| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to public libraries; amending s. 257.191, |
| 3 | F.S.; revising provisions relating to public library |
| 4 | construction grants; authorizing the Division of Library |
| 5 | and Information Services to accept and administer |
| 6 | appropriated funds for purposes of small county public |
| 7 | library construction grants; providing for eligibility for |
| 8 | grant funding; providing for effect contingent upon |
| 9 | specific appropriations; limiting grants in the same |
| 10 | fiscal year; providing for the adoption of rules; |
| 11 | providing an effective date. |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Section 1. Section 257.191, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 16 | to read: |
| 17 | 257.191 Public library construction grants.-- |
| 18 | (1) The Division of Library and Information Services may |
| 19 | accept and administer library construction moneys appropriated |
| 20 | to it and shall allocate such appropriation to municipal, |
| 21 | county, and regional libraries in the form of public library |
| 22 | construction grants on a matching basis. The local matching |
| 23 | portion shall be no less than the grant amount, on a dollar-for- |
| 24 | dollar basis, up to the maximum grant amount, unless the |
| 25 | matching requirement is waived by s. 288.06561. Initiation of a |
| 26 | library construction project 12 months or less prior to the |
| 27 | grant award under this section shall not affect the eligibility |
| 28 | of an applicant to receive a public library construction grant. |
| 29 | (2)(a) The Division of Library and Information Services |
| 30 | may accept and administer moneys appropriated to it for small |
| 31 | county public library construction grants. The purpose of the |
| 32 | grants is to assist counties and municipalities that have been |
| 33 | designated rural communities in accordance with ss. |
| 34 | 288.0656(2)(b) and 288.06561 to construct, expand, or renovate |
| 35 | public library facilities to meet the requirement of 0.6 square |
| 36 | feet per capita of total library floor space. |
| 37 | (b) To be eligible to compete for funds under this |
| 38 | subsection, a county or municipality shall: |
| 39 | 1. Comply with the definition of rural community as |
| 40 | provided in s. 288.0656(2)(b). |
| 41 | 2. Have less than 0.6 square feet per capita of total |
| 42 | library floor space. |
| 43 | 3. Certify that the county or municipality will |
| 44 | appropriate and expend sufficient funds to operate the completed |
| 45 | library facility. |
| 46 | 4. Not apply if a grant has been awarded under the public |
| 47 | library construction grant program provided in subsection (1) |
| 48 | for the same fiscal year. |
| 49 | (c) The implementation of the provisions of the small |
| 50 | county public library construction grants under this subsection |
| 51 | shall be contingent upon specific appropriations provided to the |
| 52 | Department of State for funding of these grants. |
| 53 | (3) A public library shall not receive grant funding from |
| 54 | the public library construction grant program provided in |
| 55 | subsection (1) and the small county public library construction |
| 56 | grant program provided in subsection (2) during the same fiscal |
| 57 | year. |
| 58 | (4) The division shall adopt rules for the administration |
| 59 | of public library construction grants. For the purposes of this |
| 60 | section, s. 257.21 does not apply. |
| 61 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |