House Bill 4817

    Florida House of Representatives - 1998               HJR 4817

        By Representative Putnam






  1                      House Joint Resolution

  2         A joint resolution creating Article VII,

  3         Section 19, of the State Constitution;

  4         establishing the Tobacco Settlement Endowment

  5         Trust Fund as a permanent endowment for the

  6         provision of vital services.

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  8  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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10         That the creation of Section 19 of Article VII of the

11  State Constitution as set forth below is agreed to and shall

12  be submitted to the electors of Florida for approval or

13  rejection at the general election to be held in November 1998

14  or at a special election to be held in September 1998:

15                           ARTICLE VII

16                       FINANCE AND TAXATION

17         Section 19.  Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Fund.--

18         (a)  There is hereby established the Tobacco Settlement

19  Endowment Trust Fund, which shall not be subject to

20  termination pursuant to Article III, Section 19(f). The

21  purpose of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Fund is to

22  create a permanent endowment for provision of vital services,

23  including health care, education, and child development, as

24  determined from year to year by the legislature.

25         (b)  No less than seventy percent of the net funds

26  received each year by the state from settlement of claims

27  related to the manufacture, sale, or distribution of tobacco

28  products shall be deposited into the Tobacco Settlement

29  Endowment Trust Fund.

30         (c)  Funds deposited to the Tobacco Settlement

31  Endowment Trust Fund shall be invested in accordance with

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998               HJR 4817

    584-128-98






  1  general law and the income derived therefrom shall be

  2  deposited no less than annually into the general revenue fund

  3  of the state. The corpus of the trust fund shall not be

  4  invaded, except as may be required by federal law.

  5         (d)  As used herein, the term "net funds" shall not

  6  include any amounts paid prior to January 1, 1999, funds

  7  encumbered by the federal government, and funds paid for

  8  attorneys' fees and the costs of litigation.

  9         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in accordance with the

10  requirements of section 101.161, Florida Statutes, the

11  substance of the amendment proposed herein shall appear on the

12  ballot as follows:

13                        TOBACCO SETTLEMENT

14                       ENDOWMENT TRUST FUND

15         Proposing the creation of Section 19 of Article VII of

16  the State Constitution establishing the Tobacco Settlement

17  Endowment Trust Fund; requiring 70 percent of the net funds

18  recovered from tobacco manufacturers by state be deposited in

19  the fund; prohibiting non-federally required expenditure of

20  fund corpus permitting use of income from the fund for the

21  provision of vital services as determined by the legislature.

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