Senate Bill sb0362c2
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for CS for SB 362
By the Committees on Health and Human Services Appropriations;
Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and Senators Wilson and
Lynn
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1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to adoption benefits; creating
3 s. 409.1663, F.S.; expanding a monetary benefit
4 paid to employees who adopt special needs
5 children and children in the custody of the
6 state to include employees of state
7 universities, community colleges, and school
8 districts; clarifying that the availability of
9 the monetary benefit is subject to an
10 appropriation; authorizing the Department of
11 Children and Family Services to administer the
12 program; providing for rules; providing for
13 parental leave; providing for application and
14 eligibility procedures; providing for the
15 transfer of funding from the department to
16 nonstate public entities; providing that
17 application for the monetary benefit will begin
18 with the 2008 open enrollment period and the
19 availability of the benefit will begin in the
20 2008-2009 fiscal year; repealing ss. 110.152,
21 110.15201, 215.32(2)(c)5., and 373.6065, F.S.,
22 relating to the present program that provides a
23 monetary benefit only to state agency employees
24 and employees of a water management district
25 and that is administered by the Department of
26 Management Services; requiring the Department
27 of Management Services to transfer specified
28 resources related to adoptions to the
29 Department of Children and Family Services;
30 providing an effective date.
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for CS for SB 362
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1 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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3 Section 1. Section 409.1663, Florida Statutes, is
4 created to read:
5 409.1663 Adoption benefits for qualifying adoptive
6 employees of state agencies.--
7 (1) As used in this section, the term:
8 (a) "Department" means the Department of Children and
9 Family Services.
10 (b) "Licensed child-placing agency" has the same
11 meaning as in s. 39.01.
12 (c) "Qualifying adoptive employee" means a full-time
13 or part-time employee of a state agency who is paid from
14 regular salary appropriations or who otherwise meets the
15 employer's definition of a regular rather than temporary
16 employee and who adopts a child pursuant to this section. For
17 purposes of this section, the term includes instructional
18 personnel, as defined in s. 1012.01, employed by the Florida
19 School for the Deaf and the Blind.
20 (d) "Special needs child" has the same meaning as in
21 s. 409.166.
22 (e) "State agency" means a branch, department, or
23 agency of state government for which the Chief Financial
24 Officer processes payroll requisitions, a state university or
25 community college as defined in s. 1000.21, a school district
26 unit as defined in s. 1001.30, or a water management district
27 as defined in s. 373.019.
28 (2) A qualifying adoptive employee who adopts a
29 special needs child shall be eligible to receive a lump-sum
30 monetary benefit in the amount of $10,000 per child subject to
31 applicable taxes. Any qualifying adoptive employee who adopts
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1 a child whose permanent custody has been awarded to the
2 department or to a licensed child-placing agency, other than a
3 special needs child, shall be eligible to receive a lump-sum
4 monetary benefit in the amount of $5,000 per child subject to
5 applicable taxes.
6 (a) Benefits paid to a part-time employee must be
7 prorated based on the employee's full-time-equivalency status
8 at the time of applying for the benefits.
9 (b) Monetary benefits are limited to one award per
10 child adopted regardless of the number of adoptive parents or
11 an employee's change of employer.
12 (c) The payment of a lump-sum monetary benefit for
13 adopting a child under this section is subject to a specific
14 appropriation to the department for such purpose.
15 (3) A qualifying adoptive employee must apply to his
16 or her agency head to obtain the monetary benefit provided in
17 subsection (2). Applications must be on forms approved by the
18 department and must include a certified copy of the final
19 order of adoption naming the applicant as the adoptive parent.
20 (4) This section does not affect the right of any
21 qualifying adoptive employee who adopts a special needs child
22 to receive adoption assistance under s. 409.166 or any other
23 statute that provides financial incentives for the adoption of
24 children.
25 (5) Parental leave for qualifying adoptive employees
26 must be provided in accordance with the personnel policies and
27 procedures of the respective state agency employer.
28 (6) The department shall adopt rules to administer
29 this section. The rules may provide for an application process
30 such as, but not limited to, an open enrollment period during
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1 which qualifying adoptive parents may apply for monetary
2 benefits under this section.
3 (7) A monetary benefit paid to a qualifying adoptive
4 employee employed in a state agency for which the Chief
5 Financial Officer processes payroll requisitions shall be
6 disbursed by the Chief Financial Office upon submission of a
7 payroll requisition by the department. The Chief Financial
8 Officer shall transfer funds from the department to a state
9 university, community college, school district unit, or water
10 management district to enable payment to the respective
11 qualifying adoptive employee through the respective payroll
12 systems as long as funds are available for such purpose.
13 (8) Each state agency shall develop a uniform
14 procedure for informing employees about this benefit and for
15 assisting the department in making eligibility determinations
16 and processing applications. Any procedure adopted by a state
17 agency is valid and enforceable so long as it does not
18 conflict with the express terms of this section.
19 Section 2. Participation by employees of a state
20 university, community college, or school district unit as
21 provided in this act shall commence with the 2008 open
22 enrollment period for adoption benefits to be funded in the
23 2008-2009 fiscal year.
24 Section 3. Sections 110.152, 110.15201,
25 215.32(2)(c)5., and 373.6065, Florida Statutes, are repealed.
26 Section 4. The Department of Management Services shall
27 transfer the resources provided for adoption benefits for
28 state employees originally enacted in s. 110.152, Florida
29 Statutes, to the Department of Children and Family Services by
30 a type two transfer pursuant to s. 20.06(2), Florida Statutes.
31 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
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1 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
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4 Mandates the Department of Management Services to transfer the
Special Needs Adoption Incentives funding to the Department of
5 Children and Family Services by a type two transfer.
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