HB 0789 2003
   
1 A bill to be entitled
2          An act relating to specialty license plates; amending ss.
3    320.08056 and 320.08058, F.S.; creating the Stop Heart
4    Disease license plate; providing for distribution to the
5    Florida Heart Research Foundation of annual use fees
6    received from the sale of such plates; providing an
7    effective date.
8         
9          WHEREAS, heart disease is the leading cause of death and
10    disability in this country and in the State of Florida, claiming
11    the lives of more than 2,600 Americans every day, an average of
12    one death every 33 seconds, and cardiovascular disease accounts
13    for over 40 percent of all deaths, claiming more lives each year
14    than the next seven leading causes of death combined, and
15          WHEREAS, more than 61 million Americans suffer from
16    cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, coronary
17    heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, and other
18    conditions, and
19          WHEREAS, 25 percent of males and 38 percent of females who
20    experience a heart attack die within 1 year, and
21          WHEREAS, 50 percent of men and 63 percent of women who die
22    of sudden cardiac death experience no previous symptoms of
23    coronary heart disease, and
24          WHEREAS, cardiovascular disease takes an astonishing toll
25    on the economy through health care costs, lost work days, and
26    lowered productivity, which costs are estimated to reach $330
27    billion in 2002, and
28          WHEREAS, almost 20 percent of all Social Security
29    disability payments are made to disabled Americans with heart
30    disease, and
31          WHEREAS, men and women are at equal risk for cardiovascular
32    disease and are also affected as husbands, wives, fathers,
33    mothers, brothers, sisters, children, and friends of people
34    suffering from cardiovascular disease, and
35          WHEREAS, in Florida, there will be over 65,000 deaths per
36    year from cardiovascular disease, and hospitalization costs to
37    care for Floridians with cardiovascular disease will top $4.4
38    billion per year, and
39          WHEREAS, the only hope of ending this disease is through
40    research aimed at discovering its cause, its cure, and, most
41    importantly, its prevention, and
42          WHEREAS, the Florida Heart Research Foundation was
43    developed for cardiovascular research, education, and prevention
44    programs throughout the State of Florida, NOW, THEREFORE,
45         
46          Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
47         
48          Section 1. Paragraph (mm) is added to subsection (4) of
49    section 320.08056, Florida Statutes, to read:
50          320.08056 Specialty license plates.--
51          (4) The following license plate annual use fees shall be
52    collected for the appropriate specialty license plates:
53          (mm) Stop Heart Disease license plate, $25.
54          Section 2. Subsection (39) is added to section 320.08058,
55    Florida Statutes, to read:
56          320.08058 Specialty license plates.--
57          (39) STOP HEART DISEASE LICENSE PLATES.--
58          (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 320.08053, the
59    department shall develop a Stop Heart Disease license plate as
60    provided in this section. Stop Heart Disease license plates must
61    bear the colors and design approved by the department. The plate
62    shall be designed to include a red, white, and blue background
63    with a slanted heart shape in the middle of the plate. The word
64    "Florida" shall appear at the top of the plate in yellow
65    outlined in black, and the words "Stop Heart Disease" shall
66    appear at the bottom of the plate in yellow.
67          (b) The department shall remit the proceeds of the annual
68    use fee to the Florida Heart Research Foundation. The first
69    $80,000 of the use fee given to the Florida Heart Research
70    Foundation shall be used to pay startup costs, including costs
71    incurred developing and issuing the plates. Thereafter, the
72    Florida Heart Research Foundation shall provide for a peer
73    review grant solicitation and award process to distribute fees
74    for cardiovascular disease research, education, and prevention
75    within the state and shall make the funds available for any one
76    or more of the following:
77          1. Quality research to pursue top quality cardiovascular
78    research that will further understanding of heart disease and
79    its cause, treatment, cure, and prevention. Accepted projects
80    must conform to the highest standards of scientific research, be
81    efficiently organized, and report updates continually to ensure
82    research credibility and excellence.
83          2. Heart disease prevention programs to provide
84    cardiovascular screenings to state residents.
85          3. Educational programs to offer educational programs,
86    literature, seminars, or speakers for both clinicians and lay
87    people so that the latest risk factors, technologies,
88    treatments, methodologies, protocols, and preventive measures
89    are well known and used in the state.
90          (c) In the first year in which the plate is issued, no
91    more than 25 percent of the fees collected may be used for
92    administrative costs directly associated with the operation of
93    the Florida Heart Research Foundation and marketing and
94    promotion of the Stop Heart Disease license plate. In the second
95    and subsequent years in which the plate is sold, no more than 20
96    percent of the fees collected may be used for administrative
97    costs directly associated with the operation of the Florida
98    Heart Research Foundation and marketing and promotion of the
99    Stop Heart Disease license plate.
100          Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.