HB 0789, Engrossed 1 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, Inc., of annual use
6	fees 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, Inc., 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) The department shall develop a Stop Heart Disease
59	license plate as provided in this section. Stop Heart Disease
60	license plates must bear the colors and design approved by the
61	department. The plate shall be designed to include a red, white,
62	and blue background with a slanted heart shape in the middle of
63	the plate. The word "Florida" shall appear at the top of the
64	plate in yellow outlined in black, and the words "Stop Heart
65	Disease" shall appear at the bottom of the plate in yellow.
66	(b) The department shall remit the proceeds of the annual
67	use fee to the Florida Heart Research Foundation, Inc. The first
68	$80,000 of the use fee given to the Florida Heart Research
69	Foundation, Inc., shall be used to pay startup costs, including
70	costs incurred developing and issuing the plates. Thereafter,
71	the Florida Heart Research Foundation, Inc., shall provide for a
72	peer review grant solicitation and award process to distribute
73	fees for cardiovascular disease research, education, and
74	prevention within the state and shall make the funds available
75	for any one or more of the following:
76	1. Quality research to pursue top quality cardiovascular
77	research that will further understanding of heart disease and
78	its cause, treatment, cure, and prevention. Accepted projects
79	must conform to the highest standards of scientific research, be
80	efficiently organized, and report updates continually to ensure
81	research credibility and excellence.
82	2. Heart disease prevention programs to provide
83	cardiovascular screenings to state residents.
84	3. Educational programs to offer educational programs,
85	literature, seminars, or speakers for both clinicians and lay
86	people so that the latest risk factors, technologies,
87	treatments, methodologies, protocols, and preventive measures
88	are well known and used in the state.
89	(c) In the first year in which the plate is issued, no
90	more than 25 percent of the fees collected may be used for
91	administrative costs directly associated with the operation of
92	the Florida Heart Research Foundation, Inc., and marketing and
93	promotion of the Stop Heart Disease license plate. In the second
94	and subsequent years in which the plate is sold, no more than 20
95	percent of the fees collected may be used for administrative
96	costs directly associated with the operation of the Florida
97	Heart Research Foundation, Inc., and marketing and promotion of
98	the Stop Heart Disease license plate.
99	Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.