Florida Senate - 2023 SB 1482
By Senator Simon
3-01320A-23 20231482__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to rural development; amending s.
3 215.971, F.S.; prohibiting certain agency agreements
4 from requiring the expenditure of funds before
5 reimbursement; authorizing agencies to undertake
6 certain actions; providing construction; amending s.
7 288.018, F.S.; specifying that funding provided under
8 the Regional Rural Development Grants Program are not
9 matching grants; revising the required criteria the
10 Department of Economic Opportunity must consider to
11 approve a participant in the program; amending s.
12 288.065, F.S.; revising the conditions under which an
13 applicant to the Rural Community Development Revolving
14 Loan Fund may retain repayments of principal and
15 interest; amending s. 288.0655, F.S.; revising the
16 purpose of the Rural Infrastructure Fund; revising the
17 percentages of total infrastructure project cost that
18 the Department of Economic Opportunity may award
19 through the fund; deleting a provision requiring
20 eligible projects to be related to specified
21 opportunities; providing authorized uses of eligible
22 funds; authorizing the department to award grants up
23 to a specified amount for specified planning and
24 preparation activities; deleting a provision requiring
25 authorized grants to be up to a specified amount for
26 certain projects, under specified conditions; deleting
27 a restriction on dual grant awards being used which
28 would exceed a specified percentage threshold;
29 deleting a provision that requires awarded funds be
30 matched with a specified amount of local funds;
31 revising the evaluation process of applications;
32 providing an effective date.
33
34 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
35
36 Section 1. Present subsections (2) and (3) of section
37 215.971, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (3)
38 and (4), respectively, and a new subsection (2) is added to that
39 section, to read:
40 215.971 Agreements funded with federal or state
41 assistance.—
42 (2)(a) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, an
43 agency agreement that provides state or federal financial
44 assistance to a county or municipal entity within a rural area
45 of opportunity, as defined in s. 288.0656(2), may not require
46 the county or municipal entity to expend funds in order to be
47 reimbursed. For such counties or municipal entities, an agency
48 may advance funding based on an analysis of estimated costs, pay
49 service providers and vendors directly, or undertake other
50 options to meet the requirements of this section.
51 (b) This subsection may not be construed to alter or limit
52 any other provision of this section.
53 Section 2. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 288.018,
54 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
55 288.018 Regional Rural Development Grants Program.—
56 (1)(a) For the purposes of this section, the term “regional
57 economic development organization” means an economic development
58 organization located in or contracted to serve a rural area of
59 opportunity, as defined in s. 288.0656(2)(d).
60 (b) The department shall establish a matching grant program
61 to provide funding to regional economic development
62 organizations for the purpose of building the professional
63 capacity of those organizations. Building the professional
64 capacity of a regional economic development organization
65 includes hiring professional staff to develop, deliver, and
66 provide needed economic development professional services,
67 including technical assistance, education and leadership
68 development, marketing, and project recruitment. Matching Grants
69 may also be used by a regional economic development organization
70 to provide technical assistance to local governments, local
71 economic development organizations, and existing and prospective
72 businesses.
73 (c) A regional economic development organization may apply
74 annually to the department for a matching grant. The department
75 is authorized to approve, on an annual basis, grants to such
76 regional economic development organizations. The maximum amount
77 an organization may receive in any year will be $50,000, or
78 $250,000 for any three regional economic development
79 organizations that serve an entire region of a rural area of
80 opportunity designated pursuant to s. 288.0656(7) if they are
81 recognized by the department as serving such a region.
82 (d) Grant funds received by a regional economic development
83 organization must be matched each year by nonstate resources in
84 an amount equal to 25 percent of the state contribution.
85 (2) In approving the participants, the department shall
86 consider the demonstrated need of the applicant for assistance
87 and require the following:
88 (a) Documentation of official commitments of support from
89 each of the units of local government represented by the
90 regional organization.
91 (b) Demonstration that each unit of local government has
92 made a financial or in-kind commitment to the regional
93 organization.
94 (c) Demonstration that the private sector has made
95 financial or in-kind commitments to the regional organization.
96 (d) Demonstration that the organization is in existence and
97 actively involved in economic development activities serving the
98 region.
99 (c)(e) Demonstration of the manner in which the
100 organization is or will coordinate its efforts with those of
101 other local and state organizations.
102 Section 3. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section
103 288.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
104 288.065 Rural Community Development Revolving Loan Fund.—
105 (2)
106 (c) All repayments of principal and interest shall be
107 returned to the loan fund and made available for loans to other
108 applicants. However, in a rural area of opportunity designated
109 by the Governor, and upon approval by the department, repayments
110 of principal and interest may be retained by the applicant if
111 such repayments are dedicated and matched to fund regionally
112 based economic development organizations representing the rural
113 area of opportunity.
114 Section 4. Subsection (1), paragraphs (b), (c), and (e) of
115 subsection (2), and subsection (3) of section 288.0655, Florida
116 Statutes, are amended to read:
117 288.0655 Rural Infrastructure Fund.—
118 (1) There is created within the department the Rural
119 Infrastructure Fund to facilitate the planning, preparing, and
120 financing of infrastructure projects in rural communities which
121 will encourage job creation, capital investment, and the
122 strengthening and diversification of rural economies by
123 promoting tourism, trade, and economic development.
124 (2)
125 (b) To facilitate access of rural communities and rural
126 areas of opportunity as defined by the Rural Economic
127 Development Initiative to infrastructure funding programs of the
128 Federal Government, such as those offered by the United States
129 Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of
130 Commerce, and state programs, including those offered by Rural
131 Economic Development Initiative agencies, and to facilitate
132 local government or private infrastructure funding efforts, the
133 department may award grants for up to 75 50 percent of the total
134 infrastructure project cost, or up to 100 percent of the total
135 infrastructure project cost for a project located in a rural
136 community as defined in s. 288.0656(2)(e) or a rural area of
137 opportunity as defined in s. 288.0656(2)(d), either of which is
138 also located in a fiscally constrained county as defined in s.
139 218.67(1). Eligible projects must be related to specific job
140 creation or job-retention opportunities. Eligible uses of funds
141 projects may also include improving any inadequate
142 infrastructure that has resulted in regulatory action that
143 prohibits economic or community growth, reducing the costs to
144 community users of proposed infrastructure improvements that
145 exceed such costs in comparable communities, and improving
146 access to and the availability of broadband Internet service.
147 Eligible uses of funds shall include improvements to public
148 infrastructure for industrial or commercial sites, upgrades to
149 or development of public tourism infrastructure, and
150 improvements to broadband Internet service and access in
151 unserved or underserved rural communities. Improvements to
152 broadband Internet service and access must be conducted through
153 a partnership or partnerships with one or more dealers, as
154 defined in s. 202.11(2), and the partnership or partnerships
155 must be established through a competitive selection process that
156 is publicly noticed. Authorized infrastructure may include the
157 following public or public-private partnership facilities: storm
158 water systems; telecommunications facilities; broadband
159 facilities; roads or other remedies to transportation
160 impediments; nature-based tourism facilities; or other physical
161 requirements necessary to facilitate tourism, trade, and
162 economic development activities in the community. Authorized
163 infrastructure may also include publicly or privately owned
164 self-powered nature-based tourism facilities, publicly owned
165 telecommunications facilities, and broadband facilities, and
166 additions to the distribution facilities of the existing natural
167 gas utility as defined in s. 366.04(3)(c), the existing electric
168 utility as defined in s. 366.02, or the existing water or
169 wastewater utility as defined in s. 367.021(12), or any other
170 existing water or wastewater facility, which owns a gas or
171 electric distribution system or a water or wastewater system in
172 this state where:
173 1. A contribution-in-aid of construction is required to
174 serve public or public-private partnership facilities under the
175 tariffs of any natural gas, electric, water, or wastewater
176 utility as defined herein; and
177 2. Such utilities as defined herein are willing and able to
178 provide such service.
179 (c) To facilitate timely response and induce the location
180 or expansion of specific job creating opportunities, The
181 department may award grants of up to $300,000 for infrastructure
182 feasibility studies, design and engineering activities, or other
183 infrastructure planning and preparation activities. Authorized
184 grants shall be up to $50,000 for an employment project with a
185 business committed to create at least 100 jobs; up to $150,000
186 for an employment project with a business committed to create at
187 least 300 jobs; and up to $300,000 for a project in a rural area
188 of opportunity. Grants awarded under this paragraph may be used
189 in conjunction with grants awarded under paragraph (b), provided
190 that the total amount of both grants does not exceed 30 percent
191 of the total project cost. In evaluating applications under this
192 paragraph, the department shall consider the extent to which the
193 application seeks to minimize administrative and consultant
194 expenses.
195 (e) To enable local governments to access the resources
196 available pursuant to s. 403.973(18), the department may award
197 grants for surveys, feasibility studies, and other activities
198 related to the identification and preclearance review of land
199 which is suitable for preclearance review. Authorized grants
200 under this paragraph do not require a local match and may not
201 exceed $75,000 each, except in the case of a project in a rural
202 area of opportunity, in which case the grant may not exceed
203 $300,000. Any funds awarded under this paragraph must be matched
204 at a level of 50 percent with local funds, except that any funds
205 awarded for a project in a rural area of opportunity must be
206 matched at a level of 33 percent with local funds. If an
207 application for funding is for a catalyst site, as defined in s.
208 288.0656, the requirement for local match may be waived pursuant
209 to the process in s. 288.06561. In evaluating applications under
210 this paragraph, the department shall consider the extent to
211 which the application seeks to minimize administrative and
212 consultant expenses.
213 (3) The department, in consultation with Enterprise
214 Florida, Inc., the Florida Tourism Industry Marketing
215 Corporation, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the
216 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, as
217 appropriate, shall review and certify applications pursuant to
218 s. 288.061. The review shall include an evaluation of the
219 economic benefit of the projects and their long-term viability.
220 The department shall have final approval for any grant under
221 this section.
222 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.