| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the public broadcasting program system; |
| 3 | amending s. 1001.26, F.S.; including certain stations |
| 4 | licensed by the Federal Communications Commission for |
| 5 | which support and funding may be given; providing an |
| 6 | effective date. |
| 7 |
|
| 8 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 9 |
|
| 10 | Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and paragraph |
| 11 | (c) of subsection (2) of section 1001.26, Florida Statutes, are |
| 12 | amended to read: |
| 13 | 1001.26 Public broadcasting program system.-- |
| 14 | (1) There is created a public broadcasting program system |
| 15 | for the state. The department shall administer this program |
| 16 | system pursuant to rules adopted by the State Board of |
| 17 | Education. This program system must complement and share |
| 18 | resources with the instructional programming service of the |
| 19 | Department of Education and educational UHF, VHF, ITFS, and FM |
| 20 | stations in the state. The program system must include: |
| 21 | (a) Support for existing Corporation for Public |
| 22 | Broadcasting qualified program system educational radio and |
| 23 | television stations and new stations meeting Corporation for |
| 24 | Public Broadcasting qualifications or licensed by the Federal |
| 25 | Communications Commission as full-power, noncommercial |
| 26 | educational broadcast stations and providing a first service to |
| 27 | an audience that does not currently receive a broadcast signal |
| 28 | or providing a significant new program service as defined by |
| 29 | rule by the State Board of Education. |
| 30 | (2) |
| 31 | (c) The department is authorized to provide equipment, |
| 32 | funds, and other services to extend and update both the existing |
| 33 | and the proposed educational television and radio systems of |
| 34 | tax-supported and nonprofit, corporate-owned facilities. All |
| 35 | stations funded must be qualified by the Corporation for Public |
| 36 | Broadcasting or licensed by the Federal Communications |
| 37 | Commission as full-power, noncommercial educational broadcast |
| 38 | stations. New stations eligible for funding shall provide a |
| 39 | first service to an audience that is not currently receiving a |
| 40 | broadcast signal or provide a significant new program service as |
| 41 | defined by State Board of Education rules. Funds appropriated to |
| 42 | the department for educational television and funds appropriated |
| 43 | to the department for educational radio may be used by the |
| 44 | department for either educational television or educational |
| 45 | radio, or for both. |
| 46 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |