Florida Senate - 2019 SB 640
By Senator Braynon
35-02055-19 2019640__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to trust funds; creating s. 445.015,
3 F.S.; creating the Florida Business and Workforce
4 Competitiveness Trust Fund within the State Treasury,
5 to be administered by the Department of Economic
6 Opportunity; providing the purpose of the trust fund;
7 requiring trust fund moneys to be provided to local
8 workforce development boards to award and administer
9 certain grants; specifying duties of CareerSource
10 Florida, Inc., with respect to the trust fund;
11 providing that trust fund moneys are composed of a
12 specified assessment to be imposed on certain
13 employers; limiting eligibility of grants to certain
14 employers; providing requirements and limitations for
15 the assessment and administrative costs; providing for
16 future review and termination or re-creation of the
17 trust fund; providing a directive to the Division of
18 Law Revision; providing an effective date.
19
20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22 Section 1. Section 445.015, Florida Statutes, is created to
23 read:
24 445.015 Florida Business and Workforce Competitiveness
25 Trust Fund.—
26 (1) The Florida Business and Workforce Competitiveness
27 Trust Fund is created within the State Treasury and is to be
28 administered by the Department of Economic Opportunity.
29 (2) The trust fund is established for use as an additional
30 revenue source to support the growth of businesses in this state
31 and to provide workforce training needed to effectively address
32 changing skill requirements that result from new technology,
33 retooling, new product lines, and new organizational
34 structuring.
35 (3) Funds credited to the trust fund must be provided to
36 local workforce development boards, appointed under s. 445.007,
37 to award incentive grants to employers to hire unemployment
38 compensation claimants. Each local workforce development board
39 shall determine award recipients and administer grants within
40 the funding available to it.
41 (4) CareerSource Florida, Inc., shall:
42 (a) Establish guidelines governing the administration of
43 the trust fund;
44 (b) Establish criteria to be used by local workforce
45 development boards in evaluating applications for funding; and
46 (c) Allocate to each local workforce development board its
47 share of funds available under the trust fund.
48 (5) Moneys in the trust fund are composed of a quarterly
49 employment and training investment assessment imposed beginning
50 July 1, 2019, on each employer paying contributions under s.
51 443.131 at a rate below the maximum contribution rate of 5.4
52 percent as provided in s. 443.131(3)(e)2.a.(V). The assessment
53 must be a separate assessment of one-tenth of 1 percent of
54 wages, as described under s. 443.1217, paid by the employer.
55 (a) An employer is eligible for a grant award only if the
56 employer is subject to paying contributions under s. 443.131 and
57 is subject to the assessment.
58 (b) The assessment is due at the same time, must be
59 collected in the same manner, and is subject to the same
60 penalties and interest as other contributions assessed under s.
61 443.131.
62 (c) The assessment may not be imposed for any year in which
63 the balance in the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund requires
64 the computation of a positive adjustment factor as provided in
65 s. 443.131(3)(e)2.a.(III).
66 (d) Administrative costs associated with the collection of
67 the trust fund must be paid out of revenue generated from the
68 assessment. The cost of collection and administration of the
69 assessment under this subsection must be allocated based on a
70 plan approved by the United States Department of Labor.
71 (6) In accordance with s. 19(f)(2), Art. III of the State
72 Constitution, the Florida Business and Workforce Competitiveness
73 Trust Fund shall, unless terminated sooner, be terminated 4
74 years after the effective date of this act. Before its scheduled
75 termination, the trust fund shall be reviewed as provided in s.
76 215.3206(1) and (2).
77 Section 2. The Division of Law Revision is directed to
78 replace the phrase “4 years after the effective date of this
79 act” where it occurs in this act with the date the trust fund
80 will terminate.
81 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.