Florida Statutes 218.25 – Limitation of shared funds; holders of bonds protected; limitation on use of second guaranteed entitlement for counties
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Terms Used In Florida Statutes 218.25
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- County: means a political subdivision of the state as established pursuant to Florida Statutes 218.21
- Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
- Entitlement: means the amount of revenue which would be shared with an eligible unit of local government if the distribution from trust funds were based solely on the formula computation. See Florida Statutes 218.21
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Guaranteed entitlement: means the amount of revenue which must be shared with an eligible unit of local government so that:(a) No eligible county shall receive less funds from the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund for Counties in any fiscal year than the amount received in the aggregate from the state in fiscal year 1971-1972 under the provisions of the then-existing…. See Florida Statutes 218.21
- Second guaranteed entitlement for counties: means the amount of revenue received in the aggregate by an eligible county in fiscal year 1981-1982 under the provisions of the then-existing…. See Florida Statutes 218.21
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) with respect to the second guaranteed entitlement for counties, local governments shall not use any portion of the moneys received in excess of the guaranteed entitlement from the revenue sharing trust funds created by this part to assign, pledge, or set aside as a trust for the payment of principal or interest on bonds, tax anticipation certificates, or any other form of indebtedness, and there shall be no other use restriction on revenues shared pursuant to this part. The state does hereby covenant with holders of bonds or other instruments of indebtedness issued by local governments prior to July 1, 1972, that it is not the intent of this part to affect adversely the rights of said holders or to relieve local governments of the duty to meet their obligations as a result of previous pledges or assignments or trusts entered into which obligated funds received from revenue sources which by terms of this part shall henceforth be distributed out of the revenue sharing trust funds.(2) The second guaranteed entitlement for counties may be assigned, pledged, or set aside as a trust for the payment of principal or interest on bonds, tax anticipation certificates, or any other form of indebtedness, including obligations issued to acquire an insurance contract or contracts from a local government liability pool and including payments required pursuant to any loan agreement entered into to provide funds to acquire an insurance contract or contracts from a local government liability pool.(3) As an additional assurance to holders of bonds issued before April 18, 2000, which are secured by the guaranteed entitlement or second guaranteed entitlement for counties, or bonds issued to refund such bonds which mature no later than the bonds that they refunded and which result in a reduction of debt service payable in each fiscal year, it is the intent of the Legislature that, to the extent the elimination of tax sources dedicated to funding the guaranteed entitlement or the second guaranteed entitlement for counties or a reduction in the rate of assessment of such taxes results in an inability of a county to pay debt service on such bonds, the Legislature will provide alternative funding sources in an amount sufficient to pay any deficit in the amount required for such debt service. This commitment of the Legislature is contingent on the county first using any funds available under this part for the payment of such debt service.(4) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), a local government may assign, pledge, or set aside as a trust for the payment of principal or interest on bonds, tax anticipation certificates, or any other form of indebtedness an amount up to 50 percent of the funds received in the prior year.