| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to new or retained professional sports |
| 3 | franchises; prohibiting a new or retained professional |
| 4 | sport franchise that uses a facility that receives |
| 5 | certain distributions of public funds or the |
| 6 | franchise's league from preventing television or radio |
| 7 | broadcasts of games in the facility due to |
| 8 | insufficient ticket sales; providing that the sports |
| 9 | franchise is subject to a fine by the county in which |
| 10 | the facility is located if broadcasts of a game are |
| 11 | prohibited; requiring that the proceeds of the fine be |
| 12 | used to purchase tickets to games of the sports |
| 13 | franchise at the publicly financed facility for |
| 14 | specified individuals and their families; providing an |
| 15 | effective date. |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Section 1. Broadcast blackouts prohibited at publicly |
| 20 | financed facilities.- |
| 21 | (1) A new or retained professional sports franchise using |
| 22 | a facility that receives public funding under s. 212.20(6)(d)6., |
| 23 | Florida Statutes, or the franchise's league may not prohibit |
| 24 | television or radio broadcasts of a game played in the facility |
| 25 | in areas near the facility due to insufficient ticket sales. |
| 26 | (2) If the professional sports franchise or its league |
| 27 | violates this section, the professional sports franchise is |
| 28 | subject to a fine by the county in which the facility is located |
| 29 | in the amount of $125,000 per violation. A fine assessed under |
| 30 | this section must be paid by the franchise before it plays the |
| 31 | first regular season game of the next season in the publicly |
| 32 | financed facility. |
| 33 | (3) The proceeds of the fine shall be used by the county |
| 34 | or the public sports authority for the county exclusively to |
| 35 | purchase tickets to games of the professional sports franchise |
| 36 | at the facility for foster children and their foster families, |
| 37 | nonprofit youth organizations, and the United Service |
| 38 | Organization, Inc., which organization will provide the tickets |
| 39 | to servicemembers on leave from active duty in a combat zone and |
| 40 | their families. |
| 41 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012. |