HB 1361 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to specialty license plates; amending s.
3	320.08058, F.S.; revising the use of annual use fees from
4	the sale of Sea Turtle license plates; repealing s.
5	370.12(1)(h), F.S., which provides for the Fish and
6	Wildlife Conservation Commission to provide grants to
7	conduct marine turtle research, conservation, and
8	education activities; providing an effective date.
9
10	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
11
12	Section 1. Subsection (19) of section 320.08058, Florida
13	Statutes, is amended to read:
14	320.08058 Specialty license plates.--
15	(19) SEA TURTLE LICENSE PLATES.--
16	(a) The department shall develop a Sea Turtle license
17	plate as provided in this section. The word "Florida" must
18	appear at the top of the plate, the words "Helping Sea Turtles
19	Survive" must appear at the bottom of the plate, and the image
20	of a sea turtle must appear in the center of the plate.
21	(b) The first $500,000 inannual use fees shall be
22	deposited in the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund in the
23	Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and. The first
24	$500,000 in annual revenueshall be used by the Florida Marine
25	Turtle Protection Program to conduct sea turtle protection,
26	research, and recovery programs. The next $215,000 in annual use
27	fees shall be distributed to the Caribbean Conservation
28	Corporation to fund sea turtle research and education programs.
29	The Caribbean Conservation Corporation shall annually distribute
30	assigned funds through a Sea Turtle Grants Program that supports
31	sea turtle research and education activities of Florida-based
32	nonprofit groups, education and research institutions, and
33	coastal counties in this state. The Caribbean Conservation
34	Corporation shall write and publish procedures for submitting
35	grant applications and criteria for allocating available funds
36	and shall appoint a technical advisory committee, composed of
37	seven members, to establish funding priorities and select grant
38	recipients from proposals submitted by eligible entities. Two of
39	the members shall be selected from the Fish and Wildlife
40	Conservation Commission; one member shall be selected from a
41	county bordering on the Atlantic Coast with sea turtle nesting
42	sites; one member shall be selected from a county bordering on
43	the Gulf Coast with sea turtle nesting sites; one member shall
44	be the executive director of the Caribbean Conservation
45	Corporation; and two members shall be selected at large. Any
46	additional annual revenue from the annual use fees deposited in
47	the fund shall be distributed as follows: 70 percent shall be
48	deposited in the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund and
49	used by the Florida Marine Turtle Protection Program for sea
50	turtle conservation activities, and 30 percent shall be assigned
51	to the Caribbean Conservation Corporation to fund the Sea Turtle
52	Grants Program. A maximum of 15 percent of the funds distributed
53	to the Caribbean Conservation Corporation may be expended for
54	administrative costs directly associated with the grants
55	program, and a maximum of 10 percent may be used to promote and
56	market the Sea Turtle license plate. Funds received by the
57	Caribbean Conservation Corporation from the Sea Turtle license
58	plate or the Sea Turtle Grants Program and funds received by any
59	grant recipient of the Sea Turtle Grants Program may not be used
60	for litigation.Additional license plate revenue, up to an
61	amount not exceeding 30 percent of the total annual revenue,
62	shall be dispersed annually through the marine turtle grants
63	program as provided in s. 370.12(1)(h). The remaining annual use
64	proceeds shall be used by the Florida Marine Turtle Protection
65	Program for sea turtle conservation activities.
66	(c) For fiscal year 2003-2004, there is appropriated to
67	the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission from the
68	accumulated sea turtle grant moneys in the Marine Resources
69	Conservation Trust Fund the amount of $350,000. That amount
70	shall be transferred to the Caribbean Conservation Corporation
71	to fund the Sea Turtle Grants Program subject to the limitations
72	and provisions of paragraph (b). For fiscal year 2003-2004, any
73	remaining sea turtle license plate funds in the Marine Resources
74	Conservation Trust Fund shall be used by the Fish and Wildlife
75	Conservation Commission for sea turtle research and management
76	activities.
77	Section 2. Paragraph (h) of subsection (1) of section
78	370.12, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
79	Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.