HB 1099

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the Assistive Technology Advisory
3	Council; amending s. 413.407, F.S.; revising composition,
4	terms of service, and duties of the council; requiring the
5	Commissioner of Education to appoint members of the
6	council; deleting provision requiring the council to fund
7	Florida's Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology;
8	providing an effective date.
9
10	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
11
12	Section 1.  Section 413.407, Florida Statutes, is amended
13	to read:
14	413.407  Assistive Technology Advisory Council.--There is
15	created the Assistive Technology Advisory Council, responsible
16	for ensuring consumer involvement in the creation, application,
17	and distribution of technology-related assistance to and for
18	persons who have disabilities. The council shall fulfill its
19	responsibilities through statewide policy development, both
20	state and federal legislative initiatives, advocacy at both the
21	state and federal level, planning of statewide resource
22	allocations, policy-level management, reviews of both consumer
23	responsiveness and the adequacy of program service delivery, and
24	by performing the functions listed in this section.
25	(1)(a)  The council shall be composed of:
26	1.  Individuals Nine persons who have disabilities and who
27	are assistive technology consumers or family members or
28	guardians of those individuals.
29	2.  Representatives of consumer organizations concerned
30	with assistive technology.
31	3.2.  Up to nine Representatives of business and industry,
32	including the insurance industry, concerned with assistive
33	technology.
34	3.  Up to nine representatives of academia, community
35	agencies, and state agencies concerned with assistive
36	technology.
37	4.  A representative of the Division of Vocational
38	Rehabilitation.
39	5.  A representative of the Division of Blind Services.
40	6.  A representative of the Independent Living Council.
41	7.  A representative of Workforce Florida, Inc.
42	8.  A representative of the Department of Education.
43	9.  Representatives of other state agencies that provide or
44	coordinate services for persons with disabilities.
45
46	Total membership on the council shall not exceed 27 at any one
47	time. A majority of the members shall be appointed in accordance
48	with subparagraph 1.
49	(b)  Members of the council shall be appointed by the
50	Commissioner of Education secretary from a list of candidates
51	proposed by the division director.
52	(c)  A majority of council members shall be persons who
53	have disabilities as defined described in s. 413.20(7) s.
54	706(8)(B) of the act who are also consumers of assistive
55	technology or family members of such persons.
56	(d)  The members of the council shall select two co-chairs
57	from among the membership of the council.
58	1.  One co-chair may be selected from the group described
59	in paragraph (c) and one co-chair shall be selected from the
60	other council members.
61	2.  No co-chair may be an elected member or an employee of
62	a state agency or of any political subdivision of the state.
63	(e)1.  Each member of the council shall serve for a term of
64	not more than 3 years, except that:
65	a.  a member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to
66	the expiration of the term for which a predecessor was appointed
67	shall be appointed for the remainder of such term.
68	b.  The terms of service of the members shall be staggered
69	through initial appointments of 3 years for one-third, 2 years
70	for one-third, and 1 year for one-third. Each eligible group
71	described in paragraph (a) shall reflect this distribution.
72	2.  No member of the council may serve more than two
73	consecutive terms; however, any appointment under subparagraph
74	1. sub-subparagraph 1.a., if for less than 18 months, shall not
75	be considered a term for the purposes of this section.
76	(f)  Any vacancy occurring in the membership of the council
77	shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
78	A vacancy does not affect the power of the remaining members to
79	execute the duties of the council.
80	(2)  In addition to the other functions specified in this
81	section, the council shall:
82	(a)  Act as the board of directors of a not-for-profit
83	corporation created by the division. Through the corporation,
84	the council shall provide direction and funding to Florida's
85	Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology, a project
86	sponsored by the department for the coordination and delivery of
87	appropriate, cost-effective, state-of-the-art assistive
88	technology services and devices.
89	(b)  Appoint committees made up of members of the council
90	to focus on specific issues within the council's mandate.
91	Committees may request and accept in-kind contributions of
92	personnel from public or private entities to supply such
93	staffing as the committees deem necessary to carry out their
94	individual mandates. These committees shall include, but are not
95	limited to:
96	1.  An interagency A committee composed of those members
97	representing state agencies, functioning as an interagency
98	workshop. The interagency committee workshop shall work towards
99	the development of develop cooperative agreements among
100	government agencies and perform such other duties as the council
101	deems appropriate. The interagency committee's workshop's
102	members shall assign staff from their respective agencies to the
103	alliance, as an in-kind contribution for a specified period of
104	time, to review federal and state legislation and agency
105	policies and practices and to identify both facilitators of, and
106	barriers to, accessibility and utilization of assistive
107	technology services, devices, and funding sources.
108	2.  A technology-awareness committee to guide the council's
109	public awareness, coordination, and collaboration activities
110	encourage the formation of technology-awareness groups among
111	consumers, providers, and other interested individuals,
112	particularly in schools or workplaces.
113	3.  A public policy and advocacy committee to review
114	federal and state legislation and agency policies and practices
115	and to identify facilitators of and barriers to access and
116	utilization of assistive technology services, devices, and
117	funding sources.
118	(c)  Review and approve all reports, recommendations, and
119	proposed actions of committee staff.
120	(d)  Appoint the executive director of the alliance. The
121	executive director shall be responsible for overall
122	administration and day-to-day direction of the alliance, as well
123	as supervision of all staff.
124	(e)  Annually review and approve the strategic or business
125	plan of the alliance, as submitted by the executive director.
126	(f)  Submit an annual comprehensive report of the
127	activities of the council, the corporation, and the alliance to
128	the division director.
129	(g)  Perform such other functions as the council determines
130	to be appropriate which are comparable to functions performed by
131	the council.
132	(h)  Convene at least four meetings each year in such
133	places as it determines to be necessary to conduct council
134	business and may conduct such forums or hearings as the council
135	considers appropriate. The council shall make a report of each
136	meeting which shall include a record of its discussions and
137	recommendations, all of which reports shall be made available to
138	the public.
139	(3)  In accordance with Pub. L. No. 108-364, the council
140	shall:
141	(a)  Investigate financing options that will increase
142	access to and funding for assistive technology devices and
143	assistive technology services.
144	(b)  Develop assistive technology demonstrations,
145	reutilization programs, and loan programs.
146	(c)  Provide training and technical assistance in order to
147	increase knowledge and awareness of the uses and benefits of
148	assistive technology devices and assistive technology services.
149	(d)  Promote public awareness activities designed to
150	provide information relating to the benefits of assistive
151	technology devices and assistive technology services.
152	(e)  Promote coordination and collaboration among public
153	and private entities that are responsible for policies,
154	procedures, or funding for the provision of assistive technology
155	devices and assistive technology services.
156	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.

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