| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to license plates; amending ss. 320.08056 |
| 3 | and 320.08058, F.S.; revising authorized uses of revenue |
| 4 | received from the sale of the Sea Turtle license plate; |
| 5 | creating the Go Green license plate and the Let's Go |
| 6 | Surfing license plate; establishing annual use fees for |
| 7 | the plates; providing for the distribution of use fees |
| 8 | received from the sale of the plates; providing an |
| 9 | effective date. |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Section 1. Paragraphs (rrr) and (sss) are added to |
| 14 | subsection (4) of section 320.08056, Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 15 | 320.08056 Specialty license plates.- |
| 16 | (4) The following license plate annual use fees shall be |
| 17 | collected for the appropriate specialty license plates: |
| 18 | (rrr) Go Green license plate, $25. |
| 19 | (sss) Let's Go Surfing license plate, $25. |
| 20 | Section 2. Subsection (18) of section 320.08058, Florida |
| 21 | Statutes, is amended, and subsections (70) and (71) are added to |
| 22 | that section, to read: |
| 23 | 320.08058 Specialty license plates.- |
| 24 | (18) SEA TURTLE LICENSE PLATES.- |
| 25 | (a) The department shall develop a Sea Turtle license |
| 26 | plate as provided in this section. The word "Florida" must |
| 27 | appear at the top of the plate, the words "Helping Sea Turtles |
| 28 | Survive" must appear at the bottom of the plate, and the image |
| 29 | of a sea turtle must appear in the center of the plate. |
| 30 | (b) The first $500,000 of annual use fees shall be |
| 31 | deposited in the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund in the |
| 32 | Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and shall be used by |
| 33 | the Florida Marine Turtle Protection Program to conduct sea |
| 34 | turtle protection, research, and recovery programs. The next |
| 35 | $215,000 in annual use fees shall be distributed to the |
| 36 | Caribbean Conservation Corporation to fund sea turtle research |
| 37 | and education programs. The Caribbean Conservation Corporation |
| 38 | shall annually distribute assigned funds through a Sea Turtle |
| 39 | Grants Program that supports sea turtle research and education |
| 40 | activities of Florida-based nonprofit groups, education and |
| 41 | research institutions, and coastal counties in this state. The |
| 42 | Caribbean Conservation Corporation shall write and publish |
| 43 | procedures for submitting grant applications and criteria for |
| 44 | allocating available funds, and shall appoint a technical |
| 45 | advisory committee, composed of at least five members, including |
| 46 | two representatives from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation |
| 47 | Commission, to establish funding priorities and select grant |
| 48 | recipients from proposals submitted by eligible entities. Two of |
| 49 | the members shall be selected from the Fish and Wildlife |
| 50 | Conservation Commission; one member shall be selected on a |
| 51 | rotating biennial basis from a county bordering on the Atlantic |
| 52 | Coast with sea turtle nesting sites; one member shall be |
| 53 | selected on a rotating biennial basis from a county bordering on |
| 54 | the Gulf Coast with sea turtle nesting sites; one member shall |
| 55 | be the executive director of the Caribbean Conservation |
| 56 | Corporation; and two members shall be selected at large. Any |
| 57 | additional annual revenue shall be distributed as follows: 70 |
| 58 | percent shall be deposited in the Marine Resources Conservation |
| 59 | Trust Fund and used by the Florida Marine Turtle Protection |
| 60 | Program for sea turtle conservation activities and 30 percent |
| 61 | shall be assigned to the Caribbean Conservation Corporation for |
| 62 | distribution through the Sea Turtle Grants Program. From the |
| 63 | funds distributed to the Caribbean Conservation Corporation, an |
| 64 | amount not to exceed 10 percent of the total annual revenue from |
| 65 | the sale of the plate may be used for marketing the Sea Turtle |
| 66 | license plate and for administrative costs directly associated |
| 67 | with the grants program. A maximum of 15 percent of the funds |
| 68 | distributed to the Caribbean Conservation Corporation may be |
| 69 | expended for administrative costs directly associated with the |
| 70 | grants program, and a maximum of 10 percent may be used to |
| 71 | promote and market the Sea Turtle license plate. Funds received |
| 72 | by the Caribbean Conservation Corporation from the Sea Turtle |
| 73 | license plate or the Sea Turtle Grants Program and funds |
| 74 | received by any grant recipient of the Sea Turtle Grants Program |
| 75 | may not be used for litigation. |
| 76 | (70) GO GREEN LICENSE PLATES.- |
| 77 | (a) The department shall develop a Go Green license plate |
| 78 | as provided in this section. Go Green license plates must bear |
| 79 | the colors and design approved by the department. The word |
| 80 | "Florida" must appear at the top of the plate, and the words "Go |
| 81 | Green" must appear at the bottom of the plate. |
| 82 | (b) The annual use fees shall be distributed to the |
| 83 | Coalition for Renewable Energy Solutions, Inc., which shall |
| 84 | administer the fees as follows: |
| 85 | 1. The coalition may retain all revenue from the annual |
| 86 | use fees until all startup costs for developing and establishing |
| 87 | the plate have been recovered. Thereafter, up to 10 percent of |
| 88 | the annual use fees may be used for administrative costs |
| 89 | directly associated with the operation of the coalition and |
| 90 | promotion and marketing of the plate. |
| 91 | 2. Any remaining funds shall be used by the coalition to |
| 92 | fund programs and projects that publicize renewable energy |
| 93 | solutions and encourage a cleaner and safer environmental |
| 94 | future, as follows: |
| 95 | a. Up to 40 percent to fund the "Go Green Florida" Grants |
| 96 | and Awards Program, including monetary grants and recognition |
| 97 | awards to public and private persons and organizations and to |
| 98 | subsidize efforts to reduce energy consumption and raise |
| 99 | awareness of alternative energy-efficiency practices. |
| 100 | b. Up to 25 percent to fund education and outreach |
| 101 | programs that publicize renewable energy solutions for |
| 102 | households and businesses and educate home and business owners |
| 103 | about the environmental and financial benefits of innovative |
| 104 | green technologies and practices. |
| 105 | c. Up to 25 percent to fund educational programs and |
| 106 | materials that emphasize sustainable development practices, |
| 107 | including recycling, energy efficiency and consumption, and |
| 108 | other green practices. |
| 109 | (71) LET'S GO SURFING LICENSE PLATES.- |
| 110 | (a) The department shall develop a Let's Go Surfing |
| 111 | license plate as provided in this section. Let's Go Surfing |
| 112 | license plates must bear the colors and design approved by the |
| 113 | department. The word "Florida" must appear at the top of the |
| 114 | plate, and the words "Let's Go Surfing" must appear at the |
| 115 | bottom of the plate. |
| 116 | (b) The license plate annual use fees shall be distributed |
| 117 | to East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc., to fund |
| 118 | activities, programs, and projects to promote the state's |
| 119 | surfing-related tourism, preserve the state's surfing history |
| 120 | and heritage, preserve the state's surf and shores, and honor |
| 121 | lifeguards who patrol the state's surf and shores to protect |
| 122 | beachgoers, surfers, and others. East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame |
| 123 | and Museum, Inc., may retain all revenue from the annual use |
| 124 | fees until all startup costs for developing and establishing the |
| 125 | plate have been recovered. Thereafter, up to 10 percent of the |
| 126 | annual use fee revenue may be used for administration, |
| 127 | promotion, and marketing of the plate, including costs of the |
| 128 | annual audit and compliance affidavit. |
| 129 | Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2010. |