House Bill 1835c1
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 CS/HB 1835
By the Committee on Governmental Operations and
Representative Wise
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 House of Representatives - 2000 CS/HB 1835
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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 House of Representatives - 2000 CS/HB 1835
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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 House of Representatives - 2000 CS/HB 1835
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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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