Senate Bill 1462c1

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    Florida Senate - 2000                           CS for SB 1462

    By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Productivity;
    and Senator Webster




    302-1884-00

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to community service; creating

  3         the Florida Volunteer and Community Service Act

  4         of 2000; providing legislative intent;

  5         authorizing the state to establish policies and

  6         procedures which provide for the expenditure of

  7         funds to develop and facilitate initiatives

  8         that encourage and reward volunteerism;

  9         providing purposes of the act; authorizing the

10         Florida Commission on Community Service to

11         provide specified assistance for the

12         establishment and implementation of programs

13         pursuant to the act; amending s. 14.29, F.S.;

14         expanding the purposes of a required report of

15         the Florida Commission on Community Service;

16         providing an effective date.

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

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20         Section 1.  Florida Volunteer and Community Service Act

21  of 2000.--

22         (1)  This act may be cited as the "Florida Volunteer

23  and Community Service Act of 2000."

24         (2)  It is the intent of the Legislature to promote the

25  development of better communities by fostering greater civic

26  responsibility through volunteerism and service to the

27  community.  Toward this end, the state may establish policies

28  and procedures which provide for the expenditure of funds to

29  develop and facilitate initiatives by public agencies,

30  scholastic institutions, private institutions, and individuals

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    Florida Senate - 2000                           CS for SB 1462
    302-1884-00




  1  that establish and implement programs that encourage and

  2  reward volunteerism.

  3         (3)  Initiatives and programs developed pursuant to

  4  this act shall have the following purposes and objectives:

  5         (a)  To place increased priority on citizen

  6  participation and volunteerism as a means of addressing the

  7  increasingly complex problems facing Florida's communities.

  8         (b)  To encourage local community leaders to implement

  9  strategies that expand civic participation based on the fact

10  that volunteers represent a valuable and much-needed asset

11  within communities.

12         (c)  To promote the concept and practice of corporate

13  citizenship, particularly in communities where such

14  initiatives are less developed.

15         (d)  To build the enthusiasm, dedication, and combined

16  expertise of individual citizens and public and private

17  systems to find new and creative ways to effectively use

18  volunteerism and community service as a strategy to meet the

19  challenges facing Florida's communities both now and in the

20  future.

21         (e)  To foster the alignment of community volunteer

22  resources with the goals of the state.

23         (f)  To implement policy and administrative changes

24  that encourage and enable individuals to participate in

25  volunteer and community service activities.

26         (g)  To encourage nonprofit agencies to interweave

27  volunteers into the fabric of their service delivery as a

28  means of increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of their

29  services.

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    Florida Senate - 2000                           CS for SB 1462
    302-1884-00




  1         (h)  To support and promote volunteer service to all

  2  citizens as an effective means to address community needs and

  3  foster a collective commitment to lifelong community service.

  4         (i)  To recognize National Volunteer Week as a time to

  5  encourage all citizens of Florida to participate in local

  6  service projects.

  7         (j)  To recognize the value of individual volunteers

  8  and volunteer and service organizations and programs and to

  9  honor and celebrate the success of volunteers.

10         (k)  To encourage volunteer and service efforts to

11  point children in the right direction and to endow them with

12  the character and competence they need to achieve success in

13  life.  In order to accomplish this, the citizens of Florida

14  are encouraged to support America's Promise, the Alliance for

15  Youth, and Florida's Promise for Youth through volunteerism

16  and citizen service, to help ensure that children in Florida

17  have the following five fundamental resources in their lives:

18         1.  An ongoing relationship with a caring adult.

19         2.  Safe places with structured activities during

20  after-school hours.

21         3.  A healthy start.

22         4.  A marketable skill through effective education.

23         5.  An opportunity to give back through community

24  service.

25         (4)  The Florida Commission on Community Service may

26  assist agencies, institutions, and individuals by securing

27  assistance in the form of grants, gifts, or funds from the

28  public or private sector to be used in the implementation of

29  programs pursuant to this act.  The Florida Commission on

30  Community Service may also authorize Volunteer Florida, Inc.,

31  the commission's nonprofit direct-support organization, to

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    Florida Senate - 2000                           CS for SB 1462
    302-1884-00




  1  assist in securing training, technical assistance, and other

  2  support needed to accomplish the intent and purposes of this

  3  act.

  4         Section 2.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (7) of section

  5  14.29, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

  6         14.29  Florida Commission on Community Service.--

  7         (7)  The commission shall:

  8         (c)  Prepare an annual report detailing its activities

  9  during the preceding year and, to the extent possible, compile

10  and synthesize any reports that it accepted on behalf of the

11  Governor. The commission's report shall be presented to the

12  Governor no later than January 15, with copies to the

13  President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of

14  Representatives. The report shall also include specific

15  recommendations for any necessary legislative, administrative,

16  or regulatory reform, and the commission's assessment of the

17  state of volunteerism in Florida.

18         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

19  law.

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21          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
22                         Senate Bill 1462

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24  The Committee Substitute replaces the "Whereas" clauses with
    an expanded section of legislative intent and provides that
25  the Commission include a assessment on the state of volunteer
    activities as part of its annual report to the Governor.
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