House Bill hb1115e1

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                                       CS/HB 1115, First Engrossed



  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; amending s.

17         257.261, F.S.; revising provisions relating to

18         confidentiality of public library registration

19         and circulation records to authorize disclosure

20         of information to the parent or guardian of a

21         library patron under age 16, for the purpose of

22         collecting fines or recovering overdue books or

23         other materials; providing an effective date.

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25         WHEREAS, in enacting revisions to the State Aid to

26  Libraries program, the Legislature recognizes that the

27  original intent of aiding and encouraging the establishment of

28  free library service throughout the state by offering grants

29  to individual counties is succeeding because all counties in

30  this state are currently participating in the program, and

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                                       CS/HB 1115, First Engrossed



  1         WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that providing

  2  state aid to independent municipal libraries while supporting

  3  political subdivisions that are currently participating in the

  4  State Aid to Libraries program is a valuable contribution to

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

  6  and

  7         WHEREAS, the Legislature further recognizes the need

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

  9  public libraries in various communities throughout the state

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

11  benefits all residents of the state, and to promote

12  coordination among public libraries in order to improve the

13  delivery of library services, NOW, THEREFORE,

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

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17         Section 1.  Section 257.17, Florida Statutes, is

18  amended to read:

19         257.17  Operating grants.--A political subdivision that

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

21  library administrative unit is eligible to receive from the

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

23  all local funds expended by that political subdivision during

24  the second preceding fiscal year for the operation and

25  maintenance of a library, under the following conditions:

26         (1)  Eligible political subdivisions include:

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

28  or that gives or receives free library service by contract

29  with a municipality or nonprofit library corporation or

30  association within such county;

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                                       CS/HB 1115, First Engrossed



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

  2  establish or maintain a library or contracts with another

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

  4  more municipalities in another county to receive free library

  5  service;

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

  7  establishes or maintains a library and provides free library

  8  service; or

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

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

11  or receives free library service by contract with a nonprofit

12  library corporation or association within the municipality.

13         (2)  The library established or maintained by such

14  political subdivision shall:

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

16  is an employee of the single library administrative unit and

17  who has completed a library education program accredited by

18  the American Library Association.  The single administrative

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

20  professional experience, after completing the library

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

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

23         (b)  Expend its funds centrally.;

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

25  year from local sources; and

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

27  own all residents to residents of all political subdivisions

28  within the county that receive operating grants from the state

29  of the county or residents of the special district or special

30  tax district.

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                                       CS/HB 1115, First Engrossed



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

  2  for 40 or more hours per week.

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

  4  and an annual budget.

  5         (f)  Engage in joint planning for coordination of

  6  library services within the county or counties that receive

  7  operating grants from the state.

  8         (3)  Any political subdivision establishing public

  9  library service for the first time shall submit a certified

10  copy of its appropriation for library service, and its

11  eligibility to receive an operating grant shall be based upon

12  such appropriation.

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

14  more that establishes or maintains a library is eligible to

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

16  than 25 percent of all local funds expended by that

17  municipality during the second preceding fiscal year for the

18  operation and maintenance of a library, under the following

19  conditions:

20         1.  The municipal library is operated under a single

21  administrative head and expends its funds centrally;

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

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

24         3.  The municipal library provides free library service

25  to all residents of the municipality.

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

27         Section 2.  Section 257.191, Florida Statutes, is

28  amended to read:

29         257.191  Construction grants.--The Division of Library

30  and Information Services may accept and administer library

31  construction moneys appropriated to it and shall allocate such


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                                       CS/HB 1115, First Engrossed



  1  appropriation to municipal, county, and regional libraries in

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

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

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

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

  6  288.06561 50 percent. Initiation of a library construction

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

  8  section shall not affect the eligibility of an applicant to

  9  receive a library construction grant. The division shall adopt

10  rules for the administration of library construction grants.

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

12         Section 3.  Section 257.22, Florida Statutes, is

13  amended to read:

14         257.22  Division of Library and Information Services;

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

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

17  special tax district for the maintenance of a library or

18  library service shall be administered and allocated by the

19  Division of Library and Information Services in the manner

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

21  division shall certify to the Comptroller the amount to be

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

23  special tax district, and the Comptroller shall issue warrants

24  to the eligible political subdivisions respective boards of

25  county commissioners or chief municipal executive authorities

26  for the amount so allocated.

27         Section 4.  Section 257.23, Florida Statutes, is

28  amended to read:

29         257.23  Application for grant.--

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

31  the chief executive officer of a municipality, or the


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                                       CS/HB 1115, First Engrossed



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

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

  3  257.14-257.25 shall apply therefor to the Division of Library

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

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

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

  7  commissioners and attested by the clerk of the circuit court

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

  9  executive officer of a municipality and attested by the clerk

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

11  attested by the chief financial officer of a special district

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

13  district, or special tax district the board of county

14  commissioners shall agree to observe the standards established

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

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

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

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

19  such other pertinent information as the division may require.

20         (2)  The chief municipal executive authority of any

21  municipality desiring to receive a grant under the provisions

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

23  Library and Information Services on or before October 1 of

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

25  application, which shall be signed by the chief municipal

26  executive officer and attested by the clerk of the circuit

27  court, the chief municipal executive authority shall agree to

28  observe the standards established by the division as

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

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

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                                       CS/HB 1115, First Engrossed



  1  library, and shall furnish such other pertinent information as

  2  the division may require.

  3         Section 5.  Section 257.19, Florida Statutes, is

  4  repealed.

  5         Section 6.  Section 257.261, Florida Statutes, is

  6  amended to read:

  7         257.261  Library registration and circulation

  8  records.--All registration and circulation records of every

  9  public library, except statistical reports of registration and

10  circulation, are confidential and exempt from the provisions

11  of s. 119.07(1) and from s. 24(a) of Art. I of the State

12  Constitution. Except in accordance with proper judicial order,

13  a person may not make known in any manner any information

14  contained in such records, except as provided in this section.

15  As used in this section, the term "registration records"

16  includes any information that a library requires a patron to

17  provide in order to become eligible to borrow books and other

18  materials, and the term "circulation records" includes all

19  information that identifies the patrons who borrow particular

20  books and other materials. This section does not prohibit any

21  library, or any business operating jointly with the library,

22  from disclosing information to the parent or guardian of a

23  public library patron under the age of 16 municipal or county

24  law enforcement officials, or to judicial officials, for the

25  purpose of collecting fines or recovering overdue books,

26  documents, films, or other items or materials owned or

27  otherwise belonging to the library. This section does not

28  prohibit any library, or any business operating jointly with

29  the library, from disclosing information to municipal or

30  county law enforcement officials or to judicial officials or

31  to any business, for the purpose of collecting fines or


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                                       CS/HB 1115, First Engrossed



  1  recovering overdue books, documents, films, or other items or

  2  materials owned or otherwise belonging to the library;

  3  provided that,. in the case of a public library patron under

  4  the age of 16, the a public library or business entity may

  5  only release confidential information relating to the parent

  6  or guardian of the person under 16. Any person who violates

  7  this section commits is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second

  8  degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

  9         Section 7.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.

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