| 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 | television stations licensed by the Federal |
| 5 | Communications Commission for which support and |
| 6 | funding may be given; providing an effective date. |
| 7 |
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| 8 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
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| 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. |