Florida Senate - 2015 SB 964
By Senator Stargel
15-00743A-15 2015964__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to specialty license plates; amending
3 s. 320.08058, F.S.; directing the Department of
4 Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to develop a Florida
5 Professional Sports Team license plate for Major
6 League Soccer teams domiciled in this state; requiring
7 any Florida Professional Sports Team license plate
8 created or established after a certain date to comply
9 with specified requirements and be specifically
10 authorized by an act of the Legislature; providing
11 that the term “major sports events” includes, but is
12 not limited to, championship or all-star contests of
13 Major League Soccer for certain funding purposes;
14 providing that certain funds be used to distribute
15 licensing and royalty fees to participating
16 professional sports leagues; providing an effective
17 date.
18
19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21 Section 1. Subsection (9) of section 320.08058, Florida
22 Statutes, is amended to read:
23 320.08058 Specialty license plates.—
24 (9) FLORIDA PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAM LICENSE PLATES.—
25 (a) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
26 shall develop a Florida Professional Sports Team license plate
27 as provided in this section for Major League Baseball, National
28 Basketball Association, National Football League, Arena Football
29 Teams, and National Hockey League, and Major League Soccer teams
30 domiciled in this state. However, any Florida Professional
31 Sports Team license plate created or established after January
32 1, 2017 1997, must comply with the requirements of s. 320.08053
33 and be specifically authorized by an act of the Legislature.
34 Florida Professional Sports Team license plates must bear the
35 colors and design approved by the department and must include
36 the official league or team logo, or both, as appropriate for
37 each team. The word “Florida” must appear at the top of the
38 plate.
39 (b) The license plate annual use fees are to be annually
40 distributed as follows:
41 1. Fifty-five percent of the proceeds from the Florida
42 Professional Sports Team plate must be deposited into the
43 Professional Sports Development Trust Fund within the Department
44 of Economic Opportunity. These funds must be used solely to
45 attract and support major sports events in this state. As used
46 in this subparagraph, the term “major sports events” means, but
47 is not limited to, championship or all-star contests of Major
48 League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the
49 National Football League, the National Hockey League, Major
50 League Soccer, the men’s and women’s National Collegiate
51 Athletic Association Final Four basketball championship, or a
52 horseracing or dogracing Breeders’ Cup. All funds must be used
53 to support and promote major sporting events, and the uses must
54 be approved by the Department of Economic Opportunity.
55 2. The remaining proceeds of the Florida Professional
56 Sports Team license plate must be allocated to Enterprise
57 Florida, Inc. These funds must be deposited into the
58 Professional Sports Development Trust Fund within the Department
59 of Economic Opportunity. These funds must be used by Enterprise
60 Florida, Inc., to promote the economic development of the sports
61 industry; to distribute licensing and royalty fees to
62 participating professional sports leagues teams; to promote
63 education programs in Florida schools that provide an awareness
64 of the benefits of physical activity and nutrition standards; to
65 partner with the Department of Education and the Department of
66 Health to develop a program that recognizes schools whose
67 students demonstrate excellent physical fitness or fitness
68 improvement; to institute a grant program for communities
69 bidding on minor sporting events that create an economic impact
70 for the state; to distribute funds to Florida-based charities
71 designated by Enterprise Florida, Inc., and the participating
72 professional sports teams; and to fulfill the sports promotion
73 responsibilities of the Department of Economic Opportunity.
74 3. Enterprise Florida, Inc., shall provide an annual
75 financial audit in accordance with s. 215.981 of its financial
76 accounts and records by an independent certified public
77 accountant pursuant to the contract established by the
78 Department of Economic Opportunity. The auditor shall submit the
79 audit report to the Department of Economic Opportunity for
80 review and approval. If the audit report is approved, the
81 Department of Economic Opportunity shall certify the audit
82 report to the Auditor General for review.
83 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraphs 1. and
84 2., proceeds from the Professional Sports Development Trust Fund
85 may also be used for operational expenses of Enterprise Florida,
86 Inc., and financial support of the Sunshine State Games.
87 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.