HB 1099

CS

CHAMBER ACTION

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

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