Senate Bill 1150c1

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 1150

    By the Committee on Comprehensive Planning, Local and Military
    Affairs; and Senators Clary and Kurth




    316-1870-99

  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; creating the

13         Retention of Military Installations Program;

14         providing eligibility criteria; providing a cap

15         on the payment of administrative expenses from

16         certain grants; providing an appropriation;

17         providing an effective date.

18

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

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21         Section 1.  Section 288.980, Florida Statutes, 1998

22  Supplement, is amended to read:

23         288.980  Military base retention; legislative intent;

24  grants program.--

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

26  necessary means to assist communities with military

27  installations that would be adversely affected by federal base

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

29  encourage communities to initiate a coordinated program of

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

31  the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission. It is

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 1150
    316-1870-99




  1  critical that closure-vulnerable communities develop such a

  2  program to preserve affected military installations. The

  3  Legislature hereby recognizes that the state needs to

  4  coordinate all efforts that can facilitate the retention of

  5  all remaining military installations in the state. The

  6  Legislature, therefore, declares that providing such

  7  assistance to support the defense-related initiatives within

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

  9  used.

10         (b)  The Florida Defense Alliance, an organization

11  within Enterprise Florida, is designated as the organization

12  to ensure that Florida, its resident military bases and

13  missions, and its military host communities are in competitive

14  positions as the United States continues its defense

15  realignment and downsizing. The defense alliance shall serve

16  as an overall advisory body for Enterprise Florida

17  defense-related activity. The Florida Defense Alliance shall

18  receive funding from appropriations made for that purpose

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

20  Development.

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

22  Development is authorized to award grants from any funds

23  available to it to support activities related to the retention

24  of military installations potentially affected by federal base

25  closure or realignment.

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

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

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

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

30  awarded. Travel costs and costs incidental thereto incurred by

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 1150
    316-1870-99




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

  2  grant funds may be awarded.

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

  4  Military Installation Reuse Planning and Marketing Grant

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

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

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

  8  an applicant:

  9         1.  Represent a local government with a military

10  installation or military installations that could be adversely

11  affected by federal base realignment or closure.

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

13  awarded.

14         3.  Prepare a coordinated program or plan of action

15  delineating how the eligible project will be administered and

16  accomplished.

17         4.  Provide documentation describing the potential for

18  realignment or closure of a military installation located in

19  the applicant's community and the adverse impacts such

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

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

22  at a minimum, the following factors:

23         1.  The relative value of the particular military

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

25  economy relative to other military installations vulnerable to

26  closure.

27         2.  The potential job displacement within the local

28  community should the military installation be closed.

29         3.  The potential adverse impact on industries and

30  technologies which service the military installation.

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 1150
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  1         (3)  The Florida Economic Reinvestment Initiative is

  2  established to respond to the need for this state and

  3  defense-dependent communities in this state to develop

  4  alternative economic diversification strategies to lessen

  5  reliance on national defense dollars in the wake of base

  6  closures and reduced federal defense expenditures and the need

  7  to formulate specific base reuse plans and identify any

  8  specific infrastructure needed to facilitate reuse. The

  9  initiative shall consist of the following three distinct grant

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

11  and Economic Development:

12         (a)  The Florida Defense Planning Grant Program,

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

14  which the state is dependent on defense dollars and defense

15  infrastructure and prepare alternative economic development

16  strategies.  The state shall work in conjunction with

17  defense-dependent communities in developing strategies and

18  approaches that will help communities make the transition from

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

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

21  available on a competitive basis.

22         (b)  The Florida Defense Implementation Grant Program,

23  through which funds shall be made available to

24  defense-dependent communities to implement the diversification

25  strategies developed pursuant to paragraph (a). Eligible

26  applicants include defense-dependent counties and cities, and

27  local economic development councils located within such

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

29  applicant and shall be available on a competitive basis.

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

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 1150
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  1         (c)  The Florida Military Installation Reuse Planning

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

  3  to help counties, cities, and local economic development

  4  councils develop and implement plans for the reuse of closed

  5  or realigned military installations, including any necessary

  6  infrastructure improvements needed to facilitate reuse and

  7  related marketing activities. Grant awards are limited to not

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

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

10  one-to-one basis.

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12  Applications for grants under this subsection must include a

13  coordinated program of work or plan of action delineating how

14  the eligible project will be administered and accomplished,

15  which must include a plan for ensuring close cooperation

16  between civilian and military authorities in the conduct of

17  the funded activities and a plan for public involvement.

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

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

20  Trade, and Economic Development shall coordinate the

21  development of the Defense-Related Business Adjustment

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

23  companies in the creation of increased commercial technology

24  development through investments in technology.  Such

25  technology must have a direct impact on critical state needs

26  for the purpose of generating investment-grade technologies

27  and encouraging the partnership of the private sector and

28  government defense-related business adjustment.  The following

29  areas shall receive precedence in consideration for funding

30  commercial technology development:  law enforcement or

31  corrections, environmental protection, transportation,

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 1150
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  1  education, and health care.  Travel and costs incidental

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

  3  for which grant funds may be awarded.

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

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

  6  adversely affected by federal base realignment or closure or

  7  reduced defense expenditures.

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

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

10  match shall be directly related to activities for which the

11  funds are being sought.

12         3.  Prepare a coordinated program or plan delineating

13  how the funds will be administered.

14         4.  Provide documentation describing how

15  defense-related realignment or closure will adversely impact

16  defense-related companies.

17         (5)  The Retention of Military Installations Program is

18  created. The Director of the Office of Tourism, Trade, and

19  Economic Development shall coordinate and implement this

20  program for military installations located in counties with a

21  population greater than 824,000. Notwithstanding subsection

22  (2), the program shall provide up to $2 million to assist

23  military installations potentially affected by federal base

24  closure or realignment in covering current operating costs in

25  an effort to retain the installation in this state. An

26  eligible military installation for this program shall include

27  a provider of simulation solutions for warfighting

28  experimentation, testing, and training which employs at least

29  500 civilian and military employees and has been operating in

30  the state for a period of more than 10 years.

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 1150
    316-1870-99




  1         (6)(5)  The director may award nonfederal matching

  2  funds specifically appropriated for construction, maintenance,

  3  and analysis of a Florida defense workforce database. Such

  4  funds will be used to create a registry of worker skills that

  5  can be used to match the worker needs of companies that are

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

  7  other areas within this state where similar or related

  8  employment is available.

  9         (7)  Payment of administrative expenses shall be

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

11  pursuant to this section.

12         (8)(6)  The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic

13  Development shall establish guidelines to implement and carry

14  out the purpose and intent of this section.

15         Section 2.  There is appropriated from the General

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

17  Development the sum of $20 million to implement the programs

18  described in section 288.980, Florida Statutes. The $20

19  million in funding provided pursuant to this section is

20  critical in assisting with the improvement or upgrade of

21  infrastructure (roads, water supply, power grids,

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

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

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

25  portion of this appropriation be expended to employ a

26  consultant to evaluate the infrastructure needs of Florida

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

28  priority for the disbursement of funds. This appropriation is

29  in addition to any funds currently available for grants to

30  help local communities.

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

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 1150
    316-1870-99




  1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
  2                         Senate Bill 1150

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  4  Creates the Retention of Military Installations Program to
    provide up to $2 million dollars to assist certain military
  5  installations within the state that provide war simulation
    experimentation, testing and training, in covering their
  6  operating expenses.

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