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.
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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
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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
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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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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
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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
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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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