The Florida Senate

265.2861  Cultural Institutions Program; trust fund.--

(1)  CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS TRUST FUND.--There is created a Cultural Institutions Trust Fund to be administered by the Department of State for the purposes set forth in this section and to support the following programs:

(a)  Statewide arts grants.

(b)  Arts in education and visiting arts programs.

(c)  The State Touring Program. First priority for the issuance of State Touring Program grants shall be given to applicants that reside in counties with a population of 75,000 or less.

(d)  Local arts agencies or state service organizations.

The trust fund shall consist of moneys appropriated by the Legislature and moneys contributed to the fund from any other source.

(2)  CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS PROGRAM.--

(a)  There is created within the Department of State a Cultural Institutions Program.

(b)  The Department of State shall establish, by rule, criteria for the award of grants to cultural organizations, including criteria relating to program quality, potential public exposure and benefit, fiscal stability, ability to properly administer grant funds, procedures for peer evaluation, and other matters deemed necessary and appropriate to further the purposes of this section. The Division of Cultural Affairs shall award grants to supplement the financial support of cultural organizations that have displayed a sustained commitment to cultural excellence and to recognize organizations for superior cultural contributions that have regional or statewide impact.

(c)  Cultural organizations shall receive funding by the Division of Cultural Affairs from the Cultural Institutions Trust Fund.

(d)1.  Upon appropriation by the Legislature of funds for the Cultural Institutions Program, the Department of State shall execute a contract with each organization, which must contain information relative to the program, the projected operating income and expenses, and other provisions deemed necessary by the department for the administration of the program.

2.  Each recipient organization must submit an annual report to the Division of Cultural Affairs detailing the expenditure of funds and is subject to the auditing provisions and rules of the division.

(e)  Each organization shall cause an annual postaudit or independent attestation of its financial accounts, to be conducted by an independent certified public accountant. The annual audit report must be submitted to the Department of State for review. The department may require and receive from the recipient institution, or from its independent auditor, any detail or supplemental data relative to the operation of such institution.

(f)  The Department of State shall adopt rules necessary to administer this section.

History.--s. 1, ch. 88-137; s. 3, ch. 89-359; ss. 4, 13, ch. 90-267; ss. 3, 7, ch. 91-214; s. 5, ch. 91-429; s. 1, ch. 93-46; s. 8, ch. 95-145; s. 27, ch. 95-242; s. 1, ch. 96-386; s. 4, ch. 98-91; s. 68, ch. 2000-258; ss. 43, 53, ch. 2001-254; s. 930, ch. 2002-387; s. 6, ch. 2003-2; s. 5, ch. 2003-401.