Bill > H0939

This bill amends Florida Statute 195.022 to change which governmental entity is responsible for paying for aerial photographs and nonproperty ownership maps, which are used by property appraisers to ensure all real property is properly listed for taxation. Previously, counties with 25,000 or fewer residents had these costs covered by the Department of Revenue, while larger counties paid for them themselves. This bill revises this by shifting the responsibility based on whether a county meets the population thresholds defined for a "rural community" in section 288.0656(2)(e) of Florida Statutes. Specifically, counties that meet these rural community population thresholds will have the Department of Revenue pay for these maps and photographs, while counties that do not meet these thresholds will have the property appraiser bear the expense. The Department of Revenue can incur costs for these items and charge a fee to the property appraiser, which is then deposited into a specific trust fund to cover these expenses.