ARTICLE XII CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA ARTICLE XII
period as the board may determine. In addition to exercising the powers now
provided by statute for the investment of sinking funds, said Board may use the
sinking funds created for said bonds of any county or special road and bridge district,
or other unit hereunder, to purchase the matured or maturing bonds participating
herein of any other county or any other special road and bridge district, or other
special taxing district thereof, provided that as to said matured bonds, the value
thereof as an investment shall be the price paid therefor, which shall not exceed the
par value plus accrued interest, and that said investment shall bear interest at the
rate of three (3) per cent per annum.
(c) The said board shall annually use said funds in each county account, first, to
pay current principal and interest maturing, if any, of said bonds and gasoline or
other fuel tax anticipation certificates of such county or special road and bridge
district, or other special taxing district thereof; second, to establish a sinking fund
account to meet future requirements of said bonds and gasoline or other fuel tax
anticipation certificates where it appears the anticipated income for any year or
years will not equal scheduled payments thereon; and third, any remaining balance
out of the proceeds of said two (2¢) cents of said taxes shall monthly during the year
be remitted by said board as follows: Eighty (80%) per cent to the State Road
Department for the construction or reconstruction of state roads and bridges within
the county, or for the lease or purchase of bridges connecting state highways within
the county, and twenty (20%) per cent to the Board of County Commissioners of
such county for use on roads and bridges therein.
(d) Said board shall have the power to make and enforce all rules and
regulations necessary to the full exercise of the powers hereby granted and no
legislation shall be required to render this amendment of full force and operating
effect from and after January 1st, 1943. The Legislature shall continue the levies of
said taxes during the life of this Amendment, and shall not enact any law having the
effect of withdrawing the proceeds of said two (2¢) cents of said taxes from the
operation of this amendment. The board shall pay refunding expenses and other
expenses for services rendered specifically for, or which are properly chargeable to,
the account of any county from funds distributed to such county; but general
expenses of the board for services rendered all the counties alike shall be prorated
among them and paid out of said funds on the same basis said tax proceeds are
distributed among the several counties; provided, report of said expenses shall be
made to each Regular Session of the Legislature, and the Legislature may limit the
expenses of the board.
History.–Added, S.J.R. 324, 1941; adopted 1942.
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Note.—Prior to its amendment by C.S. for H.J.R. 3576, 1972, subsection (d)
read as follows:
(d) SCHOOL BONDS. Article XII, Section 18, of the Constitution of 1885, as
amended, as it existed immediately before this revision becomes effective is
adopted by this reference as part of this revision as completely as though
incorporated herein verbatim, except bonds or tax anticipation certificates hereafter
issued thereunder may bear interest not in excess of five per cent per annum or such
higher interest as may be authorized by statute passed by a three-fifths vote of each
house of the legislature. Bonds issued pursuant to this subsection (d) shall be
payable primarily from revenues as provided in Article XII, Section 18, of the
Constitution of 1885, as amended, and if authorized by law, may be additionally
secured by pledging the full faith and credit of the state without an election. When
authorized by law, bonds issued pursuant to Article XII, Section 18, of the
Constitution of 1885, as amended, and bonds issued pursuant to this subsection
(d), may be refunded by the issuance of bonds additionally secured by the full faith
and credit of the state only at a lower net average interest cost rate.
6
Note.—Section 18, Art. XII of the Constitution of 1885, as amended, reads as
follows:
SECTION 18. School bonds for capital outlay, issuance.—
(a) Beginning January 1, 1965 and for thirty-five years thereafter, the first
proceeds of the revenues derived from the licensing of motor vehicles to the extent
necessary to comply with the provisions of this amendment, shall, as collected, be
placed monthly in the county capital outlay and debt service school fund in the state
treasury, and used only as provided in this amendment. Such revenue shall be
distributed annually among the several counties in the ratio of the number of
instruction units in each county in each year computed as provided herein. The
amount of the first revenues derived from the licensing of motor vehicles to be so set
aside in each year and distributed as provided herein shall be an amount equal in the
aggregate to the product of four hundred dollars multiplied by the total number of
instruction units in all the counties of Florida. The number of instruction units in each
county in each year for the purposes of this amendment shall be the greater of (1)
the number of instruction units in each county for the school fiscal year 1951-52
computed in the manner heretofore provided by general law, or (2) the number of
instruction units in such county for the school fiscal year computed in the manner
heretofore or hereafter provided by general law and approved by the state board of
education (hereinafter called the state board), or (3) the number of instruction units
in each county on behalf of which the state board of education has issued bonds or
motor vehicle tax anticipation certificates under this amendment which will produce
sufficient revenues under this amendment to equal one and one-third times the
aggregate amount of principal of and interest on such bonds or motor vehicle tax
anticipation certificates which will mature and become due in such year, computed in
the manner heretofore or hereafter provided by general law and approved by the
state board.
Such funds so distributed shall be administered by the state board as now
created and constituted by Section 3 of Article XII [now s. 2, Article IX] of the
Constitution of Florida. For the purposes of this amendment, said state board, as
now constituted, shall continue as a body corporate during the life of this amendment
and shall have all the powers provided in this amendment in addition to all other
constitutional and statutory powers related to the purposes of this amendment
heretofore or hereafter conferred upon said board.
(b) The state board shall, in addition to its other constitutional and statutory
powers, have the management, control and supervision of the proceeds of the first
part of the revenues derived from the licensing of motor vehicles provided for in
subsection (a). The state board shall also have power, for the purpose of obtaining
funds for the use of any county board of public instruction in acquiring, building,
constructing, altering, improving, enlarging, furnishing, or equipping capital outlay
projects for school purposes, to issue bonds or motor vehicle tax anticipation
certificates, and also to issue such bonds or motor vehicle tax anticipation
certificates to pay, fund or refund any bonds or motor vehicle tax anticipation
certificates theretofore issued by said state board. All such bonds shall bear interest
at not exceeding four and one-half per centum per annum and shall mature serially
in annual installments commencing not more than three years from the date of
issuance thereof and ending not later than thirty years from the date of issuance or
January 1, 2000, A.D., whichever is earlier. All such motor vehicle tax anticipation
certificates shall bear interest at not exceeding four and one-half per centum per
annum and shall mature prior to January 1, 2000, A.D. The state board shall have
power to determine all other details of said bonds or motor vehicle tax anticipation
certificates and to sell at public sale after public advertisement, or exchange said
bonds or motor vehicle tax anticipation certificates, upon such terms and conditions
as the state board shall provide.
The state board shall also have power to pledge for the payment of the principal
of and interest on such bonds or motor vehicle tax anticipation certificates, including
refunding bonds or refunding motor vehicle tax anticipation certificates, all or any
part from the anticipated revenues to be derived from the licensing of motor vehicles
provided for in this amendment and to enter into any covenants and other
agreements with the holders of such bonds or motor vehicle tax anticipation
certificates at the time of the issuance thereof concerning the security thereof and
the rights of the holders thereof, all of which covenants and agreements shall
constitute legally binding and irrevocable contracts with such holders and shall be
fully enforceable by such holders in any court of competent jurisdiction.
No such bonds or motor vehicle tax anticipation certificates shall ever be issued
by the state board until after the adoption of a resolution requesting the issuance
thereof by the county board of public instruction of the county on behalf of which
such obligations are to be issued. The state board of education shall limit the amount
of such bonds or motor vehicle tax anticipation certificates which can be issued on
behalf of any county to seventy-five per cent of the amount which it determines can
be serviced by the revenue accruing to the county under the provisions of this
amendment, and such determination shall be conclusive. All such bonds or motor
vehicle tax anticipation certificates shall be issued in the name of the state board of
education but shall be issued for and on behalf of the county board of public
instruction requesting the issuance thereof, and no election or approval of qualified
electors or freeholders shall be required for the issuance thereof.
(c) The State Board shall in each year use the funds distributable pursuant to
this Amendment to the credit of each county only in the following manner and order
of priority:
(1) To pay all amounts of principal and interest maturing in such year on any
bonds or motor vehicle tax anticipation certificates issued under the authority hereof,
including refunding bonds or motor vehicle tax anticipation certificates, issued on
behalf of the Board of Public Instruction of such county; subject, however, to any
covenants or agreements made by the State Board concerning the rights between
holders of different issues of such bonds or motor vehicle tax anticipation
certificates, as herein authorized.
(2) To establish and maintain a sinking fund or funds to meet future
requirements for debt service, or reserves therefor, on bonds or motor vehicle
tax anticipation certificates issued on behalf of the Board of Public Instruction of
such county, under the authority hereof, whenever the State Board shall deem it
necessary or advisable, and in such amounts and under such terms and conditions
as the State Board shall in its discretion determine.
(3) To distribute annually to the several Boards of Public Instruction of the
counties for use in payment of debt service on bonds heretofore or hereafter issued
by any such Board where the proceeds of the bonds were used, or are to be used, in
the construction, acquisition, improvement, enlargement, furnishing, or equipping of
capital outlay projects in such county, and which capital outlay projects have been
approved by the Board of Public Instruction of the county, pursuant to a survey or
surveys conducted subsequent to July 1, 1947 in the county, under regulations
prescribed by the State Board to determine the capital outlay needs of the county.
The State Board shall have power at the time of issuance of any bonds by any
Board of Public Instruction to covenant and agree with such Board as to the rank and
priority of payments to be made for different issues of bonds under this Subsection
(3), and may further agree that any amounts to be distributed under this Subsection
(3) may be pledged for the debt service on bonds issued by any Board of Public
Instruction and for the rank and priority of such pledge. Any such covenants or
agreements of the State Board may be enforced by any holders of such bonds in any
court of competent jurisdiction.
(4) To distribute annually to the several Boards of Public Instruction of the
counties for the payment of the cost of the construction, acquisition, improvement,
enlargement, furnishing, or equipping of capital outlay projects for school purposes
in such county as shall be requested by resolution of the County Board of Public
Instruction of such county.
(5) When all major capital outlay needs of a county have been met as
determined by the State Board, on the basis of a survey made pursuant to
regulations of the State Board and approved by the State Board, all such funds
remaining shall be distributed annually and used for such school purposes in such
county as the Board of Public Instruction of the county shall determine, or as may be
provided by general law.
(d) Capital outlay projects of a county shall be eligible to participate in the funds
accruing under this Amendment and derived from the proceeds of bonds and motor
vehicle tax anticipation certificates and from the motor vehicle license taxes, only in
the order of priority of needs, as shown by a survey or surveys conducted in the
county under regulations prescribed by the State Board, to determine the capital
outlay needs of the county and approved by the State Board; provided, that the
priority of such projects may be changed from time to time upon the request of the
Board of Public Instruction of the county and with the approval of the State Board;
and provided further, that this Subsection (d) shall not in any manner affect any
covenant, agreement, or pledge made by the State Board in the issuance by said
State Board of any bonds or motor vehicle tax anticipation certificates, or in
connection with the issuance of any bonds of any Board of Public Instruction of any
county.
(e) The State Board may invest any sinking fund or funds created pursuant to
this Amendment in direct obligations of the United States of America or in the bonds
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