SB 1398 First Engrossed 20091398e1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to specialty license plates; amending 3 ss. 320.08056 and 320.08058, F.S.; creating a 4 Fraternal Order of Police license plate and an Autism 5 license plate; establishing an annual use fee for the 6 plates; providing for the distribution of use fees 7 received from the sale of such plates; providing an 8 effective date. 9 10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 11 12 Section 1. Paragraphs (qqq) and (rrr) are added to 13 subsection (4) of section 320.08056, Florida Statutes, to read: 14 320.08056 Specialty license plates.— 15 (4) The following license plate annual use fees shall be 16 collected for the appropriate specialty license plates: 17 (qqq) Fraternal Order of Police license plate, $25. 18 (rrr) Autism license plate, $25. 19 Section 2. Subsections (69) and (70) are added to section 20 320.08058, Florida Statutes, to read: 21 320.08058 Specialty license plates.— 22 (69) FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE LICENSE PLATES.— 23 (a)1. The department shall develop a Fraternal Order of 24 Police license plate as provided in this section. The plate must 25 bear the colors and design approved by the department. The word 26 “Florida” must appear at the top of the plate and the words 27 “Fraternal Order of Police” must appear at the bottom of the 28 plate. 29 2. The department may issue the plate only to an applicant 30 who submits a notarized letter from the Florida State Lodge of 31 the Fraternal Order of Police stating that the applicant is a 32 member of the lodge in good standing or a member of a lodge 33 member’s family, together with other fees and documents required 34 for a specialty plate. 35 (b) The annual use fees shall be distributed to the Florida 36 State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, which shall retain 37 all proceeds until the startup costs to develop and establish 38 the plate have been recovered. Thereafter, the proceeds shall be 39 distributed to the Florida State Lodge Memorial Foundation of 40 the Fraternal Order of Police and used as follows: 41 1. A maximum of 25 percent of the proceeds may be used to 42 promote and market the plate, to administer the license plate 43 program, and to pay administrative costs directly associated 44 with the state Fraternal Order of Police Law Enforcement 45 Memorial. 46 2. The remaining fees shall be used by the foundation to 47 fund projects, programs, or events related to the memorial or to 48 fund improvements, maintenance, or other support for the 49 memorial. 50 (70) AUTISM LICENSE PLATES.— 51 (a) The department shall develop an Autism license plate as 52 provided in this section. Autism license plates must bear the 53 colors and design approved by the department. The word “Florida” 54 must appear at the top of the plate, and the words “Support 55 Autism Programs” must appear at the bottom of the plate. 56 (b) The proceeds from the license plate annual use fee 57 shall be distributed to Achievement and Rehabilitation Centers, 58 Inc., to fund service programs for autism and related 59 disabilities throughout the state and to operate and establish 60 programs to support individuals with autism and related 61 disabilities through direct services, evaluation, training, and 62 awareness. Achievement and Rehabilitation Centers, Inc., shall 63 establish an Autism Services Grant Council whose membership 64 shall be drawn from among stakeholders throughout the state who 65 represent the interests of individuals with autism and related 66 disabilities. The grant council shall provide grants from 67 available Autism license plate proceeds to nonprofit 68 organizations throughout the state to establish or operate 69 direct services and programs for individuals with autism and 70 related disabilities and their families or to market the Autism 71 license plate. Consideration for participation in such services 72 and programs shall be given to applicants who are children or 73 adults with autism and related disabilities and their families 74 and shall include those who are on the Agency for Persons with 75 Disabilities waiting lists for services. Achievement and 76 Rehabilitation Centers, Inc., shall also establish an Autism 77 License Plate Fund. Moneys in the fund shall be used by the 78 grant council as provided in this paragraph. All funds received 79 under this subsection must be used in this state. 80 (c) Achievement and Rehabilitation Centers, Inc., may 81 retain all proceeds from the annual use fee up to $85,000 until 82 all documented startup costs for developing and establishing the 83 plate have been recovered. Thereafter, the proceeds from the 84 annual use fee shall be used as follows: 85 1. Achievement and Rehabilitation Centers, Inc., may use up 86 to 10 percent of the proceeds from the annual use fee for all 87 administrative costs associated with the operation of the Autism 88 Services Grant Council, the Autism License Plate Fund, and the 89 programs established and operated as provided in subparagraph 90 2., including the costs of an annual audit or compliance 91 affidavit. 92 2. Achievement and Rehabilitation Centers, Inc., may use up 93 to 25 percent of the proceeds from the annual use fee to 94 establish and operate programs statewide to support individuals 95 with autism and related disabilities and their families through 96 direct services, evaluation, and training. 97 3. Achievement and Rehabilitation Centers, Inc., shall 98 disburse 15 percent of the proceeds from the annual use fee to 99 the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities at the University 100 of Miami for distribution to the seven regional autism centers 101 created under s. 1004.55. To the extent possible, the director 102 of the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities at the 103 University of Miami shall distribute funds proportionately among 104 the regional centers. The regional centers shall use the funds 105 to support the services they provide. 106 4. Achievement and Rehabilitation Centers, Inc., shall 107 disburse 50 percent of the proceeds from the annual use fee to 108 the Autism Services Grant Council, which shall provide grants to 109 nonprofit organizations throughout the state to establish or 110 operate direct services and programs for individuals with autism 111 and related disabilities and their families or to market the 112 Autism license plate. 113 114 All grant recipients, the Achievement and Rehabilitation 115 Centers, Inc., and the Center for Autism and Related 116 Disabilities at the University of Miami shall provide to the 117 Autism Services Grant Council an annual program and financial 118 report regarding the use of the proceeds from the annual use 119 fee. The report shall be made available to the public. 120 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.