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A bill to be entitled

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An act relating to the Comprehensive Statewide Tobacco

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Education and Use Prevention Program; amending s. 381.84,

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F.S.; deleting a provision limiting to specified fiscal

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years the applicability of requirements that the area

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health education center network expand the AHEC smoking-

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cessation initiative to each county within the state and

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perform certain other activities; deleting a provision

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limiting to specified fiscal years the applicability of a

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requirement that the Department of Health award a contract

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or grant to the AHEC network for certain purposes;

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revising the annual appropriation for the AHEC network;

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deleting a provision authorizing the network to apply for

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a competitive contract or grant after a specified fiscal

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year; providing an effective date.

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

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     Section 1.  Paragraph (i) of subsection (3) and subsection

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(6) of section 381.84, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

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     381.84  Comprehensive Statewide Tobacco Education and Use

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Prevention Program.--

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     (3)  PROGRAM COMPONENTS AND REQUIREMENTS.--The department

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shall conduct a comprehensive, statewide tobacco education and

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use prevention program consistent with the recommendations for

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effective program components contained in the 1999 Best Practices

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for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs of the CDC, as amended

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by the CDC. The program shall include the following components,

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each of which shall focus on educating people, particularly youth

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and their parents, about the health hazards of tobacco and

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discouraging the use of tobacco:

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     (i) AHEC smoking-cessation initiative.--For the 2007-2008

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and 2008-2009 fiscal years only, The AHEC network shall expand

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the AHEC smoking-cessation initiative to each county within the

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state and perform other activities as determined by the

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department.

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     (6)  CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS.--Contracts or grants for the

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program components or subcomponents described in paragraphs

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(3)(a)-(f) shall be awarded by the State Surgeon General, after

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consultation with the council, on the basis of merit, as

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determined by an open, competitive, peer-reviewed process that

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ensures objectivity, consistency, and high quality. The

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department shall award such grants or contracts no later than

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October 1 for each fiscal year. A recipient of a contract or

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grant for the program component described in paragraph (3)(c) is

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not eligible for a contract or grant award for any other program

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component described in subsection (3) in the same state fiscal

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year. A school or college of medicine that is represented on the

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council is not eligible to receive a contract or grant under this

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section. For the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 fiscal years only, The

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department shall award a contract or grant in the amount of $11

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$10 million to the AHEC network for the purpose of developing the

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components described in paragraph (3)(i). The AHEC network may

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apply for a competitive contract or grant after the 2008-2009

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fiscal year.

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     (a)  In order to ensure that all proposals for funding are

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appropriate and are evaluated fairly on the basis of merit, the

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State Surgeon General, in consultation with the council, shall

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appoint a peer review panel of independent, qualified experts in

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the field of tobacco control to review the content of each

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proposal and establish its priority score. The priority scores

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shall be forwarded to the council and must be considered in

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determining which proposals will be recommended for funding.

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     (b)  The council and the peer review panel shall establish

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and follow rigorous guidelines for ethical conduct and adhere to

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a strict policy with regard to conflicts of interest. A member of

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the council or panel may not participate in any discussion or

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decision with respect to a research proposal by any firm, entity,

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or agency with which the member is associated as a member of the

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governing body or as an employee or with which the member has

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entered into a contractual arrangement. Meetings of the council

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and the peer review panels are subject to chapter 119, s.

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286.011, and s. 24, Art. I of the State Constitution.

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     (c)  In each contract or grant agreement, the department

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shall limit the use of food and promotional items to no more than

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2.5 percent of the total amount of the contract or grant and

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limit overhead or indirect costs to no more than 7.5 percent of

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the total amount of the contract or grant. The department, in

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consultation with the Department of Financial Services, shall

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publish guidelines for appropriate food and promotional items.

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     (d)  In each advertising contract, the department shall

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limit the total of production fees, buyer commissions, and

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related costs to no more than 10 percent of the total contract

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amount.

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     (e)  Notwithstanding the competitive process for contracts

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prescribed in this subsection, each county health department is

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eligible for core funding, on a per capita basis, to implement

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tobacco education and use prevention activities within that

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county.

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     Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.