SB 2A — Economic Programs

Florida Senate - 2017 SB 2-A ByFirst SenatorEngrossed Latvala20172Ae1 16-00013-17A 20172A__ A bill to be entitled An act relating to economic programs;

requiringproviding theeligibility departmentcriteria for projects to administerreceive certainfunds contracts;from the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund;

requiring the department and Enterprise Florida, Inc., to jointly review applications and determine the eligibility of each project;

requiring the department to make its recommendations to the Governor within a specified timeframe;

requiring the Governor to obtain certain approval for projects requiring funding that exceeds a specified amount;

requiring the department and a grant recipient to enter into a contract for the payment of moneys from the fund under certain circumstances;

providing requirements for the contract;

requiring certain funds to be placed in reserve and to be released only pursuant to certain legislative consultation and review requirements;

requiring the department to establish an application process;

requiring the department to establish a methodology for making grant award recommendations;

requiring that the methodology be approved by the Legislature;

requiring that certain contracts be made publicly available on the department’s website before or after execution;

providing requirements for the contracts;

prohibiting funds appropriated to the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund from being transferred to certain accounts under certain circumstances;

requiring the department and Enterprise Florida, Inc., to post specified information on their websites;

providing an expiration date;

142168 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

144170 Section 1. Paragraph (x) is added to subsection (3) of section 11.45, Florida Statutes, to read:

(3) The department and Enterprise Florida, Inc., shall identify projects, solicit proposals, and make recommendations to the Governor for workforce training grants to support existing programs at statepublic collegeslibraries, andstate colleges, state technical centerscenters, or private postsecondary institutions licensed or otherwise authorized to operate in this state which provide participants with transferable, sustainable workforce skills applicable to more than a single employer,employer andor forwhich equipmentare associatedlisted within theses. programs.

The445.06, department shall work with CareerSource Florida to ensure programs are offered to the public based on criteria established by the state college or state technical center and dofor notequipment excludeassociated applicantswith whothese areprograms. unemployed or underemployed.

The department shall work with CareerSource Florida, Inc., to ensure that programs are offered to the public based on criteria established by the state colleges, state technical centers, or private postsecondary institutions licensed or otherwise authorized to operate in this state, and do not exclude applicants who are unemployed or underemployed.

Programs that support skills assessment and training for inmates in the state correctional system who have 5 years or less until their release and reentry may also be eligible for grants from this fund.

(b) Grant requests may be submitted to the department by a public library, state collegecorrectional orfacility, astate college, state technical center.center, or private postsecondary institution.

Costs and expenditures for the workforce training grants must be documented and separated from those incurred by the public library, state collegecorrectional orfacility, state college, state technical center.center, or private postsecondary institution.

(5) Contracts(5) To forbe projectseligible approvedfor byfunds from the GovernorFlorida andJob fundedGrowth pursuantGrant toFund, thisa sectionproject shallmust: be administered by the department.

(a) Be in an industry, as referenced in s.

288.106.

(b) Have a positive economic benefit ratio of at least 2 to 1.

(c) Induce economic expansion in the project’s location or in the state.

(d) Be supported by the local community in which the project is to be located.

(e) Be certified by the Department of Transportation as compatible with the adopted 5-year work program.

(f) Not be included as a specific appropriations line item in the most recent General Appropriations Act.

(g) Not have been vetoed by the Governor for funding in the most recent General Appropriations Act.

(6)(a) The department and Enterprise Florida, Inc., shall jointly review submitted applications and determine the eligibility of each project, consistent with the criteria in subsection (5).

(b)1. Within 7 business days after evaluating a project, the department shall recommend to the Governor approval or disapproval of the project for funding from the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund.

When recommending a project, the department must include proposed performance conditions that the project must meet to obtain grant funds.

2. The Governor may approve grant requests for projects without consulting the Legislature for projects requiring less than $2 million in funding.

3. For projects requiring funding in the amount of $2 million to $5 million, the Governor shall provide a written description and evaluation of a project recommended for approval to the chair and vice chair of the Legislative Budget Commission at least 10 days before giving final approval for the project.

The recommendation must include proposed performance conditions that the project must meet to obtain grant funds.

4. If the chair or vice chair of the Legislative Budget Commission, the President of the Senate, or the Speaker of the House of Representatives timely advises the Executive Office of the Governor in writing that such action or proposed action exceeds the delegated authority of the Executive Office of the Governor or is contrary to legislative policy or intent, the Executive Office of the Governor must void the release of funds and instruct the department to immediately change such action or proposed action until the Legislative Budget Commission or the Legislature addresses the issue.