(1) The Department of Revenue shall have general supervision of the assessment and valuation of property so that all property will be placed on the tax rolls and shall be valued according to its just valuation, as required by the constitution. It shall also have supervision over tax collection and all other aspects of the administration of such taxes. The supervision of the department shall consist primarily of aiding and assisting county officers in the assessing and collection functions, with particular emphasis on the more technical aspects. In this regard, the department shall conduct schools to upgrade assessment skills of both state and local assessment personnel.

(2) In furtherance of its duty to conduct schools to upgrade assessment skills and collection skills, the department may establish by rule committees on admissions and certification. The department may also incur reasonable expenses for hiring instructors, travel, office operations, certificates of completion, badges or awards, food service incidental to conducting such schools, salaries and benefits of department employees whose duties are directly associated with developing and conducting such schools, and administering any certification program under s. 145.10, s. 145.11, or s. 194.035. The department may charge a tuition fee and an examination fee to any person who attends such a school and may charge a fee to certify or recertify any person under such a program. The department shall deposit such fees into the Certification Program Trust Fund which is created in the State Treasury. There shall be separate school accounts and program accounts in the trust fund for property appraisers, tax collectors, and special magistrates. The department shall use money in the fund to pay such expenses.

History.—s. 35, ch. 70-243; s. 7, ch. 74-234; s. 5, ch. 86-300; s. 25, ch. 90-203; s. 1, ch. 2008-138; s. 8, ch. 2008-197.