Senate Bill sb0318c2

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    Florida Senate - 2007                     CS for CS for SB 318

    By the Committees on Governmental Operations; Community
    Affairs; and Senator Bennett




    585-2175-07

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the Joint Legislative

  3         Committee for a Sustainable Florida; creating

  4         s. 11.74, F.S.; creating the Joint Legislative

  5         Committee for a Sustainable Florida; requiring

  6         the Governor, the President of the Senate, and

  7         the Speaker of the House of Representatives to

  8         appoint the members of the committee; providing

  9         for a chairperson of the committee and terms of

10         office; providing for meetings and a quorum;

11         authorizing reimbursement of members for per

12         diem and travel expenses; prohibiting a member

13         of the committee from having certain interests

14         in contracts or benefits awarded by the

15         committee; providing for additional powers and

16         duties of the committee; providing for the

17         appointment and oversight of the executive

18         director of the committee; providing for the

19         committee to be located within the Office of

20         Legislative Services for administrative

21         purposes; amending s. 201.15, F.S.; revising

22         the amount of an appropriation to local

23         governments and school districts of proceeds

24         from the excise tax on documents; deleting an

25         appropriation of such funds to the Century

26         Commission; repealing s. 163.3247, F.S.,

27         relating to the Century Commission for a

28         Sustainable Florida; providing an appropriation

29         to the committee; providing an effective date.

30  

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

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    Florida Senate - 2007                     CS for CS for SB 318
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 1         Section 1.  Section 11.74, Florida Statutes, is created

 2  to read:

 3         11.74  Joint Legislative Committee for a Sustainable

 4  Florida.--

 5         (1)  The Joint Legislative Committee for a Sustainable

 6  Florida is created for the purpose of helping the residents of

 7  this state envision and plan their collective future with an

 8  eye towards both 25-year and 50-year horizons.

 9         (a)  The committee shall consist of 18 members, 6

10  members appointed by the Governor, 6 members appointed by the

11  President of the Senate, one of whom may be a Senator, and 6

12  members appointed by the Speaker of the House of

13  Representatives, one of whom may be a member of the House of

14  Representatives. The membership must represent local

15  governments, school boards, developers and home builders, the

16  business community, the agriculture community, the

17  environmental community, and other appropriate stakeholders.

18  In making the appointments, the President of the Senate and

19  the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall ensure that

20  the membership of the committee reflects the racial, ethnic,

21  and gender diversity, as well as the geographic distribution,

22  of the state's population. The President of the Senate and the

23  Speaker of the House of Representatives shall give the

24  greatest consideration possible to the appointment of members

25  of the Century Commission to the committee. One member shall

26  be elected as the chairperson of the committee. Any vacancy

27  that occurs on the committee shall be filled in the same

28  manner as the original appointment and shall be for the

29  unexpired term of that committee seat. Members shall be

30  appointed to 4-year terms. An appointee may not serve more

31  than 8 years.

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    Florida Senate - 2007                     CS for CS for SB 318
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 1         (b)  The committee shall meet at the call of the

 2  chairperson but not less frequently than three times per year

 3  in order to solicit input from the public or any other

 4  individuals offering testimony relevant to the issues to be

 5  considered.

 6         (c)  Each member of the committee is entitled to one

 7  vote, and actions of the committee are not binding unless

 8  taken by a three-fifths vote of the members present. A

 9  majority of the members is required to constitute a quorum,

10  and the affirmative vote of a quorum is required for a binding

11  vote.

12         (d)  Members of the committee shall serve without

13  compensation, but are entitled to receive reimbursement for

14  per diem and travel expenses in accordance with s. 112.061

15  while performing their duties.

16         (e)  A member of the committee may not, in the period

17  commencing with his or her appointment to the committee and

18  continuing for 2 years after termination of such appointment,

19  have an interest, direct or indirect, in any contract or other

20  benefit granted or awarded by the committee.

21         (2)  The committee shall:

22         (a)  Conduct a process through which the committee

23  envisions the future for the state and then develops and

24  recommends policies, plans, action steps, or strategies to

25  assist in achieving the vision.

26         (b)  Continuously review and consider statutory and

27  regulatory provisions, governmental processes, and societal

28  and economic trends in its inquiry of how state, regional, and

29  local governments and entities and residents of this state can

30  best accommodate projected increases in the population while

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2007                     CS for CS for SB 318
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 1  maintaining the natural, historical, cultural, and manmade

 2  life qualities that best represent the state.

 3         (c)  Bring together people representing varied

 4  interests in order to develop a shared image of the state and

 5  its developed and natural areas. The process should involve

 6  exploring the effects of increases in the estimated population

 7  and other emerging trends and issues, creating a vision for

 8  the future, and developing a strategic action plan to achieve

 9  that vision using 25-year and 50-year intermediate planning

10  timeframes.

11         (d)  Focus on essential state interests, which are

12  those interests that transcend local or regional boundaries

13  and that are most appropriately conserved, protected, and

14  promoted at the state level.

15         (e)  Serve as an objective, nonpartisan repository of

16  exemplary community-building ideas and as a source to

17  recommend strategies and practices to assist others in working

18  collaboratively to solve problems concerning issues relating

19  to growth management.

20         (f)  Annually, on January 16, provide to the Governor,

21  the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of

22  Representatives a written report containing specific

23  recommendations for addressing growth management in the state,

24  including executive and legislative recommendations. In

25  addition, the report must contain discussion and

26  recommendations regarding the need for intergovernmental

27  cooperation and the balancing of environmental protection and

28  future development, including, but not limited to,

29  recommendations regarding dedicated sources of funding for

30  sewer facilities, water supply and quality, transportation

31  facilities that are not adequately addressed by the Strategic

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    Florida Senate - 2007                     CS for CS for SB 318
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 1  Intermodal System, and educational infrastructure to support

 2  existing development and projected population growth.

 3         (g)  Enter into contracts to receive and accept grants

 4  and contributions from any source, which shall be used to

 5  further the mission of the committee.

 6         (h)  Adopt rules necessary for its own organization and

 7  operation and for that of its staff, consistent with general

 8  law and with the rules of each house.

 9         (3)(a)  The committee shall appoint an executive

10  director who shall serve under the direction, supervision, and

11  control of the committee. The committee shall have complete

12  authority for fixing the salary of the executive director. The

13  committee is assigned to the Office of Legislative Services

14  for purposes of administration and fiscal accountability. The

15  executive director, with the consent of the committee and

16  within budgetary limitations, shall employ staff as necessary

17  to adequately perform its functions.

18         (b)  The Office of Legislative Services shall provide

19  staff and other resources necessary to accomplish the goals of

20  the committee based upon recommendations of the Legislature.

21         (c)  All agencies are requested, to render assistance

22  to, and cooperate with, the committee.

23         Section 2.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section

24  201.15, Florida Statutes, as amended by section 22 of chapter

25  2006-1, section 2 of chapter 2006-185, and section 2 of

26  chapter 2006-231, Laws of Florida, is amended to read:

27         201.15  Distribution of taxes collected.--All taxes

28  collected under this chapter shall be distributed as follows

29  and shall be subject to the service charge imposed in s.

30  215.20(1), except that such service charge shall not be levied

31  against any portion of taxes pledged to debt service on bonds

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    Florida Senate - 2007                     CS for CS for SB 318
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 1  to the extent that the amount of the service charge is

 2  required to pay any amounts relating to the bonds:

 3         (1)  Sixty-two and sixty-three hundredths percent of

 4  the remaining taxes collected under this chapter shall be used

 5  for the following purposes:

 6         (d)  The remainder of the moneys distributed under this

 7  subsection, after the required payments under paragraphs (a),

 8  (b), and (c), shall be paid into the State Treasury to the

 9  credit of:

10         1.  The State Transportation Trust Fund in the

11  Department of Transportation in the amount of $541.75 million

12  in each fiscal year, to be paid in quarterly installments and

13  used for the following specified purposes, notwithstanding any

14  other law to the contrary:

15         a.  For the purposes of capital funding for the New

16  Starts Transit Program, authorized by Title 49, U.S.C. s. 5309

17  and specified in s. 341.051, 10 percent of these funds;

18         b.  For the purposes of the Small County Outreach

19  Program specified in s. 339.2818, 5 percent of these funds;

20         c.  For the purposes of the Strategic Intermodal System

21  specified in ss. 339.61, 339.62, 339.63, and 339.64, 75

22  percent of these funds after allocating for the New Starts

23  Transit Program described in sub-subparagraph a. and the Small

24  County Outreach Program described in sub-subparagraph b.; and

25         d.  For the purposes of the Transportation Regional

26  Incentive Program specified in s. 339.2819, 25 percent of

27  these funds after allocating for the New Starts Transit

28  Program described in sub-subparagraph a. and the Small County

29  Outreach Program described in sub-subparagraph b.

30         2.  The Water Protection and Sustainability Program

31  Trust Fund in the Department of Environmental Protection in

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    Florida Senate - 2007                     CS for CS for SB 318
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 1  the amount of $100 million in each fiscal year, to be paid in

 2  quarterly installments and used as required by s. 403.890.

 3         3.  The Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt

 4  Service Trust Fund in the Department of Education in the

 5  amount of $105 million in each fiscal year, to be paid in

 6  monthly installments with $75 million used to fund the

 7  Classrooms for Kids Program created in s. 1013.735, and $30

 8  million to be used to fund the High Growth County District

 9  Capital Outlay Assistance Grant Program created in s.

10  1013.738. If required, new facilities constructed under the

11  Classrooms for Kids Program must meet the requirements of s.

12  1013.372.

13         4.  The Grants and Donations Trust Fund in the

14  Department of Community Affairs in the amount of $3 $3.25

15  million in each fiscal year to be paid in monthly

16  installments, with $3 million to be used to fund technical

17  assistance to local governments and school boards on the

18  requirements and implementation of this act and $250,000 to be

19  used to fund the Century Commission established in s.

20  163.3247.

21  

22  Moneys distributed pursuant to this paragraph may not be

23  pledged for debt service unless such pledge is approved by

24  referendum of the voters.

25         Section 3.  Section 163.3247, Florida Statutes, is

26  repealed.

27         Section 4.  The sum of $550,000 in recurring general

28  revenue is appropriated to the Joint Legislative Committee for

29  a Sustainable Florida for the purpose of paying salaries and

30  other administrative expenses of the committee which are

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2007                     CS for CS for SB 318
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 1  necessary to carry out the provisions of s. 11.74, Florida

 2  Statutes, during the 2007-2008 fiscal year.

 3         Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.

 4  

 5          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 6                          CS for SB 318

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 8  The CS for CS for SB 318 changes the Century Commission from a
    free-standing executive-branch entity into a joint legislative
 9  committee. Its membership expands to eighteen and the
    appointment of its members is divided among the Governor and
10  the presiding officers of the Legislature. Its dedicated
    funding source in current law is replaced with a separate
11  appropriation of recurring general revenue funds.

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