Senate Bill sb1836

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 1836

    By Senator Fasano





    11-612A-03

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the corporate income tax;

  3         amending s. 220.187, F.S.; redefining the term

  4         "qualified student" to include certain

  5         postsecondary students; defining the term

  6         "qualified postsecondary scholarship program";

  7         allowing credit to be taken against the tax for

  8         contributions to district school board

  9         direct-support organizations that provide

10         scholarships for postsecondary students who

11         qualify for free and reduced lunch under the

12         National School Lunch Act; providing standards

13         and procedures for such scholarship programs;

14         providing an effective date.

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

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18         Section 1.  Paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of section

19  220.187, Florida Statutes, is amended, paragraph (f) is added

20  to that subsection, and subsection (4) of that section is

21  amended, to read:

22         220.187  Credits for contributions to nonprofit

23  scholarship-funding organizations.--

24         (2)  DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term:

25         (e)  "Qualified student" means a student who qualifies

26  for free or reduced-price school lunches under the National

27  School Lunch Act and who:

28         1.  Was counted as a full-time equivalent student

29  during the previous state fiscal year for purposes of state

30  per-student funding;

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 1836
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  1         2.  Received a scholarship from an eligible nonprofit

  2  scholarship-funding organization during the previous school

  3  year; or

  4         3.  Is eligible to enter kindergarten or first grade;

  5  or.

  6         4.  Is eligible to receive a postsecondary scholarship

  7  from a district school board direct-support organization as

  8  established under s. 1001.453.

  9         (f)  "Qualified postsecondary scholarship program"

10  means a scholarship program administered by a district school

11  board direct-support organization as established by s.

12  1001.453 to provide postsecondary scholarships for students

13  who qualify for free and reduced lunch under the National

14  School Lunch Act.

15         (4)  OBLIGATIONS OF ELIGIBLE NONPROFIT

16  SCHOLARSHIP-FUNDING ORGANIZATIONS.--

17         (a)  An eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding

18  organization shall provide scholarships, from eligible

19  contributions, to qualified students for:

20         1.  Tuition or textbook expenses for, or transportation

21  to, an eligible nonpublic school. At least 75 percent of the

22  scholarship funding must be used to pay:

23         a.  Tuition expenses; or

24         b.2.  Transportation expenses to a Florida public

25  school that is located outside the district in which the

26  student resides; or.

27         2.  A qualified postsecondary scholarship program;

28         3.  An academic program designed to improve reading

29  skills with definable outcomes; or

30         4.  A program designed to enhance and improve teacher

31  best practices.

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 1836
    11-612A-03




  1         (b)  An eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding

  2  organization shall give priority to qualified students who

  3  received a scholarship from an eligible nonprofit

  4  scholarship-funding organization during the previous school

  5  year.

  6         (c)  The amount of a scholarship provided to any child

  7  for any single school year by all eligible nonprofit

  8  scholarship-funding organizations from eligible contributions

  9  shall not exceed the following annual limits:

10         1.  Three thousand five hundred dollars for a

11  scholarship awarded to a student enrolled in an eligible

12  nonpublic school or a postsecondary institution.

13         2.  Five hundred dollars for a scholarship awarded to a

14  student enrolled in a Florida public school that is located

15  outside the district in which the student resides.

16         (d)  The amount of an eligible contribution which may

17  be accepted by an eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding

18  organization is limited to the amount needed to provide

19  scholarships, or eligible academic programs, for qualified

20  students whom which the organization has identified and for

21  whom which vacancies in eligible nonpublic schools or

22  postsecondary institutions have been identified.

23         (e)  An eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding

24  organization that receives an eligible contribution must spend

25  100 percent of the eligible contribution to provide

26  scholarships in the same state fiscal year in which the

27  contribution was received. No portion of eligible

28  contributions may be used for administrative expenses. All

29  interest accrued from contributions must be used for

30  scholarships.

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 1836
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  1         (f)  An eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding

  2  organization that receives eligible contributions must provide

  3  to the Auditor General an annual financial and compliance

  4  audit of its accounts and records conducted by an independent

  5  certified public accountant and in accordance with rules

  6  adopted by the Auditor General.

  7         (g)1.  Payment of the scholarship for students in

  8  grades K-12 by the eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding

  9  organization must shall be by individual warrant or check made

10  payable to the student's parent. If the parent chooses for his

11  or her child to attend an eligible nonpublic school, the

12  warrant or check must be mailed by the eligible nonprofit

13  scholarship-funding organization to the nonpublic school of

14  the parent's choice, and the parent shall restrictively

15  endorse the warrant or check to the nonpublic school. An

16  eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization shall

17  ensure that, upon receipt of a scholarship warrant or check,

18  the parent to whom the warrant or check is made restrictively

19  endorses the warrant or check to the nonpublic school of the

20  parent's choice for deposit into the account of the nonpublic

21  school.

22         2.  Payment of the scholarship for a postsecondary

23  student by the eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding

24  organization must be by individual warrant or check made

25  payable to the postsecondary institution.

26         Section 2.  This act shall take effect January 1, 2004.

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 1836
    11-612A-03




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  2                          SENATE SUMMARY

  3    Allows a credit against the corporate income tax to be
      taken for contributions made to district school board
  4    direct-support organizations for the purpose of providing
      scholarships or eligible academic programs to
  5    postsecondary students who qualify for free and reduced
      lunch under the National School Lunch Act. Provides
  6    standards and procedures for such scholarship programs.

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