House Bill hb0047e1
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HB 47, First Engrossed
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to community service; creating
3 the Florida Volunteer and Community Service Act
4 of 2001; providing legislative intent;
5 authorizing the Executive Office of the
6 Governor to establish policies and procedures
7 which provide for the expenditure of funds to
8 develop and facilitate initiatives that
9 encourage and reward volunteerism; providing
10 purposes of the act; amending s. 14.29, F.S.;
11 expanding the purposes of a required report of
12 the Florida Commission on Community Service;
13 authorizing the commission to provide specified
14 assistance for the establishment and
15 implementation of programs pursuant to the
16 Florida Volunteer and Community Service Act of
17 2001; providing an effective date.
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19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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21 Section 1. Florida Volunteer and Community Service Act
22 of 2001.--
23 (1) This act may be cited as the "Florida Volunteer
24 and Community Service Act of 2001."
25 (2) It is the intent of the Legislature to promote the
26 development of better communities by fostering greater civic
27 responsibility through volunteerism and service to the
28 community. Toward this end, the Executive Office of the
29 Governor may establish policies and procedures which provide
30 for the expenditure of funds to develop and facilitate
31 initiatives by public agencies, scholastic institutions,
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HB 47, First Engrossed
1 private institutions, and individuals that establish and
2 implement programs that encourage and 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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HB 47, First Engrossed
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 Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (7) and
26 paragraph (c) of subsection (8) of section 14.29, Florida
27 Statutes, are amended to read:
28 14.29 Florida Commission on Community Service.--
29 (7) The commission shall:
30 (c) Prepare an annual report detailing its activities
31 during the preceding year and, to the extent possible, compile
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HB 47, First Engrossed
1 and synthesize any reports that it accepted on behalf of the
2 Governor. The commission's report shall be presented to the
3 Governor no later than January 15, with copies to the
4 President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
5 Representatives. The report shall also include specific
6 recommendations for any necessary legislative, administrative,
7 or regulatory reform, and the commission's assessment of the
8 state of volunteerism in Florida.
9 (8) The commission may:
10 (c) Apply for and accept funds, grants, gifts, and
11 services from local, state, or federal government, or from any
12 of their agencies, or any other public or private source and
13 is authorized to use funds derived from these sources to
14 defray administrative costs, and implement programs as may be
15 necessary to carry out the commission's charge, and assist
16 agencies, institutions, and individuals in the implementation
17 of programs pursuant to the Florida Volunteer and Community
18 Service Act of 2001. The commission may also authorize
19 Volunteer Florida, Inc., the commission's nonprofit
20 direct-support organization, to assist in securing training,
21 technical assistance, and other support needed to accomplish
22 the intent and purposes of the Florida Volunteer and Community
23 Service Act of 2001.
24 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
25 law.
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