Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...which shall be paid and distributed as follows: "(a) The director shall from month to month certify to the comptroller the amount derived from each municipal tax *690 authorized in § 210.03, and such amount, less the service charge provided for in section 215.22, Florida Statutes, shall be paid to such municipality by warrant drawn by the comptroller upon the state treasury, which amount is hereby appropriated monthly out of such cigarette tax collection trust fund." It is then alleged that th...

...§§ 601.35, 601.52, 601.731, 601.90-601.9902, Fla. Stat. (1981). The taxes which are collected for the citrus fund are deposited in the state's general revenue account, which is administered by the comptroller. The comptroller administers twenty different funds enumerated in section 215.22, Florida Statutes (1981). Eighteen of the twenty funds are subject to a 4% deduction which represents the estimated pro rata share of the cost of general government. However, the citrus fund (§ 215.22(7), Fla. Stat. (1981)) and the general inspection fund (§ 215.22(5), Fla....

...(Emphasis added.) Initially, we note that the attorney general has addressed the issue raised in this appeal. 1979 Op.Att'y Gen.Fla. 079-110 (Dec. 19, 1979). The attorney general's opinion did not consider the effect of section 601.15(7)(a), Florida Statutes (1981), but instead construed sections 215.20 and 215.22 to conclude that interest from investment accounts generally were not subject to the deduction....

...of Business Reg., 282 So.2d 657 (Fla. 1st DCA 1973), and Richey v. Indian River Shores, 337 So.2d 410 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976). Next, we must consider what effect, if any, section 601.15(7)(a) has on the revised rule. An examination of the twenty funds enumerated in section 215.22 indicates that the citrus fund is the only fund which contains a provision that prohibits a deduction following investment when the funds are redeposited....

...nt to ss. 215.44 - 215.53 , F. S., are not subject to the 4-percent deduction for the pro rata share of the cost of general government described in and required by s. 215.20 , F. S., to be made from the moneys and trust funds described and listed in s. 215.22 , F. S., and paid into the General Revenue Fund. Your question is answered in the negative. Section 215.20 , F.S., provides that certain moneys and trust funds enumerated in s. 215.22 , F. S. 1977, shall be subject to a deduction of 4 percent to defray their pro rata share of the cost of general government paid from the General Revenue Fund. The moneys and trust funds listed in s. 215.22 , as amended, are funds derived from taxes, revenues, licenses, and fees, levied, charged, collected, and deposited in or transferred to the particular funds listed in s. 215.22 by or for the state agencies charged with the administration of such funds....

...Section 215.515 provides for the cost of the investment services rendered by the Board of Administration to any agency or fund designated in ss. 215.44 - 215.53 and appropriates the necessary sums for such purpose from earnings on investments held by each such agency or fund. Reading ss. 215.22 and 215.37 , F....

...S., as amended, together, I am of the view that the moneys and funds therein denominated constitute taxes, licenses, fees, and revenues levied, assessed, charged, and collected by or for the affected state agencies charged with the administration and enforcement of the various laws enumerated in ss. 215.22 and 215.37 , as amended, and paid by the persons regulated by such agencies and laws....

...t immediately needed for their operational expenses. The Department of Banking and Finance has promulgated Rule 3A-40.101 (1), F.A.C., which provides inter alia that the 4-percent service charge is assessed on net receipts pursuant to ss. 215.20 and 215.22 ....

...culated or determined on the basis of the sums of such tax, revenue collections, and deposits made by or for a particular agency or fund. No law has been drawn to my attention that makes any provision for the deduction provided for in ss. 215.20 and 215.22 , F....

...to in s. 215.44 , F. S., is that provided for in s. 215.515 , F. S.; and that charge or deduction is paid from the earnings on investments held by the particular agency or fund for whom the Board of Administration rendered such investment services. Section 215.22 , as amended, in effect, states that only those moneys and trust funds described therein are the moneys or funds from which the deduction required by s. 215.20 is to be made. In sum, no statutory authority exists authorizing or requiring the deduction prescribed in ss. 215.20 and 215.22 to be made from investments or earnings on investments held by the agency or funds referred to in those sections....

...Implied authority cannot exist in the absence of some express grant of authority or the express imposition of a duty. See 67 C.J.S. Officers ss. 190, 192, and AGO's 075-120 and 078-101. The statutes specifically direct the deduction required by s. 215.20 , F. S., to be made from the tax and revenue collections described in s. 215.22 , F....

...nt to ss. 215.44 - 215.53 , F. S., are not subject to the 4-percent deduction for the pro rata share of the cost of general government described in and required by s. 215.20 , F. S., to be made from the moneys and trust funds described and listed in s. 215.22 , F....

...Section 215.20(1), Florida Statutes (1983) provides in part: A service charge of 6 percent, representing the estimated pro rata share of the cost of general government paid from the General Revenue Fund, shall be deducted from the moneys and trust funds enumerated in s. 215.22. The funds subject to this service charge are listed in Section 215.22, and Chapter 83-339 amends Section 215.22 to add the Gas Tax Collection Trust Fund to the list. Appellee brought suit for declaratory judgment, asserting that the application of Sections 215.20 and 215.22 to the constitutional gas tax proceeds violates the Florida Constitution....