Florida Senate - 2010 CS for SB 1986
By the Committee on Transportation; and Senator Ring
596-04351-10 20101986c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to license plates; amending ss.
3 320.08056 and 320.08058, F.S.; revising authorized
4 uses of revenue received from the sale of the Sea
5 Turtle license plate; creating the Go Green license
6 plate, the Preserving the Past license plate, and the
7 Peace license plate; establishing annual use fees for
8 the plates; providing for the distribution of use fees
9 received from the sale of the plates; providing an
10 effective date.
11
12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
13
14 Section 1. Paragraphs (rrr), (sss), and (ttt) are added to
15 subsection (4) of section 320.08056, Florida Statutes, to read:
16 320.08056 Specialty license plates.—
17 (4) The following license plate annual use fees shall be
18 collected for the appropriate specialty license plates:
19 (rrr) Go Green license plate, $25.
20 (sss) Preserving the Past license plate, $25.
21 (ttt) Peace license plate, $25.
22 Section 2. Subsection (18) of section 320.08058, Florida
23 Statutes, is amended, and subsections (70), (71), and (72) are
24 added to that section, to read:
25 320.08058 Specialty license plates.—
26 (18) SEA TURTLE LICENSE PLATES.—
27 (a) The department shall develop a Sea Turtle license plate
28 as provided in this section. The word “Florida” must appear at
29 the top of the plate, the words “Helping Sea Turtles Survive”
30 must appear at the bottom of the plate, and the image of a sea
31 turtle must appear in the center of the plate.
32 (b) The first $500,000 of annual use fees shall be
33 deposited in the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund in the
34 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and shall be used by
35 the Florida Marine Turtle Protection Program to conduct sea
36 turtle protection, research, and recovery programs. The next
37 $215,000 in annual use fees shall be distributed to the
38 Caribbean Conservation Corporation to fund sea turtle research
39 and education programs. The Caribbean Conservation Corporation
40 shall annually distribute assigned funds through a Sea Turtle
41 Grants Program that supports sea turtle research and education
42 activities of Florida-based nonprofit groups, education and
43 research institutions, and coastal counties in this state. The
44 Caribbean Conservation Corporation shall write and publish
45 procedures for submitting grant applications and criteria for
46 allocating available funds, and shall appoint a technical
47 advisory committee, composed of at least five members, including
48 two representatives from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
49 Commission, to establish funding priorities and select grant
50 recipients from proposals submitted by eligible entities. Two of
51 the members shall be selected from the Fish and Wildlife
52 Conservation Commission; one member shall be selected on a
53 rotating biennial basis from a county bordering on the Atlantic
54 Coast with sea turtle nesting sites; one member shall be
55 selected on a rotating biennial basis from a county bordering on
56 the Gulf Coast with sea turtle nesting sites; one member shall
57 be the executive director of the Caribbean Conservation
58 Corporation; and two members shall be selected at large. Any
59 additional annual revenue shall be distributed as follows: 70
60 percent shall be deposited in the Marine Resources Conservation
61 Trust Fund and used by the Florida Marine Turtle Protection
62 Program for sea turtle conservation activities and 30 percent
63 shall be assigned to the Caribbean Conservation Corporation for
64 distribution through the Sea Turtle Grants Program. From the
65 funds distributed to the Caribbean Conservation Corporation, an
66 amount not to exceed 10 percent of annual turtle tag revenue may
67 be used for marketing the Sea Turtle license plate and for
68 administrative costs directly associated with the grants
69 program. A maximum of 15 percent of the funds distributed to the
70 Caribbean Conservation Corporation may be expended for
71 administrative costs directly associated with the grants
72 program, and a maximum of 10 percent may be used to promote and
73 market the Sea Turtle license plate. Funds received by the
74 Caribbean Conservation Corporation from the Sea Turtle license
75 plate or the Sea Turtle Grants Program and funds received by any
76 grant recipient of the Sea Turtle Grants Program may not be used
77 for litigation.
78 (70) GO GREEN LICENSE PLATES.—
79 (a) The department shall develop a Go Green license plate
80 as provided in this section. The plates must bear the colors and
81 design approved by the department. The word “Florida” must
82 appear at the top of the plate, and the words “Go Green” must
83 appear at the bottom of the plate.
84 (b) The annual use fees shall be distributed to the
85 Coalition for Renewable Energy Solutions, Inc., which shall
86 administer the fees as follows:
87 1. The coalition may retain all revenue from the annual use
88 fees until all startup costs for developing and establishing the
89 plate have been recovered. Thereafter, up to 10 percent of the
90 annual use fees may be used for administrative costs directly
91 associated with the operation of the coalition and promotion and
92 marketing of the plate.
93 2. Any remaining funds shall be used by the coalition to
94 fund programs and projects that publicize renewable energy
95 solutions and encourage a cleaner and safer environmental
96 future, as follows:
97 a. Up to 40 percent to fund the “Go Green Florida” Grants
98 and Awards Program, including monetary grants and recognition
99 awards to public and private persons and organizations and to
100 subsidize efforts to reduce energy consumption and raise
101 awareness of alternative energy-efficiency practices.
102 b. Up to 25 percent to fund education and outreach programs
103 that publicize renewable energy solutions for households and
104 businesses and educate home and business owners about the
105 environmental and financial benefits of innovative green
106 technologies and practices.
107 c. Up to 25 percent to fund educational programs and
108 materials that emphasize sustainable development practices,
109 including recycling, energy efficiency and consumption, and
110 other green practices.
111 (71) PRESERVING THE PAST LICENSE PLATES.—
112 (a) The department shall develop a Preserving the Past
113 license plate as provided in this section. The plate must bear
114 the colors and design approved by the department. The word
115 “Florida” must appear at the top of the plate, and the words
116 “Preserving the Past” must appear at the bottom of the plate.
117 (b) The annual use fees shall be distributed to the Toomey
118 Foundation for the Natural Sciences, Inc., which shall retain 50
119 percent of the proceeds until the startup costs to develop and
120 establish the plates have been recovered. Thereafter, the
121 proceeds shall be used as follows:
122 1. A maximum of 25 percent of the proceeds may be used to
123 fund the administrative, promotion, and marketing costs of the
124 license plate program and the foundation.
125 2. The remaining fees shall be used by the foundation to
126 acquire, manage, and preserve properties that are of scientific
127 importance to paleontologists, archeologists, or geologists for
128 the purposes of research and education, and to promote and
129 protect the unique natural sciences of this state.
130 (72) PEACE LICENSE PLATES.—
131 (a) The department shall develop a Peace license plate as
132 provided in this section. The plate must bear the colors and
133 design approved by the department. The word “Florida” must
134 appear at the top of the plate and the words “Sunshine State”
135 must appear at the bottom of the plate.
136 (b) The annual use fees shall be distributed to the Toomey
137 Foundation for the Natural Sciences, Inc., which shall retain 50
138 percent of the proceeds until the startup costs to develop and
139 establish the plates have been recovered. Thereafter, the
140 proceeds shall be used as follows:
141 1. A maximum of 25 percent of the proceeds may be used to
142 fund the administrative, promotion, and marketing costs of the
143 license plate program and the foundation.
144 2. The remaining fees shall be used by the foundation to
145 support educational, research, and scientific activities in this
146 state, including the distribution of funds to qualified entities
147 in furtherance of the stated purposes of the foundation.
148 Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2010.