SENATE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. CS for CS for SB 2008, 1st Eng.
    Amendment No. ___   Barcode 373572
                            CHAMBER ACTION
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11  Senator Klein moved the following amendment:
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13         Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 
14         On page 56, between lines 5 and 6,
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16  insert:  
17         Section 33.  Legislative findings and intent;  Digital
18  Divide Council; powers and duties; program objectives and
19  goals; review and assessment of program performances; annual
20  report.
21         (1)  Legislative findings and intent.--The Legislature
22  finds as follows:
23         (a)  frequent access to use of information technology
24  and possession of the knowledge and skills required to use
25  information technology productively is becoming increasingly
26  important to being competitively qualified for high skill/high
27  wage employment;
28         (b)  the availability of reasonable opportunities to
29  have frequent access to use of information technology and to
30  obtain the education and training necessary to acquire the
31  knowledge and skills required to use information technology
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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. CS for CS for SB 2008, 1st Eng.
    Amendment No. ___   Barcode 373572
 1  productively is critical to becoming competitively qualified
 2  for high skill/high wage employment;
 3         (c)  families that are living near or below the poverty
 4  level are without adequate economic resources to have
 5  reasonable opportunities to obtain frequent access to use of
 6  information technology or the education and training necessary
 7  to acquire the knowledge and skills required to become
 8  competively qualified for high skill/high wage employment;
 9         (d)  the absence of such economic resources divides
10  such families from those who have adequate economic resources
11  to have such opportunities, places such families at-risk of
12  never realizing their employment and income earning potential,
13  and prevents the state's economy from prospering to the extent
14  it could if such families realized their employment and income
15  earning potential; and
16         (e)  the divide between the members of such at-risk
17  families and those who have adequate economic resources to
18  have reasonable opportunities to obtain frequent use of
19  information technology and the education and training
20  necessary to acquire the knowledge and skills required to
21  become competitively qualified for high skill/high wage
22  employment could be reduced, and the economy of the state
23  could be enhanced, by the design and implementation of
24  programs that provide such opportunities to members of such
25  at-risk families.
26  
27  It is the intent of the Legislature to provide the authority
28  and resources reasonably necessary to facilitate design and
29  implementation of such programs.
30         (2)  Digital Divide Council.--There is created in the
31  State Technology Office a Digital Divide Council.  The Council
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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. CS for CS for SB 2008, 1st Eng.
    Amendment No. ___   Barcode 373572
 1  shall be constituted as follows:
 2         (a)  the Chief Information Officer in the State
 3  Technology Office;
 4         (b)  the Director of the Office of Tourism, Trade and
 5  Economic Development in the Executive Office of the Governor;
 6         (c)  the President of Workforce Florida, Inc.;
 7         (d)  the Director of the Agency for Workforce
 8  Innovation;
 9         (e)  the Chair of itflorida.com, Inc.;
10         (f)  the Commissioner of Education;
11         (g)  the Executive Director of the State Board of
12  Community Colleges;
13         (h)  the Executive Director of the State Board for
14  Career Education;
15         (i)  a representative of the information technology
16  industry in Florida appointed by the Speaker of the Florida
17  House of Representatives;
18         (j)  a representative of the information technology
19  industry in Florida appointed by the President of the Florida
20  Senate.
21         (k)  two members of the Florida House of
22  Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House, one of
23  whom shall be a member of the Republican caucus, and the other
24  of whom shall be a member of the Democratic caucus; and
25         (l)  two members of the Florida Senate appointed by the
26  President of the Senate, one of whom shall be a member of the
27  Republican caucus, and the other of whom shall be a member of
28  the Democratic caucus.
29         (3)  Term of appointed members of Council; vacancies;
30  compensation of members.--
31         The appointed members of the Council shall serve an
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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. CS for CS for SB 2008, 1st Eng.
    Amendment No. ___   Barcode 373572
 1  initial term of one year commencing July 1, 2001, and ending
 2  June 30, 2002, and successor appointees shall serve a term of
 3  two years, the first of which shall commence July 1, 2002 and
 4  end June 30, 2004.  Successive two year terms shall commence
 5  and end on the same schedule in subsequent years.  Any vacancy
 6  in the membership of the Council resulting from resignation,
 7  incapacity or death shall be filled within 30 days from the
 8  date the vacancy is effective.  The appointed members of the
 9  Council shall serve without compensation, but such appointees
10  and the other members of the Council shall be entitled to
11  receive per diem and reimbursement for travel expenses as
12  provided in s. 112.061, Florida Statute.  Payment of such per
13  diem and reimbursement of such travel expenses may be made
14  from appropriations authorized to be used for such purposes.
15         (4)  Council meetings; election of officers.--The
16  Council shall conduct its initial meeting by August 1, 2001,
17  and shall meet thereafter at least once every 60 days.  In its
18  initial meeting, the members of the Council shall elect one of
19  themselves to serve as Chair and another to serve as
20  Vice-Chair, each for a term of one year from the date of the
21  election.  Any vacancy in the offices of Chair and Vice-Chair
22  resulting from resignation, incapacity or death shall be
23  filled by similar election within 30 days from the date the
24  vacancy is effective.
25         (5)  Administrative and technical support; payment of
26  support costs.--The State Technology Office shall provide such
27  administrative and technical support to the Council as is
28  reasonably necessary for the Council to effectively and timely
29  carry out its duties and responsibilities.  All direct and
30  indirect costs of providing such support and performing the
31  other duties imposed on the State Technology Office related to
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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. CS for CS for SB 2008, 1st Eng.
    Amendment No. ___   Barcode 373572
 1  design and implementation of the programs authorized above may
 2  be paid from appropriations authorized to be used for such
 3  purposes.
 4         (6)  Powers and duties of Council.--The Digital Divide
 5  Council, through the State Technology Office, is authorized
 6  and empowered to facilitate the design and implementation of
 7  programs that are aimed at achieving the objectives and goals
 8  stated in this section.  The State Technology Office shall
 9  present and demonstrate to the Council the design
10  characteristics and functional elements of each program
11  proposed to be implemented to achieve the objectives and goals
12  stated in this section, and each such program shall be
13  reviewed and approved by the Council before being
14  implemented.  Such programs shall initially be implemented as
15  pilot programs in a minimum of six different areas of the
16  state to develop model programs that are likely to be
17  successful if deployed throughout the state.  The areas of the
18  state where the pilot programs are implemented shall be
19  selected by the Digital Divide Council with the objectives of
20  testing the merits of the programs in each geographic region
21  of the state and providing equal exposure of the programs to
22  urban and rural communities alike.  Implementation of all such
23  pilot and model programs shall be administered by and through
24  the local workforce development boards, and each such board
25  shall coordinate and confirm the ready availability and timely
26  delivery of all elements of such programs to ensure the
27  highest probability of such programs achieving their intended
28  results.
29         (7)  Program objectives and goals.--The programs
30  authorized by this section shall have the following objectives
31  and goals:
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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. CS for CS for SB 2008, 1st Eng.
    Amendment No. ___   Barcode 373572
 1         (a)  maximizing efficient and productive use of
 2  existing facilities, equipment, personnel, programs and funds
 3  available from federal, state and local government agencies,
 4  and from any private person or entity;
 5         (b)  using innovative concepts employing newly
 6  developed technologies in educating and training those who are
 7  enrolled in the programs authorized by this section;
 8         (c)  developing viable partnerships between public
 9  agencies and private persons and entities based on mutual
10  commitment to responsible and dedicated participation in
11  designing and implementing the programs authorized by this
12  section;
13         (d)  recruiting, enrolling, retaining and graduating as
14  many at-risk family members as feasible to ensure that they
15  have reasonable opportunities to obtain access to frequent use
16  of information technology and the education and training
17  necessary to competitively qualify them for high skill/high
18  wage employment;
19         (e)  reducing the number of underachieving and failing
20  students in the state's public school systems who are members
21  of at-risk families;
22         (f)  reducing the number of underemployed and
23  unemployed members of at-risk families;
24         (g)  using information technology to facilitate
25  achievement of Sunshine State Standards by all children
26  enrolled in the state's K-12 school system who are members of
27  at-risk families;
28         (h)  training teachers in the state's K-12 school
29  system to efficiently and effectively use information
30  technology to plan, teach and administer all courses of
31  instruction required and available by election of children
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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. CS for CS for SB 2008, 1st Eng.
    Amendment No. ___   Barcode 373572
 1  enrolled in the system;
 2         (i)  using information technology to enable members of
 3  at-risk families who are no longer enrolled in K-12 schools to
 4  obtain the education needed to achieve successful completion
 5  of general education development test preparation to earn a
 6  high school diploma, an applied technology diploma, a
 7  vocational certificate, an associate of arts degree, or a
 8  baccalaureate degree;
 9         (j)  bridging the digital divide in developing a
10  competitive workforce to meet the employment needs of Florida
11  based information technology businesses and establishing
12  Florida as having the most information technology ready
13  workforce in the western hemisphere.
14         (8)  Monitoring, reviewing and evaluating program
15  performances; reporting results.--The Digital Divide Council,
16  through the State Technology Office, shall continually
17  monitor, review and evaluate the progress of performances
18  realized from implementation of the programs authorized by
19  this section.  The State Technology Office shall prepare and
20  submit a report to the Council at least 10 days in advance of
21  each of its meetings subsequent to its initial meeting and
22  each such report shall, at a minimum, identify and describe
23  the functional elements of each program being implemented, and
24  identify and describe the facilities, equipment, personnel,
25  programs and funds used to design and implement the
26  program.  For each such program, the report shall also
27  identify by name, address, age and sex the school-age
28  children, and their older siblings and parents who are
29  enrolled in the program, state the educational level achieved
30  by each enrollee as of the date he or she enrolled in the
31  program, state the attendance and achievement level recorded
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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. CS for CS for SB 2008, 1st Eng.
    Amendment No. ___   Barcode 373572
 1  for each enrollee in the program, evaluate the progress each
 2  enrollee is making toward successful completion of the
 3  program, and identify by name, address, age and sex each
 4  enrollee who successfully completes the program.  For each
 5  such program that is designed to prepare enrollees for high
 6  skill/high wage employment, the report shall identify each
 7  enrollee who successfully completes the program, describe each
 8  such employment position for which each enrollee has applied,
 9  identify by name, address and nature of business each Florida
10  based employer to whom each such application for employment
11  has been addressed, state the results each enrollee obtained
12  from making each such application, and describe the nature of
13  any employment obtained and terms of compensation being earned
14  from such employment by each enrollee as a result of making
15  such applications.
16         (9)  Annual report.--By March 1, 2002, the Digital
17  Divide Council, through the State Technology Office, shall
18  report to the Executive Office of the Governor, the Speaker of
19  the Florida House of Representatives, and the President of the
20  Florida Senate the results of the Council's monitoring,
21  reviewing and evaluating such programs since their inception,
22  and the Council's recommendations as to whether such programs
23  should be continued and expanded to achieve the objectives and
24  goals stated in this section.
25  
26  (Redesignate subsequent sections.)
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29  ================ T I T L E   A M E N D M E N T ===============
30  And the title is amended as follows:
31         On page 7, line 22, after the semicolon
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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. CS for CS for SB 2008, 1st Eng.
    Amendment No. ___   Barcode 373572
 1  insert:
 2         stating legislative findings and intent;
 3         providing for creation of the Digital Divide
 4         Council; authorizing design and implementation
 5         of programs; expressing program objectives and
 6         goals; providing for review and assessment of
 7         program performances;
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