Florida Senate - 2011                                    SB 1148
       
       
       
       By Senator Dean
       
       
       
       
       3-01562-11                                            20111148__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to operating grants for public
    3         libraries; amending s. 257.17, F.S.; authorizing the
    4         Department of State to waive certain operating-grant
    5         eligibility requirements for a specified period of
    6         time for a library administrative unit located in a
    7         rural area of critical economic concern; providing an
    8         effective date.
    9  
   10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   11  
   12         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
   13  257.17, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   14         257.17 Operating grants.—A political subdivision that has
   15  been designated by a county or municipality as the single
   16  library administrative unit is eligible to receive from the
   17  state an annual operating grant of not more than 25 percent of
   18  all local funds expended by that political subdivision during
   19  the second preceding fiscal year for the operation and
   20  maintenance of a library, under the following conditions:
   21         (2) The library established or maintained by such political
   22  subdivision shall:
   23         (a) Be operated under a single administrative head who is
   24  an employee of the single library administrative unit and who
   25  has completed a library education program accredited by the
   26  American Library Association. The single administrative head
   27  shall have at least 2 years of full-time paid professional
   28  experience, after completing the library education program, in a
   29  public library that is open to the public for a minimum of 40
   30  hours per week. The department may waive the requirements of
   31  this paragraph for a period not to exceed 4 years on behalf of a
   32  single library administrative unit in a county or municipality
   33  that is designated as a rural area of critical economic concern
   34  pursuant to s. 288.0656 and is unable to employ an
   35  administrative head who meets the requirements of this
   36  paragraph.
   37         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.