| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the Seaport Employment Training |
| 3 | Grant Program; reviving, reenacting, and amending s. |
| 4 | 288.386, F.S.; requiring the Department of Economic |
| 5 | Opportunity under certain circumstances to establish |
| 6 | and administer the Florida-Caribbean Basin Trade |
| 7 | Initiative within the program; providing the purpose |
| 8 | of, and the department's responsibilities for, the |
| 9 | initiative; providing for coordination and alliances |
| 10 | with certain organizations and funding programs; |
| 11 | requiring the department to develop performance |
| 12 | measures for the initiative; providing an effective |
| 13 | date. |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Section 1. Notwithstanding the repeal of section 288.386, |
| 18 | Florida Statutes, by section 52 of chapter 2011-213, Laws of |
| 19 | Florida, section 288.386, Florida Statutes, is revived, |
| 20 | reenacted, and amended to read: |
| 21 | 288.386 Florida-Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative.- |
| 22 | (1) Contingent upon a specific appropriation, the |
| 23 | department shall, within the Seaport Employment Training Grant |
| 24 | Program, (STEP) shall establish and administer the Florida- |
| 25 | Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative for the purpose of assisting |
| 26 | small and medium-sized businesses to become involved in |
| 27 | international activities and helping them to identify markets |
| 28 | with product demand, identify strategic alliances in those |
| 29 | markets, and obtain the financing to effectuate trade |
| 30 | opportunities in the Caribbean Basin. The initiative must focus |
| 31 | assistance to businesses located in urban communities. The |
| 32 | initiative shall offer export readiness, assistance and referral |
| 33 | services, internships, seminars, workshops, conferences, and e- |
| 34 | commerce plus mentoring and matchmaking services, but shall |
| 35 | coordinate with and not duplicate those services provided by |
| 36 | Enterprise Florida, Inc. |
| 37 | (2) To enhance initiative effectiveness and leverage |
| 38 | resources, the department STEP shall coordinate initiative |
| 39 | activities with Enterprise Florida, Inc., United States Export |
| 40 | Assistance Centers, the Florida Export Finance Corporation, |
| 41 | Florida Trade Data Center, Small Business Development Centers, |
| 42 | and any other organizations that the department STEP deems |
| 43 | appropriate. The coordination may encompass export assistance |
| 44 | and referral services, export financing, job-training programs, |
| 45 | educational programs, market research and development, market |
| 46 | promotion, trade missions, e-commerce, and mentoring and |
| 47 | matchmaking services relative to the expansion of trade between |
| 48 | this state Florida and the Caribbean Basin. The initiative shall |
| 49 | also form alliances with multilateral, international, and |
| 50 | domestic funding programs from this state Florida, the United |
| 51 | States, and the Caribbean Basin to coordinate systems and |
| 52 | programs for fundamental assistance in facilitating trade and |
| 53 | investment. |
| 54 | (3) STEP shall administer the Florida-Caribbean Basin |
| 55 | Trade Initiative pursuant to a performance-based contract with |
| 56 | the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development. The |
| 57 | department Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development |
| 58 | shall develop performance measures, standards, and sanctions for |
| 59 | the initiative, which. Performance measures must include, but |
| 60 | are not limited to, the number of businesses assisted,; the |
| 61 | number of urban businesses assisted,; and the increase in value |
| 62 | of exports to the Caribbean which is attributable to the |
| 63 | initiative. |
| 64 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012. |