HB 1623

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to persons with disabilities; creating the
3	Interagency Services Committee for Persons with
4	Disabilities; providing legislative intent; providing that
5	the committee be staffed by member agencies of the
6	committee; providing for the membership of the committee;
7	providing for per diem and travel expenses; providing
8	duties and responsibilities for the committee; requiring
9	the committee to submit a report to the Governor and the
10	Legislature; providing for termination of the committee;
11	providing an effective date.
12
13	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15	Section 1.  Interagency Services Committee for Persons with
16	Disabilities.--
17	(1)  There is created the Interagency Services Committee
18	for Persons with Disabilities. It is the intent of the
19	Legislature that the committee develop and implement a
20	coordinated, multidisciplinary, and interagency intervention
21	service system for young persons with disabilities.
22	Specifically, the intervention service system is intended to
23	eliminate barriers that impede educational opportunities and to
24	enhance educational opportunities leading to future employment
25	for persons with disabilities who are between the ages of 3
26	years and 30 years.
27	(2)(a)  The committee shall consist of the following 11
28	members: the Commissioner of Education, the director of the
29	Agency for Persons with Disabilities, the director of the
30	Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Secretary of Health
31	Care Administration, the Secretary of Health, the Secretary of
32	Children and Family Services, the director of Workforce Florida,
33	Inc., the director of the Division of Blind Services, the
34	director of the Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged,
35	the director of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, and the
36	director of Individuals in Supported Employment within the
37	Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. The members of the
38	committee shall designate one of its members as chairperson.
39	(b)  The Department of Children and Family Services, the
40	Department of Education, the Department of Health, and the
41	Agency for Persons with Disabilities shall provide staff support
42	to the committee. Meetings and records of the committee are
43	subject to ss. 119.07 and 286.011, Florida Statutes. The
44	chairperson may designate one of the agencies providing staff
45	support to perform administrative responsibilities for the
46	committee. The committee may invite technical experts to appear
47	at meetings and provide information.
48	(c)  Committee members shall serve without compensation but
49	are entitled to reimbursement for expenses incurred in carrying
50	out their duties as provided in s. 112.061, Florida Statutes.
51	Members who are public officers or employees shall be reimbursed
52	through the budget entity through which they are compensated.
53	Persons invited to appear and speak at committee meetings are
54	also entitled to receive per diem and travel expenses.
55	(3)  The committee shall:
56	(a)  Identify and assist in removing federal and state
57	barriers to the local coordination of services that are provided
58	to persons with disabilities.
59	(b)  Identify adequate, equitable, and flexible funding
60	sources in order to streamline services that are provided to
61	persons with disabilities.
62	(c)  Develop guidelines for implementing policies to ensure
63	a comprehensive and coordinated system for all services provided
64	by state and local agencies, including multidisciplinary
65	assessment practices for persons with disabilities.
66	(d)  Develop an evaluation process to measure the success
67	of state and local interagency efforts in improving the quality
68	and coordination of services that are provided to persons with
69	disabilities.
70	(e)  Identify current systems for dispute resolution and
71	recommend guidelines to coordinate the systems.
72	(f)  Encourage each governmental agency, school district,
73	university, and community college to review employment policies
74	for the purpose of identifying jobs and tasks that can be
75	accomplished by individuals with disabilities and to develop job
76	classifications that identify preferred employment for persons
77	with disabilities.
78	(g)  Identify and eliminate state-imposed work
79	disincentives.
80	(h)  Eliminate barriers that impede options for living
81	within a community.
82	(i)  Assist in the revision of special competencies for
83	earning a high school diploma and course requirements necessary
84	for employment-related competencies.
85	(j)  Ensure that employment goals are a primary objective
86	of each support plan.
87	(k)  Develop incentives or preferences in the state
88	procurement process for businesses that employ persons with
89	disabilities.
90	(l)  Develop collaborative relationships with federal,
91	state, and local agencies in order to identify and align
92	resources for and eliminate barriers to expanding and improving
93	inclusive options for living within a community.
94	(m)  Coordinate transition services statewide for students
95	with disabilities as they prepare to leave secondary schools and
96	access postsecondary institutions for training and subsequent
97	employment.
98	(n)  Develop an incentive system that rewards secondary and
99	postsecondary schools that place young persons with disabilities
100	into competitive employment.
101	(o)  Ensure that data systems transfer data between
102	agencies and that each agency reports annually on its efforts to
103	employ persons with disabilities.
104	(4)  The committee shall present a report of its findings
105	and recommendations to the Governor, the President of the
106	Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by March
107	1, 2007. The committee is abolished on June 1, 2007.
108	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.