House Bill 0579e1

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                                           HB 579, First Engrossed



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to tourism; amending s.

  3         288.1221, F.S.; revising legislative intent;

  4         amending s. 288.1222, F.S.; clarifying a

  5         definition; amending s. 288.1223, F.S.;

  6         specifying application of a limitation on terms

  7         of certain members of the Florida Commission on

  8         Tourism; clarifying meeting and vice chair

  9         election provisions; amending s. 288.1224,

10         F.S.; deleting obsolete provisions; specifying

11         categories of matching private funds for

12         certain purposes; specifying staff support for

13         the Florida Commission on Tourism; providing

14         for responsibilities of staff; prohibiting the

15         commission from employing staff; deleting

16         provisions relating to an advisory committee

17         for the commission; amending s. 288.1226, F.S.;

18         requiring the Florida Tourism Industry

19         Marketing Corporation to provide staff support

20         to the Florida Commission on Tourism;

21         specifying that the president and chief

22         executive officer shall serve without

23         compensation as executive director; renumbering

24         and amending s. 335.166, F.S.; removing the

25         Welcome Center Office from the Department of

26         Transportation; transferring administrative and

27         fiscal responsibility for welcome center staff

28         from the Department of Transportation to the

29         Florida Commission on Tourism for employment

30         through the Florida Tourism Industry Marketing

31         Corporation by a designated time; requiring the


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                                           HB 579, First Engrossed



  1         corporation to administer and operate welcome

  2         centers; providing for maintenance and

  3         improvements to welcome centers; repealing s.

  4         335.165, F.S., relating to welcome stations and

  5         the payment for improvements by the Department

  6         of Commerce; providing for the transfer of

  7         welcome center tangible personal property to

  8         the Florida Commission on Tourism; providing

  9         effective dates.

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

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13         Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 288.1221, Florida

14  Statutes, is amended to read:

15         288.1221  Legislative intent.--

16         (1)  It is the intent of the Legislature to establish a

17  public-private partnership to provide policy direction to and

18  technical expertise in the promotion and marketing of the

19  state's tourism attributes. The Legislature further intends to

20  authorize this partnership to recommend the tenets of an

21  industry standard 4-year 5-year marketing plan for an annual

22  marketing plan for tourism promotion and recommend a

23  comparable organizational structure to carry out such a plan.

24  The Legislature intends to have such a plan funded by that

25  portion of the rental car surcharge annually dedicated to the

26  Tourism Promotional Trust Fund, pursuant to s. 212.0606, and

27  by the tourism industry. The Legislature intends that the

28  exercise of this authority by the public-private partnership

29  shall take into consideration the recommendations made to the

30  1992 Legislature in the report submitted by the Florida

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                                           HB 579, First Engrossed



  1  Tourism Commission created pursuant to chapter 91-31, Laws of

  2  Florida.

  3         Section 2.  Subsection (2) of section 288.1222, Florida

  4  Statutes, is amended to read:

  5         288.1222  Definitions.--For the purposes of ss.

  6  288.017, 288.121-288.1226, and 288.124, the term:

  7         (2)  "Tourist" means any person who participates in

  8  trade or recreation activities outside the county country of

  9  his or her permanent residence or who rents or leases

10  transient living quarters or accommodations as described in s.

11  125.0104(3)(a).

12         Section 3.  Paragraphs (e), (f), and (g) of subsection

13  (2) of section 288.1223, Florida Statutes, are amended to

14  read:

15         288.1223  Florida Commission on Tourism; creation;

16  purpose; membership.--

17         (2)

18         (e)  General tourism-industry-related members shall be

19  limited to two 4-year full consecutive terms. This limitation

20  applies to terms begun after June 30, 1996.

21         (f)  The commission shall hold its first meeting no

22  later than September 1992 and must meet at least quarterly.  A

23  majority of the members shall constitute a quorum for the

24  purpose of conducting business.

25         (g)  The Governor shall serve as chair of the

26  commission. The commission shall annually biennially elect one

27  of its tourism-industry-related members as vice chair, who

28  shall preside in the absence of the chair.

29         Section 4.  Paragraphs (a), (c), and (d) of subsection

30  (4) and subsection (11) of section 288.1224, Florida Statutes,

31  are amended to read:


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                                           HB 579, First Engrossed



  1         288.1224  Powers and duties.--The commission:

  2         (4)(a)  Shall, no later than December 31, 1996,

  3  recommend the tenets of a 4-year marketing plan to sustain

  4  tourism growth, which plan shall be annual in construction and

  5  ongoing in nature.  The initial plan shall use as its model

  6  the marketing plan recommended by the Florida Tourism

  7  Commission, created pursuant to chapter 91-31, Laws of

  8  Florida, and presented to the Legislature.  Any annual

  9  revisions of such a plan shall carry forward the concepts of

10  the remaining 3-year portion of that plan and consider a

11  continuum portion to preserve the 4-year timeframe of the

12  plan. Such plan shall be submitted to the President of the

13  Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the

14  Senate Minority Leader, and the House Minority Leader no later

15  than January 1, 1997.

16         (c)  The plan shall include provisions for the

17  direct-support organization to reach the targeted one-to-one

18  match of private to public contributions within a period of 4

19  calendar years after the implementation date of the plan. For

20  the purposes of calculating the required one-to-one match,

21  matching private funds shall be divided into four categories.

22  The first category is direct cash contributions, which

23  include, but are not limited to, cash derived from strategic

24  alliances, contributions of stocks and bonds, and partnership

25  contributions. The second category is fees for services, which

26  include, but are not limited to, event participation,

27  research, and brochure placement and transparencies.  The

28  third category is co-operative advertising, which is the value

29  based on cost of contributed productions, air time, and print

30  space.  The fourth category is in-kind contributions, which

31  include, but are not limited to, the value of strategic


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                                           HB 579, First Engrossed



  1  alliance services contributed, the value of loaned employees,

  2  discounted service fees, items contributed for use in

  3  promotions, and radio or television air time or print space

  4  for promotions.  The value of air time or print space shall be

  5  calculated by taking the actual time or space and multiplying

  6  by the nonnegotiated unit price for that specific time or

  7  space which is known as the media equivalency value.  In order

  8  to avoid duplication in determining media equivalency value,

  9  only the value of the promotion itself shall be included; the

10  value of the items contributed for the promotion shall not be

11  included. Documentation for the components of the four

12  categories of private match shall be kept on file for

13  inspection as determined necessary.

14         (d)  The plan shall include recommendations regarding

15  specific performance standards and measurable outcomes. By

16  July 1, 1997, the Florida Commission on Tourism, in

17  consultation with the Office of Program Policy Analysis and

18  Government Accountability, shall establish performance-measure

19  outcomes for the commission and its direct-support

20  organization. The commission, in consultation with the Office

21  of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability,

22  shall develop a plan for monitoring its operations to ensure

23  that performance data are maintained and supported by records

24  of the organization.

25         (11)  Shall receive staff support from the Florida

26  Tourism Industry Marketing Corporation and shall not employ

27  any additional staff.  The president and chief executive

28  officer of the Florida Tourism Industry Marketing Corporation

29  shall serve without compensation as the executive director of

30  the commission.  As executive director, he or she shall have

31  the authority to conduct any official business of the


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                                           HB 579, First Engrossed



  1  commission, as authorized by the commission.  Shall create an

  2  advisory committee of the commission which shall be charged

  3  with developing a regionally based plan to protect and promote

  4  all of the natural, coastal, historical, cultural, and

  5  commercial tourism assets of this state.

  6         (a)  Members of the advisory committee shall be

  7  appointed by the chair of the commission and shall include

  8  representatives of the commission, the Departments of

  9  Agriculture, Environmental Protection, Community Affairs,

10  Transportation, and State, the Florida Greenways Coordinating

11  Council, the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission, and,

12  as deemed appropriate by the chair of the commission,

13  representatives from other federal, state, regional, local,

14  and private sector associations representing environmental,

15  historical, cultural, recreational, and tourism-related

16  activities.

17         (b)  The advisory committee shall submit its plan to

18  the commission by December 1, 1997.

19         (c)  The commission shall review and make

20  recommendations on the plan, including recommending any

21  legislation considered necessary for implementing the plan, to

22  the Legislature by January 1, 1998.

23         Section 5.  Paragraphs (h) through (n) of subsection

24  (5) of section 288.1226, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as

25  subsections (i) through (o), respectively, and a new paragraph

26  (h) is added to said subsection to read:

27         288.1226  Florida Tourism Industry Marketing

28  Corporation; use of property; board of directors; duties;

29  audit.--

30         (5)  POWERS AND DUTIES.--The corporation, in the

31  performance of its duties:


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                                           HB 579, First Engrossed



  1         (h)  Shall provide staff support to the Florida

  2  Commission on Tourism. The president and chief executive

  3  officer of the Florida Tourism Industry Marketing Corporation

  4  shall serve without compensation as the executive director of

  5  the commission.

  6         Section 6.  Effective July 1, 1999, section 335.166,

  7  Florida Statutes, is renumbered as section 288.12265, Florida

  8  Statutes, and amended to read:

  9         288.12265 335.166  Welcome Centers Office.--

10         (1)  Responsibility for the welcome centers Office is

11  assigned to the Florida Commission on Tourism which shall

12  contract with the commission's direct-support organization to

13  employ all welcome center staff.  On or before June 30, 1999,

14  all welcome center staff shall be offered employment through

15  the direct-support organization at the same salary such staff

16  received through the Department of Transportation, prior to

17  July 1, 1999, but with the same benefits provided by the

18  direct-support organization to the organization's employees.

19  Welcome center employees shall have until January 1, 2000, to

20  choose to be employed by the direct-support organization or to

21  remain employed by the state.  Those employees who choose to

22  remain employed by the state may continue to be assigned by

23  the Department of Transportation to the welcome centers until

24  June 30, 2001.  Upon vacating a career service position by a

25  career service employee, the position shall be abolished.  The

26  agreement between the Department of Transportation and the

27  Florida Commission on Tourism concerning the funding of

28  positions in the welcome centers shall continue until all

29  welcome center employees are employed by the direct-support

30  organization, or until those employees choosing to remain

31  employed by the state have found other state employment, or


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                                           HB 579, First Engrossed



  1  until June 30, 2001, whichever occurs first Department of

  2  Transportation for administrative and fiscal accountability

  3  purposes, but it shall otherwise function independently of the

  4  control, supervision, and direction of the Department of

  5  Transportation.

  6         (2)  The Florida Commission on Tourism, through its

  7  direct support organization, shall administer and operate the

  8  welcome centers.  Pursuant to a contract with the Department

  9  of Transportation, the Commission shall be responsible for

10  routine repair, replacement or improvement and the day to day

11  management of interior areas occupied by the welcome

12  centers.  All other repairs, replacements or improvements to

13  the welcome centers shall be the responsibility of the

14  Department of Transportation shall provide direction for the

15  administration of the Welcome Centers Office and direction for

16  the operation of the welcome centers. Funding for the office

17  shall be solely from the rental car surcharge provided to the

18  Tourism Promotional Trust Fund pursuant to s. 212.0606(2),

19  through a nonoperating transfer to the State Transportation

20  Trust Fund or contract with the commission or the commission's

21  direct-support organization.

22         Section 7.  Section 335.165, Florida Statutes, is

23  repealed.

24         Section 8.  The welcome center tangible personal

25  property transferred to the Department of Transportation

26  pursuant to section 4 of chapter 96-320, Laws of Florida, is

27  hereby transferred to the Florida Commission on Tourism.

28         Section 9.  Except as otherwise provided herein, this

29  act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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