Senate Bill 1150

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    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 1150

    By Senator Clary





    7-1374-99                                               See HB

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to military base retention;

  3         amending s. 288.980, F.S.; providing

  4         legislative intent; providing for the role of

  5         the Florida Defense Alliance; providing

  6         funding; removing a limitation on the amount of

  7         a grant under the Florida Military Installation

  8         Reuse Planning and Marketing Grant Program;

  9         increasing a grant limitation with respect to

10         the Florida Defense Planning Grant Program;

11         reducing the amount of matching funds required

12         under certain grant programs; providing a cap

13         on the payment of administrative expenses from

14         certain grants; providing an appropriation;

15         providing an effective date.

16

17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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19         Section 1.  Section 288.980, Florida Statutes, 1998

20  Supplement, is amended to read:

21         288.980  Military base retention; legislative intent;

22  grants program.--

23         (1)(a)  It is the intent of this state to provide the

24  necessary means to assist communities with military

25  installations that would be adversely affected by federal base

26  realignment or closure actions. It is further the intent to

27  encourage communities to initiate a coordinated program of

28  response and plan of action in advance of future actions of

29  the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission. It is

30  critical that closure-vulnerable communities develop such a

31  program to preserve affected military installations. The

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    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 1150
    7-1374-99                                               See HB




  1  Legislature hereby recognizes that the state needs to

  2  coordinate all efforts that can facilitate the retention of

  3  all remaining military installations in the state. The

  4  Legislature, therefore, declares that providing such

  5  assistance to support the defense-related initiatives within

  6  this section is a public purpose for which public money may be

  7  used.

  8         (b)  The Florida Defense Alliance, an organization

  9  within Enterprise Florida, is designated as the organization

10  to ensure that Florida, its resident military bases and

11  missions, and its military host communities are in competitive

12  positions as the United States continues its defense

13  realignment and downsizing. The defense alliance shall serve

14  as an overall advisory body for Enterprise Florida

15  defense-related activity. The Florida Defense Alliance shall

16  receive funding from appropriations made for that purpose

17  administered by the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic

18  Development.

19         (2)(a)  The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic

20  Development is authorized to award grants from any funds

21  available to it to support activities related to the retention

22  of military installations potentially affected by federal base

23  closure or realignment.

24         (b)  The term "activities" as used in this section

25  means studies, presentations, analyses, plans, and modeling.

26  Travel and costs incidental thereto, and Staff salaries, are

27  not considered an "activity" for which grant funds may be

28  awarded. Travel costs and costs incidental thereto incurred by

29  a grant recipient shall be considered an "activity" for which

30  grant funds may be awarded.

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    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 1150
    7-1374-99                                               See HB




  1         (c)  Except for grants issued pursuant to the Florida

  2  Military Installation Reuse Planning and Marketing Grant

  3  Program as described in (3)(b), the amount of any grant

  4  provided to an applicant may not exceed $250,000. The Office

  5  of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development shall require that

  6  an applicant:

  7         1.  Represent a local government with a military

  8  installation or military installations that could be adversely

  9  affected by federal base realignment or closure.

10         2.  Agree to match at least 30 50 percent of any grant

11  awarded.

12         3.  Prepare a coordinated program or plan of action

13  delineating how the eligible project will be administered and

14  accomplished.

15         4.  Provide documentation describing the potential for

16  realignment or closure of a military installation located in

17  the applicant's community and the adverse impacts such

18  realignment or closure will have on the applicant's community.

19         (d)  In making grant awards the office shall consider,

20  at a minimum, the following factors:

21         1.  The relative value of the particular military

22  installation in terms of its importance to the local and state

23  economy relative to other military installations vulnerable to

24  closure.

25         2.  The potential job displacement within the local

26  community should the military installation be closed.

27         3.  The potential adverse impact on industries and

28  technologies which service the military installation.

29         (3)  The Florida Economic Reinvestment Initiative is

30  established to respond to the need for this state and

31  defense-dependent communities in this state to develop

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    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 1150
    7-1374-99                                               See HB




  1  alternative economic diversification strategies to lessen

  2  reliance on national defense dollars in the wake of base

  3  closures and reduced federal defense expenditures and the need

  4  to formulate specific base reuse plans and identify any

  5  specific infrastructure needed to facilitate reuse. The

  6  initiative shall consist of the following three distinct grant

  7  programs to be administered by the Office of Tourism, Trade,

  8  and Economic Development:

  9         (a)  The Florida Defense Planning Grant Program,

10  through which funds shall be used to analyze the extent to

11  which the state is dependent on defense dollars and defense

12  infrastructure and prepare alternative economic development

13  strategies.  The state shall work in conjunction with

14  defense-dependent communities in developing strategies and

15  approaches that will help communities make the transition from

16  a defense economy to a nondefense economy. Grant awards may

17  not exceed $250,000 $100,000 per applicant and shall be

18  available on a competitive basis.

19         (b)  The Florida Defense Implementation Grant Program,

20  through which funds shall be made available to

21  defense-dependent communities to implement the diversification

22  strategies developed pursuant to paragraph (a). Eligible

23  applicants include defense-dependent counties and cities, and

24  local economic development councils located within such

25  communities.  Grant awards may not exceed $100,000 per

26  applicant and shall be available on a competitive basis.

27  Awards shall be matched on a one-to-one basis.

28         (c)  The Florida Military Installation Reuse Planning

29  and Marketing Grant Program, through which funds shall be used

30  to help counties, cities, and local economic development

31  councils develop and implement plans for the reuse of closed

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    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 1150
    7-1374-99                                               See HB




  1  or realigned military installations, including any necessary

  2  infrastructure improvements needed to facilitate reuse and

  3  related marketing activities. Grant awards are limited to not

  4  more than $100,000 per eligible applicant and made available

  5  through a competitive process.  Awards shall be matched on a

  6  one-to-one basis.

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  8  Applications for grants under this subsection must include a

  9  coordinated program of work or plan of action delineating how

10  the eligible project will be administered and accomplished,

11  which must include a plan for ensuring close cooperation

12  between civilian and military authorities in the conduct of

13  the funded activities and a plan for public involvement.

14         (4)(a)  The Defense-Related Business Adjustment Program

15  is hereby created.  The Director of the Office of Tourism,

16  Trade, and Economic Development shall coordinate the

17  development of the Defense-Related Business Adjustment

18  Program.  Funds shall be available to assist defense-related

19  companies in the creation of increased commercial technology

20  development through investments in technology.  Such

21  technology must have a direct impact on critical state needs

22  for the purpose of generating investment-grade technologies

23  and encouraging the partnership of the private sector and

24  government defense-related business adjustment.  The following

25  areas shall receive precedence in consideration for funding

26  commercial technology development:  law enforcement or

27  corrections, environmental protection, transportation,

28  education, and health care.  Travel and costs incidental

29  thereto, and staff salaries, are not considered an "activity"

30  for which grant funds may be awarded.

31         (b)  The office shall require that an applicant:

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    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 1150
    7-1374-99                                               See HB




  1         1.  Be a defense-related business that could be

  2  adversely affected by federal base realignment or closure or

  3  reduced defense expenditures.

  4         2.  Agree to match at least 50 percent of any funds

  5  awarded by the department in cash or in-kind services.  Such

  6  match shall be directly related to activities for which the

  7  funds are being sought.

  8         3.  Prepare a coordinated program or plan delineating

  9  how the funds will be administered.

10         4.  Provide documentation describing how

11  defense-related realignment or closure will adversely impact

12  defense-related companies.

13         (5)  The director may award nonfederal matching funds

14  specifically appropriated for construction, maintenance, and

15  analysis of a Florida defense workforce database. Such funds

16  will be used to create a registry of worker skills that can be

17  used to match the worker needs of companies that are

18  relocating to this state or to assist workers in relocating to

19  other areas within this state where similar or related

20  employment is available.

21         (6)  Payment of administrative expenses shall be

22  limited to no more than 10 percent of any grants issued

23  pursuant to this section.

24         (7)(6)  The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic

25  Development shall establish guidelines to implement and carry

26  out the purpose and intent of this section.

27         Section 2.  There is appropriated from the General

28  Revenue Fund to the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic

29  Development the sum of $20 million to implement the grants

30  programs described in section 288.980, Florida Statutes. The

31  $20 million in funding provided pursuant to this section is

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    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 1150
    7-1374-99                                               See HB




  1  critical in assisting with the improvement or upgrade of

  2  infrastructure (roads, water supply, power grids,

  3  communication nets, etc.) around the state's military bases

  4  which will be measured in the next round of military base

  5  closures. It is the specific intent of the Legislature that a

  6  portion of this appropriation be expended to employ a

  7  consultant to evaluate the infrastructure needs of Florida

  8  military bases in order to provide a baseline and order of

  9  priority for the disbursement of funds. This appropriation is

10  in addition to any funds currently available for grants to

11  help local communities.

12         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.

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14            *****************************************

15                       LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY

16
      Revises a provision of law governing military base
17    retention in the state to provide legislative intent, to
      provide for the role of the Florida Defense Alliance, to
18    remove a limitation on the amount of a grant under the
      Florida Military Installation Reuse Planning and
19    Marketing Grant Program, to increase the amount of grants
      under the Florida Defense Planning Grant Program, to
20    reduce the amount of match required by persons seeking a
      grant with respect to military base retention, and to
21    provide a limitation on the amount of funds which may be
      expended from awarded grants for administrative expenses.
22    Appropriates the sum of $20 million from the General
      Revenue Fund to the Office of Tourism, Trade, and
23    Economic Development to carry out grant programs as
      described in s. 288.980, Florida Statutes. (See bill for
24    details.)

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