Bill Text: FL S1714 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Election of the Board of Supervisors of a Community Development District

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2012-03-09 - Died in Community Affairs [S1714 Detail]

Download: Florida-2012-S1714-Introduced.html
       Florida Senate - 2012                                    SB 1714
       
       
       
       By Senator Smith
       
       
       
       
       29-00895-12                                           20121714__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the election of the board of
    3         supervisors of a community development district;
    4         amending s. 99.061, F.S.; specifying the qualifying
    5         period for a person seeking to qualify for election to
    6         the board of supervisors of a community development
    7         district; amending s. 101.6102, F.S.; authorizing the
    8         election of the board of supervisors of a community
    9         development district to be conducted by mail; amending
   10         s. 190.006, F.S.; providing for the election of the
   11         board of supervisors of a community development
   12         district to be conducted by mail or regular ballot on
   13         a date that is acceptable to the board and the
   14         supervisor of elections; providing for the special
   15         election of the board of supervisors after the board
   16         proposes to exercise ad valorem taxing powers to occur
   17         by mail on a date acceptable to the board and the
   18         supervisor of elections or by regular ballot on a date
   19         that is acceptable to the board and the supervisor of
   20         elections, other than the date of a primary or general
   21         election; making technical and grammatical changes;
   22         providing an effective date.
   23  
   24  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   25  
   26         Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 99.061, Florida
   27  Statutes, is amended to read:
   28         99.061 Method of qualifying for nomination or election to
   29  federal, state, county, or district office.—
   30         (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of any special act to
   31  the contrary, a each person seeking to qualify for election to a
   32  special district office, except the board of supervisors of a
   33  community development district, shall qualify between noon of
   34  the 71st day before prior to the primary election and noon of
   35  the 67th day before prior to the date of the primary election. A
   36  person seeking to qualify for the board of supervisors of a
   37  community development district shall qualify between noon of the
   38  71st day before and noon of the 67th day before the date of the
   39  election of the board. Candidates for single-county special
   40  districts shall qualify with the supervisor of elections in the
   41  county in which the district is located. If the district is a
   42  multicounty district, candidates shall qualify with the
   43  Department of State. All special district candidates shall
   44  qualify by paying a filing fee of $25 or qualify by the petition
   45  process pursuant to s. 99.095. Notwithstanding s. 106.021, a
   46  candidate who does not collect contributions and whose only
   47  expense is the filing fee or signature verification fee is not
   48  required to appoint a campaign treasurer or designate a primary
   49  campaign depository.
   50         Section 2. Subsections (2) and (5) of section 101.6102,
   51  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   52         101.6102 Mail ballot elections; limitations.—
   53         (2) The following elections may not be conducted by mail
   54  ballot:
   55         (a) An election at which any candidate is nominated,
   56  elected, retained, or recalled, except an election of a
   57  candidate to the board of supervisors of a community development
   58  district; or
   59         (b) An election held on the same date as another election,
   60  other than a mail ballot election, in which the qualified
   61  electors of that political subdivision are eligible to cast
   62  ballots.
   63         (5) Nothing in This section does not shall be construed to
   64  prohibit the use of a mail ballot election in a municipal
   65  annexation referendum requiring separate vote of the registered
   66  electors of the annexing municipality and of the area proposed
   67  to be annexed. If a mail ballot election is authorized for a
   68  municipal annexation referendum, the provisions of ss. 101.6101
   69  101.6107 shall control over any conflicting provisions of s.
   70  171.0413.
   71         Section 3. Section 190.006, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   72  read:
   73         190.006 Board of supervisors; members and meetings.—
   74         (1) The board of the district shall exercise the powers
   75  granted to the district pursuant to this act. The board shall
   76  consist of five members; except as otherwise provided herein,
   77  each member shall be elected to hold office for a term of 2
   78  years or 4 years, as provided in this section, and until a
   79  successor is chosen and qualifies. The members of the board must
   80  be residents of the state and citizens of the United States.
   81         (2)(a) Within 90 days after following the effective date of
   82  the rule or ordinance establishing the district, there shall be
   83  held a meeting of the landowners of the district shall be held
   84  for the purpose of electing five supervisors for the district.
   85  Notice of the landowners’ meeting shall be published once a week
   86  for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of which is in general
   87  circulation in the area of the district., The last day of such
   88  publication of the notice may to be not be less fewer than 14
   89  days or more than 28 days before the date of the election. The
   90  landowners, when assembled at such meeting, shall organize by
   91  electing a chair who shall conduct the meeting. The chair may be
   92  any person present at the meeting. If the chair is a landowner
   93  or proxy holder of a landowner, he or she may nominate
   94  candidates and make and second motions.
   95         (b) At the such meeting, each landowner is shall be
   96  entitled to cast one vote per acre of land owned by him or her
   97  and located within the district for each person to be elected. A
   98  landowner may vote in person or by proxy in writing. Each proxy
   99  must be signed by one of the legal owners of the property for
  100  which the vote is cast and must contain the typed or printed
  101  name of the individual who signed the proxy; the street address,
  102  legal description of the property, or tax parcel identification
  103  number; and the number of authorized votes. If the proxy
  104  authorizes more than one vote, each property must be listed and
  105  the number of acres of each property must be included. The
  106  signature on a proxy need not be notarized. A fraction of an
  107  acre shall be treated as 1 acre, entitling the landowner to one
  108  vote with respect thereto. For purposes of determining voting
  109  interests, platted lots shall be counted individually and
  110  rounded up to the nearest whole acre. The acreage of platted
  111  lots may shall not be aggregated for determining the number of
  112  voting units held by a landowner or a landowner’s proxy. The two
  113  candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be
  114  elected to for a term period of 4 years, and the three
  115  candidates receiving the next largest number of votes shall be
  116  elected to for a term period of 2 years, with the term of office
  117  for each successful candidate commencing upon election. After
  118  the initial election The members of the first board elected by
  119  landowners shall serve their respective 4-year or 2-year terms;
  120  however, the next election by landowners shall be held on the
  121  first Tuesday in November. Thereafter, there shall be an
  122  election of supervisors for the district shall be held every 2
  123  years. The elections shall be held by mail ballot on a date that
  124  is acceptable to the board and the supervisor of elections or by
  125  a regular ballot on the date of a general or special election or
  126  other date that is acceptable to the board and the supervisor of
  127  elections in November on a date established by the board and
  128  noticed pursuant to paragraph (a). The second and subsequent
  129  landowners’ election shall be announced at a public meeting of
  130  the board at least 90 days before prior to the date of the
  131  landowners’ meeting and shall also be noticed pursuant to
  132  paragraph (a). Instructions on how all landowners may
  133  participate in the election, along with sample proxies, shall be
  134  provided during the board meeting that announces the landowners’
  135  meeting. The two candidates receiving the highest number of
  136  votes shall be elected to serve for a 4-year term period, and
  137  the remaining candidate elected shall serve for a 2-year term
  138  period.
  139         (3)(a)1. If the board proposes to exercise the ad valorem
  140  taxing power authorized by s. 190.021, the district board shall
  141  call a special an election at which the members of the board of
  142  supervisors will be elected. The special election shall be held
  143  on a date that is acceptable to the board and the supervisor of
  144  elections. The special Such election may be held by mail ballot
  145  or by regular ballot on a date other than the date of shall be
  146  held in conjunction with a primary or general election. unless
  147  The district shall bear bears the cost of the a special
  148  election. Each member shall be elected by the qualified electors
  149  of the district for a term of 4 years, except that, at the first
  150  such election, three members shall be elected for a period of 4
  151  years and two members shall be elected for a period of 2 years.
  152  All elected board members must be qualified electors of the
  153  district.
  154         2.a. Regardless of whether a district has proposed to levy
  155  ad valorem taxes, commencing 6 years after the initial
  156  appointment of members or, for a district exceeding 5,000 acres
  157  in area or for a compact, urban, mixed-use district, 10 years
  158  after the initial appointment of members, the position of each
  159  member whose term has expired shall be filled by a qualified
  160  elector of the district, elected by the qualified electors of
  161  the district. However, for those districts established after
  162  June 21, 1991, and for those existing districts established
  163  after December 31, 1983, which have fewer less than 50 qualified
  164  electors on June 21, 1991, sub-subparagraphs b. and d. shall
  165  apply. If, in the 6th year after the initial appointment of
  166  members, or 10 years after such initial appointment for
  167  districts exceeding 5,000 acres in area or for a compact, urban,
  168  mixed-use district, there are not at least 250 qualified
  169  electors in the district, or for a district exceeding 5,000
  170  acres or for a compact, urban, mixed-use district, there are not
  171  at least 500 qualified electors, members of the board shall
  172  continue to be elected by landowners.
  173         b. After the 6th or 10th year, once a district reaches 250
  174  or 500 qualified electors, respectively, then the positions of
  175  two board members whose terms are expiring shall be filled by
  176  qualified electors of the district, elected by the qualified
  177  electors of the district for 4-year terms. The remaining board
  178  member whose term is expiring shall be elected for a 4-year term
  179  by the landowners and is not required to be a qualified elector.
  180  Thereafter, as terms expire, board members shall be qualified
  181  electors elected by qualified electors of the district for a
  182  term of 4 years.
  183         c. Once a district qualifies to have any of its board
  184  members elected by the qualified electors of the district, the
  185  initial and all subsequent elections by the qualified electors
  186  of the district shall be held at the general election in
  187  November. The board shall adopt a resolution if necessary to
  188  implement this requirement when the board determines the number
  189  of qualified electors as required by sub-subparagraph d., to
  190  extend or reduce the terms of current board members.
  191         d. On or before June 1 of each year, the board shall
  192  determine the number of qualified electors in the district as of
  193  the immediately preceding April 15. The board shall use and rely
  194  upon the official records maintained by the supervisor of
  195  elections and property appraiser or tax collector in each county
  196  in making this determination. Such determination shall be made
  197  at a properly noticed meeting of the board and shall become a
  198  part of the official minutes of the district.
  199         (b) Elections of board members by qualified electors held
  200  pursuant to this subsection shall be nonpartisan and shall be
  201  conducted in the manner prescribed by law for holding general
  202  elections. The district shall publish a notice of the qualifying
  203  period set by the supervisor of elections for each election at
  204  least 2 weeks before prior to the start of the qualifying
  205  period. Board members shall assume the office on the second
  206  Tuesday following their election. If no elector qualifies for a
  207  seat to be filled in an election, a vacancy in that seat shall
  208  be declared by the board effective on the second Tuesday
  209  following the election. Within 90 days thereafter, the board
  210  shall appoint a qualified elector to fill the vacancy. Until
  211  such appointment, the incumbent board member in that seat shall
  212  remain in office.
  213         (c) Candidates seeking election to office by qualified
  214  electors under this subsection shall conduct their campaigns in
  215  accordance with the provisions of chapter 106 and shall file
  216  qualifying papers and qualify for individual seats in accordance
  217  with s. 99.061.
  218         (d) The supervisor of elections shall appoint the
  219  inspectors and clerks of elections, prepare and furnish the
  220  ballots, designate polling places, and canvass the returns of
  221  the election of board members by qualified electors. The county
  222  canvassing board shall declare and certify the results of the
  223  election.
  224         (4) Members of the board shall be known as supervisors and,
  225  upon entering into office, shall take and subscribe to the oath
  226  of office as prescribed by s. 876.05. They shall hold office for
  227  the terms for which they were elected or appointed and until
  228  their successors are chosen and qualified. If, during the term
  229  of office, a vacancy occurs, the remaining members of the board
  230  shall fill the vacancy by an appointment for the remainder of
  231  the unexpired term.
  232         (5) A majority of the members of the board constitutes a
  233  quorum for the purposes of conducting its business and
  234  exercising its powers and for all other purposes. Action taken
  235  by the district shall be upon a vote of a majority of the
  236  members present unless general law or a rule of the district
  237  requires a greater number.
  238         (6) As soon as practicable after each election or
  239  appointment, the board shall organize by electing one of its
  240  members as chair and by electing a secretary, who need not be a
  241  member of the board, and such other officers as the board may
  242  deem necessary.
  243         (7) The board shall keep a permanent record book entitled
  244  “Record of Proceedings of ...(name of district)... Community
  245  Development District,” in which shall be recorded minutes of all
  246  meetings, resolutions, proceedings, certificates, bonds given by
  247  all employees, and any and all corporate acts. The record book
  248  shall at reasonable times be opened to inspection in the same
  249  manner as state, county, and municipal records pursuant to
  250  chapter 119. The record book shall be kept at the office or
  251  other regular place of business maintained by the board in the
  252  county or municipality in which the district is located or
  253  within the boundaries of a development of regional impact or
  254  Florida Quality Development, or combination of a development of
  255  regional impact and Florida Quality Development, which includes
  256  the district.
  257         (8) Each supervisor shall be entitled to receive for his or
  258  her services an amount not to exceed $200 per meeting of the
  259  board of supervisors, not to exceed $4,800 per year per
  260  supervisor, or an amount established by the electors at
  261  referendum. In addition, each supervisor shall receive travel
  262  and per diem expenses as set forth in s. 112.061.
  263         (9) All meetings of the board shall be open to the public
  264  and governed by the provisions of chapter 286.
  265         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.

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