Florida Senate - 2010                                    SB 1098
       
       
       
       By Senator Justice
       
       
       
       
       16-01017-10                                           20101098__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public works projects; creating the
    3         “Florida Reemployment Investment Act”; requiring each
    4         state agency and private sector contractor performing
    5         services for a state or local government public works
    6         project being funded by state or federal funds and
    7         administered by a state agency to verify that 100
    8         percent of the onsite employees and independent
    9         contractors are state residents; providing for an
   10         exception; providing for retroactive effect and a
   11         period for compliance for projects begun on or after a
   12         specified date; requiring the Agency for Workforce
   13         Innovation to verify that 100 percent of the employees
   14         and independent contractors at each public works job
   15         site are residents of this state, or that the state
   16         agency or private sector contractor made a good faith
   17         effort to employ Florida residents before the state
   18         agency or private sector contractor sought to employ
   19         persons who are not residents of this state; providing
   20         a civil penalty for noncompliance or bad faith
   21         circumvention of the act; defining terms; requiring
   22         the Agency for Workforce Innovation to adopt rules;
   23         providing an effective date.
   24  
   25         WHEREAS, the State of Florida has suffered unemployment
   26  levels that have exceeded 10 percent, and
   27         WHEREAS, the state has an interest in reemploying
   28  unemployed residents to lessen the state’s unemployment
   29  compensation burden to employers, and
   30         WHEREAS, the state has a compelling interest in reemploying
   31  its residents to lessen the need for government services, NOW,
   32  THEREFORE,
   33  
   34  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   35  
   36         Section 1. (1) This act may be cited as the “Florida
   37  Reemployment Investment Act.”
   38         (2)(a) Each state agency or private sector contractor
   39  performing services for a state or local government public works
   40  project being funded by state or federal funds and administered
   41  by a state agency shall verify that 100 percent of the onsite
   42  employees and independent contractors are residents of this
   43  state or that the state agency and private sector contractor
   44  made a good faith effort to employ Florida residents before the
   45  state agency or private sector contractor sought to employ
   46  persons who are not residents of this state.
   47         (b) Paragraph (a) applies to any public works project that
   48  commenced on or after July 1, 2009, but on or before July 1,
   49  2012.
   50         (c) A state agency or private sector contractor governed by
   51  this section shall comply with paragraph (a) by October 1, 2010,
   52  or 60 days after commencement of the project, whichever occurs
   53  first.
   54         (3) The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall verify that:
   55         (a) One-hundred percent of the employees and independent
   56  contractors at each public works job site are residents of this
   57  state; or
   58         (b) That the state agency or private sector contractor made
   59  a good faith effort to employ Florida residents before the state
   60  agency or private sector contractor sought to employ persons who
   61  are not residents of this state.
   62         (4) A private sector contractor who fails to comply with
   63  this section, or attempts in bad faith to circumvent the
   64  requirements of this section, is liable for a civil penalty up
   65  to $5,000 for each violation of this section. Each day is a
   66  separate violation.
   67         (5) For purposes of this section, the term:
   68         (a) “Commencement of a project” means the first day that
   69  physical construction begins at the job site of the public works
   70  project.
   71         (b) “Resident of this state” or “Florida resident” means a
   72  person who has a valid Florida driver’s license, has a valid
   73  Florida identification card, or has declared his or her
   74  homestead property in this state for at least 1 year before the
   75  date of commencement of the project.
   76         (6) The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall adopt rules
   77  pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54, Florida Statutes, to
   78  administer this section.
   79         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.