Florida Senate - 2014 SENATOR AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 5601
Ì395142ÈÎ395142
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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Senator Bean moved the following:
1 Senate Amendment to Amendment (965938)
2
3 Delete lines 983 - 1226
4 and insert:
5 by 90 days after funds are appropriated for the program, and
6 award the contract in accordance with the competitive bidding
7 requirements in s. 287.057.
8 (b) The department shall select as fund administrator a
9 private sector entity that demonstrates the ability to implement
10 the program under this section and that meets the requirements
11 set forth in this section. Preference shall be given to
12 applicants that are headquartered in this state. Additional
13 consideration may be given to applicants that have experience in
14 the management of economic development or job creation-related
15 funds. The qualifications for the fund administrator must
16 include, but are not limited to:
17 1. A demonstrated track record of managing private sector
18 equity or debt funds in the entertainment and media industries.
19 2. The ability to demonstrate through a partnership
20 agreement that a qualified lending partner is in place which has
21 the capability of providing leverage of a minimum of 2.5 times
22 the capital amount of the QTV Fund, for financing the production
23 cost of qualified television content in the form of senior debt.
24 (c) For overseeing and administering the QTV Fund, the fund
25 administrator shall be reimbursed for the costs the fund
26 administrator incurs in establishing and operating the fund
27 related to the state’s investment, which shall be paid from
28 state funds in the QTV Fund. Any additional private investment
29 capital in the segregated accounts is responsible for its own
30 management fees. The fund administrator is entitled to a
31 reasonable profit, but such distribution may not be made from
32 the principal funds from the original appropriation.
33 (d) The fund administrator shall provide services defined
34 under this section for the duration of the QTV Fund term unless
35 removed by the department. The contract between the department
36 and the fund administrator shall set forth the circumstances
37 under which the contract may be terminated.
38 (5) FUND ADMINISTRATOR POWERS AND DUTIES.—
39 (a) Authority to contract.—The fund administrator may enter
40 into agreements with qualified lending partners for concurrent
41 lending through the QTV Fund. A loan made by the qualified
42 lending partner must be accounted for separately from the state
43 funds or other private investment capital. Such loan shall be
44 made as senior debt. The fund administrator may raise private
45 investment capital for mezzanine equity and other equity or
46 raise junior capital for concurrent lending through the QTV
47 Fund. However, loans from private investment capital may not be
48 made at more favorable terms and conditions than the terms and
49 conditions of the state funds in the QTV Fund. The state
50 appropriation must be maintained in a separate account from
51 private investment capital and administered in a separate legal
52 investment entity or entities. Private investment capital and
53 loans shall be segregated from each other, and funds may not be
54 commingled.
55 (b) General duties.—The fund administrator:
56 1. Shall prudently manage the funds in the QTV Fund as a
57 revolving loan fund.
58 2. Shall contract with one or more qualified lending
59 partners.
60 3. Shall provide improvement of the credit profile of a
61 structured financial transaction for qualified production
62 companies that produce qualified television content meeting the
63 criteria in subsection (7).
64 4. May raise additional private investment capital to be
65 held in separate accounts, in addition to the leverage provided
66 by the qualified lending partner.
67 5. Shall administer the QTV Fund in accordance with this
68 part.
69 6. Shall agree to maintain the recipient’s books and
70 records relating to funds received from the department according
71 to generally accepted accounting principles and in accordance
72 with s. 215.97(7) and to make those books and records available
73 to the department for inspection upon reasonable notice. The
74 books and records must be maintained with detailed records
75 showing the use of proceeds from loans to fund qualified
76 television content.
77 7. Shall maintain its registered office in this state
78 throughout the duration of the contract.
79 (c) Financial reporting.—The fund administrator shall
80 annually submit to the department by February 28 audited
81 financial statements for the preceding tax year which— are
82 audited by an independent certified public accountant after the
83 end of each year in which the fund administrator is under
84 contract with the department. In addition to providing an
85 independent opinion on the annual financial statements, such
86 audit provides a basis for verifying the segregation of state
87 funds from those of any private investment capital.
88 (d) Program reporting.—The fund administrator shall submit
89 a report to the department by February 28 after the end of each
90 year in which the fund administrator is under contract with the
91 department. The report must include information on the loans
92 made in the preceding calendar year, including:
93 1. The name of the qualified television content.
94 2. The names of the counties in which the production
95 occurred.
96 3. The number of jobs created and retained as a result of
97 the production.
98 4. The loan amounts, including the amount of private
99 investment capital and funds provided by a qualified lending
100 partner.
101 5. The loan repayment status for each loan.
102 6. The number and amounts of any loans with payments past
103 due.
104 7. The number and amounts of any loans in default.
105 8. A description of the assets securing the loans.
106 9. Other information and documentation required by the
107 department.
108 (e) Plan of accountability.—The fund administrator shall
109 submit an annual plan of accountability of economic development,
110 including a report detailing the job creation resulting from the
111 QTV Fund loans made during the current year and cumulatively
112 since the inception of the program. The fund administrator shall
113 also provide any additional information requested by the
114 department pertaining to economic development and job creation
115 in the state.
116 (f) Conflict-of-interest statement.—The fund administrator
117 shall provide a conflict-of-interest statement from its
118 governing board certifying that no board member, director,
119 employee, agent, immediate family member thereof, or other
120 person connected to or affiliated with the fund administrator is
121 receiving or will receive any type of compensation or
122 remuneration from a production company that has received or will
123 receive funds from the loan program or from a qualified lending
124 partner. The department may waive this requirement for good
125 cause shown.
126 (6) LOAN STRUCTURE.—
127 (a) The QTV Fund may make loans to production companies to
128 fund production costs or provide improvement of the credit
129 profile of a structured financial transaction for qualified
130 television content that meets the criteria requirements of
131 subsection (7). To make a loan, the fund administrator shall
132 consider the types of eligible collateral, the credit worthiness
133 of the project, the producer’s track record, the possibility
134 that the project will encourage, enhance, or create economic
135 benefits, and the extent to which assistance would foster
136 innovative public-private partnerships and attract private debt
137 or equity investment.
138 (b) The QTV Fund loan package shall be secured by
139 contractual and predictable sources of repayment such as
140 domestic and international broadcaster license agreements and
141 other ancillary revenues that are derived from media content
142 rights. Unsecured loans may not be made.
143 (c) The loans shall be made on the basis of a second lien
144 or primary security rights on the media assets listed in
145 paragraph (b).
146 (d) The QTV Fund shall provide funding only in conjunction
147 with senior loans provided by a qualified lending partner. Loans
148 from the fund may be subordinated to senior debt from the
149 qualified lending partner and may not exceed 30 percent of the
150 total production funding cost of any particular project.
151 (e) The production company’s repayment of a loan shall be
152 in accordance with the broadcast license agreement and the
153 delivery of qualified television content to the major
154 broadcaster and shall be within 60 days after such delivery.
155 (f) Loans made by the QTV Fund may not exceed 36 months in
156 duration, except for extenuating circumstances for which the
157 fund administrator may grant an extension upon making written
158 findings to the department specifying the conditions requiring
159 the extension.
160 (g) The fund administrator or a board member, employee, or
161 agent thereof, or an immediate family member of a board member,
162 employee, or agent, may not have a financial interest in an
163 entity that is awarded a loan under a loan program and may not
164 benefit directly or indirectly from the making of such loan. A
165 loan may not be made to a person if it violates this paragraph.
166 As used in this section, the term “immediate family” means a
167 parent, child, or spouse, or other relative by blood, marriage,
168 or adoption, of a board member, employee, or agent of the loan
169 administrator.
170 (h) Except for funds appropriated to the department for the
171 loan program, the credit of the state may not be pledged. The
172 state is not liable or obligated in any way for claims against
173 the QTV Fund or against the fund administrator, the qualified
174 lending partner, or the department.
175 (7) QUALIFIED TELEVISION CONTENT CRITERIA.—The fund
176 administrator must, at a minimum, consider the following
177 criteria for evaluating the qualifying television content:
178 (a) The content is intended for broadcast by a major
179 broadcaster on a major network, cable, or streaming channel.
180 (b) The content is produced in this state, or a minimum of
181 80 percent of the production budget must be spent in this state.
182 This requirement may be amended by the fund administrator upon
183 notice to the department. Such notice must include a specific
184 justification for the change and must be transmitted to the
185 department in writing. The department has 10 business days to
186 object to the change. If the department does not object within
187 10 business days, the change is deemed acceptable by the
188 department, and the fund administrator may grant the amendment.
189 (c) If the content is a series, there is a programming
190 order for at least 13 episodes. This requirement may be amended
191 by the fund administrator upon notice to the department. Such
192 notice must include a specific justification for the change and
193 must be transmitted to the department in writing. The department
194 has 10 business days to object to the change. If the department
195 does not object within 10 business days, the change is deemed
196 acceptable by the department, and the fund administrator may
197 grant the amendment.
198 (d) The producer must have a contract in place with a major
199 broadcaster to acquire content programming under a customary
200 broadcast license agreement and the contract must cover at least
201 60 percent of the budget.
202 (e) The producer must retain a foreign sales agent and must
203 be able to provide the fund administrator with the foreign sales
204 agent’s official estimates of foreign and ancillary sales.
205 (f) The project must be bonded and secured by an industry
206 approved completion guarantor if the production cost per episode
207 exceeds $1 million. This requirement may be waived if the loan
208 applicant provides the fund administrator with evidence of
209 adequate structure to protect the state’s funds.
210 (8) AUDITOR GENERAL AUDIT.—The Auditor General may conduct
211 operational audits, as defined in s. 11.45, of the QTV Fund and
212 fund administrator. The scope of audit must include, but is not
213 limited to, internal controls evaluations, internal audit
214 functions, reporting and performance requirements for the use of
215 the funds, and compliance with state and federal law. The fund
216 administrator shall provide to the Auditor General any detail or
217 supplemental data required.
218 (9) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—The department may adopt rules to
219 administer this section.
220 (10) EXPIRATION.—This section expires December 31, 2024, at
221 which point all funds remaining in the QTV Fund revert to the
222 General Revenue Fund.
223 (11) EMERGENCY RULES.—
224 (a) The executive director of the department is authorized,
225 and all conditions are deemed met, to adopt emergency rules
226 pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54(4) for the purpose of
227 implementing this section.
228 (b) Notwithstanding any other law, the emergency rules
229 adopted pursuant to paragraph (a) remain in effect for 6 months
230 after adoption and may be renewed during the pendency of
231 procedures to adopt permanent rules addressing the subject of
232 the emergency rules.
233 (c) This subsection expires October 1, 2015.
234 Section 18. Effective July 1, 2015, paragraph (b) of
235 subsection (2) of section 288.0001, Florida Statutes, is amended
236 to read:
237 288.0001 Economic Development Programs Evaluation.—The
238 Office of Economic and Demographic Research and the Office of
239 Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA)
240 shall develop and present to the Governor, the President of the
241 Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the
242 chairs of the legislative appropriations committees the Economic
243 Development Programs Evaluation.
244 (2) The Office of Economic and Demographic Research and
245 OPPAGA shall provide a detailed analysis of economic development
246 programs as provided in the following schedule:
247 (b) By January 1, 2018 2015, and every 3 years thereafter,
248 an