Senate Bill 0224

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.



    Florida Senate - 1999                                   SB 224

    By the Committee on Fiscal Policy





    301-341A-99

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to grant proposals for lake

  3         restoration; authorizing the Department of

  4         Environmental Protection to administer a grant

  5         program for funding lake-restoration projects

  6         that are not proposed under the Surface Water

  7         Improvement and Management Act; authorizing

  8         counties, municipalities, and certain nonprofit

  9         corporations to apply for such grants;

10         requiring that the recipient provide certain

11         matching funds; providing for a review panel to

12         review grant applications; providing for

13         membership of the review panel and terms of

14         office; requiring the review panel to annually

15         recommend grant recipients to the Secretary of

16         Environmental Protection; 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         Environmental Protection to adopt rules;

21         providing an effective date.

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

24

25         Section 1.  Lake-restoration projects; grants for

26  funding; approval; allocation.--

27         (1)  The Department of Environmental Protection may

28  accept and administer moneys appropriated to it for providing

29  grants to counties, municipalities, and qualifying nonprofit

30  corporations for funding lake-restoration projects that are

31  not proposed or requested under the Surface Water Improvement

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 1999                                   SB 224
    301-341A-99




  1  and Management Act, sections 373.451-373.4595, Florida

  2  Statutes.

  3         (2)  A county, municipality, or qualified corporation

  4  may apply for a grant of state funds for a lake-restoration

  5  project. As used in this section, the term "qualified

  6  corporation" means a corporation that is designated as a

  7  not-for-profit corporation pursuant to s. 501(c)(3) or (4) of

  8  the Internal Revenue Code of 1954; is described in, and

  9  allowed to receive contributions pursuant to, s. 170 of the

10  Internal Revenue Code of 1954; and is a corporation not for

11  profit incorporated under chapter 617, Florida Statutes. The

12  state grant must be matched by a contribution from the county,

13  municipality, or nonprofit corporation in the amount required

14  by rule of the department or as otherwise specified by law.

15         (3)(a)  A review panel shall review each application

16  for a grant to fund a lake-restoration project which is

17  submitted under subsection (2). The Governor, the President of

18  the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives

19  shall each appoint two members to serve on the review panel,

20  and those six members shall jointly appoint a seventh member

21  to the panel. Members of the panel shall be appointed to

22  3-year terms and may not be reappointed to the panel within 1

23  year after completing a 3-year term. In order to provide for

24  staggered terms, the Governor, the President of the Senate,

25  and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall each

26  initially appoint one member to a 1-year term. A vacancy on

27  the panel shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the

28  term in the same manner as the original appointment. The

29  review panel shall elect a chairperson from among its members

30  to serve a 1-year term and the chairperson may be reelected.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 1999                                   SB 224
    301-341A-99




  1         (b)  The review panel shall annually submit to the

  2  Secretary of Environmental Protection for approval a list of

  3  all applications that the panel recommends be included by the

  4  Department of Environmental Protection in its legislative

  5  budget request for an award of grants, arranged in order of

  6  priority. The department may allocate grants only for projects

  7  for which the Legislature has appropriated funds. Any project

  8  that is approved and recommended by the Secretary of

  9  Environmental Protection but which is not funded by the

10  Legislature shall be retained on the project list for the

11  subsequent grant cycle. Thereafter, the grant applicant must

12  submit the information required by the department in

13  compliance with the established deadline date of the latest

14  grant cycle in order to adequately indicate the current status

15  of the project.

16         (4)  The Department of Environmental Protection shall

17  adopt by rule criteria to be applied by the review panel in

18  recommending applications for the award of grants and shall

19  adopt rules for administering this section.

20         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

21  law.

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23            *****************************************

24                          SENATE SUMMARY

25    Provides for the Department of Environmental Protection
      to administer a grant program to fund lake-restoration
26    projects that do not qualify for funding under the
      Surface Water Improvement and Management Act. Provides
27    for grants to be awarded to counties, municipalities, and
      nonprofit corporations. Establishes a panel to review
28    grant proposals and make recommendations to the Secretary
      of Environmental Protection for awarding grants. Provides
29    rulemaking authority to the Department of Environmental
      Protection.
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