Florida Senate - 2012                                     SB 120
       
       
       
       By Senator Sobel
       
       
       
       
       31-00138-12                                            2012120__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the public broadcasting program
    3         system; amending s. 1001.26, F.S.; including certain
    4         educational television stations licensed by the
    5         Federal Communications Commission for which support
    6         and funding may be given; providing an effective date.
    7  
    8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
    9  
   10         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and paragraph
   11  (c) of subsection (2) of section 1001.26, Florida Statutes, are
   12  amended to read:
   13         1001.26 Public broadcasting program system.—
   14         (1) There is created a public broadcasting program system
   15  for the state. The department shall administer this program
   16  system pursuant to rules adopted by the State Board of
   17  Education. This program system must complement and share
   18  resources with the instructional programming service of the
   19  Department of Education and educational UHF, VHF, ITFS, and FM
   20  stations in the state. The program system must include:
   21         (a) Support for existing Corporation for Public
   22  Broadcasting qualified program system educational radio and
   23  television stations, and new stations meeting Corporation for
   24  Public Broadcasting qualifications and providing a first service
   25  to an audience that does not currently receive a broadcast
   26  signal or providing a significant new program service as defined
   27  by rule by the State Board of Education, and nondenominational
   28  television stations licensed as of July 1, 2012, by the Federal
   29  Communications Commission as full-power educational broadcast
   30  stations.
   31         (2)
   32         (c) The department is authorized to provide equipment,
   33  funds, and other services to extend and update both the existing
   34  and the proposed educational television and radio systems of
   35  tax-supported and nonprofit, corporate-owned facilities. All
   36  stations funded must be qualified by the Corporation for Public
   37  Broadcasting or be nondenominational television stations
   38  licensed as of July 1, 2012, by the Federal Communications
   39  Commission as full-power educational broadcast stations. New
   40  stations eligible for funding shall provide a first service to
   41  an audience that is not currently receiving a broadcast signal
   42  or provide a significant new program service as defined by State
   43  Board of Education rules. Funds appropriated to the department
   44  for educational television and funds appropriated to the
   45  department for educational radio may be used by the department
   46  for either educational television or educational radio, or for
   47  both.
   48         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.