Florida HB 987: Broward County

Bill Text

HB 987 2020

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0987-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to Broward County; creating the 2
Broward County Affordable Housing Improvement Act; 3
providing definitions; authorizing the levy of a 4
discretionary surtax to establish and finance 5
affordable housing; specifying the cap for the rate of 6
the surtax; specifying requirements for reauthorizing 7
the discretionary surtax; specifying the documents and 8
conditions under which the surtax applies; specifying 9
the procedures a county must use before levying the 10
surtax; requiring that surtax proceeds be deposited in 11
the county's affordable housing trust fund; specifying 12
authorized and prohibited uses of surtax proceeds; 13
providing exceptions; providing an exception to 14
general law; prohibiting the rehabilitation of housing 15
owned by certain governments without a specified vote; 16
requiring the Office of Program Policy Analysis and 17
Government Accountability to review the discretionary 18
surtax program at a specified interval and provide a 19
report to the Governor and Legislature; providing an 20
effective date. 21
22
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 23
24
Section 1. Short title.—This act may be cited as the 25

HB 987 2020

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0987-00
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"Broward County Affordable Housing Improvement Act." 26
Section 2. Definitions.—For purposes of this act, the 27
term: 28
(1) "Adjusted for family size" means the adjustment of the 29
income eligibility level to a lower level for households having 30
fewer than four persons and a higher level for households having 31
more than four persons as compared to the base income 32
eligibility determined as provided in subsections (10), (11), 33
and (12) which shall be based upon a formula established by the 34
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. 35
(2) "Affordable" means monthly rents or monthly mortgage 36
payments including taxes and insurance that do not exceed 30 37
percent of the income which represents the percentage of the 38
median annual gross income for the households indicated in 39
subsections (10), (11), and (12). 40
(3) "Affordable housing" means any real or personal 41
property located within Broward County that is constructed for 42
the primary purpose of providing decent, safe, and sanitary 43
residential units that are designed for home ownership or rental 44
for very low-income, low-income, and moderate-income persons and 45
families. 46
(4) "Affordable Housing Trust Fund" or "AHTF" means the 47
Broward County Affordable Housing Trust Fund approved by 48
majority vote of the Broward County electors voting in a 49
referendum held during the November 2018 general election and 50

HB 987 2020

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codified in Section 11.09 of the Broward County Charter. 51
(5) "County" means Broward County. 52
(6) "County commission" means the Board of County 53
Commissioners of Broward County. 54
(7) "Homeownership assistance" means the assistance of 55
very low-income, low-income, and moderate-income families in 56
purchasing a home as their primary residence, including reducing 57
the cost of the home with below-market construction financing, 58
the amount of down payment and closing costs paid by the 59
borrower, or the mortgage payment to an affordable amount for 60
the purchaser or using any other financial assistance measure as 61
provided in s. 420.5088, Florida Statutes. 62
(8) "Housing" includes single-family, detached dwellings, 63
multi-family dwellings, and other residential dwellings. 64
(9) "Housing assistance voucher" means the document used 65
to access assistance paid by the county from the discretionary 66
surtax balance in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to a 67
prospective purchaser of a single-family residence, which must 68
be the purchaser's homestead. 69
(10) "Low-income family" means one or more natural persons 70
or a family with a total anticipated income for the household 71
that does not exceed 80 percent of the median annual income 72
adjusted for family size for households within the county. 73
However, with respect to rental units, the household's annual 74
income at the time of initial occupancy may not exceed 80 75

HB 987 2020

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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percent of the area's median income adjusted for family size. 76
While occupying the rental unit, the household's annual income 77
may increase to an amount not to exceed 140 percent of 80 78
percent of the area's median income