| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the Financial Literacy Council; |
| 3 | creating the council; providing purposes; providing for |
| 4 | membership; providing for meetings, procedures, records, |
| 5 | and reimbursement for travel and per diem expenses; |
| 6 | prohibiting compensation for council members; providing |
| 7 | powers and duties of the council; providing for resources |
| 8 | of the council; requiring any funds received by the |
| 9 | council to be deposited in the Administrative Trust Fund; |
| 10 | providing for expiration of the council; requiring annual |
| 11 | reports to the Governor and Legislature; providing a |
| 12 | contingent appropriation; providing construction; |
| 13 | providing a limitation on expenditures of certain grant |
| 14 | funds; providing an effective date. |
| 15 |
|
| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
|
| 18 | Section 1. Financial Literacy Council.-- |
| 19 | (1) CREATION.--The Financial Literacy Council is created |
| 20 | within the Department of Financial Services. The council shall |
| 21 | provide information and education about financial issues to |
| 22 | consumers and small businesses. |
| 23 | (2) PURPOSES.--The purposes of the council are to: |
| 24 | (a) Provide a single state resource for consumers and |
| 25 | small businesses to contact for financial assistance. |
| 26 | (b) Equip small businesses, young people, working adults, |
| 27 | and seniors with the tools and resources they need to make |
| 28 | informed financial decisions. |
| 29 | (c) Help residents of this state learn more about personal |
| 30 | finance issues, including, but not limited to, personal savings, |
| 31 | applying for loans, managing debt, making sound investment |
| 32 | choices, and saving for retirement. |
| 33 | (d) Facilitate the sharing of best practices for financial |
| 34 | management that are characteristic of highly successful small |
| 35 | businesses. |
| 36 | (e) Serve as an educational forum for resource planning, |
| 37 | financial planning, and management issues for small businesses. |
| 38 | (3) COMPOSITION.-- |
| 39 | (a) Members of the council shall include the Chief |
| 40 | Financial Officer, or her or his designee, who shall serve as |
| 41 | chair, and not more than nine other members to be appointed by |
| 42 | the Chief Financial Officer. Six members must be persons with |
| 43 | experience in various areas of the financial industry, such as |
| 44 | banking, finance, insurance, real estate, and securities. At |
| 45 | least one member must be a person who is not employed by and is |
| 46 | not a representative of the financial industry. At least one |
| 47 | member must be chosen from a list of three persons submitted to |
| 48 | the Chief Financial Officer by a senior advocacy group. At least |
| 49 | one member must be chosen from a list of three persons submitted |
| 50 | to the Chief Financial Officer by the Florida Council on |
| 51 | Economic Education. Appointed members shall include persons who |
| 52 | represent rural and urban interests and the ethnic and cultural |
| 53 | diversity of the state's population. |
| 54 | (b) Members of the council shall serve at the pleasure of |
| 55 | the Chief Financial Officer. The council shall meet at the call |
| 56 | of the chair. Five of the initial members appointed to the |
| 57 | council shall be appointed for terms of 3 years. All other |
| 58 | members shall be appointed for terms of 4 years. Members shall |
| 59 | serve until their successors are appointed. A vacancy shall be |
| 60 | filled for the remainder of the unexpired term. |
| 61 | (c) The Department of Financial Services shall provide |
| 62 | administrative and staff support to the council. |
| 63 | (4) MEETINGS; PROCEDURES; RECORDS; COMPENSATION.-- |
| 64 | (a) The business of the council shall be presented to the |
| 65 | council in the form of an agenda. The agenda shall be set by the |
| 66 | Chief Financial Officer and shall include items of business |
| 67 | requested by the council members. |
| 68 | (b) A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum, |
| 69 | and action by a majority of a quorum shall be official. |
| 70 | (c) The council shall make a report of each meeting to the |
| 71 | Chief Financial Officer. The report shall show the names of the |
| 72 | members present and shall include a record of the council's |
| 73 | discussions, recommendations, and actions taken. The Chief |
| 74 | Financial Officer shall keep the records of the proceedings of |
| 75 | each meeting on file and shall make the records available to any |
| 76 | interested person or group. |
| 77 | (d) Council members shall serve without compensation. |
| 78 | However, each council member shall be entitled to reimbursement |
| 79 | for per diem and travel expenses pursuant to s. 112.061, Florida |
| 80 | Statutes. |
| 81 | (5) POWERS AND DUTIES.-- |
| 82 | (a) The council shall study financial problems that affect |
| 83 | consumers, particularly young persons, seniors, working adults, |
| 84 | and small businesses that arise from a lack of basic knowledge |
| 85 | of financial issues. |
| 86 | (b) The council shall develop written materials which |
| 87 | shall be available to educate consumers and small businesses |
| 88 | about basic financial issues. |
| 89 | (c) The council shall establish an outreach program to |
| 90 | help educate affected persons through public meetings or |
| 91 | seminars or through web-based media. |
| 92 | (6) RESOURCES.-- |
| 93 | (a) The council may apply for and accept funds, grants, |
| 94 | gifts, and services from the state, the government of the United |
| 95 | States or any of its agencies, or any other public or private |
| 96 | source for the purpose of defraying clerical and administrative |
| 97 | costs as may be necessary in carrying out its duties under this |
| 98 | section. All sums received by the council shall be deposited |
| 99 | into the Administrative Trust Fund. The moneys so received and |
| 100 | deposited into the trust fund are hereby appropriated for use by |
| 101 | the council in carrying out its duties as prescribed by this |
| 102 | section and to the department to defray the expenses incurred in |
| 103 | the discharge of its administrative duties as prescribed by this |
| 104 | section. |
| 105 | (b) The council shall seek out and wherever possible use |
| 106 | the talents, expertise, and resources within the state, and |
| 107 | especially those of the public school, community college, and |
| 108 | state university systems, in furtherance of its mission. |
| 109 | (c) The council may procure information and assistance |
| 110 | from any state agency, political subdivision, municipal |
| 111 | corporation, or public officer. |
| 112 | (d) The council may coordinate with any state agency, any |
| 113 | political subdivision, or any school district of the state in |
| 114 | the furtherance of its mission. |
| 115 | (7) EXPIRATION.--The council shall cease to exist on |
| 116 | December 31, 2010. |
| 117 | (8) REPORTS.--Beginning January 1, 2007, the council shall |
| 118 | report annually on January 1 to the Governor, the Speaker of the |
| 119 | House of Representatives, and the President of the Senate on the |
| 120 | activities carried out under the provisions of this section. |
| 121 | Section 2. For fiscal year 2005?2006, there is hereby |
| 122 | appropriated the sum of $50,000 in nonrecurring funds from the |
| 123 | Administrative Trust Fund in the specific appropriation category |
| 124 | "Financial Literary Council" to the Financial Literary Council |
| 125 | created by this act. The appropriation is contingent upon |
| 126 | receipt of grant funds or private contributions by the council |
| 127 | for the purposes of this act. Nothing in this section shall be |
| 128 | construed as entitling the Financial Literacy Council to expend |
| 129 | funds from the Administrative Trust Fund in an amount greater |
| 130 | than the amount of grant funds or private contributions received |
| 131 | by the council and deposited into the Administrative Trust Fund |
| 132 | pursuant to this act. |
| 133 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005. |