Bill Text: FL S1036 | 2010 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Discretionary Sales Surtaxes [WPSC]

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2010-04-30 - Died in Committee on Policy & Steering Committee on Ways and Means [S1036 Detail]

Download: Florida-2010-S1036-Comm_Sub.html

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Florida Senate - 2010                      CS for CS for SB 1036 
 
By the Committees on Health and Human Services Appropriations; 
and Finance and Tax; and Senator Peaden 
603-05193-10                                          20101036c2 
1                        A bill to be entitled 
2         An act relating to discretionary sales surtaxes; 
3         amending s. 212.055, F.S.; deleting a limitation upon 
4         the imposition of indigent care and trauma center 
5         discretionary sales surtaxes by certain counties; 
6         authorizing the governing boards of certain counties 
7         to levy the surtaxes only pursuant to a referendum; 
8         providing an effective date. 
9 
10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
11 
12         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section 
13  212.055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 
14         212.055 Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent; 
15  authorization and use of proceeds.—It is the legislative intent 
16  that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales 
17  surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a 
18  subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the 
19  levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties 
20  authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the 
21  maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the 
22  procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if 
23  required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended; 
24  and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide. 
25  Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as 
26  provided in s. 212.054. 
27         (4) INDIGENT CARE AND TRAUMA CENTER SURTAX.— 
28         (a)1. The governing body in each county that the government 
29  of which is not consolidated with that of one or more 
30  municipalities, which has a population of at least 800,000 
31  residents and is not authorized to levy a surtax under 
32  subsection (5), may levy, pursuant to an ordinance either 
33  approved by an extraordinary vote of the governing body or 
34  conditioned to take effect only upon approval by a majority vote 
35  of the electors of the county voting in a referendum, a 
36  discretionary sales surtax at a rate that may not exceed 0.5 
37  percent. However, a county that is consolidated with one or more 
38  municipalities must receive approval of the electors in a 
39  referendum. 
40         2. If the ordinance is conditioned on a referendum, a 
41  statement that includes a brief and general description of the 
42  purposes to be funded by the surtax and that conforms to the 
43  requirements of s. 101.161 shall be placed on the ballot by the 
44  governing body of the county. The following questions shall be 
45  placed on the ballot: 
46                       FOR THE. . . .CENTS TAX 
47                     AGAINST THE. . . .CENTS TAX 
48         3. The ordinance adopted by the governing body providing 
49  for the imposition of the surtax shall set forth a plan for 
50  providing health care services to qualified residents, as 
51  defined in subparagraph 4. Such plan and subsequent amendments 
52  to it shall fund a broad range of health care services for both 
53  indigent persons and the medically poor, including, but not 
54  limited to, primary care and preventive care as well as hospital 
55  care. The plan must also address the services to be provided by 
56  the Level I trauma center. It shall emphasize a continuity of 
57  care in the most cost-effective setting, taking into 
58  consideration both a high quality of care and geographic access. 
59  Where consistent with these objectives, it shall include, 
60  without limitation, services rendered by physicians, clinics, 
61  community hospitals, mental health centers, and alternative 
62  delivery sites, as well as at least one regional referral 
63  hospital where appropriate. It shall provide that agreements 
64  negotiated between the county and providers, including hospitals 
65  with a Level I trauma center, will include reimbursement 
66  methodologies that take into account the cost of services 
67  rendered to eligible patients, recognize hospitals that render a 
68  disproportionate share of indigent care, provide other 
69  incentives to promote the delivery of charity care, promote the 
70  advancement of technology in medical services, recognize the 
71  level of responsiveness to medical needs in trauma cases, and 
72  require cost containment including, but not limited to, case 
73  management. It must also provide that any hospitals that are 
74  owned and operated by government entities on May 21, 1991, must, 
75  as a condition of receiving funds under this subsection, afford 
76  public access equal to that provided under s. 286.011 as to 
77  meetings of the governing board, the subject of which is 
78  budgeting resources for the rendition of charity care as that 
79  term is defined in the Florida Hospital Uniform Reporting System 
80  (FHURS) manual referenced in s. 408.07. The plan shall also 
81  include innovative health care programs that provide cost 
82  effective alternatives to traditional methods of service 
83  delivery and funding. 
84         4. For the purpose of this paragraph, the term “qualified 
85  resident” means residents of the authorizing county who are: 
86         a. Qualified as indigent persons as certified by the 
87  authorizing county; 
88         b. Certified by the authorizing county as meeting the 
89  definition of the medically poor, defined as persons having 
90  insufficient income, resources, and assets to provide the needed 
91  medical care without using resources required to meet basic 
92  needs for shelter, food, clothing, and personal expenses; or not 
93  being eligible for any other state or federal program, or having 
94  medical needs that are not covered by any such program; or 
95  having insufficient third-party insurance coverage. In all 
96  cases, the authorizing county is intended to serve as the payor 
97  of last resort; or 
98         c. Participating in innovative, cost-effective programs 
99  approved by the authorizing county. 
100         5. Moneys collected pursuant to this paragraph remain the 
101  property of the state and shall be distributed by the Department 
102  of Revenue on a regular and periodic basis to the clerk of the 
103  circuit court as ex officio custodian of the funds of the 
104  authorizing county. The clerk of the circuit court shall: 
105         a. Maintain the moneys in an indigent health care trust 
106  fund; 
107         b. Invest any funds held on deposit in the trust fund 
108  pursuant to general law; 
109         c. Disburse the funds, including any interest earned, to 
110  any provider of health care services, as provided in 
111  subparagraphs 3. and 4., upon directive from the authorizing 
112  county. However, if a county has a population of at least 
113  800,000 residents and has levied the surtax authorized in this 
114  paragraph, notwithstanding any directive from the authorizing 
115  county, on October 1 of each calendar year, the clerk of the 
116  court shall issue a check in the amount of $6.5 million to a 
117  hospital in its jurisdiction that has a Level I trauma center or 
118  shall issue a check in the amount of $3.5 million to a hospital 
119  in its jurisdiction that has a Level I trauma center if that 
120  county enacts and implements a hospital lien law in accordance 
121  with chapter 98-499, Laws of Florida. The issuance of the checks 
122  on October 1 of each year is provided in recognition of the 
123  Level I trauma center status and shall be in addition to the 
124  base contract amount received during fiscal year 1999-2000 and 
125  any additional amount negotiated to the base contract. If the 
126  hospital receiving funds for its Level I trauma center status 
127  requests such funds to be used to generate federal matching 
128  funds under Medicaid, the clerk of the court shall instead issue 
129  a check to the Agency for Health Care Administration to 
130  accomplish that purpose to the extent that it is allowed through 
131  the General Appropriations Act; and 
132         d. Prepare on a biennial basis an audit of the trust fund 
133  specified in sub-subparagraph a. Commencing February 1, 2004, 
134  such audit shall be delivered to the governing body and to the 
135  chair of the legislative delegation of each authorizing county. 
136         6. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a 
137  county shall not levy local option sales surtaxes authorized in 
138  this paragraph and subsections (2) and (3) in excess of a 
139  combined rate of 1 percent. 
140         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.