(1) The Economic Development Trust Fund is created within the Division of Economic Development of the Department of Commerce. Moneys deposited into the fund must be used only to support the authorized activities and operations of the division.

[Footnote 1] (2) There is created, within the Economic Development Trust Fund, the Economic Development Incentives Account. The Economic Development Incentives Account consists of moneys appropriated to the account for purposes of the tax incentives programs authorized under ss. 288.104 and 288.106, and local financial support provided under ss. 288.104 and 288.106. Moneys in the Economic Development Incentives Account shall be subject to the provisions of s. 216.301(1)(a).

(3)

(a) Contingent upon an annual appropriation by the Legislature, the secretary may approve not more than the lesser of $10 million in tax refunds pursuant to ss. 288.104 and 288.106 or the amount appropriated to the Economic Development Incentives Account for such tax refunds, for a fiscal year pursuant to paragraph (b).

(b) The total amount of tax refunds approved by the secretary pursuant to ss. 288.104 and 288.106 shall not exceed the amount appropriated to the Economic Development Incentives Account for such purposes for the fiscal year. In the event the Legislature does not appropriate an amount sufficient to satisfy projections by the department for tax refunds under ss. 288.104 and 288.106 in a fiscal year, the secretary shall, not later than July 15 of such year, determine the proportion of each refund claim which shall be paid by dividing the amount appropriated for tax refunds for the fiscal year by the projected total of refund claims for the fiscal year. The amount of each claim for a tax refund shall be multiplied by the resulting quotient. If, after the payment of all such refund claims, funds remain in the Economic Development Incentives Account for tax refunds, the secretary shall recalculate the proportion for each refund claim and adjust the amount of each claim accordingly.

(c) By September 30 of each year, the department shall submit a complete and detailed report to the Board of Directors of Enterprise Florida, Inc., created under part VII of this chapter, of all applications received, final orders issued, tax refund agreements executed, and tax refunds paid or other payments made under all programs funded out of the Economic Development Incentives Account, including analyses of benefits and costs, types of projects supported, and employment and investment created. The department shall also include a separate analysis of the impact of such tax refunds on state enterprise zones designated pursuant to s. 290.0065, including the finding required by s. 288.106(4)(e)2. By December 1 of each year, the Board of Directors of Enterprise Florida, Inc., shall review and comment on the report, and the board shall submit the report, together with the comments of the board, to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The report must discuss whether the authority and moneys appropriated by the Legislature to the Economic Development Incentives Account were managed and expended in a prudent, fiducially sound manner.

(d) Moneys in the Economic Development Incentives Account may be used only to pay tax refunds and other payments authorized under s. 288.104 or s. 288.106.

(e) The department shall adopt rules necessary to carry out the provisions of this subsection, including rules providing for the use of moneys in the Economic Development Incentives Account and for the administration of the Economic Development Incentives Account. History: s. 5, ch. 92-111; ss. 4, 7, ch. 93-414; ss. 15, 75, ch. 94-136. [Footnote 1] Note. A. Section 6, ch. 93-414, provides that "in the event that a court of competent jurisdiction determines any of the provisions of this act to be unconstitutional, it is the intent of the Legislature that the provisions contained in this act shall be null and void. To this end, the Legislature declares that it would not have enacted any of the provisions of this act individually and, to that end, expressly finds them not to be severable." B. Section 7, ch. 93-414, as amended by s. 15, ch. 94-136, retroactively applicable to April 13, 1994, provides that "this act shall take effect upon becoming a law. This act shall be repealed on December 1, 1994, if no qualified applicant, as defined in s. 288.104, has entered into a valid new Department of Defense contract or commenced the consolidation of a Department of Defense contract, which will result in the employment of at least 1,000 full-time employees. A qualified applicant which enters such a contract shall notify the Secretary of the Department of Commerce in writing no later than November 30, 1994." No qualified applicant as defined has entered into such contract or commenced such consolidation.