1(1) 2This section may be cited as the “Florida Impact Fee Act.”
13(2) 14The Legislature finds that impact fees are an important source of revenue for a local government to use in funding the infrastructure necessitated by new growth. The Legislature further finds that impact fees are an outgrowth of the home rule power of a local government to provide certain services within its jurisdiction. Due to the growth of impact fee collections and local governments’ reliance on impact fees, it is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that, when a county or municipality adopts an impact fee by ordinance or a special district adopts an impact fee by resolution, the governing authority complies with this section.
119(3) 120At a minimum, an impact fee adopted by ordinance of a county or municipality or by resolution of a special district must satisfy all of the following conditions:148(a) 149The calculation of the impact fee must be based on the most recent and localized data.
165(b) 166The local government must provide for accounting and reporting of impact fee collections and expenditures. If a local governmental entity imposes an impact fee to address its infrastructure needs, the entity must account for the revenues and expenditures of such impact fee in a separate accounting fund.
213(c) 214Administrative charges for the collection of impact fees must be limited to actual costs.
228(d) 229The local government must provide notice not less than 90 days before the effective date of an ordinance or resolution imposing a new or increased impact fee. A county or municipality is not required to wait 90 days to decrease, suspend, or eliminate an impact fee. Unless the result is to reduce the total mitigation costs or impact fees imposed on an applicant, new or increased impact fees may not apply to current or pending permit applications submitted before the effective date of an ordinance or resolution imposing a new or increased impact fee.
323(e) 324Collection of the impact fee may not be required to occur earlier than the date of issuance of the building permit for the property that is subject to the fee.
354(f) 355The impact fee must be proportional and reasonably connected to, or have a rational nexus with, the need for additional capital facilities and the increased impact generated by the new residential or commercial construction.
389(g) 390The impact fee must be proportional and reasonably connected to, or have a rational nexus with, the expenditures of the funds collected and the benefits accruing to the new residential or nonresidential construction.
423(h) 424The local government must specifically earmark funds collected under the impact fee for use in acquiring, constructing, or improving capital facilities to benefit new users.
449(i) 450Revenues generated by the impact fee may not be used, in whole or in part, to pay existing debt or for previously approved projects unless the expenditure is reasonably connected to, or has a rational nexus with, the increased impact generated by the new residential or nonresidential construction.
498(4) 499Notwithstanding any charter provision, comprehensive plan policy, ordinance, or resolution, the local government must credit against the collection of the impact fee any contribution, whether identified in a proportionate share agreement or other form of exaction, related to public education facilities, including land dedication, site planning and design, or construction. Any contribution must be applied to reduce any education-based impact fees on a dollar-for-dollar basis at fair market value.
568(5) 569If a local government increases its impact fee rates, the holder of any impact fee credits, whether such credits are granted under s. 592163.3180, 593s. 594380.06, 595or otherwise, which were in existence before the increase, is entitled to the full benefit of the intensity or density prepaid by the credit balance as of the date it was first established. This subsection shall operate prospectively and not retrospectively. 636(6) 637Audits of financial statements of local governmental entities and district school boards which are performed by a certified public accountant pursuant to s. 660218.39 661and submitted to the Auditor General must include an affidavit signed by the chief financial officer of the local governmental entity or district school board stating that the local governmental entity or district school board has complied with this section. 701(7) 702In any action challenging an impact fee or the government’s failure to provide required dollar-for-dollar credits for the payment of impact fees as provided in s. 728163.3180(6)(h)2729.b., the government has the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the imposition or amount of the fee or credit meets the requirements of state legal precedent and this section. The court may not use a deferential standard for the benefit of the government. 777(8) 778Impact fee credits are assignable and transferable at any time after establishment from one development or parcel to any other that is within the same impact fee zone or impact fee district or that is within an adjoining impact fee zone or impact fee district within the same local government jurisdiction and receives benefits from the improvement or contribution that generated the credits.
841(9) 842A county, municipality, or special district may provide an exception or waiver for an impact fee for the development or construction of housing that is affordable, as defined in s. 872420.9071873. If a county, municipality, or special district provides such an exception or waiver, it is not required to use any revenues to offset the impact. 899(10) 900This section does not apply to water and sewer connection fees.
911(11) 912In addition to the items that must be reported in the annual financial reports under s. 928218.32, 929a county, municipality, or special district must report all of the following data on all impact fees charged:947(a) 948The specific purpose of the impact fee, including the specific infrastructure needs to be met, including, but not limited to, transportation, parks, water, sewer, and schools.
974(b) 975The impact fee schedule policy describing the method of calculating impact fees, such as flat fees, tiered scales based on number of bedrooms, or tiered scales based on square footage.
1005(c) 1006The amount assessed for each purpose and for each type of dwelling.
1018(d) 1019The total amount of impact fees charged by type of dwelling.
1030(e) 1031Each exception and waiver provided for construction or development of housing that is affordable.
