Senate Bill sb2686c1

    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 2686

    By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Productivity;
    and Senators Lawson and Bullard




    302-2308-03

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the Florida Faith-Based

  3         Initiative; creating the Florida Families

  4         Faith-Based Initiative and providing for

  5         administration by the Florida Agricultural and

  6         Mechanical University; providing duties;

  7         prohibiting imposition of fees for certain

  8         purposes; requiring a report; providing for

  9         open records and meetings; providing an

10         appropriation; providing an effective date.

11  

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

13  

14         Section 1.  Florida Faith-Based Initiative.--

15         (1)  CREATION.--The Florida Families Faith-Based

16  Institute is created at and shall be administered by the

17  Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. The

18  Legislature determines that public policy dictates that the

19  Florida Families Faith-Based Institute operate in the most

20  open and accessible manner consistent with its public purpose.

21  To this end, the Legislature specifically declares that the

22  Florida Families Faith-Based Institute is subject to the

23  provisions of chapter 119, Florida Statutes, relating to

24  public records and those provisions of chapter 286, Florida

25  Statutes, relating to public meetings and records.

26         (2)  DEFINITIONS.--"Faith-based organization" means an

27  organization which is owned by, operated by, or affiliated

28  with a religious entity and whose primary purpose is providing

29  social services and assistance to individuals in need of its

30  services, without regard to the race or religion of the person

31  in need of such services.

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 2686
    302-2308-03




 1         (3)  DUTIES.--The Florida Families Faith-Based

 2  Institute shall:

 3         (a)  Examine barriers to state-funded or federally

 4  funded provision of services by faith-based organizations.

 5         (b)  Provide programmatic and managerial training and

 6  technical assistance to faith-based organizations seeking or

 7  using state or federal funds to provide services. Such

 8  training and technical assistance shall focus on critical

 9  areas of faith-based social services management, including

10  community asset-based program development, research-based

11  "best program practices," resource development for nonstate

12  funding sources, and financial management and budgeting.

13         (c)  Establish a statewide resource center and

14  clearinghouse for information related to technical assistance

15  and training resources for faith-based and community-based

16  organizations.

17         (d)  Serve, as required, as a fiscal intermediary for

18  faith-based and community-based organizations receiving state

19  funding.

20         (e)  To the maximum extent possible, leverage state

21  funding for the initiative with any federal funding that the

22  initiative may receive to support similar faith-based

23  activities.

24         (f)  Provide specific goals and objective criteria to

25  measure, evaluate, and document the quality and cost of

26  services provided by faith-based organizations with state or

27  federal funds.

28         (g)  Serve as liaison to the Centers for Faith-Based

29  and Community Initiatives established within the United States

30  Department of Justice, United States Department of Health and

31  Human Services, United States Department of Education, United

                                  2

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 2686
    302-2308-03




 1  States Department of Labor, and United States Department of

 2  Housing and Urban Development to work in tandem with the White

 3  House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

 4  

 5  The Florida Families Faith-Based Institute shall perform its

 6  duties without imposing fees on faith-based organizations

 7  receiving its assistance.

 8         (4)  REPORT.--By January 1 of each year, the institute

 9  shall submit to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and

10  the Speaker of the House of Representatives an annual report,

11  which shall describe the activities of the institute in

12  fulfilling its duties, describe expenditures of funds by the

13  institute, and recommend to the President of the Senate and

14  the Speaker of the House of Representatives changes to the

15  Florida Statutes necessary to fulfill its purposes and duties.

16         Section 2.  Notwithstanding sections 216.181 and

17  216.292, Florida Statutes, and pursuant to section 216.351,

18  Florida Statutes, the sum of $700,000 is appropriated to the

19  Florida Families Faith-Based Institute for purposes of

20  administering the Florida Faith-Based Initiative.

21         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.

22  

23          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
24                         Senate Bill 2686

25                                 

26  The Committee Substitute creates the faith-based program as an
    institute within Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
27  University rather than as a separate not-for-profit
    corporation.
28  

29  

30  

31  

                                  3

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.