Senate Bill sb2686
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 2686
By Senators Lawson and Bullard
6-1735-03
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to faith-based initiatives;
3 creating the Florida Families Faith-Based
4 Initiative Institute, Inc.; creating a
5 nonprofit corporation and providing for the
6 administration of the corporation; providing
7 that the corporation is not a unit of state
8 government but is subject to statutory
9 provisions relating to public records and
10 public meetings; providing duties of the
11 corporation; providing for a board of
12 directors; naming a temporary advisory board;
13 providing an appropriation; providing an
14 effective date.
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16 WHEREAS, there is a need for the creation of a
17 nongovernmental entity to serve as a clearinghouse and
18 action-oriented organization to foster, direct, and coordinate
19 the efforts of Florida citizens, communities, and local
20 faith-based organizations, to take advantage of the
21 opportunities offered by the White House Office of Faith-Based
22 and Community Initiatives and of the Center for Faith-Based
23 and Community Initiatives in five federal executive agencies,
24 as well as similar opportunities at the state level, and
25 WHEREAS, such a nongovernmental entity could build
26 collaborative partnerships that involve many organizations
27 from the faith-based community, and
28 WHEREAS, such a nongovernmental entity could assist
29 faith-based organizations with technical assistance in key
30 areas of delivering services to the needy, by assisting with
31 the development of programs of fiscal accountability, program
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 2686
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1 implementation and evaluation, and organizational and
2 administrative efficiencies, and
3 WHEREAS, such a nongovernmental entity could act as a
4 catalyst for change between the government and faith-based
5 organizations by assisting the government in recruiting,
6 mobilizing, training, and supporting faith-based organizations
7 engaged in providing social services, and
8 WHEREAS, Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in
9 Tallahassee, Florida, has created the Hope Project to
10 encourage faith-based organizations to partner with other
11 organizations to create multiple sources of income so that
12 they do not become unnecessarily dependent on specific
13 government grants or projects, 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. Florida Families Faith-Based Initiative
18 Institute, Inc.--
19 (1) CREATION.--The Florida Families Faith-Based
20 Initiative Institute, Inc., is created as a 501(c)3, Florida
21 corporation not for profit that is registered, incorporated,
22 organized, and operated in compliance with chapter 617,
23 Florida Statutes, and that is not a unit or entity of state
24 government. The Legislature determines that public policy
25 dictates that the Florida Families Faith-Based Initiative
26 Institute, Inc., should operate in the most open and
27 accessible manner consistent with its public purpose. To this
28 end, the Legislature specifically declares that the Florida
29 Families Faith-Based Initiative Institute, Inc., is subject to
30 the provisions of chapter 119, Florida Statutes, which relate
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 2686
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1 to public records and to the provisions of chapter 286,
2 Florida Statutes, which relate to public meetings and records.
3 (2) DUTIES.--The Florida Families Faith-Based
4 Initiative Institute, Inc., shall:
5 (a) Examine competition-based barriers to state-funded
6 or federally funded provision of services by faith-based
7 organizations.
8 (b) Provide programmatic and managerial training and
9 technical assistance to faith-based organizations that seek or
10 use state or federal funds to provide services. Such training
11 and technical assistance must focus on critical areas of
12 faith-based social services management, including community
13 asset-based program development, research-based "best program
14 practices," resource development for nonstate funding sources,
15 and financial management and budgeting.
16 (c) Establish a statewide resource center and
17 clearinghouse for information relating to technical assistance
18 and training resources for faith-based and community-based
19 organizations.
20 (d) Serve, as required, as a fiscal intermediary for
21 faith-based and community-based organizations that receive
22 state or federal funding.
23 (e) To the maximum extent possible, leverage state
24 funding for the initiative with any federal funding that the
25 initiative receives to support similar faith-based activities.
26 (f) Provide specific goals and objective criteria to
27 measure, evaluate, and document the quality and cost of
28 services provided by faith-based organizations with state or
29 federal funds.
30 (g) Serve as liaison to the Centers for Faith-Based
31 and Community Initiatives established within the United States
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 2686
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1 Department of Justice, the United States Department of Health
2 and Human Services, the United States Department of Education,
3 the United States Department of Labor, and the United States
4 Department of Housing and Urban Development and to any such
5 initiatives created by the state, to work in tandem with the
6 White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
7 and with any similar state initiatives.
8 (3) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.--The board of directors of the
9 corporation shall consist of seven members, of whom three
10 shall be appointed by the Governor, two by the President of
11 the Senate, and two by the Speaker of the House of
12 Representatives. The board shall select a chairperson and may
13 appoint an executive committee to carry on the business of the
14 corporation between board meetings. The board shall meet
15 quarterly. From July 1, 2003, through June 30, 2004, the
16 Bethel Missionary Baptist Church Project Hope Board of
17 Directors shall serve as an advisory board to the corporation.
18 (4) FUNDING.--Notwithstanding sections 216.81 and
19 216.292, Florida Statutes, and pursuant to section 216.351,
20 Florida Statutes, there is appropriated the nonrecurring sum
21 of $700,000 to fund the Florida Families Faith-Based
22 Initiative Institute, Inc.
23 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
24 law.
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 2686
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2 SENATE SUMMARY
3 Creates the Florida Families Faith-Based Initiative
Institute, Inc., a nonprofit corporation. Provides for
4 the administration of the corporation. Provides that the
corporation is not a unit of state government but is
5 subject to statutory provisions relating to public
records and public meetings. Provides duties of the
6 corporation. Provides for a board of directors. Names the
Bethel Missionary Baptist Church Project Hope Board of
7 Directors as an advisory council to the institute for 1
year. Provides an appropriation.
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