Florida Senate - 2010 SB 2032
By Senator Detert
23-01436C-10 20102032__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to state and federal relations;
3 amending s. 14.23, F.S.; revising legislative intent;
4 providing for the Chief Financial Officer, the
5 Governor’s Office of Federal Revenue Maximization, and
6 the Legislative Committee on Intergovernmental
7 Relations to have direct access to the staff of the
8 Office of State-Federal Relations; requiring the
9 Office of State-Federal Relations to cooperate with
10 the Chief Financial Officer, the Governor’s Office of
11 Federal Revenue Maximization, the Legislature, and the
12 Legislative Committee on Intergovernmental Relations;
13 requiring that the Office of State-Federal Relations
14 submit an annual report to the Governor and
15 Legislature; amending s. 216.212, F.S.; creating the
16 Office of Federal Revenue Maximization within the
17 Governor’s Office of Policy and Budget; requiring that
18 the office respond to federal grant opportunities and
19 coordinate the use of federal funds in the state;
20 revising duties of executive branch offices and
21 procedures for state agencies with respect to requests
22 for and the receipt of federal funds; requiring that
23 the Office of Federal Revenue Maximization prepare an
24 annual report on its activities during the preceding
25 calendar year; amending s. 403.061, F.S.; eliminating
26 certain duties of the Department of Environmental
27 Protection with respect to its review of applications
28 for federal grants and the operation of the Florida
29 State Clearinghouse; amending s. 427.013, F.S.;
30 conforming a cross-reference; providing an effective
31 date.
32
33 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
34
35 Section 1. Section 14.23, Florida Statutes, is amended to
36 read:
37 14.23 State-Federal relations.—
38 (1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.—It is the intent of the Legislature
39 to establish mechanisms through which the legislative and
40 executive branches of state government can work together in a
41 cooperative alliance, to strengthen the state’s relationship
42 with our Congressional Delegation and with federal executive
43 branch agencies, to improve our position in relation to federal
44 legislative initiatives which have a fiscal impact or
45 substantive policy impact on the state, and to establish and
46 maintain a viable network and communications structure to
47 facilitate the transmittal of essential information between
48 executive and legislative branch state officials and
49 congressional and federal officials, and to take all necessary
50 steps to maximize the receipt of various federal funds by the
51 State of Florida. Florida’s Congressional Delegation is, in this
52 regard, the most important linkage in representing Florida’s
53 interests in the nation’s capital. Therefore, the mechanisms and
54 resources created herein, for the furtherance of the state’s
55 intergovernmental efforts, shall include the Congressional
56 Delegation and be available to meet its needs.
57 (2) CREATION OF THE OFFICE OF STATE-FEDERAL RELATIONS.—
58 (a) There is created, within the Executive Office of the
59 Governor, the Office of State-Federal Relations for the State of
60 Florida, hereinafter referred to as the “office,” to be located
61 in Washington, D.C. The office shall represent both the
62 legislative and executive branches of state government. The
63 Chief Financial Officer, the Governor’s Office of Federal
64 Revenue Maximization, as authorized by s. 216.212, the
65 Legislature, and the Legislative Committee on Intergovernmental
66 Relations shall have direct access to the staff of the office.
67 (b) The duties of the office shall be determined by the
68 Governor, in consultation with the President of the Senate and
69 the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and shall include,
70 but not be limited to, the following:
71 1. To provide legislative and administrative liaison
72 between executive and legislative branch state officials and
73 federal officials and agencies and with Congress.
74 2. To provide grants assistance and advice to state
75 agencies.
76 3. To assist in the development and implementation of
77 strategies for the evaluation and management of the state’s
78 federal legislative program and intergovernmental efforts.
79 4. To facilitate the activities of Florida officials
80 traveling to Washington, D.C., in the performance of their
81 official duties.
82 (c) The head of the office shall be the director, who shall
83 be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Governor.
84 (3) COOPERATION AND COORDINATION.—For the purpose of
85 centralizing the state-federal relations efforts of the state,
86 state agencies and their representatives shall cooperate and
87 coordinate their state-federal efforts and activities with the
88 office. The office shall cooperate with the Chief Financial
89 Officer, the Governor’s Office of Federal Revenue Maximization,
90 the Legislature, and the Legislative Committee on
91 Intergovernmental Relations. State agencies which have
92 representatives headquartered in Washington, D.C., are
93 encouraged to station their representatives in the office.
94 (4) ANNUAL REPORT.—The office shall transmit to the
95 Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House
96 of Representatives, and the executive director of the
97 Legislative Committee on Intergovernmental Relations by February
98 1 of each year a report on its activities to cooperate,
99 coordinate, and satisfy the duties specified in subsections (2)
100 and (3) during the preceding calendar year.
101 (5)(4)(a) NOMINATIONS TO FEDERAL REGIONAL FISHERIES
102 MANAGEMENT COUNCILS.—The Governor is prohibited from nominating
103 for appointment to any one of the federal fisheries management
104 councils established under 16 U.S.C. ss. 1801 et seq., as
105 amended, the name of any person who is, or who has been at any
106 time during the 24 months preceding such nomination, a lobbyist
107 for any entity of any kind whatsoever whose interests are or
108 could be affected by actions or decisions of such fisheries
109 management councils.
110 (b) For purposes of this section, the term “lobbyist” means
111 any natural person who is required to register pursuant to s.
112 11.045 or the equivalent federal statute and who, for
113 compensation, seeks, or sought during the preceding 24 months,
114 to influence the governmental decisionmaking of a reporting
115 individual or procurement employee, as those terms are defined
116 under s. 112.3148, or his or her agency, to encourage the
117 passage, defeat, or modification of any proposal or
118 recommendation by such reporting individual or procurement
119 employee or his or her agency.
120 Section 2. Section 216.212, Florida Statutes, is amended to
121 read:
122 216.212 Office of Federal Revenue Maximization; budgets for
123 federal funds; restrictions on expenditure of federal funds.—
124 (1) The Office of Federal Revenue Maximization is created
125 within the Office of Policy and Budget in the Executive Office
126 of the Governor. The Office of Federal Revenue Maximization
127 shall develop the capacity to respond to federal grant
128 opportunities and coordinate the use of federal funds in the
129 state with the Chief Financial Officer, the Governor’s Office of
130 State-Federal Relations, as authorized by s. 14.23, the
131 judiciary, the Legislature, and the Legislative Committee on
132 Intergovernmental Relations.
133 (2)(1) The Office of Federal Revenue Maximization Executive
134 Office of the Governor and the office of the Chief Financial
135 Officer shall develop and implement procedures for accelerating
136 the drawdown of, and minimizing the payment of interest on,
137 federal funds. The Executive Office of the Governor shall
138 establish a clearinghouse for federal programs and activities.
139 The clearinghouse shall develop the capacity to respond to
140 federal grant opportunities and to coordinate the use of federal
141 funds in the state.
142 (a) Every state agency, when making a request or preparing
143 a budget to be submitted to the Federal Government for funds,
144 equipment, material, or services, shall submit such request or
145 budget to the Office of Federal Revenue Maximization Executive
146 Office of the Governor for review and approval before submitting
147 it to the proper federal authority. However, the Office of
148 Federal Revenue Maximization Executive Office of the Governor
149 may specifically authorize any agency to submit specific types
150 of grant proposals directly to the Federal Government.
151 (b) Every office or court of the judicial branch, when
152 making a request or preparing a budget to be submitted to the
153 Federal Government for funds, equipment, material, or services,
154 shall submit such request or budget to the Chief Justice of the
155 Supreme Court for approval before submitting it to the proper
156 federal authority. However, the Chief Justice may specifically
157 authorize any court to submit specific types of grant proposals
158 directly to the Federal Government. A copy of each request,
159 budget, or grant proposal submitted to the Federal Government
160 must be provided to the Office of Federal Revenue Maximization.
161 (3)(2) When such federal authority has approved the request
162 or budget, the state agency or the judicial branch shall submit
163 to the Office of Federal Revenue Maximization Executive Office
164 of the Governor such documentation showing approval as that
165 office prescribes. The Office of Federal Revenue Maximization
166 Executive Office of the Governor must acknowledge each approved
167 request or budget by entering that approval into an Automated
168 Grant Management System developed in consultation with the
169 chairs of the House of Representatives and Senate appropriations
170 committees.
171 (4)(3) Federal money appropriated by Congress or received
172 from court settlements to be used for state purposes, whether by
173 itself or in conjunction with moneys appropriated by the
174 Legislature, may not be expended unless appropriated by the
175 Legislature. However, the Office of Federal Revenue Maximization
176 within the Executive Office of the Governor or the Chief Justice
177 of the Supreme Court may, after consultation with the
178 legislative appropriations committees, approve the receipt and
179 expenditure of funds from federal sources by state agencies or
180 by the judicial branch. Any federal programs requiring state
181 matching funds which funds were eliminated, or were requested
182 and were not approved, by the Legislature may not be implemented
183 during the interim. However, federal and other fund sources for
184 the State University System which do not carry a continuing
185 commitment on future appropriations are hereby appropriated for
186 the purpose received.
187 (5) The Office of Federal Revenue Maximization shall
188 transmit to the Governor, the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief
189 Justice of the Supreme Court, the President of the Senate, the
190 Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the executive
191 director of the Legislative Committee on Intergovernmental
192 Relations by February 1 of each year a report that details the
193 office’s efforts during the preceding calendar year to respond
194 to federal grant opportunities; coordinate the use of federal
195 funds in the state; and accelerate the drawdown of, and minimize
196 the payment of interest on, federal funds.
197 Section 3. Subsection (40) of section 403.061, Florida
198 Statutes, is amended to read:
199 403.061 Department; powers and duties.—The department shall
200 have the power and the duty to control and prohibit pollution of
201 air and water in accordance with the law and rules adopted and
202 promulgated by it and, for this purpose, to:
203 (40) Serve as the state’s single point of contact for
204 performing the responsibilities described in Presidential
205 Executive Order 12372, including administration and operation of
206 the Florida State Clearinghouse. The Florida State Clearinghouse
207 shall Be responsible for coordinating interagency reviews of the
208 following: federal activities and actions subject to the federal
209 consistency requirements of s. 307 of the Coastal Zone
210 Management Act and; documents prepared pursuant to the National
211 Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. ss. 4321 et seq., and the
212 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. ss. 1331 et seq.;
213 applications for federal funding pursuant to s. 216.212; and
214 other notices and information regarding federal activities in
215 the state, as appropriate. The Florida State Clearinghouse shall
216 ensure that state agency comments and recommendations on the
217 environmental, social, and economic impact of proposed federal
218 actions are communicated to federal agencies, applicants, local
219 governments, and interested parties.
220
221 The department shall implement such programs in conjunction with
222 its other powers and duties and shall place special emphasis on
223 reducing and eliminating contamination that presents a threat to
224 humans, animals or plants, or to the environment.
225 Section 4. Subsection (17) of section 427.013, Florida
226 Statutes, is amended to read:
227 427.013 The Commission for the Transportation
228 Disadvantaged; purpose and responsibilities.—The purpose of the
229 commission is to accomplish the coordination of transportation
230 services provided to the transportation disadvantaged. The goal
231 of this coordination is to assure the cost-effective provision
232 of transportation by qualified community transportation
233 coordinators or transportation operators for the transportation
234 disadvantaged without any bias or presumption in favor of
235 multioperator systems or not-for-profit transportation operators
236 over single operator systems or for-profit transportation
237 operators. In carrying out this purpose, the commission shall:
238 (17) Review, monitor, and coordinate all transportation
239 disadvantaged local government, state, and federal fund requests
240 and plans for conformance with commission policy, without
241 delaying the application process. Such funds shall be available
242 only to those entities participating in an approved coordinated
243 transportation system or entities which have received a
244 commission-approved waiver to obtain all or part of their
245 transportation through another means. This process shall
246 identify procedures for coordinating with the state’s
247 intergovernmental coordination and review procedures and s.
248 216.212(1) and any other appropriate grant review process.
249 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.