Florida Senate - 2017                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. PCS (614458) for CS for SB 1598
       
       
       
       
       
       
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                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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       The Committee on Appropriations (Brandes) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Between lines 577 and 578
    4  insert:
    5         Section 8. Section 1013.101, Florida Statutes, is created
    6  to read:
    7         1013.101 Shared-use agreements.—
    8         (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—The Legislature finds
    9  that greater public access to recreation and sports facilities
   10  is needed to reduce the impact of obesity, diabetes, and other
   11  chronic diseases on personal health and health care
   12  expenditures. Public schools are equipped with taxpayer-funded
   13  indoor and outdoor recreation facilities that offer easily
   14  accessible opportunities for physical activity for residents of
   15  the community. The Legislature also finds that it is the policy
   16  of the state for district school boards to allow the shared use
   17  of school buildings and property by adopting policies allowing
   18  for shared use and implementing shared-use agreements with local
   19  governmental entities and nonprofit organizations. The
   20  Legislature intends to increase the number of school districts
   21  that open their playground facilities to community use outside
   22  of school hours.
   23         (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
   24         (a) “High-need communities” means communities in which at
   25  least 50 percent of children are eligible to receive free or
   26  reduced-price meals at the school that will be the subject of
   27  the shared-use agreement.
   28         (b) “Shared use” means allowing access to school playground
   29  facilities by community members for recreation or another
   30  purpose of importance to the community through a shared-use
   31  agreement or a school district or school policy that opens
   32  school facilities for use by governmental or nongovernmental
   33  entities or the public.
   34         (c) “Shared-use agreement” means a written agreement
   35  between a school district and a governmental or nongovernmental
   36  entity which defines the roles, responsibilities, terms, and
   37  conditions for community use of a school-owned facility for
   38  recreation or other purposes.
   39         (3) PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY USE OF SHARED FACILITIES.—The
   40  department shall provide technical assistance to school
   41  districts, including, but not limited to, individualized
   42  assistance, the creation of a shared-use technical assistance
   43  toolkit containing useful information for school districts, and
   44  the development of publicly accessible online information of
   45  shared-use resources and existing shared-use agreements.
   46         (4) DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBILITIES.—The department shall:
   47         (a) Establish guidelines for funding eligibility consistent
   48  with this section, promote the availability of the funding
   49  statewide, provide technical assistance to applicants, evaluate
   50  applicants, determine allowable expenses, and disburse funding.
   51         (b) Annually post on its website and report to the
   52  President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
   53  Representatives the expenditure of the funds used to administer
   54  this section, including the total amount of funding distributed,
   55  the school districts that received funding, the amount of
   56  funding each school district received, and the department’s
   57  evaluation results.
   58         (c) Develop an application process for school districts to
   59  receive funding. The application must require that a school
   60  district:
   61         1. Demonstrate that it has an active partnership with a
   62  local governmental agency or nonprofit organization;
   63         2. Agree to fully implement its shared-use project within
   64  the grant period;
   65         3. Abide by the conditions for receiving assistance;
   66         4. Provide the department with a copy of the school
   67  district’s shared-use agreement or shared-use policy; and
   68         5. Collect and provide data and other information required
   69  by the department for monitoring, accountability, and evaluation
   70  purposes.
   71         (d) Give funding priority to high-need communities. In
   72  consultation with the Shared-Use Task Force, the department may
   73  establish additional criteria for funding priorities consistent
   74  with this section.
   75         (5) REPORT.—By December 31, 2017, the department shall
   76  submit an electronic report to the President of the Senate and
   77  the Speaker of the House of Representatives on the grants that
   78  have been disbursed or could be disbursed if funding were
   79  available. The department shall submit a final report on the
   80  grant disbursements by June 30, 2018.
   81         Section 9. Shared-Use Task Force.—The Shared-Use Task
   82  Force, a task force as defined in s. 20.03, Florida Statutes, is
   83  created within the Department of Education. The task force is
   84  created to identify barriers in creating shared-use agreements
   85  and to make recommendations to facilitate the shared use of
   86  school facilities generally and in high-need communities.
   87         (1) The task force is composed of seven members appointed
   88  by the department, as follows:
   89         (a) Two representatives from school districts, including
   90  one representative from school districts 1 through 33 and one
   91  representative from school districts 34 through 67;
   92         (b) One representative from a public health department;
   93         (c) Two representatives from community-based programs in
   94  high-need communities; and
   95         (d) Two representatives from recreational organizations.
   96         (2) The task force shall elect a chair and vice chair. The
   97  chair and vice chair may not be representatives from the same
   98  member category. Members of the task force shall serve without
   99  compensation, but are entitled to reimbursement for per diem and
  100  travel expenses pursuant to s. 112.061, Florida Statutes.
  101         (3) The task force shall meet by teleconference or other
  102  electronic means, if possible, to reduce costs.
  103         (4) The department shall provide the task force with staff
  104  necessary to assist the task force in the performance of its
  105  duties.
  106         (5) The task force shall submit a report of its findings
  107  and recommendations to the President of the Senate and the
  108  Speaker of the House of Representatives by October 1, 2017. Upon
  109  submission of the report, the task force shall expire.
  110         (6) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to
  111  implement and administer this section.
  112  
  113  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  114  And the title is amended as follows:
  115         Delete line 49
  116  and insert:
  117         programs that meet specified criteria; creating s.
  118         1013.101, F.S.; providing legislative findings and
  119         intent; defining terms; requiring the Department of
  120         Education to provide specified assistance to school
  121         districts; providing department responsibilities;
  122         specifying funding allocation guidelines; requiring
  123         the department to annually post information regarding
  124         specified allocations on its website and report to the
  125         Legislature; requiring the department to develop an
  126         application process for school districts; requiring
  127         funding priority to be given to high-need communities;
  128         requiring reports to the Legislature by specified
  129         dates; creating the Shared-Use Task Force within the
  130         department; specifying the purpose and membership of
  131         the task force; providing requirements for electing a
  132         task force chair and vice chair and conducting
  133         meetings; providing that members of the task force
  134         serve without compensation but are entitled to
  135         reimbursement for per diem and travel expenses;
  136         requiring the task force to meet by teleconference or
  137         other electronic means; requiring the department to
  138         provide the task force with necessary staff; requiring
  139         the task force to submit a report to the Legislature
  140         by a specified date; providing for expiration of the
  141         task force; providing for rulemaking; providing an