HB 1135

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to international development relief and
3	outreach activities in Haiti; creating s. 288.0252, F.S.;
4	providing a definition; requiring the Office of Tourism,
5	Trade, and Economic Development to contract with the
6	state's international volunteer corps to provide certain
7	relief activities for the people of Haiti; requiring that
8	such activities focus on certain rural Haitian
9	communities; requiring that such activities be conducted
10	by volunteers with certain qualifications; directing the
11	international volunteer corps to raise public and private
12	funding to support the relief activities; authorizing the
13	international volunteer corps to establish certain
14	partnerships and build long-term relationships; providing
15	for the award of grants to certain grassroots
16	organizations; providing that professionals licensed by
17	the Department of Business and Professional Regulation
18	shall receive continuing education credit for certain
19	volunteer services provided for specific projects in
20	Haiti; providing appropriations; providing an effective
21	date.
22
23	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24
25	Section 1.  Section 288.0252, Florida Statutes, is created
26	to read:
27	288.0252  International development relief and outreach
28	activities in Haiti.-
29	(1)  As used in this section, the term "international
30	volunteer corps" means the Florida Association for Volunteer
31	Action in the Caribbean and the Americas, Inc.
32	(2)  The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development
33	shall contract with the state's international volunteer corps to
34	provide the following rescue, recovery, rebuilding, and
35	sustainable humanitarian outreach activities for the people of
36	the Republic of Haiti:
37	(a)  Emergency disaster response and recovery, including
38	food and relief supply distribution, coordination with existing
39	relief efforts, and the support of firefighters, emergency
40	medical technicians, paramedics, and urban search and rescue
41	professionals.
42	(b)  Health care, including emergency rescue, emergency
43	medical services, and post-traumatic stress counseling.
44	(c)  Domestic security, including the improvement of local
45	food security.
46	(d)  Rebuilding, including alternative energy placement and
47	structural engineering to assess damage to buildings,
48	infrastructure, and other construction essential to the recovery
49	and rebuilding of the country.
50	(e)  Sustainable economic development, including job
51	creation, enterprise development, and the recovery of
52	agriculture.
53	(3)  Such activities shall focus on rural communities
54	receiving Haitian refugees and other residents from disaster-
55	stricken or otherwise impoverished areas of the country.
56	(4)  The international volunteer corps must require that
57	such activities be conducted by qualified volunteers who are
58	citizens of the state and who each have at least 5 years of
59	experience in coordinating international volunteer programs in
60	Haiti.
61	(5)  The international volunteer corps shall, to the
62	maximum extent practicable, leverage the state funding provided
63	to implement this section by raising funds from public and
64	private sources, including, but not limited to, the Federal
65	Government and charitable foundations, to support the activities
66	described in subsection (2).
67	(6)  To accomplish the activities described in subsection
68	(2), the international volunteer corps may, for specific
69	projects in Haiti:
70	(a)  Establish partnerships with organizations and
71	individuals.
72	(b)  Build long-term social and economic relationships with
73	businesses and organizations based in this state.
74	(c)  Award grants of at least $1,000 but not more than
75	$20,000 to grassroots organizations in this state that have
76	previously completed successful international volunteer corps
77	assignments in Haiti.
78	(7)  Notwithstanding any provision of law, a professional
79	licensed by the Department of Business and Professional
80	Regulation shall receive one continuing education credit or
81	unit, regardless of required categories, for each hour of
82	volunteer service provided for specific projects in Haiti in
83	coordination with the state's international volunteer corps, not
84	to exceed 100 percent of his or her annual professional
85	requirement for continuing education.
86	Section 2.  The recurring sum of $1 million is appropriated
87	annually from the General Revenue Fund to the Office of Tourism,
88	Trade, and Economic Development for the 2010-2011, 2011-2012,
89	2012-2013, 2013-2014, 2014-2015, 2015-2016, 2016-2017, 2017-
90	2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020 fiscal years for the purpose of
91	implementing s. 288.0252, Florida Statutes.
92	Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.

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