336.021 County transportation system; levy of ninth-cent fuel tax on motor fuel and diesel fuel.—
(1)(a) Any county in the state, by extraordinary vote of the membership of its governing body or subject to a referendum, may levy the tax imposed by ss. 206.41(1)(d) and 206.87(1)(b). County and municipal governments may use the moneys received under this paragraph only for transportation expenditures as defined in s. 336.025(7).
(b) The governing body of the county may, by joint agreement with one or more of the municipalities located therein, provide for the transportation purposes authorized under paragraph (a) and the distribution of the proceeds of this tax within both the unincorporated and incorporated areas of the county. The provisions for refund provided in ss. 206.625 and 206.64 shall not be applicable to such tax levied by any county.
(c) Local option taxes collected on sales or use of diesel fuel in this state shall be distributed in the following manner:
1. The fiscal year of July 1, 1995, through June 30, 1996, shall be the base year for all distributions.
2. Each year the tax collected, less the service and administrative charges enumerated in s. 215.20 and the allowances allowed under s. 206.91, on the number of gallons reported, up to the total number of gallons reported in the base year, shall be distributed to each county using the distribution percentage calculated for the base year.
3. After the distribution of taxes pursuant to subparagraph 4., additional taxes available for distribution shall first be distributed pursuant to this subparagraph. A distribution shall be made to each county in which a qualified new retail station is located. A qualified new retail station is a retail station that began operation after June 30, 1996, and that has sales of diesel fuel exceeding 50 percent of the sales of diesel fuel reported in the county in which it is located during the 1995-1996 state fiscal year. The determination of whether a new retail station is qualified shall be based on the total gallons of diesel fuel sold at the station during each full month of operation during the 12-month period ending January 31, divided by the number of full months of operation during those 12 months, and the result multiplied by 12. The amount distributed pursuant to this subparagraph to each county in which a qualified new retail station is located shall equal the local option taxes due on the gallons of diesel fuel sold by the new retail station during the year ending January 31, less the service charges enumerated in s. 215.20 and the dealer allowance provided for by s. 206.91. Gallons of diesel fuel sold at the qualified new retail station shall be certified to the department by the county requesting the additional distribution by June 15, 1997, and by March 1 in each subsequent year. The certification shall include the beginning inventory, fuel purchases and sales, and the ending inventory for the new retail station for each month of operation during the year, the original purchase invoices for the period, and any other information the department deems reasonable and necessary to establish the certified gallons. The department may review and audit the retail dealer’s records provided to a county to establish the gallons sold by the new retail station. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subparagraph, when more than one county qualifies for a distribution pursuant to this subparagraph and the requested distributions exceed the total taxes available for distribution, each county shall receive a prorated share of the moneys available for distribution.
4. After the distribution of taxes pursuant to subparagraph 2., all additional taxes available for distribution, except the taxes described in subparagraph 3., shall be distributed based on vehicular diesel fuel storage capacities in each county pursuant to this subparagraph. The total vehicular diesel fuel storage capacity shall be established for each fiscal year based on the registration of facilities with the Department of Environmental Protection as required by s. 376.303 for the following facility types: retail stations, fuel user/nonretail, state government, local government, and county government. Each county shall receive a share of the total taxes available for distribution pursuant to this subparagraph equal to a fraction, the numerator of which is the storage capacity located within the county for vehicular diesel fuel in the facility types listed in this subparagraph and the denominator of which is the total statewide storage capacity for vehicular diesel fuel in those facility types. The vehicular diesel fuel storage capacity for each county and facility type shall be that established by the Department of Environmental Protection by June 1, 1997, for the 1996-1997 fiscal year, and by January 31 for each succeeding fiscal year. The storage capacities so established shall be final. The storage capacity for any new retail station for which a county receives a distribution pursuant to subparagraph 3. shall not be included in the calculations pursuant to this subparagraph.
(d) The tax received by the department on motor fuel pursuant to this paragraph shall be distributed monthly by the department to the county reported by the terminal suppliers, wholesalers, and importers as the destination of the gallons distributed for retail sale or use. The tax on diesel fuel shall be distributed monthly by the department to each county as provided in paragraph (c).
(2)(a) The tax collected by the department pursuant to subsection (1) shall be transferred to the Ninth-cent Fuel Tax Trust Fund, which fund is created for distribution to the counties pursuant to paragraph (1)(d). The department shall deduct the administrative costs incurred by it in collecting, administering, enforcing, and distributing back to the counties the tax, which administrative costs may not exceed 2 percent of collections authorized by this section. The total administrative cost shall be prorated among those counties levying the tax according to the following formula, which shall be revised on July 1 of each year: Two-thirds of the amount deducted shall be based on the county’s proportional share of the number of dealers who are registered for purposes of chapter 212 on June 30th of the preceding state fiscal year, and one-third of the amount deducted shall be based on the county’s share of the total amount of the tax collected during the preceding state fiscal year. The department has the authority to prescribe and publish all forms upon which reports shall be made to it and other forms and records deemed to be necessary for proper administration and collection of the tax levied by any county and shall adopt rules necessary to enforce this section, which rules shall have the full force and effect of law. The provisions of ss. 206.026, 206.027, 206.028, 206.051, 206.052, 206.054, 206.055, 206.06, 206.07, 206.075, 206.08, 206.09, 206.095, 206.10, 206.11, 206.12, 206.13, 206.14, 206.15, 206.16, 206.17, 206.175, 206.18, 206.199, 206.20, 206.204, 206.205, 206.21, 206.215, 206.22, 206.24, 206.27, 206.28, 206.41, 206.416, 206.44, 206.45, 206.48, 206.49, 206.56, 206.59, 206.626, 206.87, 206.872, 206.873, 206.8735, 206.874, 206.8741, 206.8745, 206.94, and 206.945 shall, as far as practicable, be applicable to the levy and collection of the tax imposed pursuant to this section as if fully set out in this section.
(b) The provisions of s. 206.43(7) shall apply to the incorrect reporting of the tax levied under this section.
(3) It is expressly recognized and declared by the Legislature that the establishment, operation, and maintenance of a transportation system and related facilities and the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, and maintenance of roads and streets fulfill a public purpose and that payment of the costs and expenses therefor may be made from county general funds, special taxing district funds, or such other funds as may be authorized by special or general law. Counties are authorized to expend the funds received under this section in conjunction with the state or federal government in joint projects.
(4)(a)1. A certified copy of the ordinance proposing to levy the tax pursuant to referendum shall be furnished by the county to the department within 10 days after approval of such ordinance.
2. A referendum to adopt, amend, or reenact a tax under this subsection must be held at a general election as defined in s. 97.021. A referendum to reenact an expiring tax must be held at a general election occurring within the 48-month period immediately preceding the effective date of the reenacted tax, and the referendum may appear on the ballot only once within the 48-month period.
3. The county levying the tax pursuant to referendum shall notify the department within 10 days after the passage of the referendum of such passage and of the time period during which the tax will be levied. The failure to furnish the certified copy will not invalidate the passage of the ordinance.
(b) A county levying the tax pursuant to ordinance shall notify the department within 10 days after the governing body of the county adopts the ordinance and, at the same time, furnish the department with a certified copy of the ordinance.
(5) All impositions of the tax shall be levied before October 1 of each year to be effective January 1 of the following year. However, levies of the tax which were in effect on July 1, 2002, and which expire on August 31 of any year may be reimposed at the current authorized rate provided the tax is levied before July 1 and is effective September 1 of the year of expiration. All impositions shall be required to end on December 31 of a year. A decision to rescind the tax shall not take effect on any date other than December 31 and shall require a minimum of 60 days’ notice to the department of such decision.
(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the tax authorized pursuant to this section shall be levied in every county at the rate of 1 cent per gallon of diesel fuel beginning January 1, 1994.
History.—ss. 1, 2, 3, ch. 72-384; s. 1, ch. 77-390; s. 1, ch. 80-397; s. 1, ch. 82-40; s. 54, ch. 83-3; s. 12, ch. 83-137; s. 122, ch. 85-342; s. 33, ch. 86-152; s. 70, ch. 87-99; s. 1, ch. 90-351; s. 8, ch. 92-184; s. 3, ch. 92-309; s. 47, ch. 93-206; s. 7, ch. 94-146; s. 959, ch. 95-148; ss. 116, 117, ch. 95-417; s. 24, ch. 96-323; ss. 16, 17, ch. 96-397; ss. 15, 16, ch. 97-54; s. 47, ch. 2002-218; s. 23, ch. 2003-254; s. 16, ch. 2010-138; s. 27, ch. 2012-174; s. 39, ch. 2017-36; s. 6, ch. 2022-214; s. 35, ch. 2023-157.
