Senate Bill 1948
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Florida Senate - 1999 SB 1948
By Senator Casas
39-1682-99
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to tobacco settlement funds;
3 amending s. 569.21, F.S., specifying guidelines
4 to be applied by the Legislature in expending
5 funds paid to the state as a result of the
6 settlement of litigation involving the tobacco
7 industry; providing an effective date.
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9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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11 Section 1. Section 569.21, Florida Statutes, is
12 amended to read:
13 569.21 Expenditure of tobacco settlement
14 proceeds.--The following guidelines shall be applied to the
15 expenditure of all funds paid to the State of Florida as a
16 result of litigation entitled The State of Florida et al. v.
17 American Tobacco Company et al., Case #95-1466AH, in the
18 Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, in and for
19 Palm Beach County:
20 (1) The Legislature asserts its rights to appropriate
21 all funds paid or payable to the state through the tobacco
22 settlement. Before any funds are released, the Legislature
23 must approve all program and funding proposals.
24 (2) Some portion of settlement funds received each
25 year should be reserved to create a long-term funding stream.
26 (3)(2) A trust fund should be created solely for the
27 purpose of receiving and managing settlement funds, and a full
28 and complete record of all budget and expenditure actions
29 should be maintained.
30 (4)(3) Administrative costs associated with programs
31 and providers that receive funds from the tobacco settlement
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Florida Senate - 1999 SB 1948
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1 should be set at a reasonable level, consistent with
2 best-management practices.
3 (5) Funds should be spent on children's health
4 services, as provided for in the settlement, and settlement
5 funds may be used to match federal funds available under Title
6 XXI.
7 (6) Funds should be spent on the provision of health
8 care for the elderly and disabled adults, including health
9 care for illnesses that are related to tobacco use.
10 (7)(4) Local law enforcement agencies, businesses, and
11 school districts should be involved in enforcement efforts as
12 appropriate to the mission of each organization.
13 (8)(5) Funds received from the tobacco settlement may
14 not be used for advertising that includes the name, voice, or
15 likeness of any elected or appointed public official.
16 (9)(6) Greater emphasis should be placed on funding
17 education, training, and enforcement programs, such as
18 classroom programs, "tobacco-free" sports programs,
19 peer-mentoring programs, and museum science, and discovery
20 programs, than is placed on the funding of advertising.
21 (10) Reimbursement in the form of a nonrecurring
22 appropriation not to exceed $30 million should be provided to
23 local governments that have borne costs of tobacco-related
24 Medicaid patient care. The Agency for Health Care
25 Administration shall adopt rules for the reimbursement to
26 counties that include standards and times and ensure that
27 previously instituted indigent health care programs shall be
28 given equal consideration in the distribution of tobacco
29 settlement funds.
30 (11) Tobacco use should be treated as substance abuse
31 for purposes of providing cessation and counseling programs.
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Florida Senate - 1999 SB 1948
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1 Youth and adult tobacco-use cessation programs, with proven
2 effectiveness and appropriate incentives, should be supported
3 by tobacco funds.
4 (12)(7) County health departments must administer
5 funds provided to each local coalition that is not
6 specifically granted an exemption by the Legislature.
7 Exemptions from requirements to administer coalition programs
8 by county health departments shall be limited to established
9 administrative entities that meet a test of several criteria
10 established by the Department of Health and may not include
11 provider agencies that could receive funding from the
12 settlement.
13 (13) Consideration should be given to providing
14 additional funding for public and not-for-profit hospitals,
15 clinics, and medical schools that treat patients with
16 tobacco-related illnesses, and to investing in the Med
17 Access/Medical Buy-In Program for uninsured or underinsured
18 employees of small businesses.
19 (14)(8) Programs which raise matching funds should be
20 maximized in order to get the greatest leverage of state
21 funds.
22 (15)(9) Grant and contract processes should be
23 competitive and objective.
24 (16)(10) Requests for information or for proposals
25 should emphasize that performance measures will be required
26 for all contracts and grants.
27 (17)(11) A substantial portion of the program should
28 be character-based and focused on rewarding appropriate values
29 and behavior in youth.
30 (18)(12) Needs of the minority youth community in this
31 state should be addressed.
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Florida Senate - 1999 SB 1948
39-1682-99
1 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
2 law.
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5 SENATE SUMMARY
6 Revises guidelines to be applied by the Legislature in
expending funds paid to the state as a result of the
7 settlement of the lawsuit against the tobacco industry.
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