Bill Text: FL S0244 | 2014 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Specialty License Plates

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 2-1)

Status: (Failed) 2014-05-02 - Died in Transportation, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 7005 (Ch. 2014-216) [S0244 Detail]

Download: Florida-2014-S0244-Comm_Sub.html

---

       Florida Senate - 2014                              CS for SB 244
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Transportation; and Senator Braynon
       
       
       
       
       
       596-03276-14                                           2014244c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to specialty license plates; amending
    3         s. 320.08056, F.S.; authorizing the collection of
    4         annual use fees for the Sun, Sea, and Smiles license
    5         plate; limiting the authorized uses of collected
    6         annual use fees; defining a term; amending s.
    7         320.08058, F.S.; creating a Sun, Sea, and Smiles
    8         license plate; providing for the distribution of use
    9         fees received from the sale of such plates; amending
   10         s. 320.08062, F.S.; revising provisions relating to
   11         audit and attestation requirements for annual use fee
   12         proceeds; requiring the Department of Highway Safety
   13         and Motor Vehicles to discontinue the distribution of
   14         revenues to an organization that does not meet
   15         specified requirements; authorizing the department to
   16         resume the distribution of revenue under certain
   17         conditions; requiring a report to the Legislature;
   18         requiring the discontinuance of a specialty plate
   19         under certain circumstances; amending chapter 2008
   20         176, Laws of Florida, as amended; extending the
   21         prohibition on the issuance of new specialty license
   22         plates; providing an effective date.
   23          
   24  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   25  
   26         Section 1. Paragraph (eeee) is added to subsection (4) of
   27  section 320.08056, Florida Statutes, and subsection (10) of that
   28  section is amended, to read:
   29         320.08056 Specialty license plates.—
   30         (4) The following license plate annual use fees shall be
   31  collected for the appropriate specialty license plates:
   32         (eeee) Sun, Sea, and Smiles license plate, $25.
   33         (10)(a) A specialty license plate annual use fee collected
   34  and distributed under this chapter, or any interest earned from
   35  those fees, may be used in this state only for purposes
   36  authorized by this chapter and may not be used for commercial or
   37  for-profit activities nor for general or administrative
   38  expenses, except as authorized by s. 320.08058 or to pay the
   39  cost of the audit or report required by s. 320.08062(1).
   40         (b) As used in this subsection, the term “administrative
   41  expenses” means those expenditures that are considered direct
   42  operating costs of the organization. These expenses include, but
   43  are not limited to, the following:
   44         1. Administrative salaries of employees and officers of the
   45  organization who do not, or cannot prove, via detailed daily
   46  time sheets, that they actively participate in program
   47  activities;
   48         2. Bookkeeping and support services of the organization;
   49         3. Office supplies and equipment not directly used for the
   50  specified program;
   51         4. Travel time, per diem, mileage reimbursement, and
   52  lodging expenses not directly associated with a specified
   53  program purpose;
   54         5. Paper, printing, envelopes, and postage not directly
   55  associated with a specified program purpose; or
   56         6. Miscellaneous expenses such as food, beverage,
   57  entertainment, and conventions.
   58         Section 2. Subsection (83) is added to section 320.08058,
   59  Florida Statutes, to read:
   60         320.08058 Specialty license plates.—
   61         (83) SUN, SEA, AND SMILES LICENSE PLATES.—
   62         (a) Notwithstanding s. 45, chapter 2008-176, Laws of
   63  Florida, as amended by s. 21, chapter 2010-223, Laws of Florida,
   64  and s. 320.08053(1), the department shall develop a Sun, Sea,
   65  and Smiles license plate as provided in this section. Sun, Sea,
   66  and Smiles license plates must bear the colors and design
   67  approved by the department. The word “Florida” must appear at
   68  the top of the plate, and the words “Sun-Sea-Smiles” must appear
   69  at the bottom of the plate.
   70         (b) The department shall retain all annual use fees from
   71  the sale of such plates until all startup costs for developing
   72  and issuing the plates have been recovered. Thereafter, the
   73  license plate annual use fees shall be distributed as follows:
   74         1. Five percent shall be distributed to Florida Caribbean
   75  Charitable Foundation, Inc., for the sole purpose of marketing
   76  the Sun, Sea, and Smiles license plate.
   77         2. Thirty percent shall be distributed to Florida Caribbean
   78  Charitable Foundation, Inc. Of this amount, up to 5 percent may
   79  be used for administrative expenses, and the remainder shall be
   80  used as follows:
   81         a. Sixty percent shall be used for a college scholarship
   82  program.
   83         b. Fifteen percent shall be used to promote health and
   84  wellness among residents of this state of Caribbean descent.
   85         c. Twenty-five percent shall be used to promote awareness
   86  of Caribbean culture within the state.
   87         3. Twenty percent shall be distributed to the American
   88  Friends of Jamaica, Inc., a New York-based charitable, not-for
   89  profit organization under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
   90  Code, to be used solely to fund grants to promote social and
   91  community development among residents of this state. Of this
   92  amount, up to 5 percent may be used for administrative and
   93  marketing expenses.
   94         4. Ten percent shall be distributed to the Sant La Haitian
   95  Neighborhood Center to promote social and community development.
   96  Of this amount, up to 5 percent may be used for administrative
   97  expenses.
   98         5. Ten percent shall be distributed to Fanm Ayisyen Nan
   99  Miyami, Inc., to promote social and community development. Of
  100  this amount, up to 5 percent may be used for administrative
  101  expenses.
  102         6. Twenty percent shall be distributed to Greater Caribbean
  103  American Cultural Coalition, Inc., to promote awareness of
  104  Caribbean culture within the state. Of this amount, up to 5
  105  percent may be used for administrative expenses.
  106         7. Five percent shall be distributed to Little Haiti
  107  Optimist Foundation, Inc., to promote awareness of Caribbean
  108  culture and youth development within the state. Of this amount,
  109  up to 5 percent may be used for administrative expenses.
  110         Section 3. Section 320.08062, Florida Statutes, is amended
  111  to read:
  112         320.08062 Audits and attestations required; annual use fees
  113  of specialty license plates.—
  114         (1)(a) All organizations that receive annual use fee
  115  proceeds from the department are responsible for ensuring that
  116  proceeds are used in accordance with ss. 320.08056 and
  117  320.08058.
  118         (b) Any organization not subject to audit pursuant to s.
  119  215.97 shall annually attest, under penalties of perjury, that
  120  such proceeds were used in compliance with ss. 320.08056 and
  121  320.08058. The attestation shall be made annually in a form and
  122  format determined by the department.
  123         (c) Any organization subject to audit pursuant to s. 215.97
  124  shall submit an audit report in accordance with rules
  125  promulgated by the Auditor General. The annual attestation shall
  126  be submitted to the department for review within 9 months after
  127  the end of the organization’s fiscal year.
  128         (2)(a) Within 120 90 days after receiving an organization’s
  129  audit or attestation, the department shall determine which
  130  recipients of revenues from specialty license plate annual use
  131  fees have not complied with subsection (1). In determining
  132  compliance, the department shall commission an independent
  133  actuarial consultant, or an independent certified public
  134  accountant, who has expertise in nonprofit and charitable
  135  organizations.
  136         (a) The department must discontinue the distribution of
  137  revenues to an organization that fails to submit the
  138  documentation required in subsection (1), but may resume
  139  distribution of the revenues upon receipt of the required
  140  documentation.
  141         (b) If the department or its designee determines that an
  142  organization has not complied or has failed to use the revenues
  143  in accordance with ss. 320.08056 and 320.08058, the department
  144  must discontinue the distribution of the revenues to the
  145  organization. The department must notify the organization of its
  146  findings and direct the organization to make the changes
  147  necessary in order to comply with this chapter. If the officers
  148  of the organization sign under penalties of perjury that they
  149  acknowledge the findings of the department and attest that they
  150  have taken corrective action and attest that the organization
  151  will submit to a follow-up review by the department, the
  152  department may resume the distribution of revenues until the
  153  department determines that the organization has complied.
  154         (c) If an organization fails to comply with the
  155  department’s directive requiring corrective actions as outlined
  156  in paragraph (b), the revenue distributions must be discontinued
  157  until completion of the next regular session of the Legislature.
  158  The department must notify the Legislature by the first day of
  159  the regular session of an organization whose revenues have been
  160  withheld pursuant to this paragraph. If the Legislature does not
  161  provide direction to the organization and the department
  162  regarding the status of the undistributed revenues, the
  163  department shall discontinue the plate, and undistributed
  164  revenues must within 12 months after the annual use fee proceeds
  165  are withheld by the department, the proceeds shall be
  166  immediately deposited into the Highway Safety Operating Trust
  167  Fund to offset department costs related to the issuance of
  168  specialty license plates.
  169         (b) In lieu of discontinuing revenue disbursement pursuant
  170  to this subsection, upon determining that a recipient has not
  171  complied or has failed to use the revenues in accordance with
  172  ss. 320.08056 and 320.08058, and with the approval of the
  173  Legislative Budget Commission, the department is authorized to
  174  redirect previously collected and future revenues to an
  175  organization that is able to perform the same or similar
  176  purposes as the original recipient.
  177         (3) The department or its designee has the authority to
  178  examine all records pertaining to the use of funds from the sale
  179  of specialty license plates.
  180         Section 4. Section 45 of chapter 2008-176, Laws of Florida,
  181  as amended by section 21 of chapter 2010-223, Laws of Florida,
  182  is amended to read:
  183         Section 5. Except for a specialty license plate proposal
  184  which has submitted a letter of intent to the Department of
  185  Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles before prior to May 2, 2008,
  186  and which has submitted a valid survey, marketing strategy, and
  187  application fee as required by s. 320.08053, Florida Statutes,
  188  before October 1, 2008 prior to the effective date of this act,
  189  or which was included in a bill filed during the 2008
  190  Legislative Session, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
  191  Vehicles may not issue any new specialty license plates pursuant
  192  to ss. 320.08056 and 320.08058, Florida Statutes, between July
  193  1, 2008, and July 1, 2016 2011.
  194         Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.