Senate Bill sb0840c1

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    Florida Senate - 2006                            CS for SB 840

    By the Committee on Transportation and Economic Development
    Appropriations; and Senator Fasano




    606-1835-06

  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 approval of the

  9         allocation formula by the Legislative Budget

10         Commission; eliminating an obsolete provision;

11         providing an effective date.

12  

13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

14  

15         Section 1.  Subsection (9) of section 411.01, Florida

16  Statutes, is amended to read:

17         411.01  School readiness programs; early learning

18  coalitions.--

19         (9)  FUNDING; SCHOOL READINESS PROGRAM.--

20         (a)  It is the intent of this section to establish an

21  integrated and quality seamless service delivery system for

22  all publicly funded early childhood education and child care

23  programs operating in this state.

24         (b)1.  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall

25  administer school readiness funds, plans, and policies and

26  shall prepare and submit a unified budget request for the

27  school readiness system in accordance with chapter 216.

28         2.  All instructions to early learning coalitions for

29  administering this section shall emanate from the Agency for

30  Workforce Innovation in accordance with the policies of the

31  Legislature.

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    Florida Senate - 2006                            CS for SB 840
    606-1835-06




 1         (c)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall

 2  recommend adopt a formula for the allocation among the early

 3  learning coalitions of all state and federal school readiness

 4  funds for children participating in public or private school

 5  readiness programs based upon equity and performance. The

 6  allocation formula must be submitted to the Governor and the

 7  Legislature no later than January 1 of each year. The

 8  Legislature shall specify in the annual General Appropriations

 9  Act any changes from the allocation methodology for the prior

10  fiscal year which must be used by the Agency for Workforce

11  Innovation in allocating the appropriations provided in the

12  General Appropriations Act Legislative Budget Commission. Upon

13  approval, the Legislative Budget Commission shall authorize

14  the Agency for Workforce Innovation to distribute funds in

15  accordance with the allocation formula. For fiscal year

16  2004-2005, the Agency for Workforce Innovation shall allocate

17  funds to the early learning coalitions consistent with the

18  fiscal year 2003-2004 funding allocations to the school

19  readiness coalitions.

20         (d)  All state, federal, and required local

21  maintenance-of-effort or matching funds provided to an early

22  learning coalition for purposes of this section shall be used

23  by the coalition for implementation of its school readiness

24  plan, including the hiring of staff to effectively operate the

25  coalition's school readiness program. As part of plan approval

26  and periodic plan review, the Agency for Workforce Innovation

27  shall require that administrative costs be kept to the minimum

28  necessary for efficient and effective administration of the

29  school readiness plan, but total administrative expenditures

30  must not exceed 5 percent unless specifically waived by the

31  Agency for Workforce Innovation. The Agency for Workforce

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    Florida Senate - 2006                            CS for SB 840
    606-1835-06




 1  Innovation shall annually report to the Legislature any

 2  problems relating to administrative costs.

 3         (e)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall annually

 4  distribute, to a maximum extent practicable, all eligible

 5  funds provided under this section as block grants to the early

 6  learning coalitions.

 7         (f)  State funds appropriated for the school readiness

 8  program may not be used for the construction of new facilities

 9  or the purchase of buses. The Agency for Workforce Innovation

10  shall present to the Legislature recommendations for providing

11  necessary transportation services for school readiness

12  programs.

13         (g)  All cost savings and all revenues received through

14  a mandatory sliding fee scale shall be used to help fund each

15  early learning coalition's school readiness program.

16         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

17  

18          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
19                         Senate Bill 840

20                                 

21  This Committee Substitute revises the approval process for the
    allocation formula for School Readiness funds provided to the
22  early learning coalitions. It provides that the Agency for
    Workforce Innovation must submit the recommended formula to
23  the Governor and to the Legislature by January 1 of each year,
    instead of to the Governor and to the Legislative Budget
24  Commission for approval.  The Legislature must specify in the
    General Appropriations Act any changes from the allocation
25  methodology for the prior fiscal year which must be used by
    the Agency for Workforce Innovation in allocating funds to the
26  early learning coalitions.

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