ENROLLED
       2023 Legislature                                   CS for SB 598
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                                              2023598er
    1  
    2         An act relating to higher educational facilities
    3         financing; amending s. 243.51, F.S.; modifying
    4         legislative findings and declarations regarding the
    5         Higher Education Facilities Financing Act; amending s.
    6         243.53, F.S.; specifying when the term for a new
    7         appointee to the Higher Educational Facilities
    8         Financing Authority begins; defining the term
    9         “communications media technology”; revising a
   10         requirement for when action may be taken by the
   11         authority; authorizing the authority to conduct
   12         meetings and workshops by means of communications
   13         media technology; providing notice requirements for
   14         meetings and workshops; amending s. 243.54, F.S.;
   15         authorizing the authority to contract with an entity
   16         to assist with administrative matters; amending s.
   17         243.58, F.S.; prohibiting the authority from entering
   18         into a financing agreement with a participating
   19         institution for a project if at the time the agreement
   20         is executed certain conditions exist; amending s.
   21         243.73, F.S.; revising the timeframe within which the
   22         authority is required to submit a report to the
   23         Governor and the Legislature; providing an effective
   24         date.
   25          
   26  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   27  
   28         Section 1. Section 243.51, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   29  read:
   30         243.51 Findings and declarations.—It is the purpose of ss.
   31  243.50-243.77 to provide a measure of assistance and an
   32  alternative method for enabling private institutions of higher
   33  education in of this state to provide the facilities and
   34  structures that they need and to enable those institutions to
   35  coordinate their budgetary needs with the timing of receipt of
   36  tuition revenues. The necessity of the public interest of the
   37  provisions hereinafter enacted is hereby declared as a matter of
   38  legislative determination.
   39         Section 2. Subsections (2) and (5) of section 243.53,
   40  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   41         243.53 Creation of Higher Educational Facilities Financing
   42  Authority.—
   43         (2) The authority shall consist of five members to be
   44  appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the
   45  Senate. One member shall be a trustee, director, officer, or
   46  employee of an institution of higher education. Of the members
   47  first appointed, one shall serve for 1 year, one for 2 years,
   48  one for 3 years, one for 4 years, and one for 5 years, and in
   49  each case until his or her successor is appointed and has
   50  qualified. Thereafter, the Governor shall appoint for terms of 5
   51  years each a member or members to succeed those whose terms
   52  expire, beginning on the later of the dates on which the current
   53  term expires or the date of appointment by the Governor. The
   54  Governor shall fill any vacancy for an unexpired term. A member
   55  of the authority is eligible for reappointment. Any member of
   56  the authority may be removed by the Governor for misfeasance,
   57  malfeasance, or willful neglect of duty. Each member of the
   58  authority before entering upon his or her duties shall take and
   59  subscribe to the oath or affirmation required by the State
   60  Constitution. A record of each oath must be filed in the office
   61  of the Department of State and with the authority.
   62         (5)(a)As used in this subsection, the term “communications
   63  media technology” means telephone conference, video conference,
   64  or other communications technology by which all persons
   65  attending a public meeting or workshop may audibly communicate.
   66         (b) A majority of the members of the authority constitutes
   67  a quorum, and the affirmative vote of a majority of the members
   68  participating in the present at a meeting of the authority is
   69  necessary for any action taken by the authority. A vacancy in
   70  the membership of the authority does not impair the right of a
   71  quorum to exercise all the rights and perform all the duties of
   72  the authority. Any action taken by the authority under ss.
   73  243.50-243.77 may be authorized by resolution at any regular or
   74  special meeting, and each resolution takes shall take effect
   75  immediately and does need not need to be published or posted.
   76  The authority may conduct public meetings and workshops by means
   77  of communications media technology. The notice for any such
   78  public meeting or workshop must state that the meeting or
   79  workshop will be conducted through the use of communications
   80  media technology, must specify how persons interested in
   81  attending may do so, and must provide a location where
   82  communications media technology facilities are available. The
   83  participation by an officer, a board member, or any other
   84  representative of a member public agency in a meeting or
   85  workshop conducted through communications media technology
   86  constitutes that individual’s presence at such meeting or
   87  workshop.
   88         Section 3. Subsection (16) of section 243.54, Florida
   89  Statutes, is amended to read:
   90         243.54 Powers of the authority.—The purpose of the
   91  authority is to assist institutions of higher education in
   92  constructing, financing, and refinancing projects throughout the
   93  state and, for this purpose, the authority may:
   94         (16) Contract with an entity as its agent to assist the
   95  authority with administrative matters and in screening
   96  applications of institutions of higher education for loans under
   97  ss. 243.50-243.77 and receive any recommendations the entity may
   98  make.
   99         Section 4. Subsection (2) of section 243.58, Florida
  100  Statutes, is amended to read:
  101         243.58 Criteria and requirements.—In undertaking any
  102  project under ss. 243.50-243.77, the authority shall be guided
  103  by and shall observe the following criteria and requirements:
  104         (2) A financing agreement for a project may not be entered
  105  into with a participating institution that is not, at the time
  106  such agreement is executed, financially responsible and fully
  107  capable of and willing to fulfill its obligations under the
  108  financing agreement, including the obligations to make payments
  109  in the amounts and at the times required; to operate, repair,
  110  and maintain at its own expense the project owned or leased; and
  111  to serve the purposes of ss. 243.50-243.77 and any other
  112  responsibilities that may be imposed under the financing
  113  agreement. In determining the financial responsibility of the
  114  participating institution, consideration will must be given to
  115  the party’s ratio of current assets to current liabilities; net
  116  worth; endowments; pledges; earning trends; coverage of all
  117  fixed charges; the nature of the project involved; its inherent
  118  stability; any guarantee of the obligations by some other
  119  financially responsible corporation, firm, or person; means by
  120  which the bonds are to be marketed to the public; and other
  121  factors determinative of the capability of the participating
  122  institution, financially and otherwise, to fulfill its
  123  obligations consistently with the purposes of ss. 243.50-243.77.
  124         Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 243.73, Florida
  125  Statutes, is amended to read:
  126         243.73 Reports; audits.—
  127         (1) The authority shall submit to the Governor and the
  128  presiding officers of each house of the Legislature, within 6 2
  129  months after the end of its fiscal year, a complete and detailed
  130  report setting forth:
  131         (a) Its operations and accomplishments.
  132         (b) Its receipts and expenditures during its fiscal year in
  133  accordance with the categories or classifications established by
  134  the authority for its operating and capital outlay purposes.
  135         (c) Its assets and liabilities at the end of its fiscal
  136  year and the status of reserve, special, or other funds.
  137         (d) A schedule of its bonds outstanding at the end of its
  138  fiscal year, together with a statement of the principal amounts
  139  of bonds issued and redeemed during the fiscal year.
  140         (e) Any other information the authority deems appropriate.
  141         Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.