Florida Senate - 2006 PROPOSED COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
Bill No. SB 840
Barcode 094946 Comm: FAV 03/09/2006 03:32 PM
Proposed Committee Substitute by the Committee on
Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the school readiness equity
3 allocation formula; amending s. 411.01, F.S.;
4 requiring the Agency for Workforce Innovation
5 to recommend a formula to allocate funds;
6 providing for changes in the allocation of
7 funds to be specified in the General
8 Appropriations Act; eliminating Legislative
9 Budget Commission approval of the allocation
10 formula; eliminating an obsolete provision that
11 has expired pursuant of its own time
12 limitations; providing an effective date.
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14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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16 Section 1. Subsection 9 of section 411.01, Florida
17 Statutes, is amended to read:
18 (9) FUNDING; SCHOOL READINESS PROGRAM.--
19 (a) It is the intent of this section to establish an
20 integrated and quality seamless service delivery system for
21 all publicly funded early childhood education and child care
22 programs operating in this state.
23 (b)1. The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall
24 administer school readiness funds, plans, and policies and
25 shall prepare and submit a unified budget request for the
26 school readiness system in accordance with chapter 216.
27 2. All instructions to early learning coalitions for
28 administering this section shall emanate from the Agency for
29 Workforce Innovation in accordance with the policies of the
30 Legislature.
31 (c) The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall
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Florida Senate - 2006 PROPOSED COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
Bill No. SB 840
Barcode 094946
1 recommend adopt a formula for the allocation among the early
2 learning coalitions of all state and federal school readiness
3 funds for children participating in public or private school
4 readiness programs based upon equity and performance. The
5 allocation formula must be submitted to the Governor and the
6 Legislature no later than January 1 of each year. The
7 Legislature shall specify in the annual General Appropriations
8 Act any changes from the prior fiscal year allocation
9 methodology that must be used by the Agency for Workforce
10 Innovation in allocating the appropriations provided in the
11 General Appropriations Act Legislative Budget Commission. Upon
12 approval, the Legislative Budget Commission shall authorize
13 the Agency for Workforce Innovation to distribute funds in
14 accordance with the allocation formula. For fiscal year
15 2004-2005, the Agency for Workforce Innovation shall allocate
16 funds to the early learning coalitions consistent with the
17 fiscal year 2003-2004 funding allocations to the school
18 readiness coalitions.
19 (d) All state, federal, and required local
20 maintenance-of-effort or matching funds provided to an early
21 learning coalition for purposes of this section shall be used
22 by the coalition for implementation of its school readiness
23 plan, including the hiring of staff to effectively operate the
24 coalition's school readiness program. As part of plan approval
25 and periodic plan review, the Agency for Workforce Innovation
26 shall require that administrative costs be kept to the minimum
27 necessary for efficient and effective administration of the
28 school readiness plan, but total administrative expenditures
29 must not exceed 5 percent unless specifically waived by the
30 Agency for Workforce Innovation. The Agency for Workforce
31 Innovation shall annually report to the Legislature any
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Florida Senate - 2006 PROPOSED COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
Bill No. SB 840
Barcode 094946
1 problems relating to administrative costs.
2 (e) The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall annually
3 distribute, to a maximum extent practicable, all eligible
4 funds provided under this section as block grants to the early
5 learning coalitions.
6 (f) State funds appropriated for the school readiness
7 program may not be used for the construction of new facilities
8 or the purchase of buses. The Agency for Workforce Innovation
9 shall present to the Legislature recommendations for providing
10 necessary transportation services for school readiness
11 programs.
12 (g) All cost savings and all revenues received through
13 a mandatory sliding fee scale shall be used to help fund each
14 early learning coalition's school readiness program.
15 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.
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