after the roll back has been applied, the total of which shall 863
be considered the maximum millage rate for such a county for 864
purposes of this subsection. The revenue required to be 865
contributed to the county public general hospital for the 866
upcoming fiscal year shall be calculated as 11.873 percent times 867
the millage rate levied for countywide purposes in fiscal year 868
2007 times 95 percent of the preliminary tax roll for the 869
upcoming fiscal year. A higher rate may be adopted only under 870
the following conditions: 871
1. A rate of not more than 110 percent of the rolled-back 872
rate based on the previous year's maximum millage rate, adjusted 873
for change in per capita Florida personal income, may be adopted 874
if approved by a two-thirds vote of the membership of the 875

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governing body of the county, municipality, or independent 876
district; or 877
2. A rate in excess of 110 percent may be adopted if 878
approved by a unanimous vote of the membership of the governing 879
body of the county, municipality, or independent district or by 880
a three-fourths vote of the membership of the governing body if 881
the governing body has nine or more members, or if the rate is 882
approved by a referendum. 883
(b) The millage rate of a county or municipality, 884
municipal service taxing unit of a that county, and any special 885
district dependent to a that county or municipality may exceed 886
the maximum millage rate calculated pursuant to this subsection 887
if the total county ad valorem taxes levied or total municipal 888
ad valorem taxes levied do not exceed the maximum total county 889
ad valorem taxes levied or maximum total municipal ad valorem 890
taxes levied respectively. Voted millage and taxes levied by a 891
municipality or independent special district that has levied ad 892
valorem taxes for less than 5 years are not subject to this 893
limitation. The millage rate of a county authorized to levy a 894
county public hospital surtax under s. 212.055 may exceed the 895
maximum millage rate calculated pursuant to this subsection to 896
the extent necessary to account for the revenues required to be 897
contributed to the county public hospital. Total taxes levied 898
may exceed the maximum calculated pursuant to subsection (6) as 899
a result of an increase in taxable value above that certified in 900

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subsection (1) if such increase is less than the percentage 901
amounts contained in subsection (6) or if the administrative 902
adjustment cannot be made because the value adjustment board is 903
still in session at the time the tax roll is extended; 904
otherwise, millage rates subject to this subsection may be 905
reduced so that total taxes levied do not exceed the maximum. 906
907
Any unit of government operating under a home rule charter 908
adopted pursuant to ss. 10, 11, and 24, Art. VIII of the State 909
Constitution of 1885, as preserved by s. 6(e), Art. VIII of the 910
State Constitution, which is granted the authority in the State 911
Constitution to exercise all the powers conferred now or 912
hereafter by general law upon municipalities and which exercises 913
such powers in the unincorporated area shall be recognized as a 914
municipality under this subsection. For a downtown development 915
authority established before the effective date of the State 916
Constitution which has a millage that must be approved by a 917
municipality, the governing body of that municipality shall be 918
considered the governing body of the downtown development 919
authority for purposes of this subsection. 920
(6) Prior to extension of the rolls pursuant to s. 921
193.122, the property appraiser shall notify each taxing 922
authority of the aggregate change in the assessment roll, if 923
any, from that certified pursuant to subsection (1), including, 924
but not limited to, those changes which result from actions by 925

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the value adjustment board or from corrections of errors in the 926
assessment roll. Municipalities, counties, school boards, and 927
water management districts may adjust administratively their 928
adopted millage rate without a public hearing if the taxable 929
value within the jurisdiction of the taxing authority as 930
certified pursuant to subsection (1) is at variance by more than 931
1 percent with the taxable value shown on the roll to be 932
extended. Any other taxing authority may adjust administratively 933
its adopted millage rate without a public hearing if the taxable 934
value within the jurisdiction of the taxing authority as 935
certified pursuant to subsection (1) is at variance by more than 936
3 percent with the taxable value shown on the roll to be 937
extended. The adjustment shall be such that the taxes computed 938
by applying the adopted rate against the certified taxable value 939
are equal to the taxes computed by applying the adjusted adopted 940
rate to the taxable value on the roll to be extended. However, 941
no adjustment shall be made to levies required by law to be a 942
specific millage amount. Not later than 3 days after receipt of 943
notification pursuant to this subsection, each affected taxing 944
authority shall certify to the property appraiser its adjusted 945
adopted rate. Failure to so certify shall constitute waiver of 946
the adjustment privilege. 947
(9) Multicounty taxing authorities are subject to the 948
provisions of this section. The term "taxable value" means the 949
taxable value of all property subject to taxation by the 950

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authority. If a multicounty taxing authority has not received a 951
certification pursuant to subsection (1) from a county by July 952
15, it shall compute its proposed millage rate and rolled-back 953
rate based upon estimates of taxable value supplied by the 954
Department of Revenue. All dates for public hearings and 955
advertisements specified in this section shall, with respect to 956
multicounty taxing authorities, be computed as though 957
certification of value pursuant to subsection (1) were made July 958
1. The multicounty district shall add the following sentence to 959
the advertisement set forth in paragraphs (3)(a) and (d)(g): 960
This tax increase is applicable to ...(name of county or 961
counties).... 962
(10)(a) In addition to the notice required in subsection 963
(3), a district school board shall publish a second notice of 964
intent to levy additional taxes under s. 1011.71(2) or (3). The 965
notice shall specify the projects or number of school buses 966
anticipated to be funded by the additional taxes and shall be 967
published in the size, within the time periods, adjacent to, and 968
in substantial conformity with the advertisement required under 969
subsection (3). The projects shall be listed in priority within 970
each category as follows: construction and remodeling; 971
maintenance, renovation, and repair; motor vehicle purchases; 972
new and replacement equipment; payments for educational 973
facilities and sites due under a lease-purchase agreement; 974
payments for renting and leasing educational facilities and 975

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sites; payments of loans approved pursuant to ss. 1011.14 and 976
1011.15; payment of costs of compliance with environmental 977
statutes and regulations; payment of premiums for property and 978
casualty insurance necessary to insure the educational and 979
ancillary plants of the school district; payment of costs of 980
leasing relocatable educational facilities; and payments to 981
private entities to offset the cost of school buses pursuant to 982
s. 1011.71(2)(i). The additional notice shall be in the 983
following form, except that if the district school board is 984
proposing to levy the same millage under s. 1011.71(2) or (3) 985
which it levied in the prior year, the words "continue to" shall 986
be inserted before the word "impose" in the first sentence, and 987
except that the second sentence of the second paragraph shall be 988
deleted if the district is advertising pursuant to paragraph 989
(3)(e): 990
NOTICE OF TAX FOR SCHOOL 991
CAPITAL OUTLAY 992
The ...(name of school district)... will soon consider a 993
measure to impose a ...(number)... mill property tax for the 994
capital outlay projects listed herein. 995
This tax is in addition to the school board's proposed tax 996
of ...(number)... mills for operating expenses and is proposed 997
solely at the discretion of the school board. THE PROPOSED 998
COMBINED SCHOOL BOARD TAX INCREASE FOR BOTH OPERATING EXPENSES 999
AND CAPITAL OUTLAY IS SHOWN IN THE ADJACENT NOTICE. 1000

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The capital outlay tax will generate approximately 1001
$...(amount)..., to be used for the following projects: 1002
...(list of capital outlay projects)... 1003
All concerned citizens are invited to a public hearing to 1004
be held on ...(date and time)... at ...(meeting place).... 1005
A DECISION on the proposed CAPITAL OUTLAY TAXES will be 1006
made at this hearing. 1007
(b) In the event a school district needs to amend the list 1008
of capital outlay projects previously advertised and adopted, a 1009
notice of intent to amend the notice of tax for school capital 1010
outlay shall be published in conformity with the advertisement 1011
required in subsection (3). A public hearing to adopt the 1012
amended project list shall be held not less than 2 days nor more 1013
than 5 days after the day the advertisement is first published. 1014
The projects should be listed under each category of new, 1015
amended, or deleted projects in the same order as required in 1016
paragraph (a). The notice shall appear in the following form, 1017
except that any of the categories of new, amended, or deleted 1018
projects may be omitted if not appropriate for the changes 1019
proposed: 1020
AMENDED NOTICE OF TAX FOR 1021
SCHOOL CAPITAL OUTLAY 1022
The School Board of ...(name)... County will soon consider 1023
a measure to amend the use of property tax for the capital 1024
outlay projects previously advertised for the ...(year)... to 1025

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...(year)... school year. 1026
New projects to be funded: 1027
...(list of capital outlay projects)... 1028
Amended projects to be funded: 1029
...(list of capital outlay projects)... 1030
Projects to be deleted: 1031
...(list of capital outlay projects)... 1032
All concerned citizens are invited to a public hearing to 1033
be held on ...(date and time)... at ...(meeting place).... 1034
A DECISION on the proposed amendment to the projects funded 1035
from CAPITAL OUTLAY TAXES will be made at this meeting. 1036
(10)(11) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1037
(2)(b) and s. 200.069(4)(f) to the contrary, the proposed 1038
millage rates provided to the property appraiser by the taxing 1039
authority, except for millage rates adopted by referendum, for 1040
rates authorized by s. 1011.71, and for rates required by law to 1041
be in a specified millage amount, shall be adjusted in the event 1042
that a review notice is issued pursuant to s. 193.1142(4) and 1043
the taxable value on the approved roll is at variance with the 1044
taxable value certified pursuant to subsection (1). The 1045
adjustment shall be made by the property appraiser, who shall 1046
notify the taxing authorities affected by the adjustment within 1047
5 days of the date the roll is approved pursuant to s. 1048
193.1142(4). The adjustment shall be such as to provide for no 1049
change in the dollar amount of taxes levied from that initially 1050

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proposed by the taxing authority. 1051
Section 19. Subsection (3) of section 200.069, Florida 1052
Statutes, is amended to read: 1053
200.069 Notice of proposed property taxes and non-ad 1054
valorem assessments.—Pursuant to s. 200.065(2)(b), the property 1055
appraiser, in the name of the taxing authorities and local 1056
governing boards levying non-ad valorem assessments within his 1057
or her jurisdiction and at the expense of the county, shall 1058
prepare and deliver by first-class mail to each taxpayer to be 1059
listed on the current year's assessment roll a notice of 1060
proposed property taxes, which notice shall contain the elements 1061
and use the format provided in the following form. 1062
Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 195.022, no county officer 1063
shall use a form other than that provided herein. The Department 1064
of Revenue may adjust the spacing and placement on the form of 1065
the elements listed in this section as it considers necessary 1066
based on changes in conditions necessitated by various taxing 1067
authorities. If the elements are in the order listed, the 1068
placement of the listed columns may be varied at the discretion 1069
and expense of the property appraiser, and the property 1070
appraiser may use printing technology and devices to complete 1071
the form, the spacing, and the placement of the information in 1072
the columns. In addition, the property appraiser may not include 1073
in the mailing of the notice of ad valorem taxes and non-ad 1074
valorem assessments additional information or items unless such 1075

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information or items explain a component of the notice or 1076
provide information directly related to the assessment and 1077
taxation of the property. A county officer may use a form other 1078
than that provided by the department for purposes of this part, 1079
but only if his or her office pays the related expenses and he 1080
or she obtains prior written permission from the executive 1081
director of the department; however, a county officer may not 1082
use a form the substantive content of which is at variance with 1083
the form prescribed by the department. The county officer may 1084
continue to use such an approved form until the law that 1085
specifies the form is amended or repealed or until the officer 1086
receives written disapproval from the executive director. 1087
(3) There shall be under each column heading an entry for 1088
the county; the school district levy required pursuant to s. 1089
1011.60(6); other operating school levies; the municipality or 1090
municipal service taxing unit or units in which the parcel lies, 1091
if any; the water management district levying pursuant to s. 1092
373.503; the independent special districts in which the parcel 1093
lies, if any; and for all voted levies for debt service 1094
applicable to the parcel, if any. 1095
Section 20. Subsection (2) of section 200.071, Florida 1096
Statutes, is amended to read: 1097
200.071 Limitation of millage; counties.— 1098
(2) The board of county commissioners shall, in the event 1099
the sum of the proposed millage for the county and dependent 1100

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districts of a county therein is more than the maximum allowed 1101
hereunder, reduce the millage to be levied for county officers, 1102
departments, divisions, commissions, authorities, and dependent 1103
special districts so as not to exceed the maximum millage 1104
provided under this section or s. 200.091. 1105
Section 21. Section 200.091, Florida Statutes, is amended 1106
to read: 1107
200.091 Referendum to increase millage.—The millage 1108
authorized to be levied in s. 200.071 for county purposes, 1109
including dependent districts of a county therein, may be 1110
increased for periods not exceeding 2 years, provided such levy 1111
has been approved by majority vote of the qualified electors in 1112
the county or district voting in a general election, as defined 1113
in s. 97.021, called for such purpose. Such an election may be 1114
called by the governing body of any such county or district on 1115
its own motion and shall be called upon submission of a petition 1116
specifying the amount of millage sought to be levied and the 1117
purpose for which the proceeds will be expended and containing 1118
the signatures of at least 10 percent of the persons qualified 1119
to vote in such election, signed within 60 days prior to the 1120
date the petition is filed. 1121
Section 22. Section 218.67, Florida Statutes, is amended 1122
to read: 1123
218.67 Distribution for fiscally constrained counties.— 1124
(1) Each county that is entirely within a rural area of 1125

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opportunity as designated by the Governor pursuant to s. 1126
288.0656 or each county for which the value of a mill will raise 1127
no more than $5 million in revenue, based on the taxable value 1128
certified pursuant to s. 1011.62(4)(a)1.a., from the previous 1129
July 1, shall be considered a fiscally constrained county. 1130
(2) Each fiscally constrained county government that 1131
participates in the local government half-cent sales tax shall 1132
be eligible to receive an additional distribution from the Local 1133
Government Half-cent Sales Tax Clearing Trust Fund, as provided 1134
in s. 202.18(2)(c)1., in addition to its regular monthly 1135
distribution provided under this part and any emergency or 1136
supplemental distribution under s. 218.65. 1137
(3) The amount to be distributed to each fiscally 1138
constrained county shall be determined by the Department of 1139
Revenue at the beginning of the fiscal year, using the prior 1140
fiscal year's July 1 taxable value certified pursuant to s. 1141
1011.62(4)(a)1.a., tax data, population as defined in s. 218.21, 1142
and millage rate levied for the prior fiscal year. The amount 1143
distributed shall be allocated based upon the following factors: 1144
(a) The relative revenue-raising-capacity factor shall be 1145
the ability of the eligible county to generate ad valorem 1146
revenues from 1 mill of taxation on a per capita basis. A county 1147
that raises no more than $25 per capita from 1 mill shall be 1148
assigned a value of 1; a county that raises more than $25 but no 1149
more than $30 per capita from 1 mill shall be assigned a value 1150

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of 0.75; and a county that raises more than $30 but no more than 1151
$50 per capita from 1 mill shall be assigned a value of 0.5. No 1152
value shall be assigned to counties that raise more than $50 per 1153
capita from 1 mill of ad valorem taxation. 1154
(b) The local-effort factor shall be a measure of the 1155
relative level of local effort of the eligible county as 1156
indicated by the millage rate levied for the prior fiscal year. 1157
The local-effort factor shall be the most recently adopted 1158
countywide operating millage rate for each eligible county 1159
multiplied by 0.1. 1160
(c) Each eligible county's proportional allocation of the 1161
total amount available to be distributed to all of the eligible 1162
counties shall be in the same proportion as the sum of the 1163
county's two factors is to the sum of the two factors for all 1164
eligible counties. The counties that are eligible to receive an 1165
allocation under this subsection and the amount available to be 1166
distributed to such counties shall not include counties 1167
participating in the phaseout period under subsection (4) or the 1168
amounts they remain eligible to receive during the phaseout. 1169
(4) For those counties that no longer qualify under the 1170
requirements of subsection (1) after the effective date of this 1171
act, there shall be a 2-year phaseout period. Beginning on July 1172
1 of the year following the year in which the value of a mill 1173
for that county exceeds $5 million in revenue, the county shall 1174
receive two-thirds of the amount received in the prior year, and 1175

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beginning on July 1 of the second year following the year in 1176
which the value of a mill for that county exceeds $5 million in 1177
revenue, the county shall receive one-third of the amount 1178
received in the last year that the county qualified as a 1179
fiscally constrained county. Following the 2-year phaseout 1180
period, the county shall no longer be eligible to receive any 1181
distributions under this section unless the county can be 1182
considered a fiscally constrained county as provided in 1183
subsection (1). 1184
(3)(5) The revenues received under this section may be 1185
used by a county for any public purpose, except that such 1186
revenues may not be used to pay debt service on bonds, notes, 1187
certificates of participation, or any other forms of 1188
indebtedness. 1189
Section 23. Subsection (9) of section 259.042, Florida 1190
Statutes, is amended to read: 1191
259.042 Tax increment financing for conservation lands.— 1192
(9) The public bodies and taxing authorities listed in s. 1193
163.387(2)(c), school districts, and special districts that levy 1194
ad valorem taxes within a tax increment area are exempt from 1195
this section. 1196
Section 24. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 1197
985.6865, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1198
985.6865 Juvenile detention costs.— 1199
(1) As used in this section, the term: 1200

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(b) "Fiscally constrained county" means a county within a 1201
rural area of opportunity as designated by the Governor pursuant 1202
to s. 288.0656 or each county for which the value of a mill will 1203
raise no more than $5 million in revenue, based on the certified 1204
school taxable value certified pursuant to s. 1011.62(4)(a)1.a., 1205
from the previous July 1. 1206
Section 25. Paragraphs (d) through (m) of subsection (12) 1207
of section 1001.42, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as 1208
paragraphs (c) through (n), respectively, and present paragraph 1209
(c) of that subsection is amended, to read: 1210
1001.42 Powers and duties of district school board.—The 1211
district school board, acting as a board, shall exercise all 1212
powers and perform all duties listed below: 1213
(12) FINANCE.—Take steps to assure students adequate 1214
educational facilities through the financial procedure 1215
authorized in chapters 1010 and 1011 and as prescribed below: 1216
(c) Tax levies.—Adopt and spread on its minutes a 1217
resolution fixing the district school tax levy, provided for 1218
under s. 9, Art. VII of the State Constitution, necessary to 1219
carry on the school program adopted for the district for the 1220
next ensuing fiscal year as required by law, and fixing the 1221
district bond interest and sinking fund tax levy necessary for 1222
districts against which bonds are outstanding; and adopt and 1223
spread on its minutes a resolution suggesting the tax levy 1224
provided for in s. 9, Art. VII of the State Constitution, found 1225

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necessary to carry on the school program adopted for the 1226
district for the next ensuing fiscal year. 1227
Section 26. Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (9) and 1228
paragraph (a) of subsection (10) of section 1002.32, Florida 1229
Statutes, are amended to read: 1230
1002.32 Developmental research (laboratory) schools.— 1231
(9) FUNDING.—Funding for a lab school, including a charter 1232
lab school, shall be provided as follows: 1233
(a) Each lab school shall receive state funds for 1234
operating purposes as provided in the Florida Education Finance 1235
Program as defined in s. 1011.61(4) based on the county in which 1236
the lab school is located and as specified in the General 1237
Appropriations Act. 1238
1. The nonvoted required local effort millage established 1239
pursuant to s. 1011.71(1) that would otherwise be required for 1240
lab schools shall be allocated from state funds. 1241
2. An equivalent amount of funds for the operating 1242
discretionary millage authorized pursuant to s. 1011.71(1) shall 1243
be allocated to each lab school through a state-funded 1244
discretionary contribution established pursuant to s. 1245
1011.62(6). 1246
(c) Each lab school shall receive funds for capital 1247
improvement purposes in an amount determined as follows: 1248
multiply the maximum allowable nonvoted discretionary millage 1249
for capital improvements pursuant to s. 1011.71(2) by 96 percent 1250

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of the current year's taxable value for school purposes for the 1251
district in which each lab school is located; divide the result 1252
by the total full-time equivalent membership of the district; 1253
and multiply the result by the full-time equivalent membership 1254
of the lab school. The amount obtained shall be discretionary 1255
capital improvement funds and shall be appropriated from state 1256
funds in the General Appropriations Act. 1257
(10) EXCEPTIONS TO LAW.—To encourage innovative practices 1258
and facilitate the mission of the lab schools, in addition to 1259
the exceptions to law specified in s. 1001.23(1), the following 1260
exceptions shall be permitted for lab schools: 1261
(a) The methods and requirements of the following statutes 1262
shall be held in abeyance: ss. 316.75; 1001.30; 1001.31; 1263
1001.32; 1001.33; 1001.34; 1001.35; 1001.36; 1001.361; 1001.362; 1264
1001.363; 1001.37; 1001.371; 1001.372; 1001.38; 1001.39; 1265
1001.395; 1001.40; 1001.41; 1001.44; 1001.453; 1001.46; 1266
1001.461; 1001.462; 1001.463; 1001.464; 1001.47; 1001.48; 1267
1001.49; 1001.50; 1001.51; 1006.12(2); 1006.21(3), (4); 1006.23; 1268
1010.07(2); 1010.40; 1010.41; 1010.42; 1010.43; 1010.44; 1269
1010.45; 1010.46; 1010.47; 1010.48; 1010.49; 1010.50; 1010.51; 1270
1010.52; 1010.53; 1010.54; 1010.55; 1011.02(1), (2), (4) 1271
1011.02(1)-(3), (5); 1011.04; 1011.20; 1011.21; 1011.22; 1272
1011.23; 1011.71; 1011.72; 1011.73; and 1011.74. 1273
Section 27. Paragraph (b) of subsection (17) and 1274
subsection (19) of section 1002.33, Florida Statutes, are 1275

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amended to read: 1276
1002.33 Charter schools.— 1277
(17) FUNDING.—Students enrolled in a charter school, 1278
regardless of the sponsorship, shall be funded based upon the 1279
applicable program pursuant to s. 1011.62(1)(c), the same as 1280
students enrolled in other public schools in a school district. 1281
Funding for a charter lab school shall be as provided in s. 1282
1002.32. 1283
(b)1. Funding for students enrolled in a charter school 1284
sponsored by a school district shall be the sum of the school 1285
district's operating funds from the Florida Education Finance 1286
Program as defined in s. 1011.61(4) and the General 1287
Appropriations Act, including gross state and local funds, and 1288
funds from the school district's current operating discretionary 1289
millage levy; divided by total funded weighted full-time 1290
equivalent students in the school district; and multiplied by 1291
the weighted full-time equivalent students for the charter 1292
school. Charter schools whose students or programs meet the 1293
eligibility criteria in law are entitled to their proportionate 1294
share of categorical program funds included in the total funds 1295
available in the Florida Education Finance Program by the 1296
Legislature, including the student transportation allocation and 1297
the educational enrichment allocation. Total funding for each 1298
charter school shall be recalculated during the year to reflect 1299
the revised calculations under the Florida Education Finance 1300

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Program by the state and the actual weighted full-time 1301
equivalent students reported by the charter school during the 1302
full-time equivalent student survey periods designated by the 1303
Commissioner of Education. For charter schools operated by a 1304
not-for-profit or municipal entity, any unrestricted current and 1305
capital assets identified in the charter school's annual 1306
financial audit may be used for other charter schools operated 1307
by the not-for-profit or municipal entity within the school 1308
district. For charter schools operated by a not-for-profit 1309
entity, any unrestricted current or capital assets identified in 1310
the charter school's annual audit may be used for other charter 1311
schools operated by the not-for-profit entity which are located 1312
outside of the originating charter school's school district, but 1313
within the state, through an unforgivable loan that must be 1314
repaid within 5 years to the originating charter school by the 1315
receiving charter school. Unrestricted current assets shall be 1316
used in accordance with s. 1011.62, and any unrestricted capital 1317
assets shall be used in accordance with s. 1013.62(2). 1318
2.a. Funding for students enrolled in a charter school 1319
sponsored by a state university or Florida College System 1320
institution pursuant to paragraph (5)(a) shall be provided in 1321
the Florida Education Finance Program as defined in s. 1322
1011.61(4) and as specified in the General Appropriations Act. 1323
The calculation to determine the amount of state funds includes 1324
the sum of the base Florida Education Finance Program 1325

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established in s. 1011.62(1)(n), the discretionary millage 1326
compression supplement established in s. 1011.62(5), and the 1327
state-funded discretionary contribution established in s. 1328
1011.62(6). Charter schools whose students or programs meet the 1329
eligibility criteria in law are entitled to their proportionate 1330
share of categorical program funds included in the total funds 1331
available in the Florida Education Finance Program. The Florida 1332
College System institution or state university sponsoring the 1333
charter school shall be the fiscal agent for these funds, and 1334
all rules of the institution governing the budgeting and 1335
expenditure of state funds shall apply to these funds unless 1336
otherwise provided by law or rule of the State Board of 1337
Education. 1338
(I) The nonvoted required local millage established 1339
pursuant to s. 1011.71(1) that would otherwise be required for 1340
the charter schools shall be allocated from state funds. 1341
(II) An equivalent amount of funds for the operating 1342
discretionary millage authorized pursuant to s. 1011.71(1) shall 1343
be allocated to each charter school through a state-funded 1344
discretionary contribution established pursuant to s. 1345
1011.62(6). 1346
(III) The comparable wage factor as provided in s. 1347
1011.62(2) shall be established as 1.000. 1348
b. Total funding for each charter school shall be 1349
recalculated during the year to reflect the revised calculations 1350

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under the Florida Education Finance Program by the state and the 1351
actual weighted full-time equivalent students reported by the 1352
charter school during the full-time equivalent student survey 1353
periods designated by the Commissioner of Education. 1354
c. The Department of Education shall develop a tool that 1355
each state university or Florida College System institution 1356
sponsoring a charter school shall use for purposes of 1357
calculating the funding amount for each eligible charter school 1358
student. The total amount obtained from the calculation must be 1359
appropriated from state funds in the General Appropriations Act 1360
to the charter school. 1361
d. Capital outlay funding for a charter school sponsored 1362
by a state university or Florida College System institution 1363
pursuant to paragraph (5)(a) is determined as follows: multiply 1364
the maximum allowable nonvoted discretionary millage under s. 1365
1011.71(2) by 96 percent of the current year's taxable value for 1366
school purposes for the district in which the charter school is 1367
located; divide the result by the total full-time equivalent 1368
student membership; and multiply the result by the full-time 1369
equivalent student membership of the charter school. The amount 1370
obtained shall be the discretionary capital improvement funds 1371
and shall be appropriated from state funds in the General 1372
Appropriations Act. 1373
(19) CAPITAL OUTLAY FUNDING.—Charter schools sponsored by 1374
a school district are eligible for capital outlay funds pursuant 1375

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to ss. 1011.71(2) and 1013.62. Capital outlay funds authorized 1376
in ss. 1011.71(2) and 1013.62 which have been shared with a 1377
charter school-in-the-workplace prior to July 1, 2010, are 1378
deemed to have met the authorized expenditure requirements for 1379
such funds. 1380
Section 28. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 1381
1011.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1382
1011.01 Budget system established.— 1383
(3)(a) Each district school board and each Florida College 1384
System institution board of trustees shall prepare, adopt, and 1385
submit to the Commissioner of Education an annual operating 1386
budget. Operating budgets shall be prepared and submitted in 1387
accordance with the provisions of law, rules of the State Board 1388
of Education, and the General Appropriations Act, and for 1389
district school boards in accordance with the provisions of s. 1390
200.065. 1391
Section 29. Subsections (4) and (5) of section 1011.02, 1392
Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (3) and (4), 1393
respectively, and present subsection (3) of that section is 1394
amended, to read: 1395
1011.02 District school boards to adopt tentative budget.— 1396
(3) The proposed budget shall include an amount for local 1397
required effort for current operation, in accordance with the 1398
requirements of s. 1011.62(4). 1399
Section 30. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 1011.03, 1400

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Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1401
1011.03 Public hearings; budget to be submitted to 1402
Department of Education.— 1403
(1) Each district school board shall cause a summary of 1404
its tentative budget, including the proposed millage levies as 1405
provided for by law, to be posted on the district's official 1406
website or on a publicly accessible website as provided in s. 1407
50.0311. 1408
(3) The board shall hold public hearings to adopt 1409
tentative and final budgets in the same manner as hearings under 1410
pursuant to s. 200.065. The hearings shall be primarily for the 1411
purpose of hearing requests and complaints from the public 1412
regarding the budgets and the proposed tax levies and for 1413
explaining the budget and proposed or adopted amendments 1414
thereto, if any. The tentative budget must be posted on the 1415
district's official website at least 2 days before the budget 1416
hearing held pursuant to s. 200.065 or other law. The final 1417
adopted budget must be posted on the district's official website 1418
within 30 days after adoption. The board shall require the 1419
superintendent to transmit the adopted budget to the Department 1420
of Education as prescribed by law and rules of the State Board 1421
of Education. 1422
Section 31. Subsections (7) through (15), (17), (18), and 1423
(19) of section 1011.62, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as 1424
subsections (4) through (12), (13), (14), and (15), 1425

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respectively, and paragraphs (d) and (h) of subsection (1), 1426
subsections (4), (5), and (6), present subsections (10), (11), 1427
(15), and (16), and paragraph (b) of present subsection (19) of 1428
that section are amended, to read: 1429
1011.62 Funds for operation of schools.—If the annual 1430
allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each 1431
district for operation of schools is not determined in the 1432
annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing 1433
the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as 1434
follows: 1435
(1) COMPUTATION OF THE BASE FLORIDA EDUCATION FINANCE 1436
PROGRAM.—The following procedure shall be followed in 1437
determining the base Florida Education Finance Program funds for 1438
each district: 1439
(d) Funding model for exceptional student education 1440
programs.—The funding model for exceptional student education 1441
programs shall include all of the following: 1442
1. For programs for exceptional students in support levels 1443
IV and V as established in paragraph (c), the funding model 1444
shall include program cost factors. 1445
a. Exceptional education cost factors are determined by 1446
using a matrix of services to document the services that each 1447
support level IV and support level V exceptional student will 1448
receive. The nature and intensity of the services indicated on 1449
the matrix shall be consistent with the services described in 1450

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each exceptional student's individual educational plan. 1451
b. In order to generate funds using one of the two 1452
weighted cost factors, a matrix of services must be completed at 1453
the time of the student's initial placement into an exceptional 1454
student education program and at least once every 3 years by 1455
personnel who have received approved training. Nothing listed in 1456
the matrix shall be construed as limiting the services a school 1457
district must provide in order to ensure that exceptional 1458
students are provided a free, appropriate public education. 1459
2. For students identified as exceptional in accordance 1460
with chapter 6A-6, Florida Administrative Code, who do not have 1461
a matrix of services as specified in subparagraph 1. and for 1462
students who are gifted in grades kindergarten through 8, the 1463
funding model shall include the funds generated on the basis of 1464
full-time equivalent student membership in the Florida Education 1465
Finance Program at the same funding level per student as 1466
provided for a basic student and additional funds provided by 1467
the exceptional student education guaranteed allocation 1468
established pursuant to subsection (5) (8). 1469
(h) Small, isolated schools.—Districts that levy the 1470
maximum nonvoted discretionary millage, exclusive of millage for 1471
capital outlay purposes levied pursuant to s. 1011.71(2), may 1472
calculate full-time equivalent students for small, isolated 1473
district-operated schools by multiplying the number of 1474
unweighted full-time equivalent students times 2.75. The 1475

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following schools may be considered small, isolated schools 1476
under this paragraph: 1477
1. A high school that is located at least 28 miles by the 1478
shortest route from another high school; has been serving 1479
students primarily in basic studies provided by sub-1480
subparagraphs (c)1.b. and c. and may include subparagraph (c)4.; 1481
and has a membership of at least 28, but no more than 100, 1482
students in grades 9 through 12; or 1483
2. A district elementary school with a grade configuration 1484
of kindergarten through grade 5, but which may also include 1485
prekindergarten, grade 6, grade 7, or grade 8, that is located 1486
at least 35 miles by the shortest route from another elementary 1487
school within the district; has been serving students primarily 1488
in basic studies provided by sub-subparagraphs (c)1.a. and b. 1489
and may include subparagraph (c)4.; has a student population in 1490
which 75 percent or greater of students are eligible for free 1491
and reduced-price school lunch; and has a membership of at least 1492
28, but no more than 100, students. 1493
(4) COMPUTATION OF DISTRICT REQUIRED LOCAL EFFORT.—The 1494
Legislature shall prescribe the aggregate required local effort 1495
for all school districts collectively as an item in the General 1496
Appropriations Act for each fiscal year. The amount that each 1497
district shall provide annually toward the cost of the Florida 1498
Education Finance Program for kindergarten through grade 12 1499
programs shall be calculated as follows: 1500

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(a) Estimated taxable value calculations.— 1501
1.a. Not later than 2 working days before July 19, the 1502
Department of Revenue shall certify to the Commissioner of 1503
Education its most recent estimate of the taxable value for 1504
school purposes in each school district and the total for all 1505
school districts in the state for the current calendar year 1506
based on the latest available data obtained from the local 1507
property appraisers. The value certified shall be the taxable 1508
value for school purposes for that year, and no further 1509
adjustments shall be made, except those made pursuant to 1510
paragraphs (c) and (d), or an assessment roll change required by 1511
final judicial decisions as specified in paragraph (15)(b). Not 1512
later than July 19, the Commissioner of Education shall compute 1513
a millage rate, rounded to the next highest one one-thousandth 1514
of a mill, which, when applied to 96 percent of the estimated 1515
state total taxable value for school purposes, would generate 1516
the prescribed aggregate required local effort for that year for 1517
all districts. The Commissioner of Education shall certify to 1518
each district school board the millage rate, computed as 1519
prescribed in this subparagraph, as the minimum millage rate 1520
necessary to provide the district required local effort for that 1521
year. 1522
b. The General Appropriations Act shall direct the 1523
computation of the statewide adjusted aggregate amount for 1524
required local effort for all school districts collectively from 1525

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ad valorem taxes to ensure that no school district's revenue 1526
from required local effort millage will produce more than 90 1527
percent of the district's total Florida Education Finance 1528
Program calculation as calculated and adopted by the 1529
Legislature, and the adjustment of the required local effort 1530
millage rate of each district that produces more than 90 percent 1531
of its total Florida Education Finance Program entitlement to a 1532
level that will produce only 90 percent of its total Florida 1533
Education Finance Program entitlement in the July calculation. 1534
2. On the same date as the certification in sub-1535
subparagraph 1.a., the Department of Revenue shall certify to 1536
the Commissioner of Education for each district: 1537
a. Each year for which the property appraiser has 1538
certified the taxable value pursuant to s. 193.122(2) or (3), if 1539
applicable, since the prior certification under sub-subparagraph 1540
1.a. 1541
b. For each year identified in sub-subparagraph a., the 1542
taxable value certified by the appraiser pursuant to s. 1543
193.122(2) or (3), if applicable, since the prior certification 1544
under sub-subparagraph 1.a. This is the certification that 1545
reflects all final administrative actions of the value 1546
adjustment board. 1547
(b) Equalization of required local effort.— 1548
1. The Department of Revenue shall include with its 1549
certifications provided pursuant to paragraph (a) its most 1550

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recent determination of the assessment level of the prior year's 1551
assessment roll for each county and for the state as a whole. 1552
2. The Commissioner of Education shall adjust the required 1553
local effort millage of each district for the current year, 1554
computed pursuant to paragraph (a), as follows: 1555
a. The equalization factor for the prior year's assessment 1556
roll of each district shall be multiplied by 96 percent of the 1557
taxable value for school purposes shown on that roll and by the 1558
prior year's required local-effort millage, exclusive of any 1559
equalization adjustment made pursuant to this paragraph. The 1560
dollar amount so computed shall be the additional required local 1561
effort for equalization for the current year. 1562
b. Such equalization factor shall be computed as the 1563
quotient of the prior year's assessment level of the state as a 1564
whole divided by the prior year's assessment level of the 1565
county, from which quotient shall be subtracted 1. 1566
c. The dollar amount of additional required local effort 1567
for equalization for each district shall be converted to a 1568
millage rate, based on 96 percent of the current year's taxable 1569
value for that district, and added to the required local effort 1570
millage determined pursuant to paragraph (a). 1571
3. Notwithstanding the limitations imposed pursuant to s. 1572
1011.71(1), the total required local-effort millage, including 1573
additional required local effort for equalization, shall be an 1574
amount not to exceed 10 minus the maximum millage allowed as 1575

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nonvoted discretionary millage, exclusive of millage authorized 1576
pursuant to s. 1011.71(2). Nothing herein shall be construed to 1577
allow a millage in excess of that authorized in s. 9, Art. VII 1578
of the State Constitution. 1579
4. For the purposes of this chapter, the term "assessment 1580
level" means the value-weighted mean assessment ratio for the 1581
county or state as a whole, as determined pursuant to s. 1582
195.096, or as subsequently adjusted. However, for those parcels 1583
studied pursuant to s. 195.096(3)(a)1. which are receiving the 1584
assessment limitation set forth in s. 193.155, and for which the 1585
assessed value is less than the just value, the department shall 1586
use the assessed value in the numerator and the denominator of 1587
such assessment ratio. In the event a court has adjudicated that 1588
the department failed to establish an accurate estimate of an 1589
assessment level of a county and recomputation resulting in an 1590
accurate estimate based upon the evidence before the court was 1591
not possible, that county shall be presumed to have an 1592
assessment level equal to that of the state as a whole. 1593
5. If, in the prior year, taxes were levied against an 1594
interim assessment roll pursuant to s. 193.1145, the assessment 1595
level and prior year's nonexempt assessed valuation used for the 1596
purposes of this paragraph shall be those of the interim 1597
assessment roll. 1598
(c) Exclusion.— 1599
1. In those instances in which: 1600

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a. There is litigation either attacking the authority of 1601
the property appraiser to include certain property on the tax 1602
assessment roll as taxable property or contesting the assessed 1603
value of certain property on the tax assessment roll, and 1604
b. The assessed value of the property in contest involves 1605
more than 6 percent of the total nonexempt assessment roll, the 1606
plaintiff shall provide to the district school board of the 1607
county in which the property is located and to the Department of 1608
Education a certified copy of the petition and receipt for the 1609
good faith payment at the time they are filed with the court. 1610
2. For purposes of computing the required local effort for 1611
each district affected by such petition, the Department of 1612
Education shall exclude from the district's total nonexempt 1613
assessment roll the assessed value of the property in contest 1614
and shall add the amount of the good faith payment to the 1615
district's required local effort. 1616
(d) Recomputation.—Following final adjudication of any 1617
litigation on the basis of which an adjustment in taxable value 1618
was made pursuant to paragraph (c), the department shall 1619
recompute the required local effort for each district for each 1620
year affected by such adjustments, utilizing taxable values 1621
approved by the court, and shall adjust subsequent allocations 1622
to such districts accordingly. 1623
(e) Prior period funding adjustment millage.— 1624
1. An additional millage to be known as the Prior Period 1625

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Funding Adjustment Millage shall be levied by a school district 1626
if the prior period unrealized required local effort funds are 1627
greater than zero. The Commissioner of Education shall calculate 1628
the amount of the prior period unrealized required local effort 1629
funds as specified in subparagraph 2. and the millage required 1630
to generate that amount as specified in this subparagraph. The 1631
Prior Period Funding Adjustment Millage shall be the quotient of 1632
the prior period unrealized required local effort funds divided 1633
by the current year taxable value certified to the Commissioner 1634
of Education pursuant to sub-subparagraph (a)1.a. This levy 1635
shall be in addition to the required local effort millage 1636
certified pursuant to this subsection. Such millage shall not 1637
affect the calculation of the current year's required local 1638
effort, and the funds generated by such levy shall not be 1639
included in the district's Florida Education Finance Program 1640
allocation for that fiscal year. For purposes of the millage to 1641
be included on the Notice of Proposed Taxes, the Commissioner of 1642
Education shall adjust the required local effort millage 1643
computed pursuant to paragraph (a) as adjusted by paragraph (b) 1644
for the current year for any district that levies a Prior Period 1645
Funding Adjustment Millage to include all Prior Period Funding 1646
Adjustment Millage. For the purpose of this paragraph, a Prior 1647
Period Funding Adjustment Millage shall be levied for each year 1648
certified by the Department of Revenue pursuant to sub-1649
subparagraph (a)2.a. since the previous year certification and 1650

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for which the calculation in sub-subparagraph 2.b. is greater 1651
than zero. 1652
2.a. As used in this subparagraph, the term: 1653
(I) "Prior year" means a year certified under sub-1654
subparagraph (a)2.a. 1655
(II) "Preliminary taxable value" means: 1656
(A) If the prior year is the 2009-2010 fiscal year or 1657
later, the taxable value certified to the Commissioner of 1658
Education pursuant to sub-subparagraph (a)1.a. 1659
(B) If the prior year is the 2008-2009 fiscal year or 1660
earlier, the taxable value certified pursuant to the final 1661
calculation as specified in former paragraph (b) as that 1662
paragraph existed in the prior year. 1663
(III) "Final taxable value" means the district's taxable 1664
value as certified by the property appraiser pursuant to s. 1665
193.122(2) or (3), if applicable. This is the certification that 1666
reflects all final administrative actions of the value 1667
adjustment board. 1668
b. For purposes of this subsection and with respect to 1669
each year certified pursuant to sub-subparagraph (a)2.a., if the 1670
district's prior year preliminary taxable value is greater than 1671
the district's prior year final taxable value, the prior period 1672
unrealized required local effort funds are the difference 1673
between the district's prior year preliminary taxable value and 1674
the district's prior year final taxable value, multiplied by the 1675

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prior year district required local effort millage. If the 1676
district's prior year preliminary taxable value is less than the 1677
district's prior year final taxable value, the prior period 1678
unrealized required local effort funds are zero. 1679
c. If a district's prior period unrealized required local 1680
effort funds and prior period district required local effort 1681
millage cannot be determined because such district's final 1682
taxable value has not yet been certified pursuant to s. 1683
193.122(2) or (3), the Prior Period Funding Adjustment Millage 1684
for such fiscal year shall be levied, if not previously levied, 1685
in an amount equal to 75 percent of such district's most recent 1686
unrealized required local effort for which a Prior Period 1687
Funding Adjustment Millage was determined as provided in this 1688
section. Upon certification of the final taxable value in 1689
accordance with s. 193.122(2) or (3) for a tax roll for which a 1690
75 percent Prior Period Funding Adjustment Millage was levied, 1691
the next Prior Period Funding Adjustment Millage shall be 1692
adjusted to include any shortfall or surplus in the prior period 1693
unrealized required local effort funds that would have been 1694
levied, had the district's final taxable value been certified 1695
pursuant to s. 193.122(2) or (3). If this adjustment is made for 1696
a surplus, the reduction in prior period millage may not exceed 1697
the prior period funding adjustment millage calculated pursuant 1698
to subparagraph 1. and sub-subparagraphs a. and b., or pursuant 1699
to this sub-subparagraph, whichever is applicable, and any 1700

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additional reduction shall be carried forward to the subsequent 1701
fiscal year. 1702
(5) DISCRETIONARY MILLAGE COMPRESSION SUPPLEMENT.—The 1703
Legislature shall prescribe in the General Appropriations Act, 1704
pursuant to s. 1011.71(1), the rate of nonvoted current 1705
operating discretionary millage that shall be used to calculate 1706
a discretionary millage compression supplement. If the 1707
prescribed millage generates an amount of funds per unweighted 1708
full-time equivalent student for the district that is less than 1709
the state average, the district shall receive an amount per 1710
full-time equivalent student that, when added to the funds per 1711
full-time equivalent student generated by the designated levy, 1712
shall equal the state average. The discretionary millage 1713
compression supplement shall be recalculated during the fiscal 1714
year based on actual full-time equivalent student membership. 1715
(6) STATE-FUNDED DISCRETIONARY CONTRIBUTION.—The state-1716
funded discretionary contribution is created to fund the 1717
nonvoted discretionary millage for operations pursuant to s. 1718
1011.71(1) and (3) for developmental research schools (lab 1719
schools) established in s. 1002.32, charter schools sponsored by 1720
a Florida College System institution or a state university 1721
pursuant to s. 1002.33(5), and the Florida Virtual School 1722
established in s. 1002.37. 1723
(a) To calculate the state-funded discretionary 1724
contribution for lab schools, multiply the maximum allowable 1725

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nonvoted discretionary millage for operations pursuant to s. 1726
1011.71(1) and (3) by the value of 96 percent of the current 1727
year's taxable value for school purposes for the school district 1728
in which the lab school is located; divide the result by the 1729
total full-time equivalent membership of the school district; 1730
and multiply the result by the full-time equivalent membership 1731
of the lab school. The amount obtained shall be appropriated in 1732
the General Appropriations Act. 1733
(b) To calculate the state-funded discretionary 1734
contribution for a charter school sponsored by a Florida College 1735
System institution or a state university and the Florida Virtual 1736
School, multiply the maximum allowable nonvoted discretionary 1737
millage for operations pursuant to s. 1011.71(1) and (3) by the 1738
value of 96 percent of the current year's taxable value for 1739
school purposes for the state; divide the result by the total 1740
full-time equivalent membership of the state; and multiply the 1741
result by the full-time equivalent membership of the Florida 1742
Virtual School. 1743
(c) The state-funded discretionary contribution shall be 1744
recalculated during the fiscal year based on actual full-time 1745
equivalent student membership. 1746
(7)(10) FEDERALLY CONNECTED STUDENT SUPPLEMENT.—The 1747
federally connected student supplement is created to provide 1748
supplemental funding for school districts to support the 1749
education of students connected with federally owned military 1750

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installations, National Aeronautics and Space Administration 1751
(NASA) real property, and Indian lands. To be eligible for this 1752
supplement, the district must be eligible for federal Impact Aid 1753
Program funds under s. 8003 of Title VIII of the Elementary and 1754
Secondary Education Act of 1965. The supplement shall be 1755
allocated annually to each eligible school district in the 1756
General Appropriations Act. The supplement shall be the sum of 1757
the student allocation and an exempt property allocation. 1758
(a) The supplement student allocation shall be calculated 1759
based on the number of students reported for federal Impact Aid 1760
Program funds, including students with disabilities, who meet 1761
one of the following criteria: 1762
1. The student has a parent who is on active duty in the 1763
uniformed services or is an accredited foreign government 1764
official and military officer. Students with disabilities shall 1765
also be reported separately for this category. 1766
2. The student resides on eligible federally owned Indian 1767
land. Students with disabilities shall also be reported 1768
separately for this category. 1769
3. The student resides with a civilian parent who lives or 1770
works on eligible federal property connected with a military 1771
installation or NASA. The number of these students shall be 1772
multiplied by a factor of 0.5. 1773
(b) The total number of federally connected students 1774
calculated under paragraph (a) shall be multiplied by a 1775

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percentage of the base student allocation as provided in the 1776
General Appropriations Act. The total of the number of students 1777
with disabilities as reported separately under subparagraphs 1778
(a)1. and 2. shall be multiplied by an additional percentage of 1779
the base student allocation as provided in the General 1780
Appropriations Act. The base amount and the amount for students 1781
with disabilities shall be summed to provide the student 1782
allocation. 1783
(c) The exempt property allocation shall be equal to the 1784
tax-exempt value of federal impact aid lands reserved as 1785
military installations, real property owned by NASA, or eligible 1786
federally owned Indian lands located in the district, multiplied 1787
by the millage authorized and levied under s. 1011.71(2). 1788
(c)(d) The amount allocated for each eligible school 1789
district shall be recalculated during the year based on actual 1790
full-time equivalent student membership, as amended, from the 1791
most recent February survey and the tax-exempt valuation from 1792
the most recent assessment roll. 1793
(8)(11) QUALITY ASSURANCE GUARANTEE.—The Legislature may 1794
annually in the General Appropriations Act determine a 1795
percentage increase in funds per kindergarten through grade 12 1796
unweighted full-time equivalent student as a minimum guarantee 1797
to each school district. The guarantee shall be calculated from 1798
prior year base funding per unweighted full-time equivalent 1799
student which shall include the adjusted full-time equivalent 1800

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dollars as provided in subsection (12) and (15), quality 1801
guarantee funds, and actual nonvoted discretionary local effort 1802
from taxes. From the base funding per unweighted full-time 1803
equivalent student, the increase shall be calculated for the 1804
current year. The current year funds from which the guarantee 1805
shall be determined shall include the adjusted full-time 1806
equivalent dollars as provided in subsection (12) (15) and 1807
potential nonvoted discretionary local effort from taxes. A 1808
comparison of current year funds per unweighted full-time 1809
equivalent student to prior year funds per unweighted full-time 1810
equivalent student shall be computed. For those school districts 1811
which have less than the legislatively assigned percentage 1812
increase, funds shall be provided to guarantee the assigned 1813
percentage increase in funds per unweighted full-time equivalent 1814
student. Should appropriated funds be less than the sum of this 1815
calculated amount for all districts, the commissioner shall 1816
prorate each district's allocation. This provision shall be 1817
implemented to the extent specifically funded. 1818
(12)(15) TOTAL ALLOCATION OF STATE FUNDS TO EACH 1819
DISTRICT.—The total annual state allocation to each district for 1820
current operation for the Florida Education Finance Program 1821
shall be distributed to districts pursuant to s. 1011.66 and 1822
based on the results of the full-time equivalent membership 1823
surveys established in paragraph (1)(a). 1824
(a) When the Florida Education Finance Program allocation 1825

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is recalculated, if the gross state Florida Education Finance 1826
Program funds are not sufficient to pay the state requirement in 1827
full, the department shall prorate the available state funds to 1828
each district in the following manner: 1829
1. To calculate the gross state and local Florida 1830
Education Finance Program funding, add the base Florida 1831
Education Finance Program and the categorical funds, except for 1832
the categorical funding provided in subsection (16) and s. 1833
1011.685. 1834
2. To calculate the gross state Florida Education Finance 1835
Program funding, subtract the required local effort in 1836
subsection (4) from the gross and local Florida Education 1837
Finance Program funding. 1838
2.3. To determine the amount that must be prorated among 1839
all school districts, subtract the gross state Florida Education 1840
Finance Program and any prior year adjustments pursuant to 1841
paragraph (b) from the corresponding amount of state funds 1842
appropriated in the General Appropriations Act. 1843
3.4. Each school district's amount of the proration is 1844
calculated based on its proportionate share of the gross state 1845
and local Florida Education Finance Program funding. 1846
(b) The amount thus obtained shall be the net annual 1847
allocation to each school district. However, if it is determined 1848
that any school district received an under allocation or over 1849
allocation for any prior year because of an arithmetical error, 1850

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assessment roll change required by final judicial decision, 1851
full-time equivalent student membership error, or any allocation 1852
error revealed in an audit report, the allocation to that 1853
district shall be appropriately adjusted. An under allocation in 1854
a prior year caused by a school district's error may not be the 1855
basis for a positive allocation adjustment for the current year. 1856
If a special program cost factor is less than the basic program 1857
cost factor, an audit adjustment may not result in the 1858
reclassification of the special program FTE to the basic program 1859
FTE. If the Department of Education audit adjustment 1860
recommendation is based upon controverted findings of fact, the 1861
Commissioner of Education is authorized to establish the amount 1862
of the adjustment based on the best interests of the state. 1863
(16) STATE-FUNDED DISCRETIONARY SUPPLEMENT.— 1864
(a) The state-funded discretionary supplement is created 1865
to fund the nonvoted discretionary millage for operations 1866
pursuant to s. 1011.71(1) and (3) for students awarded a Family 1867
Empowerment Scholarship in accordance with s. 1002.394. To 1868
calculate the state-funded discretionary supplement for 1869
inclusion in the amount of the scholarship funding: 1870
1. For fiscal year 2023-2024, multiply the maximum 1871
allowable nonvoted discretionary millage for operations pursuant 1872
to s. 1011.71(1) and (3) by the value of 96 percent of the 1873
current year's taxable value for school purposes for the school 1874
district where the student is reported for purposes of the 1875

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Florida Education Finance Program as appropriated in the General 1876
Appropriations Act; divide the result by the school district's 1877
total unweighted full-time equivalent membership as appropriated 1878
in the General Appropriations Act; and multiply the result by 1879
the total unweighted full-time equivalent membership associated 1880
with the number of Family Empowerment Scholarship students 1881
included in the school district's total unweighted full-time 1882
equivalent membership. A base amount as specified in the General 1883
Appropriations Act shall be added to this amount for purposes of 1884
calculating the total amount of the supplement. 1885
2. Beginning in fiscal year 2024-2025 and thereafter, 1886
multiply the maximum allowable nonvoted discretionary millage 1887
for operations pursuant to s. 1011.71(1) and (3) by the value of 1888
96 percent of the current year's taxable value for school 1889
purposes for the school district where the student is reported 1890
for purposes of the Florida Education Finance Program as 1891
appropriated in the General Appropriations Act; divide the 1892
result by the school district's total unweighted full-time 1893
equivalent membership as appropriated in the General 1894
Appropriations Act; and multiply the result by the total 1895
unweighted full-time equivalent membership associated with the 1896
number of Family Empowerment Scholarship students. The prior 1897
year's base amount shall be adjusted based on changes in the 1898
eligible number of unweighted full-time equivalent membership 1899
associated with the number of Family Empowerment Scholarship 1900

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students. 1901
(b) The state-funded discretionary supplement shall be 1902
recalculated during the fiscal year based on actual full-time 1903
equivalent student membership. 1904
(15)(19) EDUCATIONAL ENROLLMENT STABILIZATION PROGRAM.— 1905
(b) The Legislature shall annually appropriate funds in 1906
the General Appropriations Act to the Department of Education 1907
for this program in an amount necessary to maintain a projected 1908
minimum balance of $250 million at the beginning of the upcoming 1909
fiscal year. The Department of Education shall use funds as 1910
appropriated to ensure that based on each recalculation of the 1911
Florida Education Finance Program pursuant to paragraph (1)(a), 1912
a school district's funds per unweighted full-time equivalent 1913
student are not less than the greater of either the school 1914
district's funds per unweighted full-time equivalent student as 1915
appropriated in the General Appropriations Act or the school 1916
district's funds per unweighted full-time equivalent student as 1917
recalculated based upon the receipt of the certified taxable 1918
value for school purposes pursuant to s. 1011.62(4). 1919
Section 32. Subsection (2) of section 1011.69, Florida 1920
Statutes, is amended to read: 1921
1011.69 Equity in School-Level Funding Act.— 1922
(2) District school boards shall allocate to schools 1923
within the district an average of 90 percent of the funds 1924
generated by all schools and guarantee that each school receives 1925

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at least 80 percent, except schools participating in the 1926
Principal Autonomy Program Initiative under s. 1011.6202 are 1927
guaranteed to receive at least 90 percent, of the funds 1928
generated by that school based upon the Florida Education 1929
Finance Program as provided in s. 1011.62 and the General 1930
Appropriations Act, including gross state and local funds and, 1931
discretionary lottery funds, and funds from the school 1932
district's current operating discretionary millage levy. Total 1933
funding for each school shall be recalculated during the year to 1934
reflect the revised calculations under the Florida Education 1935
Finance Program by the state and the actual weighted full-time 1936
equivalent students reported by the school during the full-time 1937
equivalent student survey periods designated by the Commissioner 1938
of Education. If the district school board is providing programs 1939
or services to students funded by federal funds, any eligible 1940
students enrolled in the schools in the district shall be 1941
provided federal funds. 1942
Section 33. Section 1011.71, Florida Statutes, is 1943
repealed. 1944
Section 34. Section 1011.715, Florida Statutes, is 1945
repealed. 1946
Section 35. Section 1011.72, Florida Statutes, is 1947
repealed. 1948
Section 36. Section 1011.73, Florida Statutes, is 1949
repealed. 1950

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Section 37. Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (2) and 1951
paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section 1013.15, Florida 1952
Statutes, are amended to read: 1953
1013.15 Lease, rental, and lease-purchase of educational 1954
plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary facilities and sites.— 1955
(2)(a) A district school board may rent or lease 1956
educational plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary facilities 1957
and sites as defined in s. 1013.01. Educational plants, 1958
ancillary plants, and auxiliary facilities and sites rented or 1959
leased for 1 year or less shall be funded through the operations 1960
budget or funds derived from millage proceeds pursuant to s. 1961
1011.71(2). A lease contract for 1 year or less, when extended 1962
or renewed beyond a year, becomes a multiple-year lease. 1963
Operational funds or funds derived from millage proceeds 1964
pursuant to s. 1011.71(2) may be authorized to be expended for 1965
multiple-year leases. All leased educational plants, ancillary 1966
plants, and auxiliary facilities and sites must be inspected 1967
before occupancy by the authority having jurisdiction. 1968
1. All newly leased spaces must be inspected and brought 1969
into compliance with the Florida Building Code pursuant to 1970
chapter 553 and the life safety codes pursuant to chapter 633, 1971
before occupancy, using the board's operations budget or funds 1972
derived from millage proceeds pursuant to s. 1011.71(2). 1973
2. Plans for renovation or remodeling of leased space 1974
shall conform to the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire 1975

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Prevention Code for educational occupancies or other 1976
occupancies, as appropriate and as required in chapters 553 and 1977
633, before occupancy. 1978
3. All leased facilities must be inspected annually for 1979
firesafety deficiencies in accordance with the applicable code 1980
and have corrections made in accordance with s. 1013.12. 1981
Operational funds or funds derived from millage proceeds 1982
pursuant to s. 1011.71(2) may be used to correct deficiencies in 1983
leased space. 1984
4. When the board declares that a public emergency exists, 1985
it may take up to 30 days to bring the leased facility into 1986
compliance with the requirements of State Board of Education 1987
rules. 1988
(c)1. The term of any lease-purchase agreement, including 1989
the initial term and any subsequent renewals, shall not exceed 1990
the useful life of the educational facilities and sites for 1991
which the agreement is made, or 30 years, whichever is less. 1992
2. The initial term or any renewal term of any lease-1993
purchase agreement shall expire on June 30 of each fiscal year, 1994
but may be automatically renewed annually, subject to a board 1995
making sufficient annual appropriations therefor. Under no 1996
circumstances shall the failure of a board to renew a lease-1997
purchase agreement constitute a default or require payment of 1998
any penalty or in any way limit the right of a board to purchase 1999
or utilize educational plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary 2000

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facilities and sites similar in function to the educational 2001
plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary facilities and sites 2002
that are the subject of the said lease-purchase agreement. 2003
Educational plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary facilities 2004
and sites being acquired pursuant to a lease-purchase agreement 2005
shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation. 2006
3. No lease-purchase agreement entered into pursuant to 2007
this subsection shall constitute a debt, liability, or 2008
obligation of the state or a board or shall be a pledge of the 2009
faith and credit of the state or a board. 2010
4. Any lease-purchase agreement entered into pursuant to 2011
this subsection shall stipulate an annual rate which may consist 2012
of a principal component and an interest component, provided 2013
that the maximum interest rate of any interest component payable 2014
under any such lease-purchase agreement, or any participation or 2015
certificated portion thereof, shall be calculated in accordance 2016
with and be governed by the provisions of s. 215.84. 2017
(4)(a) A board may rent or lease existing buildings, or 2018
space within existing buildings, originally constructed or used 2019
for purposes other than education, for conversion to use as 2020
educational facilities. Such buildings rented or leased for 1 2021
year or less shall be funded through the operations budget or 2022
funds derived from millage pursuant to s. 1011.71(2). A rental 2023
agreement or lease contract for 1 year or less, when extended or 2024
renewed beyond a year, becomes a multiple-year rental or lease. 2025

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Operational funds or funds derived from millage proceeds 2026
pursuant to s. 1011.71(2) may be authorized to be expended for 2027
multiple-year rentals or leases. Notwithstanding any other 2028
provisions of this section, if a building was constructed in 2029
conformance with all applicable building and life safety codes, 2030
it shall be deemed to meet the requirements for use and 2031
occupancy as an educational facility subject only to the 2032
provisions of this subsection. 2033
Section 38. Subsections (4) through (7) of section 2034
1013.62, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (3) 2035
through (6), respectively, and subsection (1) and present 2036
subsection (3) of that section are amended, to read: 2037
1013.62 Charter schools capital outlay funding.— 2038
(1) Charter school capital outlay funding shall consist of 2039
state funds when such funds are appropriated in the General 2040
Appropriations Act and revenue resulting from the discretionary 2041
millage authorized in s. 1011.71(2). 2042
(a) To be eligible to receive capital outlay funds, a 2043
charter school must: 2044
1.a. Have been in operation for 2 or more years; 2045
b. Be governed by a governing board established in the 2046
state for 2 or more years which operates both charter schools 2047
and conversion charter schools within the state; 2048
c. Be an expanded feeder chain of a charter school within 2049
the same school district that is currently receiving charter 2050

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school capital outlay funds; 2051
d. Have been accredited by a regional accrediting 2052
association as defined by State Board of Education rule; 2053
e. Serve students in facilities that are provided by a 2054
business partner for a charter school-in-the-workplace pursuant 2055
to s. 1002.33(15)(b); or 2056
f. Be operated by a hope operator pursuant to s. 1002.333. 2057
2. Have an annual audit that does not reveal any of the 2058
financial emergency conditions provided in s. 218.503(1) for the 2059
most recent fiscal year for which such audit results are 2060
available. 2061
3. Have not earned two consecutive grades of "F," three 2062
consecutive grades below a "C," or two consecutive school 2063
improvement ratings of "Unsatisfactory." 2064
4. Have received final approval from its sponsor pursuant 2065
to s. 1002.33 for operation during that fiscal year. 2066
5. Serve students in facilities that are not provided by 2067
the charter school's sponsor. 2068
6. Attest in writing to the department that if the charter 2069
school is nonrenewed or terminated, any unencumbered funds and 2070
all equipment and property purchased with public funds shall 2071
revert pursuant to subsection (4) (5). 2072
(b) A charter school is not eligible to receive capital 2073
outlay funds if: 2074
1. It was created by the conversion of a public school and 2075

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operates in facilities provided by the charter school's sponsor 2076
for a nominal fee, or at no charge, or if it is directly or 2077
indirectly operated by the school district; 2078
2. It is a developmental research (laboratory) school that 2079
receives state funding for capital improvement purposes pursuant 2080
to s. 1002.32(9)(d); 2081
3. A member of the governing board, or his or her family 2082
member as defined in s. 440.13(1)(b), has an interest in or is 2083
an employee of the lessor, excluding charter schools operating 2084
pursuant to s. 1002.33(15); or 2085
4. It is a Florida College System institution or state 2086
university sponsored charter school that receives state funding 2087
for capital improvement purposes pursuant to s. 2088
1002.33(17)(b)2.d. 2089
(3) If the school board levies the discretionary millage 2090
authorized in s. 1011.71(2), the department shall use the 2091
following calculation methodology to determine the amount of 2092
revenue that a school district must distribute to each eligible 2093
charter school: 2094
(a) Reduce the total discretionary millage revenue by the 2095
school district's annual debt service obligation incurred as of 2096
March 1, 2017, which has not been subsequently retired, and any 2097
amount of participation requirement pursuant to s. 2098
1013.64(2)(a)8. that is being satisfied by revenues raised by 2099
the discretionary millage. 2100

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(b) Divide the school district's adjusted discretionary 2101
millage revenue by the district's total capital outlay full-time 2102
equivalent membership and the total number of full-time 2103
equivalent students of each eligible charter school to determine 2104
a capital outlay allocation per full-time equivalent student. 2105
(c) Multiply the capital outlay allocation per full-time 2106
equivalent student by the total number of full-time equivalent 2107
students of each eligible charter school to determine the 2108
capital outlay allocation for each charter school. 2109
(d) If applicable, reduce the capital outlay allocation 2110
identified in paragraph (c) by the total amount of state funds 2111
allocated to each eligible charter school in subsection (2) to 2112
determine the maximum calculated capital outlay allocation. The 2113
amount of funds a school district must distribute to charter 2114
schools shall be as follows: 2115
1. For fiscal year 2023-2024, the amount is 20 percent of 2116
the amount calculated under this paragraph. 2117
2. For fiscal year 2024-2025, the amount is 40 percent of 2118
the amount calculated under this paragraph. 2119
3. For fiscal year 2025-2026, the amount is 60 percent of 2120
the amount calculated under this paragraph. 2121
4. For fiscal year 2026-2027, the amount is 80 percent of 2122
the amount calculated under this paragraph. 2123
5. For fiscal year 2027-2028, and each fiscal year 2124
thereafter, the amount is 100 percent of the amount calculated 2125

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under this paragraph. 2126
(e) School districts shall distribute capital outlay funds 2127
to eligible charter schools no later than February 1 of each 2128
year, as required by this subsection, based on the amount of 2129
funds received by the district school board. School districts 2130
shall distribute any remaining capital outlay funds, as required 2131
by this subsection, upon the receipt of such funds until the 2132
total amount calculated pursuant to this subsection is 2133
distributed. 2134
2135
By October 1 of each year, each school district shall certify to 2136
the department the amount of debt service and participation 2137
requirement that complies with the requirement of paragraph (a) 2138
and can be reduced from the total discretionary millage revenue. 2139
The Auditor General shall verify compliance with the 2140
requirements of paragraph (a) and s. 1011.71(2)(e) during 2141
scheduled operational audits of school districts. 2142
Section 39. Subsections (2) and (3) of section 1013.736, 2143
Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2144
1013.736 District Effort Recognition Program.— 2145
(2) ELIGIBILITY.—Annually, the Department of Education 2146
shall determine each district's compliance with the provisions 2147
of s. 1003.03 and determine the district's eligibility to 2148
receive a district effort recognition grant for local school 2149
facilities projects pursuant to this section. Districts shall be 2150

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eligible for a district effort recognition grant based upon 2151
participation in any of the following: 2152
(a) The district levies a half-cent school capital outlay 2153
surtax authorized in s. 212.055(6). 2154
(b) The district participates in the levy of the local 2155
government infrastructure sales surtax authorized in s. 2156
212.055(2). 2157
(c) The district levies voted millage for capital outlay 2158
purposes as authorized in s. 9, Art. VII of the State 2159
Constitution. 2160
(3) DISTRICT EFFORT RECOGNITION PROGRAM.—The department 2161
shall annually calculate a district effort amount for each 2162
district by September 1 after each fiscal year. The total amount 2163
of revenue for the prior year from each revenue levied as 2164
described in subsection (2) shall be divided by the number of 2165
months for which revenue was received and multiplied by the 2166
number of authorized months remaining in each voter referendum. 2167
The amount so determined for each revenue levied shall be 2168
totaled. The Department of Revenue shall report the amount of 2169
voter-approved revenue described in paragraphs (2)(a) and (b). 2170
The district shall report the amount of revenue described in 2171
paragraph (2)(b) identified for district fixed capital outlay in 2172
the prior fiscal year. To determine the amount of revenue levied 2173
pursuant to paragraph (2)(c), the district shall annually report 2174
to the Department of Education the outstanding debt service by 2175

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bond series and date of maturity. The total of annual debt 2176
service to maturity remaining as of July 1 of each year shall be 2177
added to the other revenues levied pursuant to paragraphs (2)(a) 2178
and (b) in determining the total district effort amount. Only 2179
the amount of voter-approved revenue described in paragraph 2180
(2)(b) which has been identified for district fixed capital 2181
outlay from the prior fiscal year shall be used in the 2182
calculation. 2183
Section 40. Section 1011.19, Florida Statutes, is amended 2184
to read: 2185
1011.19 Sources of district school fund.—The district 2186
school fund shall consist of funds derived from the district 2187
school tax levy; state appropriations; appropriations by county 2188
commissioners; local, state, and federal school food service 2189
funds; any and all other sources for school purposes; national 2190
forest trust funds and other federal sources; and gifts and 2191
other sources. 2192
Section 41. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 2193
192.0105, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2194
192.0105 Taxpayer rights.—There is created a Florida 2195
Taxpayer's Bill of Rights for property taxes and assessments to 2196
guarantee that the rights, privacy, and property of the 2197
taxpayers of this state are adequately safeguarded and protected 2198
during tax levy, assessment, collection, and enforcement 2199
processes administered under the revenue laws of this state. The 2200

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Taxpayer's Bill of Rights compiles, in one document, brief but 2201
comprehensive statements that summarize the rights and 2202
obligations of the property appraisers, tax collectors, clerks 2203
of the court, local governing boards, the Department of Revenue, 2204
and taxpayers. Additional rights afforded to payors of taxes and 2205
assessments imposed under the revenue laws of this state are 2206
provided in s. 213.015. The rights afforded taxpayers to assure 2207
that their privacy and property are safeguarded and protected 2208
during tax levy, assessment, and collection are available only 2209
insofar as they are implemented in other parts of the Florida 2210
Statutes or rules of the Department of Revenue. The rights so 2211
guaranteed to state taxpayers in the Florida Statutes and the 2212
departmental rules include: 2213
(1) THE RIGHT TO KNOW.— 2214
(a) The right to be sent a notice of proposed property 2215
taxes and proposed or adopted non-ad valorem assessments (see 2216
ss. 194.011(1), 200.065(2)(b) and (d) and (12)(a) (13)(a), and 2217
200.069). The notice must also inform the taxpayer that the 2218
final tax bill may contain additional non-ad valorem assessments 2219
(see s. 200.069(9)). 2220
2221
Notwithstanding the right to information contained in this 2222
subsection, under s. 197.122 property owners are held to know 2223
that property taxes are due and payable annually and are charged 2224
with a duty to ascertain the amount of current and delinquent 2225

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taxes and obtain the necessary information from the applicable 2226
governmental officials. 2227
Section 42. Subsection (5) of section 193.1142, Florida 2228
Statutes, is amended to read: 2229
193.1142 Approval of assessment rolls.— 2230
(5) Whenever an assessment roll submitted to the 2231
department is returned to the property appraiser for additional 2232
evaluation, a review notice shall be issued for the express 2233
purpose of the adjustment provided in s. 200.065(10) s. 2234
200.065(11). 2235
Section 43. Subsection (3) of section 197.363, Florida 2236
Statutes, is amended to read: 2237
197.363 Special assessments and service charges; optional 2238
method of collection.— 2239
(3) When collected by using the method provided for ad 2240
valorem taxes, special assessments shall be subject to all 2241
collection provisions of this chapter, including provisions 2242
relating to discount for early payment, prepayment by 2243
installment method, penalty for delinquent payment, and issuance 2244
of tax certificates and tax deeds for nonpayment, and shall also 2245
be subject to the provisions of s. 192.091(2)(b) s. 2246
192.091(2)(b)2. 2247
Section 44. Paragraph (c) of subsection (8) of section 2248
197.3632, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2249
197.3632 Uniform method for the levy, collection, and 2250

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enforcement of non-ad valorem assessments.— 2251
(8) 2252
(c) Non-ad valorem assessments shall also be subject to 2253
the provisions of s. 192.091(2) s. 192.091(2)(b), or the tax 2254
collector at his or her option shall be compensated for the 2255
collection of non-ad valorem assessments based on the actual 2256
cost of collection, whichever is greater. However, a municipal 2257
or county government shall only compensate the tax collector for 2258
the actual cost of collecting non-ad valorem assessments. 2259
Section 45. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) and paragraph 2260
(c) of subsection (6) of section 212.055, Florida Statutes, are 2261
amended to read: 2262
212.055 Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent; 2263
authorization and use of proceeds.—It is the legislative intent 2264
that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales 2265
surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a 2266
subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the 2267
levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties 2268
authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the 2269
maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the 2270
procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if 2271
required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended; 2272
and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide. 2273
Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as 2274
provided in s. 212.054. 2275

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(2) LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE SURTAX.— 2276
(d) The proceeds of the surtax authorized by this 2277
subsection and any accrued interest shall be expended by the 2278
school district, within the county and municipalities within the 2279
county, or, in the case of a negotiated joint county agreement, 2280
within another county, to finance, plan, and construct 2281
infrastructure; to acquire any interest in land for public 2282
recreation, conservation, or protection of natural resources or 2283
to prevent or satisfy private property rights claims resulting 2284
from limitations imposed by the designation of an area of 2285
critical state concern; to provide loans, grants, or rebates to 2286
residential or commercial property owners who make energy 2287
efficiency improvements to their residential or commercial 2288
property, if a local government ordinance authorizing such use 2289
is approved by referendum; or to finance the closure of county-2290
owned or municipally owned solid waste landfills that have been 2291
closed or are required to be closed by order of the Department 2292
of Environmental Protection. Any use of the proceeds or interest 2293
for purposes of landfill closure before July 1, 1993, is 2294
ratified. The proceeds and any interest may not be used for the 2295
operational expenses of infrastructure, except that a county 2296
that has a population of fewer than 75,000 and that is required 2297
to close a landfill may use the proceeds or interest for long-2298
term maintenance costs associated with landfill closure. 2299
Counties, as defined in s. 125.011, and charter counties may, in 2300

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addition, use the proceeds or interest to retire or service 2301
indebtedness incurred for bonds issued before July 1, 1987, for 2302
infrastructure purposes, and for bonds subsequently issued to 2303
refund such bonds. Any use of the proceeds or interest for 2304
purposes of retiring or servicing indebtedness incurred for 2305
refunding bonds before July 1, 1999, is ratified. 2306
1. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term 2307
"infrastructure" means: 2308
a. Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay 2309
associated with the construction, reconstruction, or improvement 2310
of public facilities that have a life expectancy of 5 or more 2311
years, any related land acquisition, land improvement, design, 2312
and engineering costs, and all other professional and related 2313
costs required to bring the public facilities into service. For 2314
purposes of this sub-subparagraph, the term "public facilities" 2315
means facilities as defined in s. 163.3164(41), s. 163.3221(13), 2316
or s. 189.012(5), and includes facilities that are necessary to 2317
carry out governmental purposes, including, but not limited to, 2318
fire stations, general governmental office buildings, and animal 2319
shelters, regardless of whether the facilities are owned by the 2320
local taxing authority or another governmental entity. 2321
b. A fire department vehicle, an emergency medical service 2322
vehicle, a sheriff's office vehicle, a police department 2323
vehicle, or any other vehicle, and the equipment necessary to 2324
outfit the vehicle for its official use or equipment that has a 2325

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life expectancy of at least 5 years. 2326
c. Any expenditure for the construction, lease, or 2327
maintenance of, or provision of utilities or security for, 2328
facilities, as defined in s. 29.008. 2329
d. Any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay 2330
associated with the improvement of private facilities that have 2331
a life expectancy of 5 or more years and that the owner agrees 2332
to make available for use on a temporary basis as needed by a 2333
local government as a public emergency shelter or a staging area 2334
for emergency response equipment during an emergency officially 2335
declared by the state or by the local government under s. 2336
252.38. Such improvements are limited to those necessary to 2337
comply with current standards for public emergency evacuation 2338
shelters. The owner must enter into a written contract with the 2339
local government providing the improvement funding to make the 2340
private facility available to the public for purposes of 2341
emergency shelter at no cost to the local government for a 2342
minimum of 10 years after completion of the improvement, with 2343
the provision that the obligation will transfer to any 2344
subsequent owner until the end of the minimum period. 2345
e. Any land acquisition expenditure for a residential 2346
housing project in which at least 30 percent of the units are 2347
affordable to individuals or families whose total annual 2348
household income does not exceed 120 percent of the area median 2349
income adjusted for household size, if the land is owned by a 2350

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local government or by a special district that enters into a 2351
written agreement with the local government to provide such 2352
housing. The local government or special district may enter into 2353
a ground lease with a public or private person or entity for 2354
nominal or other consideration for the construction of the 2355
residential housing project on land acquired pursuant to this 2356
sub-subparagraph. 2357
f. Instructional technology used solely in a school 2358
district's classrooms. As used in this sub-subparagraph, the 2359
term "instructional technology" means an interactive device that 2360
assists a teacher in instructing a class or a group of students 2361
and includes the necessary hardware and software to operate the 2362
interactive device. The term also includes support systems in 2363
which an interactive device may mount and is not required to be 2364
affixed to the facilities. 2365
2. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "energy 2366
efficiency improvement" means any energy conservation and 2367
efficiency improvement that reduces consumption through 2368
conservation or a more efficient use of electricity, natural 2369
gas, propane, or other forms of energy on the property, 2370
including, but not limited to, air sealing; installation of 2371
insulation; installation of energy-efficient heating, cooling, 2372
or ventilation systems; installation of solar panels; building 2373
modifications to increase the use of daylight or shade; 2374
replacement of windows; installation of energy controls or 2375

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energy recovery systems; installation of electric vehicle 2376
charging equipment; installation of systems for natural gas fuel 2377
as defined in s. 206.9951; and installation of efficient 2378
lighting equipment. 2379
3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, 2380
a local government infrastructure surtax imposed or extended 2381
after July 1, 1998, may allocate up to 15 percent of the surtax 2382
proceeds for deposit into a trust fund within the county's 2383
accounts created for the purpose of funding economic development 2384
projects having a general public purpose of improving local 2385
economies, including the funding of operational costs and 2386
incentives related to economic development. The ballot statement 2387
must indicate the intention to make an allocation under the 2388
authority of this subparagraph. 2389
4. Surtax revenues that are shared with eligible charter 2390
schools pursuant to paragraph (c) shall be allocated among such 2391
schools based on each school's proportionate share of total 2392
school district capital outlay full-time equivalent enrollment 2393
as adopted by the education estimating conference established in 2394
s. 216.136. Surtax revenues must be expended by the charter 2395
school in a manner consistent with the allowable uses provided 2396
in s. 1013.62(3) s. 1013.62(4). All revenues and expenditures 2397
shall be accounted for in a charter school's monthly or 2398
quarterly financial statement pursuant to s. 1002.33(9). If a 2399
school's charter is not renewed or is terminated and the school 2400

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is dissolved under the provisions of law under which the school 2401
was organized, any unencumbered funds received under this 2402
paragraph shall revert to the sponsor. 2403
(6) SCHOOL CAPITAL OUTLAY SURTAX.— 2404
(c) The resolution providing for the imposition of the 2405
surtax must set forth a plan for use of the surtax proceeds for 2406
fixed capital expenditures or fixed capital costs associated 2407
with the construction, reconstruction, or improvement of school 2408
facilities and campuses which have a useful life expectancy of 5 2409
or more years, and any land acquisition, land improvement, 2410
design, and engineering costs related thereto, or any purchase, 2411
lease-purchase, lease, or maintenance of school buses, as 2412
defined in s. 1006.25, which have a life expectancy of 5 years 2413
or more. Additionally, the plan shall include the costs of 2414
retrofitting and providing for technology implementation, 2415
including hardware and software, for the various sites within 2416
the school district. Surtax revenues may be used to service bond 2417
indebtedness to finance projects authorized by this subsection, 2418
and any interest accrued thereto may be held in trust to finance 2419
such projects. Neither the proceeds of the surtax nor any 2420
interest accrued thereto shall be used for operational expenses. 2421
Surtax revenues shared with charter schools shall be shared 2422
based on their proportionate share of total school district 2423
capital outlay full-time equivalent enrollment as adopted by the 2424
education estimating conference established in s. 216.136 and 2425

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expended by the charter school in a manner consistent with the 2426
allowable uses set forth in s. 1013.62(3) s. 1013.62(4). All 2427
revenues and expenditures shall be accounted for in a charter 2428
school's monthly or quarterly financial statement pursuant to s. 2429
1002.33(9). The eligibility of a charter school to receive funds 2430
under this subsection shall be determined in accordance with s. 2431
1013.62(1). If a school's charter is not renewed or is 2432
terminated and the school is dissolved under the provisions of 2433
law under which the school was organized, any unencumbered funds 2434
received under this subsection shall revert to the sponsor. 2435
Section 46. Subsection (3) of section 218.63, Florida 2436
Statutes, is amended to read: 2437
218.63 Participation requirements.— 2438
(3) A county or municipality may not participate in the 2439
distribution of local government half-cent sales tax revenues 2440
during the 12 months following a determination of noncompliance 2441
by the Department of Revenue as provided in s. 200.065(12)(e) s. 2442
200.065(13)(e). 2443
Section 47. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (3) of 2444
section 373.536, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 2445
373.536 District budget and hearing thereon.— 2446
(3) BUDGET HEARINGS AND WORKSHOPS; NOTICE.— 2447
(c) The tentative budget shall be adopted in accordance 2448
with the provisions of s. 200.065; however, if the mailing of 2449
the notice of proposed property taxes is delayed beyond 2450

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September 3 in any county in which the district lies, the 2451
district shall advertise its intention to adopt a tentative 2452
budget and millage rate, pursuant to s. 200.065(3)(d) s. 2453
200.065(3)(g), in a newspaper of general paid circulation in 2454
that county. 2455
(d) As provided in s. 200.065(2)(d), the board shall 2456
publish one or more notices of its intention to adopt a final 2457
budget for the district for the ensuing fiscal year. The notice 2458
shall appear adjacent to an advertisement that sets forth the 2459
tentative budget in a format meeting the budget summary 2460
requirements of s. 129.03(3)(b). The district shall not include 2461
expenditures of federal special revenues and state special 2462
revenues when preparing the statement required by s. 2463
200.065(3)(j) s. 200.065(3)(l). The notice and advertisement 2464
shall be published in one or more newspapers having a combined 2465
general paid circulation in each county in which the district 2466
lies. Districts may include explanatory phrases and examples in 2467
budget advertisements published under s. 200.065 to clarify or 2468
illustrate the effect that the district budget may have on ad 2469
valorem taxes. 2470
Section 48. Subsection (6) of section 402.22, Florida 2471
Statutes, is amended to read: 2472
402.22 Education program for students who reside in 2473
residential care facilities operated by the Department of 2474
Children and Families or the Agency for Persons with 2475

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Disabilities.— 2476
(6) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 1001.42(4)(m), 2477
the educational program at the Marianna Sunland Center in 2478
Jackson County shall be operated by the Department of Education, 2479
either directly or through grants or contractual agreements with 2480
other public educational agencies. The annual state allocation 2481
to any such agency shall be computed pursuant to s. 101.62(1), 2482
(2), and (14) s. 1011.62(1), (2), and (18) and allocated in the 2483
amount that would have been provided the local school district 2484
in which the residential facility is located. 2485
Section 49. Paragraph (f) of subsection (3) of section 2486
1002.37, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2487
1002.37 The Florida Virtual School.— 2488
(3) Funding for the Florida Virtual School shall be 2489
provided as follows: 2490
(f) The Florida Virtual School shall receive state funds 2491
for operating purposes as provided in the General Appropriations 2492
Act. The calculation to determine the amount of state funds 2493
includes: the sum of the basic amount for current operations 2494
established in s. 1011.62(1)(n), the discretionary millage 2495
compression supplement established in s. 1011.62(5), the state-2496
funded discretionary contribution established in s. 1011.62(6), 2497
a per-full-time equivalent share of the exceptional student 2498
education guaranteed allocation established in s. 1011.62(5) s. 2499
1011.62(8), and the mental health assistance allocation 2500

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established in s. 1011.62(10) s. 1011.62(13). 2501
Section 50. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (12) of 2502
section 1002.394, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 2503
1002.394 The Family Empowerment Scholarship Program.— 2504
(12) SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING AND PAYMENT.— 2505
(a)1. The calculated scholarship amount for a 2506
participating student determined eligible pursuant to paragraph 2507
(3)(a) shall be based upon the grade level and school district 2508
in which the student was assigned as 100 percent of the funds 2509
per unweighted full-time equivalent in the Florida Education 2510
Finance Program for a student in the basic program established 2511
pursuant to s. 1011.62(1)(c)1., plus a per-full-time equivalent 2512
share of funds for the categorical programs established in s. 2513
1011.62(4)(a) s. 1011.62(5), (7)(a), and (16), as funded in the 2514
General Appropriations Act. 2515
2.a. For renewing scholarship students, the organization 2516
must verify the student's continued eligibility to participate 2517
in the scholarship program at least 30 days before each payment. 2518
Upon receiving the verified list of eligible scholarship 2519
students, the department shall release, from state funds only, 2520
the amount calculated pursuant to subparagraph 1. to the 2521
organization for deposit into the student's account in quarterly 2522
payments no later than August 1, November 1, February 1, and 2523
April 1 of each school year in which the scholarship is in 2524
force. 2525

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b. For new scholarship students, the organization must 2526
verify the student's eligibility to participate in the 2527
scholarship program at least 30 days before each payment. Upon 2528
receiving the verified list of eligible scholarship students, 2529
the department shall release, from state funds only, the amount 2530
calculated pursuant to subparagraph 1. to the organization for 2531
deposit into the student's account in quarterly payments no 2532
later than September 1, November 1, February 1, and April 1 of 2533
each school year in which the scholarship is in force. For a 2534
student exiting a Department of Juvenile Justice commitment 2535
program who chooses to participate in the scholarship program, 2536
the amount calculated pursuant to subparagraph 1. must be 2537
transferred from the school district in which the student last 2538
attended a public school before commitment to the Department of 2539
Juvenile Justice. 2540
c. The department is authorized to release the state funds 2541
contingent upon verification that the organization will comply 2542
with s. 1002.395(6)(l) based upon the organization's submitted 2543
verified list of eligible scholarship students pursuant to s. 2544
1002.395. 2545
3. The initial payment shall be made after the 2546
organization's verification of admission acceptance, and 2547
subsequent payments shall be made upon verification of continued 2548
enrollment and attendance at the participating private school. 2549
Payments for tuition and fees for full-time enrollment shall be 2550

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made within 7 business days after approval by the parent 2551
pursuant to paragraph (10)(a) and the private school pursuant to 2552
paragraph (9)(b). Payment must be by funds transfer or any other 2553
means of payment that the department deems to be commercially 2554
viable or cost-effective. An organization shall ensure that the 2555
parent has approved a funds transfer before any scholarship 2556
funds are deposited. 2557
4. An organization may not transfer any funds to an 2558
account of a student determined eligible pursuant to paragraph 2559
(3)(a) which has a balance in excess of $24,000. 2560
(b)1. For the 2024-2025 school year, the maximum number of 2561
scholarships funded under paragraph (3)(b) shall be 72,615. 2562
Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, the maximum number of 2563
scholarships funded under paragraph (3)(b) shall annually 2564
increase by 5 percent of the state's total exceptional student 2565
education full-time equivalent student membership, not including 2566
gifted students. The maximum number of scholarships funded shall 2567
increase by 1 percent of the state's total exceptional student 2568
education full-time equivalent student membership, not including 2569
gifted students, in the school year following any school year in 2570
which the number of scholarships funded exceeds 95 percent of 2571
the number of available scholarships for that school year. An 2572
eligible student who meets any of the following requirements 2573
shall be excluded from the maximum number of students if the 2574
student: 2575

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a. Received specialized instructional services under the 2576
Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program pursuant to s. 2577
1002.66 during the previous school year and the student has a 2578
current IEP developed by the district school board in accordance 2579
with rules of the State Board of Education; 2580
b. Is a dependent child of a law enforcement officer or a 2581
member of the United States Armed Forces, a foster child, or an 2582
adopted child; or 2583
c. Spent the prior school year in attendance at a Florida 2584
public school or the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind. 2585
For purposes of this subparagraph, the term "prior school year 2586
in attendance" means that the student was enrolled and reported 2587
by: 2588
(I) A school district for funding during either the 2589
preceding October or February full-time equivalent student 2590
membership surveys in kindergarten through grade 12, which 2591
includes time spent in a Department of Juvenile Justice 2592
commitment program if funded under the Florida Education Finance 2593
Program; 2594
(II) The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind during 2595
the preceding October or February full-time equivalent student 2596
membership surveys in kindergarten through grade 12; 2597
(III) A school district for funding during the preceding 2598
October or February full-time equivalent student membership 2599
surveys, was at least 4 years of age when enrolled and reported, 2600

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and was eligible for services under s. 1003.21(1)(e); or 2601
(IV) Received a John M. McKay Scholarship for Students 2602
with Disabilities in the 2021-2022 school year. 2603
2. For a student who has a Level I to Level III matrix of 2604
services or a diagnosis by a physician or psychologist, the 2605
calculated scholarship amount for a student participating in the 2606
program must be based upon the grade level and school district 2607
in which the student would have been enrolled as the total funds 2608
per unweighted full-time equivalent in the Florida Education 2609
Finance Program for a student in the basic exceptional student 2610
education program pursuant to s. 1011.62(1)(c) and (d), plus a 2611
per full-time equivalent share of funds for the categorical 2612
programs established in s. 1011.62(4)(a) and (5) s. 1011.62(5), 2613
(7)(a), (8), and (16), as funded in the General Appropriations 2614
Act. For the categorical program established in s. 1011.62(5) s. 2615
1011.62(8), the funds must be allocated based on the school 2616
district's average exceptional student education guaranteed 2617
allocation funds per exceptional student education full-time 2618
equivalent student. 2619
3. For a student with a Level IV or Level V matrix of 2620
services, the calculated scholarship amount must be based upon 2621
the school district to which the student would have been 2622
assigned as the total funds per full-time equivalent for the 2623
Level IV or Level V exceptional student education program 2624
pursuant to s. 1011.62(1)(c)2.a. or b., plus a per-full time 2625

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equivalent share of funds for the categorical programs 2626
established in s. 1011.62(4)(a) s. 1011.62(5), (7)(a), and (16), 2627
as funded in the General Appropriations Act. 2628
4. For a student who received a Gardiner Scholarship 2629
pursuant to former s. 1002.385 in the 2020-2021 school year, the 2630
amount shall be the greater of the amount calculated pursuant to 2631
subparagraph 2. or the amount the student received for the 2020-2632
2021 school year. 2633
5. For a student who received a John M. McKay Scholarship 2634
pursuant to former s. 1002.39 in the 2020-2021 school year, the 2635
amount shall be the greater of the amount calculated pursuant to 2636
subparagraph 2. or the amount the student received for the 2020-2637
2021 school year. 2638
6. The organization must verify the student's eligibility 2639
to participate in the scholarship program at least 30 days 2640
before each payment. 2641
7.a. For renewing scholarship students, upon receiving the 2642
verified list of eligible scholarship students, the department 2643
shall release, from state funds only, the amount calculated 2644
pursuant to subparagraph 1. to the organization for deposit into 2645
the student's account in quarterly payments no later than August 2646
1, November 1, February 1, and April 1 of each school year in 2647
which the scholarship is in force. 2648
b. For new scholarship students, upon receiving the 2649
verified list of eligible scholarship students, the department 2650

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shall release, from state funds only, the amount calculated 2651
pursuant to subparagraph 1. to the organization for deposit into 2652
the student's account in quarterly payments no later than 2653
September 1, November 1, February 1, and April 1 of each school 2654
year in which the scholarship is in force. 2655
8. If a scholarship student is attending an eligible 2656
private school full time, the initial payment shall be made 2657
after the organization's verification of admission acceptance, 2658
and subsequent payments shall be made upon verification of 2659
continued enrollment and attendance at the eligible private 2660
school. Payments for tuition and fees for full-time enrollment 2661
shall be made within 7 business days after approval by the 2662
parent pursuant to paragraph (10)(b) and the private school 2663
pursuant to paragraph (9)(b). 2664
9. Accrued interest in the student's account is in 2665
addition to, and not part of, the awarded funds. Program funds 2666
include both the awarded funds and accrued interest. 2667
10. The organization may develop a system for payment of 2668
benefits by funds transfer, including, but not limited to, debit 2669
cards, electronic payment cards, or any other means of payment 2670
which the department deems to be commercially viable or cost-2671
effective. A student's scholarship award may not be reduced for 2672
debit card or electronic payment fees. Commodities or services 2673
related to the development of such a system must be procured by 2674
competitive solicitation unless they are purchased from a state 2675

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term contract pursuant to s. 287.056. 2676
11. An organization may not transfer any funds to an 2677
account of a student determined to be eligible pursuant to 2678
paragraph (3)(b) which has a balance in excess of $50,000. 2679
12. Moneys received pursuant to this section do not 2680
constitute taxable income to the qualified student or the parent 2681
of the qualified student. 2682
Section 51. Paragraph (b) of subsection (6) of section 2683
1002.45, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2684
1002.45 Virtual instruction programs.— 2685
(6) VIRTUAL INSTRUCTION PROGRAM AND VIRTUAL CHARTER SCHOOL 2686
FUNDING.— 2687
(b) Students enrolled in a virtual instruction program 2688
shall be funded in the Florida Education Finance Program as 2689
provided in the General Appropriations Act. The calculation to 2690
determine the amount of funds for each student through the 2691
Florida Education Finance Program shall include the sum of the 2692
basic amount for current operations established in s. 2693
1011.62(1)(n) and all categorical programs except for the 2694
categorical programs established in ss. 1011.62(4) and (9), 2695
1011.68, and 1011.685 ss. 1011.62(7), (12), and (16), 1011.68, 2696
and 1011.685. Students residing outside of the school district 2697
reporting the full-time equivalent virtual student shall be 2698
funded from state funds only. 2699
Section 52. Subsections (2) through (5) of section 2700

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1003.4203, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 2701
1003.4203 Digital materials, CAPE Digital Tool 2702
certificates, CAPE industry certifications, and technical 2703
assistance.— 2704
(2) CAPE DIGITAL TOOL CERTIFICATES.—The department shall 2705
identify, in the CAPE Industry Certification Funding List under 2706
ss. 1003.492 and 1008.44, CAPE Digital Tool certificates that 2707
indicate a student's digital skills. The department shall notify 2708
each school district when the certificates are available. The 2709
certificates shall be made available to all public elementary 2710
grades students. Targeted skills to be mastered for the 2711
certificate include digital skills that are necessary to the 2712
student's academic work and skills the student may need in 2713
future employment. CAPE Digital Tool certificates earned by 2714
students are eligible for additional funding pursuant to s. 2715
1011.62(13) s. 1011.62(17). 2716
(3) BASIC CAPE INDUSTRY CERTIFICATIONS.— 2717
(a) CAPE industry certifications, issued to middle school 2718
and high school students, which do not articulate for college 2719
credit, are eligible for additional funding pursuant to s. 2720
1011.62(13) s. 1011.62(17). Each approved industry certification 2721
must be specifically identified in the CAPE Industry 2722
Certification Funding List as a CAPE Basic Non-articulated 2723
industry certification. 2724
(b) CAPE industry certifications, issued to high school 2725

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students, which articulate for college credit, are eligible for 2726
additional funding pursuant to s. 1011.62(13) s. 1011.62(17). 2727
Each approved industry certification must be specifically 2728
identified in the CAPE Industry Certification Funding List as a 2729
CAPE Basic Articulated industry certification. 2730
(4) CAPE ACCELERATION.—Industry certifications that 2731
articulate for 15 or more college credit hours and, if 2732
successfully completed, are eligible for additional funding 2733
pursuant to s. 1011.62(13) s. 1011.62(17). Each approved 2734
industry certification must be specifically identified in the 2735
CAPE Industry Certification Funding List as a CAPE Acceleration 2736
industry certification. 2737
(5) CAPE PATHWAYS.—Industry certifications issued to high 2738
school students who complete at least three courses and an 2739
industry certification in a single career and technical 2740
education program or program of study and who exit with a 2741
standard high school diploma are eligible for additional funding 2742
pursuant to s. 1011.62(13) s. 1011.62(17). Each approved 2743
industry certification must be specifically identified in the 2744
CAPE Industry Certification Funding List as a CAPE Pathways 2745
industry certification. 2746
Section 53. Subsection (3) of section 1003.4935, Florida 2747
Statutes, is amended to read: 2748
1003.4935 Middle grades career and professional academy 2749
courses and career-themed courses.— 2750

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(3) CAPE industry certifications offered in the middle 2751
grades that are included on the CAPE Industry Certification 2752
Funding List, if earned by students, are eligible for additional 2753
funding pursuant to s. 1011.62(13) s. 1011.62(17). 2754
Section 54. Section 1006.12, Florida Statutes, is amended 2755
to read: 2756
1006.12 Safe-school officers at each public school.—For 2757
the protection and safety of school personnel, property, 2758
students, and visitors, each district school board and school 2759
district superintendent shall partner with law enforcement 2760
agencies or security agencies to establish or assign one or more 2761
safe-school officers at each school facility within the 2762
district, including charter schools. A district school board 2763
must collaborate with charter school governing boards to 2764
facilitate charter school access to all safe-school officer 2765
options available under this section. The school district may 2766
implement any combination of the options in subsections (1)-(4) 2767
to best meet the needs of the school district and charter 2768
schools. 2769
(1) SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER.—A school district may 2770
establish school resource officer programs through a cooperative 2771
agreement with law enforcement agencies. 2772
(a) School resource officers shall undergo criminal 2773
background checks, drug testing, and a psychological evaluation 2774
and be certified law enforcement officers, as defined in s. 2775

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943.10(1), who are employed by a law enforcement agency as 2776
defined in s. 943.10(4). The powers and duties of a law 2777
enforcement officer shall continue throughout the employee's 2778
tenure as a school resource officer. 2779
(b) School resource officers shall abide by district 2780
school board policies and shall consult with and coordinate 2781
activities through the school principal, but shall be 2782
responsible to the law enforcement agency in all matters 2783
relating to employment, subject to agreements between a district 2784
school board and a law enforcement agency. The agreements shall 2785
identify the entity responsible for maintaining records relating 2786
to training. Activities conducted by the school resource officer 2787
which are part of the regular instructional program of the 2788
school shall be under the direction of the school principal. 2789
(2) SCHOOL SAFETY OFFICER.—A school district may 2790
commission one or more school safety officers for the protection 2791
and safety of school personnel, property, and students within 2792
the school district. The district school superintendent may 2793
recommend, and the district school board may appoint, one or 2794
more school safety officers. 2795
(a) School safety officers shall undergo criminal 2796
background checks, drug testing, and a psychological evaluation 2797
and be law enforcement officers, as defined in s. 943.10(1), 2798
certified under chapter 943 and employed by either a law 2799
enforcement agency or by the district school board. If the 2800

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officer is employed by the district school board, the district 2801
school board is the employing agency for purposes of chapter 2802
943, and must comply with that chapter. 2803
(b) A school safety officer has and shall exercise the 2804
power to make arrests for violations of law on district school 2805
board property or on property owned or leased by a charter 2806
school under a charter contract, as applicable, and to arrest 2807
persons, whether on or off such property, who violate any law on 2808
such property under the same conditions that deputy sheriffs are 2809
authorized to make arrests. A school safety officer has the 2810
authority to carry weapons when performing his or her official 2811
duties. 2812
(c) School safety officers must complete mental health 2813
crisis intervention training using a curriculum developed by a 2814
national organization with expertise in mental health crisis 2815
intervention. The training shall improve officers' knowledge and 2816
skills as first responders to incidents involving students with 2817
emotional disturbance or mental illness, including de-escalation 2818
skills to ensure student and officer safety. 2819
(d) A district school board may enter into mutual aid 2820
agreements with one or more law enforcement agencies as provided 2821
in chapter 23. A school safety officer's salary may be paid 2822
jointly by the district school board and the law enforcement 2823
agency, as mutually agreed to. 2824
(3) SCHOOL GUARDIAN.— 2825

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(a) At the school district's or the charter school 2826
governing board's discretion, as applicable, pursuant to s. 2827
30.15, a school district or charter school governing board may 2828
participate in the Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, and Coach 2829
Scott Beigel Guardian Program to meet the requirement of 2830
establishing a safe-school officer. The following individuals 2831
may serve as a school guardian, in support of school-sanctioned 2832
activities for purposes of s. 790.115, upon satisfactory 2833
completion of the requirements under s. 30.15(1)(k) and 2834
certification by a sheriff: 2835
1. A school district employee or personnel, as defined 2836
under s. 1012.01, or a charter school employee, as provided 2837
under s. 1002.33(12)(a), who volunteers to serve as a school 2838
guardian in addition to his or her official job duties; or 2839
2. An employee of a school district or a charter school 2840
who is hired for the specific purpose of serving as a school 2841
guardian. 2842
(b) Before appointing an individual as a school guardian, 2843
the school district or charter school shall contact the 2844
Department of Law Enforcement and review all information 2845
maintained under s. 30.15(1)(k)3.c. related to the individual. 2846
(c) The department shall provide to the Department of Law 2847
Enforcement any information relating to a school guardian 2848
received pursuant to subsection (5). 2849
(4) SCHOOL SECURITY GUARD.—A school district or charter 2850

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school governing board may contract with a security agency as 2851
defined in s. 493.6101(18) to employ as a school security guard 2852
an individual who holds a Class "D" and Class "G" license 2853
pursuant to chapter 493, provided the following training and 2854
contractual conditions are met: 2855
(a) An individual who serves as a school security guard, 2856
for purposes of satisfying the requirements of this section, 2857
must: 2858
1. Demonstrate completion of 144 hours of required 2859
training conducted by a sheriff pursuant to s. 30.15(1)(k)2. 2860
2. Pass a psychological evaluation administered by a 2861
psychologist licensed under chapter 490 and designated by the 2862
Department of Law Enforcement and submit the results of the 2863
evaluation to the sheriff's office and school district, charter 2864
school governing board, or employing security agency, as 2865
applicable. The Department of Law Enforcement is authorized to 2866
provide the sheriff's office, school district, charter school 2867
governing board, or employing security agency with mental health 2868
and substance abuse data for compliance with this paragraph. 2869
3. Submit to and pass an initial drug test and subsequent 2870
random drug tests in accordance with the requirements of s. 2871
112.0455 and the sheriff's office, school district, charter 2872
school governing board, or employing security agency, as 2873
applicable. 2874
4. Be approved to work as a school security guard by the 2875

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sheriff of each county in which the school security guard will 2876
be assigned to a school before commencing work at any school in 2877
that county. The sheriff's approval authorizes the security 2878
agency to assign the school security guard to any school in the 2879
county, and the sheriff's approval is not limited to any 2880
particular school. 2881
5. Successfully complete ongoing training, weapon 2882
inspection, and firearm qualification conducted by a sheriff 2883
pursuant to s. 30.15(1)(k)2.e. on at least an annual basis and 2884
provide documentation to the sheriff's office, school district, 2885
charter school governing board, or employing security agency, as 2886
applicable. 2887
(b) The contract between a security agency and a school 2888
district or a charter school governing board regarding 2889
requirements applicable to school security guards serving in the 2890
capacity of a safe-school officer for purposes of satisfying the 2891
requirements of this section shall define the entity or entities 2892
responsible for maintaining records relating to training, 2893
inspection, and firearm qualification. 2894
(c) School security guards serving in the capacity of a 2895
safe-school officer pursuant to this subsection are in support 2896
of school-sanctioned activities for purposes of s. 790.115, and 2897
must aid in the prevention or abatement of active assailant 2898
incidents on school premises. 2899
(d) The Office of Safe Schools shall provide the 2900

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Department of Law Enforcement any information related to a 2901
school security guard that the office receives pursuant to 2902
subsection (5). 2903
(5) NOTIFICATION.—The district school superintendent or 2904
charter school administrator, or a respective designee shall 2905
notify the county sheriff and the Office of Safe Schools 2906
immediately after, but no later than 72 hours after: 2907
(a) A safe-school officer is dismissed for misconduct or 2908
is otherwise disciplined. 2909
(b) A safe-school officer discharges his or her firearm in 2910
the exercise of the safe-school officer's duties, other than for 2911
training purposes. 2912
(6) CRISIS INTERVENTION TRAINING.—Each safe-school officer 2913
who is also a sworn law enforcement officer shall complete 2914
mental health crisis intervention training using a curriculum 2915
developed by a national organization with expertise in mental 2916
health crisis intervention. The training must improve the 2917
officer's knowledge and skills as a first responder to incidents 2918
involving students with emotional disturbance or mental illness, 2919
including de-escalation skills to ensure student and officer 2920
safety. 2921
(7) LIMITATIONS.—An individual must satisfy the background 2922
screening, psychological evaluation, and drug test requirements 2923
and be approved by the sheriff before participating in any 2924
training required by s. 30.15(1)(k), which may be conducted only 2925

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by a sheriff. 2926
(8) EXEMPTION.—Any information that would identify whether 2927
a particular individual has been appointed as a safe-school 2928
officer pursuant to this section held by a law enforcement 2929
agency, school district, or charter school is exempt from s. 2930
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 2931
2932
If a district school board, through its adopted policies, 2933
procedures, or actions, denies a charter school access to any 2934
safe-school officer options pursuant to this section, the school 2935
district must assign a school resource officer or school safety 2936
officer to the charter school. Under such circumstances, the 2937
charter school's share of the costs of the school resource 2938
officer or school safety officer may not exceed the safe school 2939
allocation funds provided to the charter school pursuant to s. 2940
1011.62(9) s. 1011.62(12) and shall be retained by the school 2941
district. 2942
Section 55. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) and paragraph 2943
(b) of subsection (3) of section 1010.20, Florida Statutes, are 2944
amended to read: 2945
1010.20 Cost accounting and reporting for school 2946
districts.— 2947
(2) COST REPORTING.— 2948
(a) Each district shall report on a district-aggregate 2949
basis expenditures for inservice training pursuant to s. 2950

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1011.62(3) and for categorical programs as provided in s. 2951
1011.62(14) s. 1011.62(18). 2952
(3) PROGRAM EXPENDITURE REQUIREMENTS.— 2953
(b) Funds for inservice training established in s. 2954
1011.62(3) and for categorical programs established in s. 2955
1011.62(14) s. 1011.62(18) shall be expended for the costs of 2956
the identified programs as provided by law and in accordance 2957
with the rules of the State Board of Education. 2958
Section 56. Section 1011.15, Florida Statutes, is amended 2959
to read: 2960
1011.15 Obligations to eliminate major emergency 2961
conditions.—The district school board of any district 2962
experiencing a major emergency condition in an existing school 2963
plant that demands immediate correction in order to prevent 2964
further damage to the building or equipment or to eliminate a 2965
safety hazard that constitutes an immediate danger to the 2966
students and other occupants is authorized to create an 2967
obligation for a period of 1 year by way of anticipation of 2968
revenues for capital outlay purposes accruing on a current basis 2969
without pledging the credit of the district. Such obligation may 2970
be extended from year to year with the consent of the lender for 2971
a period not to exceed 4 years, or for a total of 5 years 2972
including the initial year of the loan. Obligations occurring 2973
under this section may be repaid from funds to be received from 2974
taxes authorized by s. 1011.71(2) and from any other funds 2975

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available to the district school board for the purpose under the 2976
following conditions: 2977
(1) DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD TO ADOPT PROPOSAL.—When the 2978
district school board proposes to incur obligations of the 2979
nature authorized in this section, it shall adopt and spread 2980
upon its minutes a resolution fully describing the emergency 2981
condition outlined above, giving the nature of the obligations 2982
to be incurred, stating the plan of payment, and providing that 2983
such funds will be budgeted during the period of the loan from 2984
the current revenue to retire the obligations maturing during 2985
the year. This plan of payment shall not extend over a period 2986
longer than 1 year. 2987
(2) INTEREST-BEARING NOTES AUTHORIZED.—Each district 2988
school board which has authorized the incurring of the 2989
obligations as provided in this section shall issue interest-2990
bearing notes for the obligations. The notes shall provide the 2991
terms of payment and shall not bear interest in excess of the 2992
rate authorized in s. 1010.59. 2993
Section 57. Paragraph (b) of subsection (6) of section 2994
1011.18, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2995
1011.18 School depositories; payments into and withdrawals 2996
from depositories.— 2997
(6) EXEMPTION FOR SELF-INSURANCE PROGRAMS AND THIRD-PARTY 2998
ADMINISTERED EMPLOYEES' FRINGE BENEFIT PROGRAMS.— 2999
(b) The district school board may contract with an 3000

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insurance company or professional administrator who holds a 3001
valid certificate of authority issued by the Office of Insurance 3002
Regulation of the Financial Services Commission to provide any 3003
services that a third-party administrator is authorized by law 3004
to perform. Pursuant to such contract, the district school board 3005
may advance or remit money to the administrator to be deposited 3006
in a designated special checking account for paying claims 3007
against the district school board under its self-insurance 3008
programs, and remitting premiums to the providers of insured 3009
benefits on behalf of the district school board and the 3010
participants in such programs, and otherwise fulfilling the 3011
obligations imposed upon the administrator by law and the 3012
contractual agreements between the district school board and the 3013
administrator. The special checking account shall be maintained 3014
in a designated district school depository. The district school 3015
board may replenish such account as often as necessary upon the 3016
presentation by the service organization of documentation for 3017
claims or premiums due paid equal to the amount of the requested 3018
reimbursement. Such replenishment shall be made by a warrant 3019
signed by the chair of the district school board and 3020
countersigned by the district school superintendent. Such 3021
replenishment may be made by electronic, telephonic, or other 3022
medium, and each transfer shall be confirmed in writing and 3023
signed by the district school superintendent or his or her 3024
designee. The provisions of strict accountability of all funds 3025

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and an annual audit by an independent certified public 3026
accountant as provided in s. 1001.42(12)(j) s. 1001.42(12)(k) 3027
apply to this subsection. 3028
Section 58. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 3029
1012.22, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 3030
1012.22 Public school personnel; powers and duties of the 3031
district school board.—The district school board shall: 3032
(3) 3033
(b) Appearances before the board.—If a district school 3034
superintendent appears before the state board to provide an 3035
update under s. 1011.62(11)(e) s. 1011.62(14)(e), the state 3036
board must require that the president of the collective 3037
bargaining unit that represents the school district also must 3038
appear. 3039
Section 59. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2), paragraph (e) 3040
of subsection (3), and paragraph (b) of subsection (6) of 3041
section 1013.64, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 3042
1013.64 Funds for comprehensive educational plant needs; 3043
construction cost maximums for school district capital 3044
projects.—Allocations from the Public Education Capital Outlay 3045
and Debt Service Trust Fund to the various boards for capital 3046
outlay projects shall be determined as follows: 3047
(2)(a) The department shall establish, as a part of the 3048
Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund, a 3049
separate account, in an amount determined by the Legislature, to 3050

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be known as the "Special Facility Construction Account." The 3051
Special Facility Construction Account shall be used to provide 3052
necessary construction funds to school districts which have 3053
urgent construction needs but which lack sufficient resources at 3054
present, and cannot reasonably anticipate sufficient resources 3055
within the period of the next 3 years, for these purposes from 3056
currently authorized sources of capital outlay revenue. A school 3057
district requesting funding from the Special Facility 3058
Construction Account shall submit one specific construction 3059
project, not to exceed one complete educational plant, to the 3060
Special Facility Construction Committee. A district may not 3061
receive funding for more than one approved project in any 3-year 3062
period or while any portion of the district's participation 3063
requirement is outstanding. The first year of the 3-year period 3064
shall be the first year a district receives an appropriation. 3065
The department shall encourage a construction program that 3066
reduces the average size of schools in the district. The request 3067
must meet the following criteria to be considered by the 3068
committee: 3069
1. The project must be deemed a critical need and must be 3070
recommended for funding by the Special Facility Construction 3071
Committee. Before developing construction plans for the proposed 3072
facility, the district school board must request a 3073
preapplication review by the Special Facility Construction 3074
Committee or a project review subcommittee convened by the chair 3075

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of the committee to include two representatives of the 3076
department and two staff members from school districts not 3077
eligible to participate in the program. A school district may 3078
request a preapplication review at any time; however, if the 3079
district school board seeks inclusion in the department's next 3080
annual capital outlay legislative budget request, the 3081
preapplication review request must be made before February 1. 3082
Within 90 days after receiving the preapplication review 3083
request, the committee or subcommittee must meet in the school 3084
district to review the project proposal and existing facilities. 3085
To determine whether the proposed project is a critical need, 3086
the committee or subcommittee shall consider, at a minimum, the 3087
capacity of all existing facilities within the district as 3088
determined by the Florida Inventory of School Houses; the 3089
district's pattern of student growth; the district's existing 3090
and projected capital outlay full-time equivalent student 3091
enrollment as determined by the demographic, revenue, and 3092
education estimating conferences established in s. 216.136; the 3093
district's existing satisfactory student stations; the use of 3094
all existing district property and facilities; grade level 3095
configurations; and any other information that may affect the 3096
need for the proposed project. 3097
2. The construction project must be recommended in the 3098
most recent survey or survey amendment cooperatively prepared by 3099
the district and the department, and approved by the department 3100

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under the rules of the State Board of Education. If a district 3101
employs a consultant in the preparation of a survey or survey 3102
amendment, the consultant may not be employed by or receive 3103
compensation from a third party that designs or constructs a 3104
project recommended by the survey. 3105
3. The construction project must appear on the district's 3106
approved project priority list under the rules of the State 3107
Board of Education. 3108
4. The district must have selected and had approved a site 3109
for the construction project in compliance with s. 1013.36 and 3110
the rules of the State Board of Education. 3111
5. The district shall have developed a district school 3112
board adopted list of facilities that do not exceed the norm for 3113
net square feet occupancy requirements under the State 3114
Requirements for Educational Facilities, using all possible 3115
programmatic combinations for multiple use of space to obtain 3116
maximum daily use of all spaces within the facility under 3117
consideration. 3118
6. Upon construction, the total cost per student station, 3119
including change orders, must not exceed the cost per student 3120
station as provided in subsection (6) unless approved by the 3121
Special Facility Construction Committee. At the discretion of 3122
the committee, costs that exceed the cost per student station 3123
for special facilities may include legal and administrative 3124
fees, the cost of site improvements or related offsite 3125

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improvements, the cost of complying with public shelter and 3126
hurricane hardening requirements, cost overruns created by a 3127
disaster as defined in s. 252.34(2), costs of security 3128
enhancements approved by the school safety specialist, and 3129
unforeseeable circumstances beyond the district's control. 3130
7. There shall be an agreement signed by the district 3131
school board stating that it will advertise for bids within 30 3132
days of receipt of its encumbrance authorization from the 3133
department. 3134
8. For construction projects for which Special Facilities 3135
Construction Account funding is sought before the 2019-2020 3136
fiscal year, the district shall, at the time of the request and 3137
for a continuing period necessary to meet the district's 3138
participation requirement, levy the maximum millage against its 3139
nonexempt assessed property value as allowed in s. 1011.71(2) or 3140
shall raise an equivalent amount of revenue from the school 3141
capital outlay surtax authorized under s. 212.055(6). Beginning 3142
with construction projects for which Special Facilities 3143
Construction Account funding is sought in the 2019-2020 fiscal 3144
year, the district shall, for a minimum of 3 years before 3145
submitting the request and for a continuing period necessary to 3146
meet its participation requirement, levy the maximum millage 3147
against the district's nonexempt assessed property value as 3148
authorized under s. 1011.71(2) or shall raise an equivalent 3149
amount of revenue from the school capital outlay surtax 3150

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authorized under s. 212.055(6). Any district with a new or 3151
active project, funded under the provisions of this subsection, 3152
shall be required to budget no more than the value of 1 mill per 3153
year to the project until the district's participation 3154
requirement relating to the local discretionary capital 3155
improvement millage or the equivalent amount of revenue from the 3156
school capital outlay surtax is satisfied. 3157
8.9. If a contract has not been signed 90 days after the 3158
advertising of bids, the funding for the specific project shall 3159
revert to the Special Facility New Construction Account to be 3160
reallocated to other projects on the list. However, an 3161
additional 90 days may be granted by the commissioner. 3162
9.10. The department shall certify the inability of the 3163
district to fund the survey-recommended project over a 3164
continuous 3-year period using projected capital outlay revenue 3165
derived from s. 9(d), Art. XII of the State Constitution, as 3166
amended, and paragraph (3)(a) of this section, and s. 3167
1011.71(2). 3168
10.11. The district shall have on file with the department 3169
an adopted resolution acknowledging its commitment to satisfy 3170
its participation requirement, which is equivalent to all 3171
unencumbered and future revenue acquired from s. 9(d), Art. XII 3172
of the State Constitution, as amended, and paragraph (3)(a) of 3173
this section, and s. 1011.71(2), in the year of the initial 3174
appropriation and for the 2 years immediately following the 3175

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initial appropriation. 3176
11.12. Phase I plans must be approved by the district 3177
school board as being in compliance with the building and life 3178
safety codes before June 1 of the year the application is made. 3179
(3) 3180
(e) A district school board may lease relocatable 3181
educational facilities for up to 3 years using nonbonded PECO 3182
funds and for any time period using local capital outlay 3183
millage. 3184
(6) 3185
(b)1. A district school board may not use funds from the 3186
following sources: Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt 3187
Service Trust Fund; School District and Community College 3188
District Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund; Classrooms 3189
First Program funds provided in s. 1013.68; nonvoted 1.5-mill 3190
levy of ad valorem property taxes provided in s. 1011.71(2); 3191
Classrooms for Kids Program funds provided in s. 1013.735; 3192
District Effort Recognition Program funds provided in s. 3193
1013.736; or High Growth District Capital Outlay Assistance 3194
Grant Program funds provided in s. 1013.738 to pay for any 3195
portion of the cost of any new construction of educational plant 3196
space with a total cost per student station, including change 3197
orders, which exceeds: 3198
a. $17,952 for an elementary school; 3199
b. $19,386 for a middle school; or 3200

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c. $25,181 for a high school, 3201
3202
(January 2006) as adjusted annually to reflect increases or 3203
decreases in the Consumer Price Index. The department, in 3204
conjunction with the Office of Economic and Demographic 3205
Research, shall review and adjust the cost per student station 3206
limits to reflect actual construction costs by January 1, 2020, 3207
and annually thereafter. The adjusted cost per student station 3208
shall be used by the department for computation of the statewide 3209
average costs per student station for each instructional level 3210
pursuant to paragraph (d). The department shall also collaborate 3211
with the Office of Economic and Demographic Research to select 3212
an industry-recognized construction index to replace the 3213
Consumer Price Index by January 1, 2020, adjusted annually to 3214
reflect changes in the construction index. 3215
2. School districts shall maintain accurate documentation 3216
related to the costs of all new construction of educational 3217
plant space reported to the Department of Education pursuant to 3218
paragraph (d). The Auditor General shall review the 3219
documentation maintained by the school districts and verify 3220
compliance with the limits under this paragraph during its 3221
scheduled operational audits of the school district. 3222
3. Except for educational facilities and sites subject to 3223
a lease-purchase agreement entered pursuant to s. 1011.71(2)(e) 3224
or funded solely through local impact fees, in addition to the 3225

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funding sources listed in subparagraph 1., a district school 3226
board may not use funds from any sources for new construction of 3227
educational plant space with a total cost per student station, 3228
including change orders, which equals more than the current 3229
adjusted amounts provided in sub-subparagraphs 1.a.-c. However, 3230
if a contract has been executed for architectural and design 3231
services or for construction management services before July 1, 3232
2017, a district school board may use funds from any source for 3233
the new construction of educational plant space and such funds 3234
are exempt from the total cost per student station requirements. 3235
4. A district school board must not use funds from the 3236
Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund or 3237
the School District and Community College District Capital 3238
Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund for any new construction of 3239
an ancillary plant that exceeds 70 percent of the average cost 3240
per square foot of new construction for all schools. 3241
Section 60. Section 1013.738, Florida Statutes, is amended 3242
to read: 3243
1013.738 High Growth District Capital Outlay Assistance 3244
Grant Program.— 3245
(1) Subject to funds provided in the General 3246
Appropriations Act, the High Growth District Capital Outlay 3247
Assistance Grant Program is hereby established. Funds provided 3248
pursuant to this section may only be used for the purposes 3249
identified in s. 1011.71(2). 3250

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(2) In order to qualify for a grant, a school district 3251
must meet the following criteria: 3252
(a) The district must have levied the maximum mills of 3253
nonvoted discretionary capital outlay millage authorized in s. 3254
1011.71(2) for each of the prior 5 fiscal years. 3255
(a)(b) The district must receive revenue from a current 3256
voted school capital outlay sales surtax or a portion of the 3257
local government infrastructure surtax as authorized in s. 3258
212.055. 3259
(c) The revenue derived from the nonvoted discretionary 3260
capital outlay millage, when divided by the district's capital 3261
outlay FTE students, produces a value that is less than the 3262
statewide average maximum potential funds per capital outlay FTE 3263
student for the most recent fiscal year. 3264
(b)(d) The district must have equaled or exceeded the 3265
greater of 1 percent average growth or twice the statewide 3266
average of growth in capital outlay FTE students over the prior 3267
5-year period. 3268
(c)(e) The total capital outlay FTE students of the 3269
district is greater than 24,000 students. 3270
(3) The funds provided in the General Appropriations Act 3271
shall be allocated pursuant to the following methodology: 3272
(a) For each eligible district, the Department of 3273
Education shall take sum the calculated revenue from the maximum 3274
potential nonvoted discretionary capital outlay millage and the 3275

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revenue received from the voted sales surtax as provided in 3276
paragraph (2)(a) (2)(b) and divide that sum by the number of 3277
capital outlay FTE students for the same period. 3278
(b) The Department of Education shall determine, for each 3279
eligible district, the amount that must be added to the funds 3280
per capital outlay FTE calculated pursuant to paragraph (a) to 3281
produce the statewide average value per capital outlay FTE for 3282
the revenues identified pursuant to paragraph (a). 3283
(c) The value calculated for each eligible district 3284
pursuant to paragraph (b) shall be the maximum amount of a grant 3285
that may be awarded to a district pursuant to this section. 3286
(d) In the event the funds provided are insufficient to 3287
fully fund the maximum grants calculated pursuant to this 3288
section, the Department of Education shall allocate the funds 3289
based on each district's prorated share of the total maximum 3290
award amount calculated for all eligible districts. 3291
Section 61. Subsections (1) and (5) of section 1013.75, 3292
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 3293
1013.75 Cooperative funding of career center facilities.— 3294
(1) Each district school board operating a designated 3295
career center may submit, prior to August 1 of each year, a 3296
request to the commissioner for funds from the Public Education 3297
Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund to plan, construct, 3298
and equip a career center facility identified as being critical 3299
to the economic development and the workforce needs of the 3300

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school district. Prior to submitting a request, each school 3301
district shall: 3302
(a) Adopt and submit to the commissioner a resolution 3303
indicating its commitment to fund the planning, construction, 3304
and equipping of the proposed facility at 40 percent of the 3305
requested project amount. The resolution shall also designate 3306
the locale of the proposed facility. If funds from a private or 3307
noneducational public entity are to be committed to the project, 3308
then a joint resolution shall be required. 3309
(b) Except as provided in paragraph (5)(b), levy the 3310
maximum millage against the nonexempt assessed property value as 3311
provided in s. 1011.71(2). 3312
(b)(c) Certify to the Office of Workforce and Economic 3313
Development that the project has been survey recommended. 3314
(c)(d) Certify to the Office of Workforce and Economic 3315
Development that final phase III construction documents comply 3316
with applicable building codes and life safety codes. 3317
(d)(e) Sign an agreement that the district school board 3318
shall advertise for bids within 90 days of receiving an 3319
encumbrance authorization from the department. 3320
(e)(f) If a construction contract has not been signed 90 3321
days after the advertising of bids, certify to the Office of 3322
Workforce and Economic Development and the department the cause 3323
for delay. Upon request, an additional 90 days may be granted by 3324
the commissioner. 3325

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(5)(a) Upon approval of a project, the commissioner shall 3326
include up to 60 percent of the total cost of the project in the 3327
legislative capital outlay budget request as provided in s. 3328
1013.60 for educational plants. The participating district 3329
school board shall provide 40 percent of the total cost of the 3330
project. When practical, the district school board shall solicit 3331
and encourage a private or noneducational public entity to 3332
commit to finance a portion of the funds to complete the 3333
planning, construction, and equipping of the facility. If a site 3334
does not exist, the purchase price or, if donated, the assessed 3335
value of a site may be included in meeting the funding 3336
requirements of the district school board, a private or 3337
noneducational public entity, or the educational agency. The 3338
value of existing sites, intended to satisfy any portion of the 3339
funding requirement of a private or noneducational public 3340
entity, shall be determined by an independent appraiser under 3341
contract with the board. The size of the site to adequately 3342
provide for the implementation of the proposed educational 3343
programs shall be determined by the board. Funds from the Public 3344
Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund may not be 3345
expended on any project unless specifically authorized by the 3346
Legislature. 3347
(b) In the event that a school district is not levying the 3348
maximum millage against the nonexempt assessed property value 3349
pursuant to paragraph (1)(b), state and school district funding 3350

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pursuant to paragraph (a) shall be reduced by the same 3351
proportion as the millage actually being levied bears to the 3352
maximum allowable millage. 3353
Section 62. This act shall take effect on the effective 3354
date of the amendment to the State Constitution proposed by HJR 3355
787 or a similar joint resolution having substantially the same 3356
specific intent and purpose, if such amendment is approved at 3357
the next general election or at an earlier special election 3358
specifically authorized by law for that purpose. 3359