Florida Senate - 2010                             CS for SB 2482
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Commerce; and Senators Gelber, Rich, Detert,
       Garcia, Crist, Oelrich, Sobel, Justice, and Smith
       
       
       
       577-03107A-10                                         20102482c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the workforce; requiring that job
    3         orders placed with the state’s job bank system for the
    4         purpose of hiring certain nonagricultural workers
    5         under a federal temporary visa program remain active
    6         for a specified period; requiring a job order to be
    7         posted within the area of intended employment;
    8         requiring that construction contracts funded by state
    9         funds contain a provision requiring the contractor to
   10         give preference to the employment of Florida residents
   11         if they have substantially equal qualifications as
   12         nonresidents; defining the term “substantially equal
   13         qualifications”; providing for severability; providing
   14         an effective date.
   15  
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Job orders placed in connection with application
   19  for workers under H-2B visa category.—If an employer places a
   20  job order with a regional workforce board pursuant to the
   21  federal certification process for nonagricultural workers under
   22  20 C.F.R. part 655, Subpart A, as amended, or if the employer
   23  posts such a job listing on the state’s job bank system, the job
   24  order must remain active for at least 30 calendar days. Each
   25  employer posting such a job order or a federally required print
   26  advertisement required by 20 C.F.R. part 655, Subpart A, as
   27  amended, must place such advertisement within 30 miles of the
   28  area of intended employment.
   29         Section 2. Preference to Florida residents.—Each contract
   30  for construction which is funded by state funds must contain a
   31  provision requiring the contractor to give preference to the
   32  employment of state residents in the performance of the work on
   33  the project if state residents have substantially equal
   34  qualifications to those of nonresidents. A contract for
   35  construction funded by local funds may contain such a provision.
   36  As used in this section, “substantially equal qualifications”
   37  means the qualifications of two or more persons among whom the
   38  employer cannot make a reasonable determination that the
   39  qualifications held by one person are better suited for the
   40  position than the qualifications held by the other parties. No
   41  contract shall be let to any person refusing to execute an
   42  agreement containing the aforementioned provisions. However, in
   43  work involving the expenditure of federal aid funds, this
   44  section may not be enforced in such a manner as to conflict with
   45  or be contrary to federal law prescribing a labor preference to
   46  honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, and marines, or
   47  prohibiting as unlawful any other preference or discrimination
   48  among the citizens of the United States.
   49         Section 3. If any provision of this act or the application
   50  thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
   51  invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of
   52  the act which can be given effect without the invalid provision
   53  or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are
   54  severable.
   55         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.