FL H7053

Systematically renames government-imposed "fees," "surcharges," and "assessments" as "taxes" or "surtaxes" across over 200 Florida statute references to increase public transparency about the nature of these levies, with explicit legislative intent that only the titles—not the underlying authority or rates—are changed.

Requires counties, municipalities, and special districts, effective January 1, 2020, to rename and represent levies to the public as follows: special assessments/non-ad valorem assessments become "special benefit taxes," impact fees/mobility fees become "development impact taxes," franchise fees become "franchise taxes," and regulatory charges become regulatory "taxes."

Reclassifies cigarette surcharges as "cigarette surtaxes" (rates unchanged: 5¢–20¢ per cigarette depending on weight/length, 4.2¢ for nonstandard) and tobacco product surcharges as "tobacco surtaxes" (60% of wholesale price), with revenue continuing to flow into the Health Care Trust Fund administered by the Agency for Health Care Administration.

Renames the $2/day rental car surcharge as a "surtax" (with a $1-per-usage rate for car-sharing services under 24 hours), maintaining the existing distribution: 80% to the State Transportation Trust Fund, 15.75% to the Tourism Promotional Trust Fund, and 4.25% to the Florida International Trade and Promotion Trust Fund.

Converts motor vehicle title fees to "taxes" throughout Chapter 319, including the $70 original/duplicate certificate of title tax ($49 for vehicles for hire), $20 late filing penalty tax, and $10 out-of-state vehicle tax deposited into the Nongame Wildlife Trust Fund, with $47 of each title tax going to the State Transportation Trust Fund (capped at $200 million per fiscal year).

Reclassifies all motor vehicle registration fees as "taxes" and registration surcharges as "surtaxes," including the $225 initial registration tax, the $10 commercial motor vehicle surtax (≥10,000 lbs GVW), the $1.20 transportation/highway safety surtax, the $1 juvenile programs surtax, and the $1 mobile home surtax (suspended when the Florida Mobile Home Relocation Trust Fund exceeds $10 million).

Renames motor carrier registration charges as "taxes," including the $4/year identifying device tax, $45 temporary fuel-use permit tax, and $4 driveaway permit tax, along with overweight/oversize vehicle permit fees (minimum $5; blanket permits up to $500 for 36 months).

Updates property tax notices under ss. 197.3635 and 200.069 to include "Special Benefit Taxes" alongside non-ad valorem assessments in titles and headings, with a required bold horizontal line approximately 1/8-inch thick separating proposed property taxes from non-ad valorem/special benefit tax sections.

Renames waste tire fees and lead-acid battery fees as "surtaxes" under ss. 403.718 and 403.7185, reclassifies certain health care entity assessments as "taxes" (repealing s. 395.7015), and converts various charges across driver licensing, identification cards, business entity filings (LLCs, corporations, partnerships), and cable franchise fees from "fees" to "taxes."

Applies conforming amendments throughout Florida Statutes—including confidentiality provisions (s. 213.053), deficiency billing and collection (s. 213.24), and law enforcement radio system funding (s. 282.709)—to reflect the new "tax" and "surtax" terminology while preserving all existing distribution formulas, rates, and administrative procedures.