Senate Bill 0386c1

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    Florida Senate - 1999                            CS for SB 386

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




    316-1688-99

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to grant proposals for

  3         community centers; authorizing the Department

  4         of Community Affairs to administer a grant

  5         program for funding the acquisition,

  6         renovation, or construction of community

  7         centers; authorizing counties, municipalities,

  8         and certain nonprofit corporations to apply for

  9         such grants; requiring that a grant recipient

10         provide certain matching funds; providing for

11         preference to be given to certain projects;

12         providing requirements for grant recipients;

13         providing for a review panel to review grant

14         applications; providing for membership of the

15         review panel and terms of office; requiring the

16         review panel to annually recommend grant

17         recipients to the Secretary of Community

18         Affairs; providing that the department may not

19         allocate a project grant unless the funds are

20         appropriated by the Legislature; authorizing

21         the Department of Community Affairs to adopt

22         rules; providing an effective date.

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

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26         Section 1.  Grants for acquisition, renovation, or

27  construction of community centers; funding; approval;

28  allocation.--

29         (1)  The Department of Community Affairs may accept and

30  administer moneys appropriated to it for providing grants to

31  counties, municipalities, and qualified corporations for the

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    Florida Senate - 1999                            CS for SB 386
    316-1688-99




  1  acquisition, renovation, or construction of community centers.

  2  Community centers are defined as free-standing facilities

  3  owned or managed by a county, municipality, or qualified

  4  corporation that provides recreational opportunities,

  5  educational programs, and meeting rooms for the community.

  6  This definition also includes recreational centers or other

  7  similar facilities to the extent that they comply with these

  8  criteria.

  9         (2)(a)  A county, municipality, or qualified

10  corporation may apply for a grant of state funds to acquire,

11  renovate, or construct a community center. As used in this

12  section, the term "qualified corporation" means a corporation

13  that is designated as a not-for-profit corporation pursuant to

14  s. 501(c)(3) or (4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954; is

15  described in, and allowed to receive contributions pursuant

16  to, s. 170 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954; and is a

17  corporation not for profit incorporated under chapter 617,

18  Florida Statutes.

19         (b)  The state grant may be used to cover up to 75

20  percent of the project cost, and the county, municipality, or

21  qualified corporation must demonstrate to the department that

22  funds are available and committed to the project. The maximum

23  amount that may be awarded to a single project under this

24  section is 1.5 million.

25         (c)  The county, municipality, or nonprofit corporation

26  must demonstrate to the department that the community supports

27  the project and has dedicated funds to operate and maintain

28  the community center.

29         (d)  The department shall give preference to projects

30  that are located in:

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    Florida Senate - 1999                            CS for SB 386
    316-1688-99




  1         1.  Enterprise zones, empowerment zones, and services

  2  areas in which at least 75 percent of the residents are of low

  3  or moderate income, as defined by the United States Department

  4  of Housing and Urban Development; or

  5         2.  Communities that have fewer than one community

  6  center per 35,000 residents.

  7         (e)  Up to 10 percent of the grant funds awarded under

  8  this section may be used for administrative purposes.

  9         (f)  Each applicant that receives a grant must

10  continually monitor its performance under the grant-supported

11  activities to ensure that time schedules are met, project

12  objectives are accomplished within specified time periods, and

13  other performance goals are achieved.

14         (g)  Such grants may not exceed 36 months.

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

16  for a grant to acquire, renovate, or construct a community

17  center which is submitted under subsection (2). The Governor,

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

19  Representatives shall each appoint two members to serve on the

20  review panel, and those six members shall jointly appoint a

21  seventh member to the panel. Members of the panel shall be

22  appointed to 3-year terms and may not be reappointed to the

23  panel within 1 year after completing a 3-year term. In order

24  to provide for staggered terms, the Governor, the President of

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

26  shall each initially appoint one member to a 1-year term. A

27  vacancy on the panel shall be filled for the unexpired portion

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

29  The review panel shall elect a chairperson from among its

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

31  reelected.

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    Florida Senate - 1999                            CS for SB 386
    316-1688-99




  1         (b)  Beginning in Fiscal Year 2001-2002, the review

  2  panel shall annually submit to the Secretary of Community

  3  Affairs for approval a list of all applications that the panel

  4  recommends be included by the Department of Community Affairs

  5  in its legislative budget request for an award of grants,

  6  arranged in order of priority. However, for Fiscal Year

  7  2000-2001, the review panel must submit the list to the

  8  Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of

  9  the Senate by December 31, 1999. The department may allocate

10  grants only for projects for which the Legislature has

11  appropriated funds. Any project that is approved and

12  recommended by the Secretary of Community Affairs but which is

13  not funded by the Legislature shall be retained on the project

14  list for the subsequent grant cycle. Thereafter, the grant

15  applicant must submit the information required by the

16  department in compliance with the established deadline date of

17  the latest grant cycle in order to adequately indicate the

18  current status of the project.

19         (4)  The Department of Community Affairs shall adopt by

20  rule criteria to be applied by the review panel in

21  recommending applications for the award of grants and shall

22  adopt rules for administering this section.

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

24  law.

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    Florida Senate - 1999                            CS for SB 386
    316-1688-99




  1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
  2                         Senate Bill 386

  3

  4  This CS makes the following changes to the bill as filed:

  5  Defines community centers as free standing facilities owned or
    managed by a county, municipality, or a qualified
  6  not-for-profit corporation that provides recreational
    opportunities, educational programs, and meeting rooms for the
  7  community; in addition, recreational centers or other similar
    facilities are included in the definition to the extent that
  8  they comply with these criteria;

  9  Allows up to ten percent of the grant funds awarded to be used
    for administrative purposes;
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    Limits grants to 36 months; and
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    Allows the panel to directly submit their recommendations to
12  the Legislature for projects for FY 1999-2000.

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