| 1 | Representatives Precourt, Traviesa, Coley, and Cannon offered |
| 2 | the following: |
| 3 |
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| 4 | Amendment to Senate Amendment (202094) (with title |
| 5 | amendment) |
| 6 | Between lines 71 and 72, insert: |
| 7 | Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 1005.32, Florida |
| 8 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 9 | 1005.32 Licensure by means of accreditation.-- |
| 10 | (1) An independent postsecondary educational institution |
| 11 | that meets the following criteria may apply for a license by |
| 12 | means of accreditation from the commission: |
| 13 | (a) The institution has operated legally in this state for |
| 14 | at least 5 consecutive years. |
| 15 | (b) The institution holds institutional accreditation by |
| 16 | an accrediting agency evaluated and approved by the commission |
| 17 | as having standards substantially equivalent to the commission's |
| 18 | licensure standards. |
| 19 | (c) The institution has no unresolved complaints or |
| 20 | actions in the past 12 months. |
| 21 | (d) The institution meets minimum requirements for |
| 22 | financial responsibility as determined by the commission. |
| 23 | (e) The institution is a Florida corporation. |
| 24 | Section 3. Subsection (7) of section 1007.24, Florida |
| 25 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 26 | 1007.24 Statewide course numbering system.-- |
| 27 | (7) Any student who transfers among postsecondary |
| 28 | institutions that are fully accredited by a regional or national |
| 29 | accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of |
| 30 | Education and that participate in the statewide course numbering |
| 31 | system shall be awarded credit by the receiving institution for |
| 32 | courses satisfactorily completed by the student at the previous |
| 33 | institutions. Credit shall be awarded if the courses are judged |
| 34 | by the appropriate statewide course numbering system faculty |
| 35 | committees representing school districts, public postsecondary |
| 36 | educational institutions, and participating nonpublic |
| 37 | postsecondary educational institutions to be academically |
| 38 | equivalent to courses offered at the receiving institution, |
| 39 | including equivalency of faculty credentials, regardless of the |
| 40 | United States Department of Education recognized accrediting |
| 41 | agency and public or nonpublic control of the previous |
| 42 | institution. The Department of Education shall ensure that |
| 43 | credits to be accepted by a receiving institution are generated |
| 44 | in courses for which the faculty possess credentials that are |
| 45 | comparable to those required by the accrediting association of |
| 46 | the receiving institution. The award of credit may be limited to |
| 47 | courses that are entered in the statewide course numbering |
| 48 | system. Credits awarded pursuant to this subsection shall |
| 49 | satisfy institutional requirements on the same basis as credits |
| 50 | awarded to native students. |
| 51 | Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 1009.265, Florida |
| 52 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 53 | 1009.265 State employee fee waivers.-- |
| 54 | (1) As a benefit to the employer and employees of the |
| 55 | state, subject to approval by an employee's agency head or the |
| 56 | equivalent, each state university and community college shall |
| 57 | waive tuition and fees for state employees to enroll for up to 6 |
| 58 | credit hours of courses, including distance learning or online |
| 59 | courses, per term on a space-available basis. The employee must |
| 60 | have the approval of his or her supervisor to use the waiver to |
| 61 | take a course or courses during normal work hours. For purposes |
| 62 | of implementing this section, the space available in a course is |
| 63 | to be determined based on the number of seats or capacity |
| 64 | remaining in the course at the end of the drop-add period. State |
| 65 | employee fee waivers may not be used for dissertation, thesis, |
| 66 | directed individual study (DIS), or other one-to-one |
| 67 | instruction. |
| 68 | Section 5. Section 196.192, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 69 | to read: |
| 70 | 196.192 Exemptions from ad valorem taxation.--Subject to |
| 71 | the provisions of this chapter: |
| 72 | (1) All property owned by an exempt entity, including |
| 73 | educational institutions, and used exclusively for exempt |
| 74 | purposes shall be totally exempt from ad valorem taxation. |
| 75 | (2) All property owned by an exempt entity, including |
| 76 | educational institutions, and used predominantly for exempt |
| 77 | purposes shall be exempted from ad valorem taxation to the |
| 78 | extent of the ratio that such predominant use bears to the |
| 79 | nonexempt use. |
| 80 | (3) All tangible personal property loaned or leased by a |
| 81 | natural person, by a trust holding property for a natural |
| 82 | person, or by an exempt entity to an exempt entity for public |
| 83 | display or exhibition on a recurrent schedule is exempt from ad |
| 84 | valorem taxation if the property is loaned or leased for no |
| 85 | consideration or for nominal consideration. |
| 86 |
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| 87 | For purposes of this section, each use to which the property is |
| 88 | being put must be considered in granting an exemption from ad |
| 89 | valorem taxation, including any economic use in addition to any |
| 90 | physical use. For purposes of this section, property owned by a |
| 91 | limited liability company, the sole member of which is an exempt |
| 92 | entity, shall be treated as if the property were owned directly |
| 93 | by the exempt entity. This section does not apply in determining |
| 94 | the exemption for property owned by governmental units pursuant |
| 95 | to s. 196.199. |
| 96 |
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| 97 | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| 98 | T I T L E A M E N D M E N T |
| 99 | Remove lines 79-89 and insert: |
| 100 | An act relating to postsecondary education; amending s. 1009.24, |
| 101 | F.S.; revising requirements for the Board of Governors in |
| 102 | establishing tuition and out-of-state fees for graduate and |
| 103 | professional programs; revising requirements for the Board of |
| 104 | Governors in establishing a uniform maximum undergraduate |
| 105 | tuition differential for universities that have research and |
| 106 | development expenditures of a specified amount; allowing the |
| 107 | university board of trustees to maintain the differential unless |
| 108 | otherwise directed by the Board of Governors; amending s. |
| 109 | 1005.32, F.S.; revising requirements for application for |
| 110 | licensure by accreditation by an independent postsecondary |
| 111 | educational institution; amending s. 1007.24, F.S.; revising |
| 112 | provisions regarding determination of equivalency of courses; |
| 113 | amending s. 1009.265, F.S.; revising conditions for the use of |
| 114 | state employee fee waivers; amending s. 196.192, F.S.; |
| 115 | specifying educational institutions as exempt entities for |
| 116 | purposes of exemptions from ad valorem taxation for property |
| 117 | owned by exempt entities; providing an effective date. |