The Florida Senate

288.942  Grant review panel.--

(1)(a)  There is created a seven-member grant review panel to assist the International Trade and Economic Development Board of Enterprise Florida, Inc., in the grant review process. Three members of the panel shall be appointed by the Governor, two members shall be appointed by the President of the Senate, and two members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. A panel chair shall be selected by the members of the review panel from among the membership. Review panel members shall serve for a term of 3 years and may not be reappointed for a period of 1 year after serving a 3-year term. Initial appointments shall be staggered, with the Governor appointing one member for a 3-year term, one member for a 2-year term, and one member for a 1-year term. Initial appointments by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall also be staggered, with the President and the Speaker each appointing one member for a 3-year term and each appointing one member for a 2-year term.

(b)  In appointing members to this panel, appointing officers should cooperate to ¹ensure that members represent geographically diversed portions of the state and include representation of minority persons as defined by s. 760.80. Members of the panel may not currently hold public office or be public employees and must have at least 5 years experience in business, with expertise in areas relevant to the duties of the panel.

(c)  The Governor may remove any member from the review panel for misconduct or malfeasance in office, neglect of duty, permanent inability to perform official duties, or commission of a felony.

(2)  Enterprise Florida, Inc., shall establish criteria for reviewing grant applications. Such criteria shall, among other things, ¹ensure compliance with federal and state laws, promote participation in grant programs by diverse industries and businesses, and prohibit conflicts of interest in the awarding of such grants. The panel shall review grant applications and make recommendations to the International Trade and Economic Development Board of Enterprise Florida, Inc., concerning the relative merits of the applications. The panel shall provide a forum for public comment prior to voting on any grant application. Members of the panels shall not receive any compensation for their services but may be reimbursed by Enterprise Florida, Inc., for travel and expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

History.--s. 35, ch. 97-278.

¹Note.--The word "ensure" was substituted for the word "insure" by the editors.