| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the Discovery of Florida Quincentennial |
| 3 | Commemoration Commission; establishing the commission; |
| 4 | providing for a term of existence of the commission; |
| 5 | providing for commission membership; providing for terms |
| 6 | of members; providing for successor appointment; providing |
| 7 | for commission meetings; specifying serving without |
| 8 | compensation; providing for per diem and travel expenses; |
| 9 | requiring the commission to adopt bylaws; requiring the |
| 10 | commission to develop a master plan for certain purposes; |
| 11 | requiring a timetable and budget for the plan; requiring a |
| 12 | report to the Governor and Legislature; authorizing the |
| 13 | commission to appoint subcommittees; providing |
| 14 | compensation and expense limitations; authorizing the |
| 15 | commission to employ an executive director and staff; |
| 16 | requiring the Department of State to provide |
| 17 | administrative support and consulting services; |
| 18 | authorizing the commission to establish a not-for-profit |
| 19 | corporation for certain purposes; requiring the |
| 20 | corporation to apply for federal tax-exempt status; |
| 21 | authorizing the corporation to receive moneys for certain |
| 22 | purposes; providing an effective date. |
| 23 |
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| 24 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 25 |
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| 26 | Section 1. (1) The Discovery of Florida Quincentennial |
| 27 | Commemoration Commission is established and shall terminate July |
| 28 | 1, 2014. The commission shall consist of the Governor or the |
| 29 | Governor?s designee, all living former Governors of this state, |
| 30 | the President of the Senate or the president?s designee, two |
| 31 | members of the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate, |
| 32 | the Speaker of the House of Representatives or the speaker?s |
| 33 | designee, two members of the House of Representatives appointed |
| 34 | by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of |
| 35 | State or the secretary?s designee, the chair of the Florida |
| 36 | Historical Commission, the chair of the Florida Arts Council, |
| 37 | the director of the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic |
| 38 | Development, and a representative appointed by the Governor from |
| 39 | each of the following counties of this state associated with |
| 40 | Juan Ponce De Leon?s 1513 voyage: Charlotte, Lee, Palm Beach, |
| 41 | St. Johns, and Monroe. Any members of the Legislature serving on |
| 42 | the commission shall be ex officio, nonvoting members. |
| 43 | (2) All appointed members' terms shall be coterminous with |
| 44 | the terms of their appointing authorities and, if a position |
| 45 | becomes vacant, a successor shall be appointed in the manner of |
| 46 | the original appointment. |
| 47 | (3) The commission shall hold its initial meeting no later |
| 48 | than January 2005, at which time, and every 3 years thereafter, |
| 49 | a chair and vice chair shall be elected from its membership. |
| 50 | Meetings of the commission shall be subject to the provisions of |
| 51 | chapters 119 and 286, Florida Statutes. |
| 52 | (4) Members shall serve without compensation, except that |
| 53 | members are entitled to per diem and travel expenses, pursuant |
| 54 | to s. 112.061, Florida Statutes, incurred in the performance of |
| 55 | their duties. |
| 56 | (5) The commission shall adopt bylaws for the conduct of |
| 57 | its business and shall have the power to amend and rescind these |
| 58 | bylaws. The commission shall publish its bylaws in convenient |
| 59 | form and shall file a copy thereof and a copy of any amendment |
| 60 | thereto with the appropriate agency or officer. |
| 61 | (6) The commission shall develop and implement a statewide |
| 62 | master plan for commemorating the quincentennial of Juan Ponce |
| 63 | de Leon?s discovery of Florida. The plan shall be developed to |
| 64 | encourage and support participation in the quincentennial by all |
| 65 | interested ethnic groups in geographical areas of the state. |
| 66 | (7) The master plan may include, but is not limited to, |
| 67 | the following projects and activities: |
| 68 | (a) State and local historic preservation programs and |
| 69 | activities. |
| 70 | (b) State and local archaeological programs and |
| 71 | activities. |
| 72 | (c) Publications, films, and other educational materials. |
| 73 | (d) Biographical, bibliographical, and documentary |
| 74 | projects that chronicle the life of Juan Ponce de Leon, his 1513 |
| 75 | and 1521 voyages to Florida, the creation of the commission, and |
| 76 | the implementation of the master plan. |
| 77 | (e) Conferences, lectures, seminars, and other programs. |
| 78 | (f) Museum, library, cultural center, park improvements, |
| 79 | services, and exhibits, including, but not limited to, a |
| 80 | quincentennial commemorative painting and mobile exhibits. |
| 81 | (g) Programs that educate the public on Florida?s extinct |
| 82 | Native American cultures. |
| 83 | (h) Public art that captures the spirit of exploration. |
| 84 | (i) Tourism attractions, license plate, logo, seal or |
| 85 | trademark design, and retail items. |
| 86 | (j) Ceremonies and commemorations. |
| 87 | (8) The commission's master plan shall devise a timetable |
| 88 | and budget for completion for all parts of the master plan and |
| 89 | shall be submitted to the Governor, the President of the Senate, |
| 90 | and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The commission |
| 91 | shall submit an initial draft of the master plan to the |
| 92 | Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the |
| 93 | House of Representatives by January 2006. The master plan must |
| 94 | be completed by January 2007. |
| 95 | (9) To perform its duties, the commission is authorized to |
| 96 | appoint subcommittees which may include persons who are not |
| 97 | members of the commission. Such persons shall not be entitled to |
| 98 | compensation but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses |
| 99 | incurred in the performance of their duties. |
| 100 | (10) The commission may employ and fix the salaries and |
| 101 | duties of an executive director and professional and |
| 102 | administrative employees as may be necessary to carry out the |
| 103 | duties of the commission as provided by law. |
| 104 | (11) The Department of State shall provide administrative |
| 105 | support and consulting services to the commission for the |
| 106 | commission's activities. |
| 107 | (12)(a) The commission may establish a not-for-profit |
| 108 | corporation to raise funds and to assist in the implementation |
| 109 | of the master plan relating to the quincentennial commemoration |
| 110 | of the discovery of this state. The corporation shall be |
| 111 | governed by a board of directors. The board of directors of the |
| 112 | corporation may select a name for the corporation. The board |
| 113 | shall choose its own chair. |
| 114 | (b) After proper incorporation, the corporation is |
| 115 | authorized and directed to apply for tax-exempt status under s. |
| 116 | 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, 26 |
| 117 | U.S.C. s. 501(c)(3). |
| 118 | (c) The corporation may receive funds from the general |
| 119 | public or other public or private sources for purposes of |
| 120 | funding its activities and implementing the provisions of this |
| 121 | act. In addition to funds received from the general public or |
| 122 | other public and private sources, the not-for-profit corporation |
| 123 | may receive funds from state agencies at such times and in such |
| 124 | amounts as may be appropriated by the Legislature for the |
| 125 | quincentennial or made available to the corporation from state |
| 126 | agencies from the corporation?s sources of revenue. |
| 127 | (d) Costs to underwrite activities related to the |
| 128 | commemoration of the quincentennial may be borne from revenues |
| 129 | by the not-for-profit corporation. |
| 130 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |