HB 0049 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to public libraries; amending s. 257.17,
3	F.S.; authorizing municipalities to receive operating
4	grants; establishing minimum standards for receipt of
5	funds; removing minimum population requirement for
6	municipalities to be eligible to receive funds; amending
7	s. 257.191, F.S.; revising provisions relating to
8	construction grants; amending s. 257.22, F.S.; permitting
9	eligible political subdivisions to receive warrants;
10	amending s. 257.23, F.S.; requiring certification of
11	annual tax income by a specified date; clarifying
12	authority with regard to applications for grants;
13	repealing s. 257.19, F.S., relating to library
14	construction grants; amending s. 257.261, F.S.; revising
15	provisions relating to confidentiality of public library
16	registration and circulation records to authorize
17	disclosure of information to the parent or guardian of a
18	library patron under age 16, for the purpose of collecting
19	fines or recovering overdue books or other materials;
20	providing an effective date.
21
22	WHEREAS, in enacting revisions to the State Aid to
23	Libraries program, the Legislature recognizes that the original
24	intent of aiding and encouraging the establishment of free
25	library service throughout the state by offering grants to
26	individual counties is succeeding because all counties in this
27	state are currently participating in the program, and
28	WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that providing state
29	aid to independent municipal libraries while supporting
30	political subdivisions that are currently participating in the
31	State Aid to Libraries program is a valuable contribution to the
32	extension of the state's public library development plan, and
33	WHEREAS, the Legislature further recognizes the need for
34	state aid in order to equalize the level of service that public
35	libraries in various communities throughout the state are able
36	to provide, to promote free library service that benefits all
37	residents of the state, and to promote coordination among public
38	libraries in order to improve the delivery of library services,
39	NOW, THEREFORE,
40
41	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
42
43	Section 1. Section 257.17, Florida Statutes, is amended to
44	read:
45	257.17 Operating grants.—A political subdivision that has
46	been designated by a countyor municipalityas the single
47	library administrative unit is eligible to receive from the
48	state an annual operating grant of not more than 25 percent of
49	all local funds expended by that political subdivision during
50	the second preceding fiscal year for the operation and
51	maintenance of a library, under the following conditions:
52	(1) Eligible political subdivisions include:
53	(a) A county that establishes or maintains a library or
54	that gives or receives free library service by contract with a
55	municipality or nonprofit library corporation or association
56	within such county;
57	(b) A county that joins with one or more counties to
58	establish or maintain a library or contracts with another
59	county, a special district, a special tax district, or one or
60	more municipalities in another county to receive free library
61	service;
62	(c) A special district or special tax district that
63	establishes or maintains a library and provides free library
64	service; or
65	(d) A municipalitywith a population of 200,000 or more
66	that establishes or maintains a libraryor thatandgivesor
67	receivesfree library serviceby contract with a nonprofit
68	library corporation or association within the municipality.
69	(2) The library established or maintained by such
70	political subdivision shall:
71	(a) Be operated under a single administrative headwho is
72	an employee of the single library administrative unit and who
73	has completed a library education program accredited by the
74	American Library Association. The single administrative head
75	shall have at least 2 years of full-time paid professional
76	experience, after completing the library education program, in a
77	public library that is open to the public for a minimum of 40
78	hours per week.and
79	(b)Expend its funds centrally.;
80	(b) Have an operating budget of at least $20,000 per year
81	from local sources; and
82	(c) Givethe samefree library serviceprovidedtoits own
83	allresidentsto residents of all political subdivisions within
84	the county that receive operating grants from the stateof the
85	county or residents of the special district or special tax
86	district.
87	(d) Have at least one library or branch library open for
88	40 or more hours per week.
89	(e) Have a long-range plan, an annual plan of service, and
90	an annual budget.
91	(f) Engage in joint planning for coordination of library
92	services within the county or counties that receive operating
93	grants from the state.
94	(3) Any political subdivision establishing public library
95	service for the first time shall submit a certified copy of its
96	appropriation for library service, and its eligibility to
97	receive an operating grant shall be based upon such
98	appropriation.
99	(4)(a) A municipality with a population of 200,000 or more
100	that establishes or maintains a library is eligible to receive
101	from the state an annual operating grant of not more than 25
102	percent of all local funds expended by that municipality during
103	the second preceding fiscal year for the operation and
104	maintenance of a library, under the following conditions:
105	1. The municipal library is operated under a single
106	administrative head and expends its funds centrally;
107	2. The municipal library has an operating budget of at
108	least $20,000 per year from local sources; and
109	3. The municipal library provides free library service to
110	all residents of the municipality.
111	(b) This subsection is repealed on July 1, 2002.
112	Section 2. Section 257.191, Florida Statutes, is amended
113	to read:
114	257.191 Construction grants.—The Division of Library and
115	Information Services may accept and administer library
116	construction moneys appropriated to it and shall allocate such
117	appropriation to municipal, county, and regional libraries in
118	the form of library construction grants on a matching basis. The
119	local matching portion shall be no less thanthe grant amount,
120	on a dollar-for-dollar basis, up to the maximum grant amount,
121	unless the matching requirement is waived by s. 288.0656150
122	percent.Initiation of a library construction project 12 months
123	or less prior to the grant award under this section shall not
124	affect the eligibility of an applicant to receive a library
125	construction grant.The division shall adopt rules for the
126	administration of library construction grants. For the purposes
127	of this section, s. 257.21 does not apply.
128	Section 3. Section 257.22, Florida Statutes, is amended to
129	read:
130	257.22 Division of Library and Information Services;
131	allocation of funds.—Any moneys that may be appropriated for use
132	by a county, a municipality, a special district, or a special
133	tax district for the maintenance of a library or library service
134	shall be administered and allocated by the Division of Library
135	and Information Services in the manner prescribed by law. On or
136	before December 1 of each year, the division shall certify to
137	the Comptroller the amount to be paid to each county,
138	municipality, special district, or special tax district, and the
139	Comptroller shall issue warrants to theeligible political
140	subdivisionsrespective boards of county commissioners or chief
141	municipal executive authorities for the amount so allocated.
142	Section 4. Section 257.23, Florida Statutes, is amended to
143	read:
144	257.23 Application for grant.—
145	(1)The board of county commissioners of any county, the
146	chief executive officer of a municipality, or the governing body
147	of a special district or a special tax districtdesiring to
148	receive a grant under the provisions of ss. 257.14-257.25 shall
149	apply therefor to the Division of Library and Information
150	Services on or before October 1 of each year on a form to be
151	provided by the division.InThe application, whichshall be
152	signed by the chair of the board of county commissioners and
153	attested by the clerk of the circuit court or the appropriate
154	officer in a charter county,by the chief executive officer of a
155	municipality and attested by the clerk of the municipality, or
156	by the chair of the governing body and attested by the chief
157	financial officer of a special district or a special tax
158	district. The county, municipality, special district, or special
159	tax districtthe board of county commissionersshall agree to
160	observe the standards established by the division as authorized
161	in s. 257.15. On or before December 1 each year,the applicant
162	shall certify the annual tax income and the rate of tax or the
163	annual appropriation for the free library or free library
164	service, and shall furnish such other pertinent information as
165	the division may require.
166	(2) The chief municipal executive authority of any
167	municipality desiring to receive a grant under the provisions of
168	ss. 257.14-257.25 shall apply therefor to the Division of
169	Library and Information Services on or before October 1 of each
170	year on a form to be provided by the division. In the
171	application, which shall be signed by the chief municipal
172	executive officer and attested by the clerk of the circuit
173	court, the chief municipal executive authority shall agree to
174	observe the standards established by the division as authorized
175	in s. 257.15, shall certify the annual tax income and the rate
176	of tax or the annual appropriation for the free library, and
177	shall furnish such other pertinent information as the division
178	may require.
179	Section 5.Section 257.19, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
180	Section 6. Section 257.261, Florida Statutes, is amended
181	to read:
182	257.261 Library registration and circulation records.—All
183	registration and circulation records of every public library,
184	except statistical reports of registration and circulation, are
185	confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and
186	from s. 24(a) of Art. I of the State Constitution. Except in
187	accordance with proper judicial order, a person may not make
188	known in any manner any information contained in such records,
189	except as provided in this section. As used in this section,
190	the term "registration records" includes any information that a
191	library requires a patron to provide in order to become eligible
192	to borrow books and other materials, and the term "circulation
193	records" includes all information that identifies the patrons
194	who borrow particular books and other materials. This section
195	does not prohibit any library, or any business operating jointly
196	with the library, from disclosing information tothe parent or
197	guardian of a public library patron under the age of 16
198	municipal or county law enforcement officials, or to judicial
199	officials, for the purpose ofcollecting fines orrecovering
200	overdue books, documents, films, or other items or materials
201	owned or otherwise belonging to the library. This section does
202	not prohibit any library, or any business operating jointly with
203	the library, from disclosing information to municipal or county
204	law enforcement officials or to judicial officials or to any
205	business,for the purpose of collecting fines orrecovering
206	overdue books, documents, films, or other items or materials
207	owned or otherwise belonging to the library; provided that,.in
208	the case of a public library patron under the age of 16,thea
209	public libraryor business entitymay only release confidential
210	information relating to the parent or guardian of the person
211	underthe age of16. Any person who violates this section
212	commitsis guilty ofa misdemeanor of the second degree,
213	punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
214	Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.
215