Florida Senate - 2014 CS for SB 214
By the Committee on Commerce and Tourism; and Senators Thompson
and Abruzzo
577-03471-14 2014214c1
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; defining the term
12 “direct-support organization”; authorizing the
13 commission to create a direct-support organization;
14 providing purposes and objectives; providing for
15 members of the board of the direct-support
16 organization; providing that the direct-support
17 organization is subject to public records and meetings
18 requirements; requiring expenses of the direct-support
19 organization to be paid by private funds; requiring
20 the direct-support organization to operate under a
21 written contract with the commission; specifying
22 contract requirements; providing guidelines for the
23 use of the funds; requiring the direct-support
24 organization to comply with audit requirements;
25 providing an effective date.
26
27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
28
29 Section 1. Black Cultural Tourism Enhancement Commission.—
30 (1) There is created the Black Cultural Tourism Enhancement
31 Commission. The commission shall be administratively housed
32 within the Department of State but shall independently exercise
33 the powers and duties specified in this section. The department
34 shall provide administrative and staff support services to the
35 commission.
36 (2) The commission shall:
37 (a) Provide financial and technical assistance to
38 facilities and events that have the potential to expand tourism,
39 create jobs, and stimulate economic development in the state
40 through the marketing of the state’s black cultural sites.
41 (b) Provide training and technical assistance for staff
42 members of the state’s black cultural sites in order to develop
43 tour guides and tour operators for the sites.
44 (c) Provide resources and technical assistance for
45 educators of the state related to the teaching of black history,
46 promote the state’s black cultural sites as historical venues,
47 and support tourism in the state through student tours of the
48 sites.
49 (d) Serve as a resource for the Florida Tourism Industry
50 Marketing Corporation in order to expand cultural tourism in the
51 state.
52 (e) Establish the Florida State Museum and Institute on
53 Black American History and Culture with the mission of providing
54 learning opportunities, exhibitions, programs, and events based
55 on collections and research exploring the diverse history and
56 culture of black Americans and their African origins.
57 (3)(a) The commission is composed of 13 members who are
58 appointed in the following manner:
59 1. The Governor shall appoint three members, one of whom
60 represents an institution of higher learning, one of whom
61 represents the Florida African-American Heritage Preservation
62 Network, and one of whom represents business and civic interests
63 in the African-American community.
64 2. The President of the Senate shall appoint two members,
65 one of whom is involved in instructional design in a school
66 district or in an institution of higher learning and one of whom
67 is an employee of a museum of African-American history in this
68 state.
69 3. The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall
70 appoint two members, one of whom has a substantial history of
71 community service in the performing or visual arts in the
72 African-American community and one of whom is an employee of a
73 museum of African-American history in this state.
74 4. The Secretary of State shall appoint two members who are
75 directors of museums of African-American history or black
76 archives and research centers in this state.
77 5. The Commissioner of Education shall appoint two members
78 who are members of the Commissioner of Education’s African
79 American History Task Force.
80 6. The Florida Conference of Black State Legislators shall
81 appoint two members, one of whom is a representative of a
82 philanthropic foundation and one of whom is a member of the
83 clergy.
84 (b) A member of the commission shall be appointed for a
85 term of 4 years, except that at the time of the initial
86 appointment, two members appointed by the Governor, one member
87 appointed by the President of the Senate, one member appointed
88 by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, one member
89 appointed by the Secretary of State, and one member appointed by
90 the Commissioner of Education shall be appointed for a term of 2
91 years. A member may be reappointed to a subsequent term.
92 (4) Members of the commission shall serve without
93 compensation but are entitled to reimbursement for per diem and
94 travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061, Florida Statutes.
95 (5) As used in this section, the term “direct-support
96 organization” means a Florida not-for-profit corporation
97 incorporated under chapter 617, Florida Statutes, and organized
98 and operated to conduct programs and activities; initiate
99 developmental projects; raise funds; request and receive grants,
100 gifts, and bequests of moneys; acquire, receive, hold, invest,
101 and administer, in its own name, securities, funds, objects of
102 value, or other property, real or personal; and make
103 expenditures to or for the direct or indirect benefit of the
104 commission.
105 (6)(a) The commission is authorized to organize and
106 incorporate a direct-support organization pursuant to the
107 requirements of this section and chapter 617, Florida Statutes.
108 (b) The board of the direct-support organization shall
109 consist of the members of the commission.
110 (c) The direct-support organization is subject to the
111 provisions of ss. 119.07 and 286.011, Florida Statutes, and s.
112 24, Article I of the State Constitution.
113 (d) Any administrative costs of running and promoting the
114 purposes of the corporation must be paid by private funds.
115 (7) The direct-support organization shall operate under
116 written contract with the commission. The contract must provide
117 for:
118 (a) Approval by the commission of the articles of
119 incorporation and bylaws of the direct-support organization.
120 (b) Submission of an annual budget for the approval of the
121 commission. The budget must comply with rules adopted by the
122 commission.
123 (c) Certification by the commission that the direct-support
124 organization is complying with the terms of the contract and in
125 a manner consistent with the goals and purposes of the
126 commission and in the best interest of the state. Such
127 certification must be made annually and reported in the official
128 minutes of a meeting of the commission.
129 (d) Reversion to the commission, or to the state if the
130 commission ceases to exist, of moneys and property held in trust
131 by the direct-support organization if the direct-support
132 organization is no longer approved to operate for the commission
133 or the commission ceases to exist.
134 (e) A fiscal year for the direct-support organization
135 beginning on July 1 of each year and ending on June 30 of the
136 following year.
137 (f) The disclosure of material provisions of the contract
138 and the distinction between the board of directors and the
139 direct-support organization to donors of gifts, contributions,
140 or bequests, as well as on all promotional and fundraising
141 publications.
142 (8) The purposes and goals of the direct-support
143 organization must be consistent with priority issues and
144 objectives of the commission and must be in the best interests
145 of the state.
146 (9) Funds designated for the direct-support organization
147 must be used for the enhancement of programs and projects of the
148 commission. All moneys received by the organization must be
149 deposited into an account of the organization and must be used
150 by the organization in a manner consistent with the purposes and
151 goals of the commission.
152 (10) The direct-support organization shall comply with the
153 audit requirements of s. 215.981.
154 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.