HB 419

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to lodging and food service
3	establishments; amending s. 509.291, F.S.; revising
4	membership provisions of the Department of Business and
5	Professional Regulation's Division of Hotels and
6	Restaurants' advisory council; amending s. 509.302, F.S.;
7	revising the Hospitality Education Program; replacing the
8	director of education with the division as administrator
9	of the program; revising provisions relating to the
10	administration of the program; revising the training and
11	training-related activities funded by the program;
12	specifying how funds collected under the program shall be
13	expended; deleting provisions relating to duties and
14	responsibilities of the director of education; providing
15	criteria by which grants may be awarded under the program;
16	amending s. 509.072, F.S.; correcting cross-references;
17	providing an effective date.
18
19	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21	Section 1.  Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) of
22	section 509.291, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
23	509.291  Advisory council.--
24	(1)  There is created a 10-member advisory council.
25	(a)  The Secretary of Business and Professional Regulation
26	shall appoint six five voting members to the advisory council.
27	Each member appointed by the secretary must be an operator of an
28	establishment licensed under this chapter and shall represent
29	the industries regulated by the division, except that one member
30	appointed by the secretary must be a layperson representing and
31	shall represent the general public and one member must be a
32	hospitality education administrator from an institution of
33	higher education of this state. Such members of the council
34	shall serve staggered terms of 4 years.
35	(b)  The Florida Hotel and Motel Association, the Florida
36	Restaurant and Lodging Association shall designate one
37	representative from the lodging industry and one representative
38	from the food service industry to serve as voting members of the
39	council., The Florida Apartment Association, and the Florida
40	Association of Realtors shall each designate one representative
41	to serve as a voting member of the council. In addition, one
42	hospitality administration educator from an institution of
43	higher education affiliated with the Hospitality Education
44	Program pursuant to s. 509.302(2) shall serve for a term of 2
45	years as a voting member of the council. This single
46	representative shall be designated on a rotating basis by the
47	institution or institutions of higher education affiliated with
48	this program pursuant to s. 509.302(2).
49	Section 2.  Section 509.302, Florida Statutes, is amended
50	to read:
51	509.302  Hospitality Education Program Director of
52	education; personnel; employment duties; compensation.--
53	(1)  The division director shall, with the advice of the
54	advisory council, employ a director of education for the lodging
55	and food service industry.
56	(2)  The director of education shall administer develop and
57	implement an educational program, designated the "Hospitality
58	Education Program," offered for the benefit of the food service
59	and lodging industries of this state entire industry. This
60	program may affiliate with Florida State University, Florida
61	International University, and the University of Central Florida.
62	The program may also affiliate with any other member of the
63	State University System or Florida Community College System, or
64	with any privately funded college or university, which offers a
65	program of hospitality administration and management. The
66	primary goal of this program shall be administered with the
67	advice of the advisory council and shall fund through grants the
68	following types of training and training-related activities is
69	to instruct and train all individuals and businesses licensed
70	under this chapter, in cooperation with recognized associations
71	that represent the licensees, in the application of state and
72	federal laws and rules. Such programs shall also include:
73	(a)  Training provided by the division to licensees under
74	this chapter and the licensees' managers and employees in the
75	application of state and federal laws and rules to the
76	operations of the licensees and the licensees' managers and
77	employees.
78	(b)  Enhancement of school-to-career training and
79	transition programs for students interested in pursuing careers
80	in the food service or lodging industry. Training and transition
81	programs shall be provided through the public school system
82	utilizing a nationally recognized curriculum approved by the
83	division, with the enhancements funded under this section
84	provided by nonprofit statewide organizations in the hospitality
85	services field. Enhancement activities under this section shall
86	be funded by grants and the application process for the grants
87	shall be administered by the division. Such activities may
88	include providing job experience opportunities for students;
89	day-to-day support for program instructors; student
90	scholarships; special events recognizing outstanding students,
91	instructors, industry mentors, or program sponsors; program-
92	related competitive events for students; and continuous
93	inservice training for instructors.
94	(a)  Career training.
95	(b)  Management training.
96	(c)  Inservice continuing education programs.
97	(d)  Awareness of food-recovery programs, as promoted in s.
98	570.0725.
99	(e)  Such other programs as may be deemed appropriate by
100	the director of the division, the advisory council, and the
101	director of education.
102	(2)(3)  All public lodging establishments and all public
103	food service establishments licensed under this chapter shall
104	pay an annual fee of no more than $10, which shall be included
105	in the annual license fee and which shall be used for the sole
106	purpose of funding the Hospitality Education Program. The
107	division may expend up to 35 percent of the funds collected
108	under this subsection for the sole purpose of providing the
109	services described in paragraph (1)(a) and of recouping the
110	division's  direct expenses incurred in administering the
111	Hospitality Education Program. The division shall annually
112	expend all remaining funds collected under this subsection to
113	fund grants for the services described in paragraph (1)(b). All
114	funds left unexpended in any state fiscal year shall be made
115	available in the following state fiscal year to fund grants for
116	the services described in paragraph (1)(b).
117	(3)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
118	contrary, grant funding under this section for the services
119	described in paragraph (1)(b) shall include all expenses
120	incident to providing those services, including the cost of
121	staff support; student scholarships; compensation to program
122	instructors for time spent in relevant training; special events
123	or competitive events; and a reasonable stipend for travel,
124	lodging, and meals for instructors and students participating in
125	training or in related special events. All such expenses shall
126	be in accordance with the budget submitted by the applicant in
127	the grant application and approved by the division. The
128	expenditure of all funds distributed under this section shall be
129	subject to audit by the division.
130	(4)  The director of education shall formulate an annual
131	budget, programs, and activities to accomplish the purposes of
132	this section, in accordance with and subject to the advice and
133	recommendations of the advisory council.
134	(a)  The annual budget of the Hospitality Education Program
135	must show that the total fees or charges estimated to be
136	collected during the next fiscal year under this section will be
137	dedicated solely to the estimated cost of funding the
138	Hospitality Education Program, less any trust fund service
139	charge imposed by s. 215.20. If the estimated cost of funding
140	the Hospitality Education Program in any fiscal year is less
141	than the total fees or charges estimated to be collected during
142	that year, the director of education shall submit a report to
143	the advisory council division director demonstrating why the
144	amount of such fee or charge should not be immediately reduced
145	to eliminate the projected surplus. The division director shall
146	also submit forward this report to the Secretary of Business and
147	Professional Regulation as part of the division's annual budget
148	request.
149	(b)  Both the secretary's legislative budget requests
150	submitted pursuant to ss. 216.023 and 216.031 and the Governor's
151	recommended budget submitted pursuant to s. 216.163 must also
152	show that the total fees or charges estimated to be collected
153	during the next fiscal year under this section will be dedicated
154	solely to funding the Hospitality Education Program, less any
155	trust fund service charge imposed by s. 215.20. If the estimated
156	cost of funding the Hospitality Education Program in any fiscal
157	year is less than the total fees or charges estimated to be
158	collected during that year, the secretary shall submit a report
159	demonstrating why the amount of such fee or charge should not be
160	immediately reduced to eliminate the projected surplus.
161	(5)  The director of education, with the approval of the
162	director and with the advice of the advisory council, may employ
163	such personnel as necessary to carry out the purposes of this
164	section.
165	(6)  The director of education and any staff shall receive
166	such compensation as may be approved by the director acting with
167	the advice of the advisory council.
168	(7)  The director of education, with the approval of the
169	director and with the consent of the advisory council, may
170	designate funds, not to exceed $150,000 annually, to support
171	school-to-career transition programs available through statewide
172	organizations in the hospitality services field. Such programs
173	shall be designed to prepare students for progressive careers in
174	the hospitality industry. The director of education, with the
175	approval of the director and with the consent of the advisory
176	council, may also designate funds, not to exceed $50,000
177	annually, to support food safety training programs available
178	through statewide organizations in the hospitality services
179	field, and not to exceed $50,000 annually, to support
180	nontransient public lodging training programs available through
181	statewide organizations in the public lodging services field.
182	(5)(a)  The director of education shall have supervision
183	over the administration of the programs set forth in this
184	subsection and shall report the status of the programs at all
185	meetings of the advisory council and at such other times as are
186	prescribed by the advisory council.
187	(6)(b)  The division shall adopt rules providing the
188	criteria for grant program approval and the procedures for
189	processing grant program applications. The criteria and
190	procedures shall be approved by the advisory council. The
191	criteria shall include the experience and history of the
192	applicant in representing the food service or lodging industry,
193	the applicant's prior commitment to school-to-career transition
194	programs in the food service or lodging industry, and the
195	applicant's ability to provide services statewide with industry
196	support and participation. Grants awarded under this section
197	shall be for a term of 4 years, with funding provided on an
198	annual basis.
199	Section 3.  Subsection (2) of section 509.072, Florida
200	Statutes, is amended to read:
201	509.072  Hotel and Restaurant Trust Fund; collection and
202	disposition of moneys received.--
203	(2)  Fees collected under s. 509.302(2)(3) and deposited
204	into the trust fund must be used solely for the purpose of
205	funding the Hospitality Education Program, except for any trust
206	fund service charge imposed by s. 215.20, and may not be used to
207	pay for any expense of the division not directly attributable to
208	the Hospitality Education Program. These funds may not be
209	deposited or transferred into any other trust fund administered
210	by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation or any
211	of its divisions. For audit purposes, fees collected under s.
212	509.302(2)(3) and all charges against those fees must be
213	maintained by the department as a separate ledger.
214	Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.