House Bill hb1115c1

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002             CS/HB 1115

        By the Council for Smarter Government and Representatives
    Garcia, Mack, Heyman, Gannon, Seiler, Haridopolos, Crow,
    Harrell, Bean, Machek, Arza and Fiorentino




  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public libraries; amending

  3         s. 257.17, F.S.; authorizing municipalities to

  4         receive operating grants; establishing minimum

  5         standards for receipt of funds; removing

  6         minimum population requirement for

  7         municipalities to be eligible to receive funds;

  8         amending s. 257.191, F.S.; revising provisions

  9         relating to construction grants; amending s.

10         257.22, F.S.; permitting eligible political

11         subdivisions to receive warrants; amending s.

12         257.23, F.S.; requiring certification of annual

13         tax income by a specified date; clarifying

14         authority with regard to applications for

15         grants; repealing s. 257.19, F.S., relating to

16         library construction grants; providing an

17         effective date.

18

19         WHEREAS, in enacting revisions to the State Aid to

20  Libraries program, the Legislature recognizes that the

21  original intent of aiding and encouraging the establishment of

22  free library service throughout the state by offering grants

23  to individual counties is succeeding because all counties in

24  this state are currently participating in the program, and

25         WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that providing

26  state aid to independent municipal libraries while supporting

27  political subdivisions that are currently participating in the

28  State Aid to Libraries program is a valuable contribution to

29  the extension of the state's public library development plan,

30  and

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  1         WHEREAS, the Legislature further recognizes the need

  2  for state aid in order to equalize the level of service that

  3  public libraries in various communities throughout the state

  4  are able to provide, to promote free library service that

  5  benefits all residents of the state, and to promote

  6  coordination among public libraries in order to improve the

  7  delivery of library services, NOW, THEREFORE,

  8

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

10

11         Section 1.  Section 257.17, Florida Statutes, is

12  amended to read:

13         257.17  Operating grants.--A political subdivision that

14  has been designated by a county or municipality as the single

15  library administrative unit is eligible to receive from the

16  state an annual operating grant of not more than 25 percent of

17  all local funds expended by that political subdivision during

18  the second preceding fiscal year for the operation and

19  maintenance of a library, under the following conditions:

20         (1)  Eligible political subdivisions include:

21         (a)  A county that establishes or maintains a library

22  or that gives or receives free library service by contract

23  with a municipality or nonprofit library corporation or

24  association within such county;

25         (b)  A county that joins with one or more counties to

26  establish or maintain a library or contracts with another

27  county, a special district, a special tax district, or one or

28  more municipalities in another county to receive free library

29  service;

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  1         (c)  A special district or special tax district that

  2  establishes or maintains a library and provides free library

  3  service; or

  4         (d)  A municipality with a population of 200,000 or

  5  more that establishes or maintains a library or that and gives

  6  or receives free library service by contract with a nonprofit

  7  library corporation or association within the municipality.

  8         (2)  The library established or maintained by such

  9  political subdivision shall:

10         (a)  Be operated under a single administrative head who

11  is an employee of the single library administrative unit and

12  who has completed a library education program accredited by

13  the American Library Association.  The single administrative

14  head shall have at least 2 years of full-time paid

15  professional experience, after completing the library

16  education program, in a public library that is open to the

17  public for a minimum of 40 hours per week. and

18         (b)  Expend its funds centrally.;

19         (b)  Have an operating budget of at least $20,000 per

20  year from local sources; and

21         (c)  Give the same free library service provided to its

22  own all residents to residents of all political subdivisions

23  within the county that receive operating grants from the state

24  of the county or residents of the special district or special

25  tax district.

26         (d)  Have at least one library or branch library open

27  for 40 or more hours per week.

28         (e)  Have a long-range plan, an annual plan of service,

29  and an annual budget.

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  1         (f)  Engage in joint planning for coordination of

  2  library services within the county or counties that receive

  3  operating grants from the state.

  4         (3)  Any political subdivision establishing public

  5  library service for the first time shall submit a certified

  6  copy of its appropriation for library service, and its

  7  eligibility to receive an operating grant shall be based upon

  8  such appropriation.

  9         (4)(a)  A municipality with a population of 200,000 or

10  more that establishes or maintains a library is eligible to

11  receive from the state an annual operating grant of not more

12  than 25 percent of all local funds expended by that

13  municipality during the second preceding fiscal year for the

14  operation and maintenance of a library, under the following

15  conditions:

16         1.  The municipal library is operated under a single

17  administrative head and expends its funds centrally;

18         2.  The municipal library has an operating budget of at

19  least $20,000 per year from local sources; and

20         3.  The municipal library provides free library service

21  to all residents of the municipality.

22         (b)  This subsection is repealed on July 1, 2002.

23         Section 2.  Section 257.191, Florida Statutes, is

24  amended to read:

25         257.191  Construction grants.--The Division of Library

26  and Information Services may accept and administer library

27  construction moneys appropriated to it and shall allocate such

28  appropriation to municipal, county, and regional libraries in

29  the form of library construction grants on a matching basis.

30  The local matching portion shall be no less than the grant

31  amount, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, up to the maximum grant

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  1  amount, unless the matching requirement is waived by s.

  2  288.06561 50 percent. Initiation of a library construction

  3  project 12 months or less prior to the grant award under this

  4  section shall not affect the eligibility of an applicant to

  5  receive a library construction grant. The division shall adopt

  6  rules for the administration of library construction grants.

  7  For the purposes of this section, s. 257.21 does not apply.

  8         Section 3.  Section 257.22, Florida Statutes, is

  9  amended to read:

10         257.22  Division of Library and Information Services;

11  allocation of funds.--Any moneys that may be appropriated for

12  use by a county, a municipality, a special district, or a

13  special tax district for the maintenance of a library or

14  library service shall be administered and allocated by the

15  Division of Library and Information Services in the manner

16  prescribed by law. On or before December 1 of each year, the

17  division shall certify to the Comptroller the amount to be

18  paid to each county, municipality, special district, or

19  special tax district, and the Comptroller shall issue warrants

20  to the eligible political subdivisions respective boards of

21  county commissioners or chief municipal executive authorities

22  for the amount so allocated.

23         Section 4.  Section 257.23, Florida Statutes, is

24  amended to read:

25         257.23  Application for grant.--

26         (1)  The board of county commissioners of any county,

27  the chief executive officer of a municipality, or the

28  governing body of a special district or a special tax district

29  desiring to receive a grant under the provisions of ss.

30  257.14-257.25 shall apply therefor to the Division of Library

31  and Information Services on or before October 1 of each year

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  1  on a form to be provided by the division. In The application,

  2  which shall be signed by the chair of the board of county

  3  commissioners and attested by the clerk of the circuit court

  4  or the appropriate officer in a charter county, by the chief

  5  executive officer of a municipality and attested by the clerk

  6  of the municipality, or by the chair of the governing body and

  7  attested by the chief financial officer of a special district

  8  or a special tax district. The county, municipality, special

  9  district, or special tax district the board of county

10  commissioners shall agree to observe the standards established

11  by the division as authorized in s. 257.15. On or before

12  December 1 each year, the applicant shall certify the annual

13  tax income and the rate of tax or the annual appropriation for

14  the free library or free library service, and shall furnish

15  such other pertinent information as the division may require.

16         (2)  The chief municipal executive authority of any

17  municipality desiring to receive a grant under the provisions

18  of ss. 257.14-257.25 shall apply therefor to the Division of

19  Library and Information Services on or before October 1 of

20  each year on a form to be provided by the division. In the

21  application, which shall be signed by the chief municipal

22  executive officer and attested by the clerk of the circuit

23  court, the chief municipal executive authority shall agree to

24  observe the standards established by the division as

25  authorized in s. 257.15, shall certify the annual tax income

26  and the rate of tax or the annual appropriation for the free

27  library, and shall furnish such other pertinent information as

28  the division may require.

29         Section 5.  Section 257.19, Florida Statutes, is

30  repealed.

31         Section 6.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.

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