Florida Senate - 2013                       CS for CS for SB 442
       
       
       
       By the Committees on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
       and Commerce and Tourism; and Senator Thompson
       
       
       
       585-03461-13                                           2013442c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Black Cultural Tourism
    3         Enhancement Commission; creating the commission within
    4         the Department of State; directing the commission to
    5         independently exercise its powers and duties;
    6         requiring the department to provide administrative and
    7         staff support services to the commission; providing
    8         the powers and duties of the commission; providing for
    9         the appointment and terms of commission members;
   10         providing for the reimbursement of per diem and travel
   11         expenses for commission members; authorizing the
   12         commission to establish or designate a direct-support
   13         organization for specified purposes; providing an
   14         effective date.
   15  
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Black Cultural Tourism Enhancement Commission.—
   19         (1) There is created the Black Cultural Tourism Enhancement
   20  Commission. The commission shall be administratively housed
   21  within the Department of State but shall independently exercise
   22  the powers and duties specified in this section. The department
   23  staff shall provide administrative and staff support services to
   24  the commission.
   25         (2) The commission shall:
   26         (a) Provide financial and technical assistance to
   27  facilities and events that have the potential to expand tourism,
   28  create jobs, and stimulate economic development in the state
   29  through the marketing of the state’s black cultural sites.
   30         (b) Provide training and technical assistance for staff
   31  members of the state’s black cultural sites in order to develop
   32  tour guides and tour operators for the sites.
   33         (c) Provide resources and technical assistance for
   34  educators of the state related to the teaching of black history,
   35  promote the state’s black cultural sites as historical venues,
   36  and support tourism in the state through student tours of the
   37  sites.
   38         (d) Serve as a resource for the Florida Tourism Industry
   39  Marketing Corporation in order to expand cultural tourism in the
   40  state.
   41         (3)(a) The commission is composed of 13 members who are
   42  appointed in the following manner:
   43         1. The Governor shall appoint three members, one of whom
   44  represents an institution of higher learning, one of whom
   45  represents the Florida African-American Heritage Preservation
   46  Network, and one of whom represents business and civic interests
   47  in the African-American community.
   48         2. The President of the Senate shall appoint two members,
   49  one of whom is involved in instructional design in a school
   50  district or in an institution of higher learning and one of whom
   51  is an employee of a museum of African-American history in this
   52  state.
   53         3. The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall
   54  appoint two members, one of whom has a substantial history of
   55  community service in the performing or visual arts in the
   56  African-American community and one of whom is an employee of a
   57  museum of African-American history in this state.
   58         4. The Secretary of State shall appoint two members who are
   59  directors of museums of African-American history or black
   60  archives and research centers in this state.
   61         5. The Commissioner of Education shall appoint two members
   62  who are members of the Commissioner of Education’s African
   63  American History Task Force.
   64         6. The Florida Conference of Black State Legislators shall
   65  appoint two members, one of whom is a representative of a
   66  philanthropic foundation and one of whom is a member of the
   67  clergy.
   68         (b) A member of the commission shall be appointed for a
   69  term of 4 years, except that at the time of the initial
   70  appointment, two members appointed by the Governor, one member
   71  appointed by the President of the Senate, one member appointed
   72  by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, one member
   73  appointed by the Secretary of State, and one member appointed by
   74  the Commissioner of Education shall be appointed for a term of 2
   75  years. A member may be appointed to a subsequent term.
   76         (4) Members of the commission shall serve without
   77  compensation but are entitled to reimbursement for per diem and
   78  travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061, Florida Statutes.
   79         (5) The commission may establish or designate a direct
   80  support organization that may receive grants, bequests, and
   81  other resources to support the state’s black cultural sites and
   82  the functions of the commission.
   83         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.