Florida Senate - 2025                                     SB 884
       
       
        
       By Senator Martin
       
       
       
       
       
       33-01178-25                                            2025884__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Florida State Guard; amending
    3         s. 115.07, F.S.; authorizing leaves of absence for
    4         members of the Florida State Guard when they are
    5         engaged in certain ordered training; revising
    6         legislative intent; amending s. 258.0145, F.S.;
    7         providing a discount on annual entrance passes to
    8         state parks for current members of the Florida State
    9         Guard; amending s. 379.354, F.S.; creating and
   10         specifying the annual fee for the Florida State Guard
   11         gold sportsman’s license for hunting and fishing;
   12         specifying application requirements for the license;
   13         providing construction; creating s. 1009.8959, F.S.;
   14         creating the Florida State Guard Scholarship Program
   15         for a specified purpose; requiring the Department of
   16         Education to administer the program according to rules
   17         and procedures established by the State Board of
   18         Education; specifying eligibility requirements for
   19         initial and recurring funding under the program;
   20         providing for the issuance of awards under the
   21         program; requiring the Department of Education to
   22         issue the awards annually, subject to legislative
   23         appropriation; specifying requirements if appropriated
   24         funds are not sufficient to fully fund awards;
   25         requiring the State Board of Education and the Board
   26         of Governors to adopt rules and regulations,
   27         respectively; providing an effective date.
   28          
   29  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   30  
   31         Section 1. Subsections (1) and (4) of section 115.07,
   32  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   33         115.07 Officers and employees’ leaves of absence for
   34  reserve or guard training.—
   35         (1) All officers or employees of the state, of the several
   36  counties of the state, and of the municipalities or political
   37  subdivisions of the state who are commissioned reserve officers
   38  or reserve enlisted personnel in the United States military or
   39  naval service, or members of the National Guard, or members of
   40  the Florida State Guard are entitled to leaves of absence from
   41  their respective duties, without loss of vacation leave, pay,
   42  time, or efficiency rating, on all days during which they are
   43  engaged in training ordered under the provisions of the United
   44  States military or naval training regulations for such personnel
   45  when assigned to active or inactive duty or training ordered by
   46  the Florida State Guard, as applicable.
   47         (4) It is the intent of the Legislature that the state, its
   48  several counties, and its municipalities and political
   49  subdivisions shall grant leaves of absence for active or
   50  inactive training to all employees who are members of the United
   51  States Reserve Forces or the National Guard or members of the
   52  Florida State Guard, to ensure the state and national security
   53  at all times through a strong armed force of qualified and
   54  mobilization-ready personnel.
   55         Section 2. Section 258.0145, Florida Statutes, is amended
   56  to read:
   57         258.0145 Military, Florida State Guard, law enforcement,
   58  and firefighter state park fee discounts.—The Division of
   59  Recreation and Parks shall provide the following discounts on
   60  park fees to persons who present written documentation
   61  satisfactory to the division which evidences their eligibility
   62  for the discounts:
   63         (1) Active duty members and honorably discharged veterans
   64  of the United States Armed Forces, National Guard, or reserve
   65  components thereof shall receive a 25-percent discount on annual
   66  entrance passes.
   67         (2) Current members of the Florida State Guard shall
   68  receive a 15-percent discount on annual entrance passes.
   69         (3) Honorably discharged veterans who have service
   70  connected disabilities shall receive lifetime family annual
   71  entrance passes at no charge.
   72         (4)(3) Surviving spouses and parents of deceased members of
   73  the United States Armed Forces, National Guard, or reserve
   74  components thereof who have fallen in combat shall receive
   75  lifetime family annual entrance passes at no charge.
   76         (5)(4) The surviving spouse and parents of a law
   77  enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(1), or a
   78  firefighter, as defined in s. 633.102, who has died in the line
   79  of duty shall receive lifetime family annual entrance passes at
   80  no charge.
   81         Section 3. Present paragraph (k) of subsection (4) of
   82  section 379.354, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph
   83  (l), and a new paragraph (k) is added to that subsection, to
   84  read:
   85         379.354 Recreational licenses, permits, and authorization
   86  numbers; fees established.—
   87         (4) RESIDENT HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES.—The licenses and
   88  fees for residents participating in hunting and fishing
   89  activities in this state are as follows:
   90         (k)Annual Florida State Guard gold sportsman’s license,
   91  $34.48. A resident who is a current member of the Florida State
   92  Guard may purchase the Florida State Guard gold sportsman’s
   93  license upon presenting a current Florida State Guard
   94  identification card. The annual Florida State Guard gold
   95  sportsman’s license authorizes the same activities as the annual
   96  gold sportsman’s license.
   97         Section 4. Section 1009.8959, Florida Statutes, is created
   98  to read:
   99         1009.8959 The Florida State Guard Scholarship Program.—
  100         (1)The Florida State Guard Scholarship Program is created
  101  to reward members of the Florida State Guard enrolled in
  102  eligible Florida public or independent postsecondary educational
  103  institutions who meet the eligibility criteria established in
  104  subsection (2). The Department of Education shall administer the
  105  program according to rules and procedures established by the
  106  State Board of Education.
  107         (2)To be eligible to receive a scholarship under the
  108  program, an individual must meet all of the following criteria:
  109         (a)Have completed 4 years of active service with the
  110  Florida State Guard.
  111         (b)Have graduated with a standard high school diploma or
  112  its equivalent.
  113         (c)Be a current or former member the Florida State Guard
  114  in good standing as determined by rules adopted by the director
  115  of the Florida State Guard.
  116         (d)Have not yet earned a baccalaureate degree.
  117         (e)Be enrolled in a career certificate or an associate or
  118  a baccalaureate degree program at a state university, a Florida
  119  College System institution, or an independent Florida college or
  120  university that is eligible to participate in the William L.
  121  Boyd, IV, Effective Access to Student Education Grant Program
  122  under s. 1009.89.
  123         (3)To be eligible for continued scholarship funding under
  124  the program, an individual must:
  125         (a)Enroll in at least 6 credit hours per semester; and
  126         (b)Earn at least 24 semester credit hours in the last
  127  academic year or the academic year in which the student earned
  128  the scholarship, if the student was enrolled full time; or a
  129  prorated number of credit hours as determined by the Department
  130  of Education if the student was enrolled for less than full time
  131  for any part of the academic year.
  132         (4)The Department of Education shall issue awards as
  133  follows:
  134         (a)Students enrolled in a state university or a Florida
  135  College System institution are eligible for an award equal to
  136  100 percent of tuition and fees.
  137         (b)Students enrolled in an eligible independent Florida
  138  college or university are eligible for a fixed award calculated
  139  by using the average tuition and fee calculation as prescribed
  140  by the Department of Education for full-time attendance at a
  141  public postsecondary education institution at the comparable
  142  level.
  143         (c)A stipend for textbooks may be granted if the
  144  Legislature appropriates sufficient funding to cover the cost of
  145  such stipends.
  146         (d)Students may receive an award for a maximum of 100
  147  percent of the number of credits required to complete a
  148  baccalaureate degree program.
  149         (5)The Department of Education shall issue awards from the
  150  scholarship program annually, subject to the appropriation of
  151  funds by the Legislature. If funds appropriated are not adequate
  152  to provide the maximum allowable award to each eligible
  153  applicant, awards in all components of the program must be
  154  prorated using the same percentage reduction.
  155         (6)The State Board of Education and the Board of Governors
  156  shall adopt rules and regulations, respectively, to implement
  157  this program.
  158         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.