Senate Bill 0218
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1999 SB 218
By the Committee on Fiscal Policy
301-338A-99
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to grant proposals for
3 agricultural facilities; authorizing the
4 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
5 to administer a grant program for funding the
6 acquisition or renovation of fair facilities,
7 agricultural centers, or livestock pavilions;
8 authorizing counties, municipalities, and
9 certain nonprofit corporations to apply for
10 such grants; requiring that the recipient
11 provide certain matching funds; providing for a
12 review panel to review grant applications;
13 providing for membership of the review panel
14 and terms of office; requiring the review panel
15 to annually recommend grant recipients to the
16 Commissioner of Agriculture; providing that the
17 department may not allocate a project grant
18 unless the project is approved by the
19 Legislature; authorizing the Department of
20 Agriculture and Consumer Services to adopt
21 rules; providing an effective date.
22
23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24
25 Section 1. Fair facilities, agricultural centers, and
26 livestock pavilions; grants for acquisition, renovation, or
27 construction; funding; approval; allocation.--
28 (1) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer
29 Services may accept and administer moneys appropriated to it
30 for providing grants to counties, municipalities, and
31 qualifying nonprofit corporations for the acquisition,
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1999 SB 218
301-338A-99
1 renovation, or construction of fair facilities, agricultural
2 centers and expositions, or livestock pavilions.
3 (2) A county, municipality, or qualified corporation
4 may apply for a grant of state funds for the acquisition,
5 renovation, or construction of a fair facility, agricultural
6 center or exposition, or livestock pavilion. As used in this
7 section, the term "qualified corporation" means a corporation
8 that is designated as a not-for-profit corporation pursuant to
9 s. 501(c)(3) or (4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954; is
10 described in, and allowed to receive contributions pursuant
11 to, s. 170 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954; and is a
12 corporation not for profit incorporated under chapter 617,
13 Florida Statutes. The state grant must be matched by a
14 contribution from the county, municipality, or nonprofit
15 corporation in the amount required by rule of the department
16 or as otherwise specified by law.
17 (3)(a) A review panel shall review each application
18 for a grant to acquire, renovate, or construct a fair
19 facility, agricultural center or exposition, or livestock
20 pavilion which is submitted under subsection (2). The
21 Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
22 House of Representatives shall each appoint two members to
23 serve on the review panel, and those six members shall jointly
24 appoint a seventh member to the panel. Members of the panel
25 shall be appointed to 3-year terms and may not be reappointed
26 to the panel within 1 year after completing a 3-year term. In
27 order to provide for staggered terms, the Governor, the
28 President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
29 Representatives shall each initially appoint one member to a
30 1-year term. A vacancy on the panel shall be filled for the
31 unexpired portion of the term in the same manner as the
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1999 SB 218
301-338A-99
1 original appointment. The review panel shall elect a
2 chairperson from among its members to serve a 1-year term and
3 the chairperson may be reelected.
4 (b) The review panel shall annually submit to the
5 Commissioner of Agriculture for approval a list of all
6 applications that the panel recommends be included by the
7 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in its
8 legislative budget request for an award of grants, arranged in
9 order of priority. The department may allocate grants only for
10 projects for which the Legislature has appropriated funds. Any
11 project that is approved and recommended by the Commissioner
12 of Agriculture but which is not funded by the Legislature
13 shall be retained on the project list for the subsequent grant
14 cycle. Thereafter, the grant applicant must submit the
15 information required by the department in compliance with the
16 established deadline date of the latest grant cycle in order
17 to adequately indicate the current status of the project.
18 (4) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer
19 Services shall adopt by rule criteria to be applied by the
20 review panel in recommending applications for the award of
21 grants and shall adopt rules for administering this section.
22 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
23 law.
24
25 *****************************************
26 SENATE SUMMARY
27 Provides for the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
Services to administer a grant program to fund the
28 acquisition, renovation, and construction of fair
facilities, agricultural centers, and livestock
29 pavilions. Provides for grants to be awarded to counties,
municipalities, and nonprofit corporations. Establishes a
30 panel to review grant proposals and make recommendations
to the Commissioner of Agriculture for awarding grants.
31 Provides rulemaking authority to the Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services.
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