Senate Bill sb1840e1
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SB 1840 First Engrossed
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to specialty license plates;
3 amending ss. 320.08056 and 320.08058, F.S.;
4 creating the Stop Heart Disease license plate
5 and Protect Our Reefs license plate; providing
6 for distribution of annual use fees received
7 from the sale of such plates; providing an
8 effective date.
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10 WHEREAS, heart disease is the leading cause of death
11 and disability in this country and in the State of Florida,
12 claiming the lives of more than 2,600 Americans every day, an
13 average of one death every 33 seconds, and cardiovascular
14 disease accounts for over 40 percent of all deaths, claiming
15 more lives each year than the next seven leading causes of
16 death combined, and
17 WHEREAS, more than 61 million Americans suffer from
18 cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure,
19 coronary heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, and
20 other conditions, and
21 WHEREAS, 25 percent of males and 38 percent of females
22 who experience a heart attack die within 1 year, and
23 WHEREAS, 50 percent of men and 63 percent of women who
24 die of sudden cardiac death experience no previous symptoms of
25 coronary heart disease, and
26 WHEREAS, cardiovascular disease takes an astonishing
27 toll on the economy through health care costs, lost work days,
28 and lowered productivity, which costs are estimated to reach
29 $330 billion in 2003, and
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SB 1840 First Engrossed
1 WHEREAS, almost 20 percent of all Social Security
2 disability payments are made to disabled Americans with heart
3 disease, and
4 WHEREAS, men and women are at equal risk for
5 cardiovascular disease and are also affected as husbands,
6 wives, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, children, and
7 friends of people suffering from cardiovascular disease, and
8 WHEREAS, in Florida, there will be over 65,000 deaths
9 per year from cardiovascular disease, and hospitalization
10 costs to care for Floridians with cardiovascular disease will
11 top $4.4 billion per year, and
12 WHEREAS, the only hope of ending this disease is
13 through research aimed at discovering its cause, its cure,
14 and, most importantly, its prevention, and
15 WHEREAS, the Florida Heart Research Foundation was
16 developed for cardiovascular research, education, and
17 prevention programs throughout the State of Florida, NOW,
18 THEREFORE,
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20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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22 Section 1. Paragraphs (mm) and (nn) are added to
23 subsection (4) of section 320.08056, Florida Statutes, to
24 read:
25 320.08056 Specialty license plates.--
26 (4) The following license plate annual use fees shall
27 be collected for the appropriate specialty license plates:
28 (mm) Stop Heart Disease license plate, $25.
29 (nn) Protect Our Reefs license plate, $25.
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SB 1840 First Engrossed
1 Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (12) of section
2 320.08058, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsections (39)
3 and (40) are added to that section, to read:
4 320.08058 Specialty license plates.--
5 (12) FLORIDA ARTS LICENSE PLATES.--
6 (b) The license plate annual use fees are to be
7 annually distributed as follows:
8 1. All fees collected must be forwarded quarterly to
9 the single arts council officially designated by the county in
10 direct proportion to the amounts of fees collected in each
11 county. If there is no county arts council, fees collected
12 must be forwarded to such other agency in the county as the
13 highest ranking county administrative official designates, to
14 be applied by the arts council or agency to support arts
15 organizations, arts programs, and arts activities within the
16 county Division of Cultural Affairs of the Department of
17 State, together with a report setting forth the amount of such
18 fees collected in each county, and must be deposited into the
19 Florida Fine Arts Trust Fund.
20 2. The Division of Cultural Affairs shall distribute
21 the fees forwarded to it by the department to the counties in
22 the amounts set forth in the report required under
23 subparagraph 1., in each case to the county arts council for
24 such county or, if there is none, to such other agency in the
25 county as the division designates, to be applied by the
26 council or agency to support art organizations, programs, and
27 activities within the county.
28 (39) STOP HEART DISEASE LICENSE PLATES.--
29 (a) The department shall develop a Stop Heart Disease
30 license plate as provided in this section. Stop Heart Disease
31 license plates must bear the colors and design approved by the
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SB 1840 First Engrossed
1 department. The plate shall be designed to include a red,
2 white, and blue background with a slanted heart shape in the
3 middle of the plate. The word "Florida" shall appear at the
4 top of the plate in yellow outlined in black, and the words
5 "Stop Heart Disease" shall appear at the bottom of the plate
6 in yellow.
7 (b) The department shall remit the proceeds of the
8 annual use fee to the Florida Heart Research Foundation. The
9 first $80,000 of the use fee given to the Florida Heart
10 Research Foundation shall be used to pay startup costs,
11 including costs incurred developing and issuing the plates.
12 Thereafter, the Florida Heart Research Foundation shall
13 provide for a peer review grant solicitation and award process
14 to distribute fees for cardiovascular disease research,
15 education, and prevention within the state and shall make the
16 funds available for any one or more of the following:
17 1. Quality research to pursue top quality
18 cardiovascular research that will further understanding of
19 heart disease and its cause, treatment, cure, and prevention.
20 Accepted projects must conform to the highest standards of
21 scientific research, be efficiently organized, and report
22 updates continually to ensure research credibility and
23 excellence.
24 2. Heart disease prevention programs to provide
25 cardiovascular screenings to state residents.
26 3. Educational programs to offer literature, seminars,
27 or speakers for both clinicians and lay people so that the
28 latest risk factors, technologies, treatments, methodologies,
29 protocols, and preventive measures are well known and used in
30 the state.
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SB 1840 First Engrossed
1 (c) In the first year in which the plate is issued, no
2 more than 25 percent of the fees collected may be used for
3 administrative costs directly associated with the operation of
4 the Florida Heart Research Foundation and marketing and
5 promotion of the Stop Heart Disease license plate. In the
6 second and subsequent years in which the plate is sold, no
7 more than 20 percent of the fees collected may be used for
8 administrative costs directly associated with the operation of
9 the Florida Heart Research Foundation and marketing and
10 promotion of the Stop Heart Disease license plate.
11 (40) PROTECT OUR REEFS LICENSE PLATES.--
12 (a) The department shall develop a Protect Our Reefs
13 license plate as provided in this section. Protect Our Reefs
14 license plates must bear the colors and design approved by the
15 department. The word "Florida" must appear at the top of the
16 plate, and the words "Protect Our Reefs" must appear at the
17 bottom of the plate.
18 (b) The proceeds of the annual use fee shall be
19 distributed to Mote Marine Laboratory, Inc., to fund Florida
20 reef research, conservation, and education programs. Up to 15
21 percent of the funds received by Mote Marine Laboratory, Inc.,
22 may be expended for annual administrative costs directly
23 associated with the administration of the Protect Our Reefs
24 program. Up to 10 percent of the funds received by Mote Marine
25 Laboratory, Inc., may be used by Mote Marine Laboratory, Inc.,
26 for the continuing promotion and marketing of the license
27 plate. After reimbursement for documented costs expended in
28 the establishment of the plate, Mote Marine Laboratory, Inc.,
29 shall use and distribute the remaining funds to eligible
30 Florida-based scientific, conservation, and education
31 organizations for the collection, analysis, and distribution
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SB 1840 First Engrossed
1 of scientific, educational, and conservation information to
2 the research community; federal, state, and local government
3 agencies; educational institutions; and the public. Eligible
4 organizations shall be based in Florida and engaged in reef
5 research, conservation, or education.
6 (c) The state Auditor General may examine any records
7 of Mote Marine Laboratory, Inc., and any other organization
8 that receives funds from the sale of the Protect Our Reefs
9 license plate, to determine compliance with law.
10 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.
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