Florida Senate - 2014 SB 214
By Senator Thompson
12-00076-14 2014214__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Black Cultural Tourism
3 Enhancement Commission; creating the commission within
4 the Department of State; directing the commission to
5 independently exercise its powers and duties;
6 requiring the department to provide administrative and
7 staff support services to the commission; providing
8 the powers and duties of the commission; providing for
9 the appointment and terms of commission members;
10 providing for the reimbursement of per diem and travel
11 expenses for commission members; authorizing the
12 commission to establish or designate a direct-support
13 organization for specified purposes; providing an
14 effective date.
15
16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18 Section 1. Black Cultural Tourism Enhancement Commission.—
19 (1) There is created the Black Cultural Tourism Enhancement
20 Commission. The commission shall be administratively housed
21 within the Department of State but shall independently exercise
22 the powers and duties specified in this section. The department
23 shall provide administrative and staff support services to the
24 commission.
25 (2) The commission shall:
26 (a) Provide financial and technical assistance to
27 facilities and events that have the potential to expand tourism,
28 create jobs, and stimulate economic development in the state
29 through the marketing of the state’s black cultural sites.
30 (b) Provide training and technical assistance for staff
31 members of the state’s black cultural sites in order to develop
32 tour guides and tour operators for the sites.
33 (c) Provide resources and technical assistance for
34 educators of the state related to the teaching of black history,
35 promote the state’s black cultural sites as historical venues,
36 and support tourism in the state through student tours of the
37 sites.
38 (d) Serve as a resource for the Florida Tourism Industry
39 Marketing Corporation in order to expand cultural tourism in the
40 state.
41 (3)(a) The commission is composed of 13 members who are
42 appointed in the following manner:
43 1. The Governor shall appoint three members, one of whom
44 represents an institution of higher learning, one of whom
45 represents the Florida African-American Heritage Preservation
46 Network, and one of whom represents business and civic interests
47 in the African-American community.
48 2. The President of the Senate shall appoint two members,
49 one of whom is involved in instructional design in a school
50 district or in an institution of higher learning and one of whom
51 is an employee of a museum of African-American history in this
52 state.
53 3. The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall
54 appoint two members, one of whom has a substantial history of
55 community service in the performing or visual arts in the
56 African-American community and one of whom is an employee of a
57 museum of African-American history in this state.
58 4. The Secretary of State shall appoint two members who are
59 directors of museums of African-American history or black
60 archives and research centers in this state.
61 5. The Commissioner of Education shall appoint two members
62 who are members of the Commissioner of Education’s African
63 American History Task Force.
64 6. The Florida Conference of Black State Legislators shall
65 appoint two members, one of whom is a representative of a
66 philanthropic foundation and one of whom is a member of the
67 clergy.
68 (b) A member of the commission shall be appointed for a
69 term of 4 years, except that at the time of the initial
70 appointment, two members appointed by the Governor, one member
71 appointed by the President of the Senate, one member appointed
72 by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, one member
73 appointed by the Secretary of State, and one member appointed by
74 the Commissioner of Education shall be appointed for a term of 2
75 years. A member may be reappointed to a subsequent term.
76 (4) Members of the commission shall serve without
77 compensation but are entitled to reimbursement for per diem and
78 travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061, Florida Statutes.
79 (5) The commission may establish or designate a direct
80 support organization that may receive grants, bequests, and
81 other resources to support the state’s black cultural sites and
82 the functions of the commission.
83 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.