Florida Senate - 2018                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1714
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì923982CÎ923982                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: WD            .                                
                  01/29/2018           .                                
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       The Committee on Commerce and Tourism (Perry) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 273 - 468
    4  and insert:
    5         (1)DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the term:
    6         (a)“Local governmental entity” means the county or
    7  municipality on whose behalf the tourism promotion agency
    8  engages in tourism promotion activity.
    9         (b)“Promote tourism development” means using public funds
   10  to promote or perform the activities described in s.
   11  125.0104(5).
   12         (c)“Tourism promotion agency” means an entity, including,
   13  but not limited to, an agency as defined in s. 119.011, that
   14  receives public funds to promote tourism development on behalf
   15  of one or more local governmental entities.
   16         1. The term also includes any local governmental entity or
   17  any entity under contract with one or more local governmental
   18  entities to promote tourism development on behalf of such local
   19  governmental entity or entities through the expenditure of
   20  public funds.
   21         2.For purposes of this section, the Florida Tourism
   22  Industry Marketing Corporation and the Department of Economic
   23  Opportunity are not considered tourism promotion agencies.
   24         (2)OPERATION.—A tourism promotion agency must operate in
   25  accordance with the following:
   26         (a)Directors, officers, and members of the board of
   27  directors of a tourism promotion agency shall disclose to the
   28  board any activity that may reasonably be construed to be a
   29  conflict of interest.
   30         (b)Board members shall serve without compensation.
   31         (c)Officers, employees, or agents, including the president
   32  or chief executive officer, may not receive compensation from
   33  public funds for the performance of tourism promotion-related
   34  duties, responsibilities, or services in an amount that exceeds
   35  the annual compensation of the chief administrative or executive
   36  officer or employee of the local governmental entity on whose
   37  behalf such duties, responsibilities, or services are performed.
   38  Any payments of performance bonuses or severance pay to
   39  officers, employees, or agents from public funds are prohibited
   40  unless specifically authorized by law.
   41         (3) TRANSPARENCY.—
   42         (a)All contracts entered into by a tourism promotion
   43  agency must include:
   44         1. The purpose of the contract.
   45         2.Specific performance standards and responsibilities for
   46  each entity.
   47         3.A detailed project or contract budget, if applicable.
   48         4.The value of any services provided.
   49         5.The projected travel and entertainment expenses for
   50  employees and board members, if applicable.
   51         (b)1.A tourism promotion agency shall submit to the
   52  governing body of the local governmental entity, within 45 days
   53  after the end of its fiscal year, a complete and detailed report
   54  setting forth all public and private financial data of the
   55  tourism promotion agency, and shall publish such report on its
   56  website.
   57         2.The financial data must include:
   58         a.The total amount of revenue received from public and
   59  private sources.
   60         b. The operating budget.
   61         c.The total amount of salary, benefits, and other
   62  compensation provided by the tourism promotion agency to its
   63  officers, employees, or agents, regardless of the funding
   64  source.
   65         d.An itemized account of all expenditures, including all
   66  travel and entertainment expenditures.
   67         e.All contracts with a total contract value of $5,000 or
   68  more.
   69         (c)A tourism promotion agency that fails to comply with
   70  the transparency and accountability requirements of this
   71  subsection may not receive or expend public funds until it
   72  becomes fully compliant.
   73         (d)The local governmental entity shall maintain and
   74  provide online access to all of the information required under
   75  this subsection and s. 125.0104(4)(f). Each local governmental
   76  entity shall provide the Department of Economic Opportunity with
   77  the specific website address where the required information is
   78  published and maintained online, and the Department of Economic
   79  Opportunity shall publish and maintain a single online directory
   80  that lists each local governmental entity and the specific
   81  website address where such required information may be located.
   82  
   83  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   84  And the title is amended as follows:
   85         Delete lines 5 - 45
   86  and insert:
   87         accounts and records; creating s. 288.0751, F.S.;
   88         defining terms; providing requirements for the
   89         operation of economic development agencies; requiring
   90         specified persons to file an annual disclosure of
   91         certain interests; providing requirements for such
   92         disclosure; requiring board members to serve without
   93         compensation; authorizing per diem and travel expenses
   94         for certain persons paid from specified funds;
   95         prohibiting specified persons from receiving pubic
   96         compensation in excess of a certain amount;
   97         prohibiting certain performance bonuses and severance
   98         pay; subjecting certain persons to a specified code of
   99         ethics; requiring an economic development agency to
  100         take certain actions regarding a significant potential
  101         conflict of interest; limiting lodging expenses for
  102         certain persons; providing an exception; authorizing
  103         certain persons to expend their own funds in excess of
  104         the lodging expense limit; prohibiting the expenditure
  105         of economic development agency funds on certain items
  106         unless authorized by law; prohibiting specified
  107         persons from accepting certain items from specified
  108         entities under certain circumstances; requiring that
  109         contracts include specified information; requiring
  110         that certain contracts be submitted to the governing
  111         board of the county and published on the county’s
  112         website within a certain timeframe; prohibiting an
  113         economic development agency from executing certain
  114         contracts without obtaining a majority vote of the
  115         governing board of the county; requiring an economic
  116         development agency to submit a report of financial
  117         data to the governing board of a county and publish
  118         such report on its website within a certain timeframe;
  119         requiring that the financial data include certain
  120         items; requiring that an economic development agency’s
  121         website contain certain information; specifying that
  122         certain records are public records; requiring an
  123         economic development agency to provide online access
  124         to certain information; requiring an economic
  125         development agency to provide the Department of
  126         Economic Opportunity with a certain website address;
  127         requiring the department to publish and maintain a
  128         directory of certain information; prohibiting an
  129         economic development agency from receiving or
  130         expending public funds while in violation of certain
  131         requirements; requiring the Auditor General to conduct
  132         certain audits and report to certain persons if
  133         certain violations are found; providing that it is
  134         unlawful to knowingly and willfully make false or
  135         misleading statements, provide false or misleading
  136         information, fail to report certain information, or
  137         purposefully avoid specified requirements; providing
  138         civil and criminal penalties; providing applicability;
  139         creating s. 288.12261, F.S.; defining terms; providing
  140         requirements for the operation of tourism promotion
  141         agencies; requiring board members to serve without
  142         compensation; prohibiting specified persons from
  143         receiving public compensation in excess of a certain
  144         amount; prohibiting certain performance bonuses and
  145         severance pay except under certain circumstances;
  146         requiring that contracts include specified
  147         information; requiring a tourism promotion agency to
  148         submit a report of financial data to the governing
  149         body of the local governmental entity and publish such
  150         report on its website within a certain timeframe;
  151         requiring that the financial data include certain
  152         items; prohibiting a tourism promotion agency from
  153         receiving or expending public funds while in violation
  154         of certain requirements; requiring a local
  155         governmental entity to maintain and provide online
  156         access to certain information; requiring a local
  157         governmental entity to provide the department with a
  158         certain website address; requiring the department to
  159         publish and maintain a directory of certain
  160         information; amending s. 125.0104, F.S.; requiring