CopyCited 16 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida
...ted by article VII, section 1(a), Florida Constitution. [2] We reject this contention as did the district court. Article VII, section 9, Florida Constitution, specifically authorizes the levying of ad valorem taxes for water management purposes. [3] Section 373.503 provides the implementing legislation for ad valorem taxation to finance the works of the District....
CopyCited 11 times | Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | 37 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 660, 2014 WL 23737, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 14
...e the
regional impact of water management district projects on the State’s natural
resources with the fact that preservation and management of these resources is
crucial to all residents, not just those who are affected locally. See Fla.
Stat. § 373.503(1) (establishing blended state and local financing for water
management districts based on the legislative finding that they provide both state
and regional benefits)....
CopyCited 4 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 1981 Fla. App. LEXIS 21783
...Section
373.023, Florida Statutes (1979), provides that all waters within the state are subject to regulation under chapter 72-299, unless specifically exempted. Chapter 76-243, Laws of Florida, provided for the creation of basins within the districts. See §
373.0693(1), Fla. Stat. (1979). It also amended section
373.503 and authorized the various governing boards of the districts, when appropriate, to separate the taxes levied into a millage necessary for the purposes of the district and a millage necessary for financing basin functions specified in section
373.0695....
...Johns River Water Management District was a "special district" as provided by article VII, section 9(a), Florida Constitution, and thereby authorized to levy ad valorem taxes. Article VII, section 9(b), specifically authorizes levying of ad valorem taxes for water management purposes. Section 373.503, provides the implementing legislation for ad valorem taxation to finance the works of the districts....
...Johns River Water Management District of its ad valorem tax monies for administrative and regulatory expenses violates chapter 373 as a matter of law. The trial court found that the use of ad valorem revenues for administrative and regulatory expenses of the District was authorized by section 373.503(3) and chapters 25270 and 61-691, Laws of Florida, as amended. The District admits that some of its ad valorem revenues are spent for its regulatory and administrative expenses. Petitioner bases its contention on section 373.503(1) which provides: It is the finding of the legislature that the general regulatory and administrative functions of the districts herein authorized are of general benefit to the people of the state and should substantially be financed by general appropriations....
...of the population should be financed by those most directly benefited. To those ends, this chapter provides for the establishment of permit application fees and a method of ad valorem taxation to finance the works of the district. (Emphasis added.) Section 373.503(1) was enacted in 1972 as part of the Water Resources Act....
...promotion. (Emphasis added.) *1141 These provisions, however, do not prohibit expenditure of district ad valorem tax revenues for administrative purposes. The legislative intent of this statutory framework is made clearer by chapter 80-259 (amending section 373.503(1), effective July 1, 1980) which, while not applicable to this case, reads as follows: It is the finding of the Legislature that the general regulatory and administrative functions of the districts herein authorized are of general be...
...ollection of permit fees, see section
373.109), establish and control water levels in canals, rivers and lakes throughout the District, and prepare the portion of the state water use plan applicable to the District. [11] It should also be noted that section
373.503(2)(a) is specific in its admonition that only water management districts may levy the millage authorized by the constitution for water management purposes....
...basins, over and above the amounts charged to basin budgets and for maintenance of structures in the upper Greater St. Johns River Basin. This indicates that ad valorem monies are being used to finance "the works of the district" as contemplated by section 373.503(1)....
CopyCited 3 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal
...n the Miami Beach case. The parties present additional issues with respect to interpretation of the millage restrictions in article VII, section 9(b), Florida Constitution, and as to statutory priority between §
163.387(2) [2] and the provisions of §
373.503, [3] Florida Statutes, which permit taxes by the respondent district solely for purposes related to water management....
...(2) Upon the establishment of a redevelopment trust fund as herein provided, each taxing authority except school districts shall annually appropriate to such fund a sum which is no less than the increment of ad valorem tax revenues as defined and determined in paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) accruing to said taxing authority. [3] § 373.503 Manner of taxation....
CopyCited 2 times | Published | District Court, S.D. Florida | 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6933, 2002 WL 538055
...titution as 1.0 mill. FLA. CONST. art. VII, § 9. The Florida Legislature has authorized SFWMD to levy taxes for purposes of Chapter 373, Florida Statutes, up to a total millage rate of .8 mill, an amount less than the constitutional cap. FLA. STAT. § 373.503(3)(a)5....
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1994).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
...y the following question: What rate of commission may be charged for the collection of taxes levied by the Suwannee River Water Management District under section
192.091 (2), Florida Statutes? In sum: In light of the language in sections
373.539 and
373.503 , Florida Statutes, district and basin taxes levied by the Suwannee River Water Management District are subject to the same commission as applied to the collection of a county tax prescribed in section
192.091 (2)(a), Florida Statutes....
...question as to the appropriate commission to be allowed for the collection of district taxes. The Honorable Idelle C. Hatcher, Tax Collector for Dixie County, has informed this office that she joins in your request for clarification of this matter. Section 373.503 , Florida Statutes, authorizes the Suwannee River Water Management District, as one of the water management districts enumerated in Chapter 373 , Florida Statutes, to levy ad valorem taxes to finance the activities of the district....
...authorized and directed to perform the duties placed upon them under Chapter 373 , Florida Statutes, and "to receive compensation therefor at such rates or charges as are provided by law with respect to similar services or charges in other cases." 7 Section 373.503 (3)(a), Florida Statutes, recognizes that basin taxes and district taxes are levied by the district's governing board in a like manner....
...that provided in s.
192.091 (2)(a), Florida Statutes, for county taxes. Sincerely, Robert A. Butterworth Attorney General RAB/tls 1 See, s.
373.0697 , Fla. Stat. See also, s.
373.0695 , Fla. Stat., enumerating the duties of the basin boards. 2 See, ss.
373.503 (2) and (3), Fla....
...ting county and district taxes. 6 Section
373.0697 (2), Fla. Stat. 7 Section
373.539 (4), Fla. Stat. 8 See, s.
373.0697 , Fla. Stat., providing that the levy of a basin tax by the governing board of the district shall be subject to the provisions of s.
373.503 (3), Fla....
