Florida Senate - 2015 CS for SB 1296
By the Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and
Domestic Security; and Senator Bean
583-02396-15 20151296c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to military and veterans affairs;
3 creating the Military and Overseas Voting Assistance
4 Task Force within the Department of State; specifying
5 membership of the task force; authorizing
6 reimbursement for per diem and travel expenses;
7 prescribing duties of the task force; requiring
8 submission of a report to the Governor and the
9 Legislature by a specified date; providing for
10 expiration of the task force; providing for staffing;
11 providing legislative findings regarding continuing
12 education for veterans of the United States Armed
13 Forces; providing legislative intent for the State
14 Board of Education and the Board of Governors of the
15 State University System to work collaboratively to
16 align existing degree programs at state universities
17 and Florida College System institutions, train
18 faculty, incorporate outreach services into existing
19 disability services, facilitate statewide meetings for
20 personnel, and provide sufficient courses and priority
21 registration to veterans; amending s. 322.08, F.S.;
22 requiring the application form for an original,
23 renewal, or replacement driver license or
24 identification card to include a voluntary checkoff
25 authorizing veterans to request written or electronic
26 information on federal, state, and local benefits and
27 services for veterans; requiring the requested
28 information to be delivered by a third-party provider;
29 requiring the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
30 Vehicles to report monthly to the Department of
31 Veterans’ Affairs the names and mailing or e-mail
32 addresses of veterans who request information;
33 requiring the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to
34 disseminate veteran contact information to the third
35 party provider; requiring that the third-party
36 provider be a nonprofit organization; defining the
37 term “nonprofit organization”; requiring that the
38 Department of Veterans’ Affairs provide veteran
39 contact information to the appropriate county or city
40 veteran service officer; specifying that a third-party
41 provider may use veteran contact information only as
42 authorized; prohibiting a third-party provider from
43 selling veteran contact information; requiring a
44 third-party provider to maintain confidentiality of
45 veteran contact information under specified
46 provisions; providing a penalty; amending s. 322.21,
47 F.S.; revising eligibility for veterans for exemptions
48 from certain license fees; providing an effective
49 date.
50
51 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
52
53 Section 1. Military and Overseas Voting Assistance Task
54 Force.—The Military and Overseas Voting Assistance Task Force, a
55 task force as defined in s. 20.03, Florida Statutes, is created
56 within the Department of State. The task force is created for
57 the express purpose of studying issues involving the development
58 and implementation of an online voting system that allows absent
59 uniformed services voters to electronically submit voted
60 ballots.
61 (1) The task force is composed of 20 members, as follows:
62 (a) The Secretary of State or his or her designee, who
63 shall serve as chair of the task force.
64 (b) The Adjutant General or his or her designee.
65 (c) The executive director of the Department of Veterans’
66 Affairs or his or her designee.
67 (d) The executive director of the Agency for State
68 Technology or his or her designee.
69 (e) One member of the Senate appointed by the President of
70 the Senate.
71 (f) One member of the House of Representatives appointed by
72 the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
73 (g) One member of the Senate appointed by the Minority
74 Leader of the Senate.
75 (h) One member of the House of Representatives appointed by
76 the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
77 (i) One member appointed by the Governor.
78 (j) Six supervisors of elections appointed by the Secretary
79 of State.
80 (k) Five individuals appointed by the Secretary of State,
81 with relevant expertise in computers, the Internet, or other
82 associated technologies.
83 (2) Members of the task force shall serve without
84 compensation, but are entitled to reimbursement for per diem and
85 travel expenses pursuant to s. 112.061, Florida Statutes.
86 (3) The task force, at a minimum, shall study and report on
87 the following issues:
88 (a) Any factor that limits the ability of absent uniformed
89 services voters to request, receive, and return absentee ballots
90 within the current statutory time period for casting absentee
91 ballots.
92 (b) The costs associated with the development and
93 implementation of an online voting system.
94 (c) The feasibility of absent uniformed services voters
95 using an online voting system to electronically submit a voted
96 ballot.
97 (d) The security of electronically submitting a voted
98 ballot through an online voting system.
99 (e) Procedures adopted by other states to facilitate
100 greater electoral participation among absent uniformed services
101 voters.
102 (4) The Secretary of State shall submit a report to the
103 Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
104 House of Representatives by July 1, 2016, containing the task
105 force’s recommendation concerning whether the state should
106 pursue the development and implementation of an online voting
107 system that allows absent uniformed services voters to
108 electronically submit voted ballots. If the task force favorably
109 recommends an online voting system, the report must include
110 recommended steps for developing and implementing such a system.
111 Upon submission of the report, the task force shall expire.
112 (5) The Division of Elections of the Department of State
113 shall provide support staff for the task force. The Agency for
114 State Technology shall assist the task force upon request.
115 Section 2. The Legislature finds that many veterans of the
116 United States Armed Forces in this state have completed training
117 and coursework during their military service, including overseas
118 deployments, resulting in tangible and quantifiable strides in
119 their pursuit of a postsecondary degree. The Legislature further
120 finds that the State Board of Education and the Board of
121 Governors of the State University System must work together to
122 ensure that military training and coursework are granted
123 academic credit in order to assist veterans in continuing their
124 education. Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature that
125 the State Board of Education and the Board of Governors work
126 collaboratively to:
127 (1) Align existing degree programs, including, but not
128 limited to, vocational and technical degrees, at each state
129 university and Florida College System institution with
130 applicable military training and experience to maximize academic
131 credit award for such training and experience.
132 (2) Appoint and train specific faculty within each degree
133 program at each state university and Florida College System
134 institution as liaisons and contacts for veterans.
135 (3) Incorporate outreach services tailored to disabled
136 veterans into existing disability services on the campus of each
137 state university and Florida College System institution to make
138 available to such veterans information on disability services
139 provided by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs,
140 other federal and state agencies, and private entities.
141 (4) Facilitate statewide meetings for personnel at state
142 universities and Florida College System institutions who provide
143 student services for veterans to discuss and develop best
144 practices, exchange ideas and experiences, and attend
145 presentations by individuals with expertise in the unique needs
146 of veterans.
147 (5) Make every effort to provide veterans with sufficient
148 courses required for graduation, including, but not limited to,
149 giving priority registration to veterans.
150 Section 3. Present subsection (8) of section 322.08,
151 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (9), and a new
152 subsection (8) is added to that section, to read:
153 322.08 Application for license; requirements for license
154 and identification card forms.—
155 (8)(a) To support the carrying out of the duties of the
156 Department of Veterans’ Affairs prescribed in s. 292.05 and to
157 facilitate outreach to veterans residing in this state, the
158 application form for an original, renewal, or replacement driver
159 license or identification card must include a voluntary checkoff
160 authorizing a veteran of the United States Armed Forces to
161 request written or electronic information on federal, state, and
162 local benefits and services available to veterans. The veteran
163 may elect to receive requested information through United States
164 mail or by e-mail. The requested information shall be delivered
165 to the veteran by any third party provider selected by the
166 Department of Veterans’ Affairs to act on its behalf.
167 (b) The department shall collaborate with the Department of
168 Veterans’ Affairs to administer this subsection. The department
169 shall report monthly to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs the
170 name and mailing address or e-mail address of each veteran who
171 requests information as provided in paragraph (a). Following
172 receipt of the monthly report, the Department of Veterans’
173 Affairs shall disseminate the contact information for each such
174 veteran to the third-party provider acting on its behalf. The
175 third-party provider must be a nonprofit organization with
176 sufficient ability to communicate with veterans residing
177 throughout this state. For purposes of this paragraph, the term
178 “nonprofit organization” means an organization exempt from the
179 federal income tax under s. 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of
180 1986 or any federal, state, or local governmental entity.
181 (c) In addition to the requirements of paragraph (b), the
182 Department of Veterans’ Affairs shall disseminate the contact
183 information for a veteran who selects the voluntary checkoff to
184 the appropriate county or city veteran service officer in order
185 to facilitate further outreach to veterans.
186 (d)1. The contact information of a veteran which is
187 obtained by a third-party provider pursuant to this subsection
188 may be used only as authorized by this subsection. The third
189 party provider may not sell such contact information. Except as
190 otherwise provided, the third-party provider must maintain the
191 confidentiality of the contact information in accordance with
192 chapter 119 and the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of
193 1994, 18 U.S.C. ss. 2721 et seq.
194 2. A person who willfully and knowingly violates this
195 paragraph commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable
196 as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
197 Section 4. Subsection (7) of section 322.21, Florida
198 Statutes, is amended to read:
199 322.21 License fees; procedure for handling and collecting
200 fees.—
201 (7) Any veteran honorably discharged from the Armed Forces
202 who has served in combat been issued a valid identification card
203 by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in accordance with s.
204 295.17, has been determined by the United States Department of
205 Veterans Affairs or its predecessor to have a 100-percent total
206 and permanent service-connected disability rating for
207 compensation, or has been determined to have a service-connected
208 total and permanent disability rating of 100 percent, is in
209 receipt of disability retirement pay from any branch of the
210 United States Armed Services, and who is qualified to obtain a
211 driver license under this chapter is exempt from all fees
212 required by this section.
213 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.