Bill Text: FL S1646 | 2018 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Regional Rural Development Grants
Spectrum:
Status: (Failed) 2018-03-10 - Died in returning Messages [S1646 Detail]
Download: Florida-2018-S1646-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2018 CS for CS for SB 1646 By the Committees on Appropriations; and Commerce and Tourism; and Senators Montford and Gainer 576-04113-18 20181646c2 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to regional rural development grants; 3 amending s. 288.018, F.S.; providing that regional 4 rural development grants may be used to hire regional 5 economic development organization professional staff; 6 authorizing the use of matching grant funds to provide 7 technical assistance to certain entities; increasing 8 the annual maximum amount of grant funding that 9 specified economic development organizations may 10 receive; revising the amount of nonstate matching 11 funds required; increasing the amount the Department 12 of Economic Opportunity may expend each fiscal year 13 for the program; requiring that contracts or 14 agreements involving the expenditure of grant funds be 15 placed on a certain website for a specified time 16 period; requiring that certain information be included 17 in a contract or agreement involving the expenditure 18 of grant funds; requiring that a plain language 19 version of certain contracts or agreements be placed 20 on a certain website; deleting an obsolete provision 21 authorizing the Department of Economic Opportunity to 22 contract for the development of certain enterprise 23 zone web portals or websites; amending s. 288.0655, 24 F.S.; increasing the maximum percent of total 25 infrastructure project costs for which the department 26 may award a grant; repealing a provision for increased 27 maximum percent of total infrastructure project costs 28 that may be awarded for a catalyst site; providing 29 that improving access to and availability of broadband 30 Internet service may be included in a project that is 31 eligible for rural infrastructure grant funds; 32 providing that grants for improvements to broadband 33 Internet service and access must be conducted through 34 certain partnerships; extending the date by which the 35 department is required to reevaluate certain 36 guidelines and criteria; requiring that contracts or 37 agreements involving the expenditure of grant funds be 38 placed on a certain website for a specified time 39 period; requiring that certain information be included 40 in a contract or agreement involving the expenditure 41 of grant funds; requiring that a plain language 42 version of certain contracts or agreements be placed 43 on a certain website; requiring the department to 44 review best practices and methods and make 45 recommendations to establish a site readiness program 46 for rural communities; requiring the department to 47 identify certain requirements and standards and 48 provide options for the implementation of the program; 49 requiring the department to submit a report of its 50 findings to the Legislature by a specified date; 51 providing an effective date. 52 53 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 54 55 Section 1. Subsections (1), (3), and (4) of section 56 288.018, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 57 288.018 Regional Rural Development Grants Program.— 58 (1)(a) The department shall establish a matching grant 59 program to provide funding to regionalregionally basedeconomic 60 development organizations representing rural counties and 61 communities to buildfor the purpose of buildingthe 62 professional capacity of such regional economic development 63theirorganizations. Building the professional capacity of 64 regional economic development organizations includes hiring 65 professional staff to develop, facilitate the delivery of, and 66 directly provide needed economic development professional 67 services, including technical assistance, education and 68 leadership development, marketing and project recruitment, and 69 other services that are important for rural economic 70 development.SuchMatching grants may also be used by a regional 71aneconomic development organization to provide technical 72 assistance to local governments, local economic development 73 organizations, and existing and prospective businesses within 74 the rural counties and communities that it serves. 75 (b) A regional economic development organization may apply 76 to the department for a matching grant each year. The department 77 is authorized to approve an application for a grant up to, on an78annual basis, grants: 79 1. Fifty thousand dollars to a regional economic 80 development organization; 81 2. One hundred fifty thousand dollars to an organization 82 locatedto suchregionally based economic development83organizations. The maximum amount an organization may receive in84any yearwill be $50,000, or$150,000in a rural area of 85 opportunity designated pursuant to s. 288.0656; or 86 3. Two hundred fifty thousand dollars to any of the three 87 regional economic development organizations that serve an entire 88 region of a rural area of opportunity designated pursuant to s. 89 288.0656 and that are recognized by the department as serving 90 such regions. 91 (c) Grant funds received by a regional economic development 92 organizationrecommended by the Rural Economic Development93Initiative and designated bythe Governor, andmust be matched 94 each year byan equivalent amount ofnonstate resources in an 95 amount equal to 25 percent of the state contribution. 96 (3)(a) A contract or agreement that involves the 97 expenditure of grant funds provided under this section must be 98 placed on the contracting regional economic development 99 organization’s website at least 14 days before execution. 100 (b) A contract or agreement that involves the expenditure 101 of grant funds provided under this section, including a contract 102 or agreement entered into between another entity and a regional 103 economic development organization, a unit of local government, 104 or an economic development organization substantially 105 underwritten by a unit of local government, must include: 106 1. The purpose of the contract or agreement. 107 2. Specific performance standards and responsibilities for 108 each entity. 109 3. A detailed project or contract budget, if applicable. 110 4. The value of any services provided. 111 5. The projected travel and entertainment expenses for 112 employees and board members, if applicable. 113 (c) A plain language version of a contract or agreement 114 with a private entity, a municipality, or a vendor of services, 115 supplies, or programs, including marketing, or for the purchase 116 or lease or use of lands, facilities, or properties which 117 involves the expenditure of grant funds provided under this 118 section and which is estimated to exceed $35,000 must be posted 119 on the contracting regional economic development organization’s 120 websiteThe department may also contract for the development of121an enterprise zone web portal or websites for each enterprise122zone which will be used to market the program for job creation123in disadvantaged urban and rural enterprise zones. Each124enterprise zone web page should include downloadable links to125state forms and information, as well as local message boards126that help businesses and residents receive information127concerning zone boundaries, job openings, zone programs, and128neighborhood improvement activities. 129 (4) The department may expend up to $1,000,000$750,000130 each fiscal year from funds appropriated to the Rural Community 131 Development Revolving Loan Fund for the purposes outlined in 132 this section. The department may contract with Enterprise 133 Florida, Inc., for the administration of the purposes specified 134 in this section. Funds released to Enterprise Florida, Inc., for 135 this purpose shall be released quarterly and shall be calculated 136 based on the applications in process. 137 Section 2. Subsection (5) of section 288.0655, Florida 138 Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (6), paragraph (b) of 139 subsection (2) and subsection (4) of that section are amended, 140 and a new subsection (5) is added to that section, to read: 141 288.0655 Rural Infrastructure Fund.— 142 (2)(b) To facilitate access of rural communities and rural 143 areas of opportunity as defined by the Rural Economic 144 Development Initiative to infrastructure funding programs of the 145 Federal Government, such as those offered by the United States 146 Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of 147 Commerce, and state programs, including those offered by Rural 148 Economic Development Initiative agencies, and to facilitate 149 local government or private infrastructure funding efforts, the 150 department may award grants for up to 5030percent of the total 151 infrastructure project cost.If an application for funding is152for a catalyst site, as defined in s. 288.0656, the department153may award grants for up to 40 percent of the total154infrastructure project cost.Eligible projects must be related 155 to specific job-creation or job-retention opportunities. 156 Eligible projects may also include improving any inadequate 157 infrastructure that has resulted in regulatory action that 158 prohibits economic or community growth or reducing the costs to 159 community users of proposed infrastructure improvements that 160 exceed such costs in comparable communities, which includes 161 improving access to and the availability of broadband Internet 162 service. Eligible uses of funds shall include improvements to 163 public infrastructure for industrial or commercial sites,and164 upgrades to or development of public tourism infrastructure, and 165 improvements to broadband Internet service and access in 166 unserved or underserved rural communities. Improvements to 167 broadband Internet service and access must be conducted through 168 a partnership or partnerships with one or more dealers of 169 communications services, as defined in s. 202.11(2), and the 170 partnership must be established by a publicly noticed and 171 competitively selected process. Authorized infrastructure may 172 include the following public or public-private partnership 173 facilities: storm water systems; telecommunications facilities; 174 broadband facilities; roads or other remedies to transportation 175 impediments; nature-based tourism facilities; or other physical 176 requirements necessary to facilitate tourism, trade, and 177 economic development activities in the community. Authorized 178 infrastructure may also include publicly or privately owned 179 self-powered nature-based tourism facilities, publicly owned 180 telecommunications facilities, and broadband facilities, and 181 additions to the distribution facilities of the existing natural 182 gas utility as defined in s. 366.04(3)(c), the existing electric 183 utility as defined in s. 366.02, or the existing water or 184 wastewater utility as defined in s. 367.021(12), or any other 185 existing water or wastewater facility, which owns a gas or 186 electric distribution system or a water or wastewater system in 187 this state where: 188 1. A contribution-in-aid of construction is required to 189 serve public or public-private partnership facilities under the 190 tariffs of any natural gas, electric, water, or wastewater 191 utility as defined herein; and 192 2. Such utilities as defined herein are willing and able to 193 provide such service. 194 (4) By September 1, 20192012, the department shall, in 195 consultation with the organizations listed in subsection (3), 196 and other organizations, reevaluate existing guidelines and 197 criteria governing submission of applications for funding, 198 review and evaluation of such applications, and approval of 199 funding under this section. The department shall consider 200 factors including, but not limited to, the project’s potential 201 for enhanced job creation or increased capital investment, the 202 demonstration and level of local public and private commitment, 203 whether the project is locatedin an enterprise zone,in a 204 community development corporation service area,or in an urban 205 high-crime area as designated under s. 212.097, the unemployment 206 rate of the county in which the project would be located, and 207 the poverty rate of the community. 208 (5)(a) A contract or agreement that involves the 209 expenditure of grant funds provided under this section must be 210 placed on the department’s website at least 14 days before 211 execution. 212 (b) A contract or agreement that includes the expenditure 213 of grant funds provided under this section, including a contract 214 or agreement entered into between an entity and a regional 215 economic development organization, a unit of local government, 216 or an economic development organization substantially 217 underwritten by a unit of local government, must include: 218 1. The purpose of the contract or agreement. 219 2. Specific performance standards and responsibilities for 220 each entity. 221 3. A detailed project or contract budget, if applicable. 222 4. The value of any services provided. 223 5. The projected travel and entertainment expenses for 224 employees and board members, if applicable. 225 (c) A plain language version of a contract or agreement 226 with a private entity, a municipality, or a vendor of services, 227 supplies, or programs, including marketing, or for the purchase 228 or lease or use of lands, facilities, or properties which 229 involves the expenditure of grant funds provided under this 230 section and which is estimated to exceed $35,000 must be posted 231 on the department’s website. 232 Section 3. In order to enhance and fortify the 233 competitiveness of rural communities in this state for new 234 businesses and job creation, the Department of Economic 235 Opportunity is directed to review best practices and methods and 236 make recommendations for the establishment of a site readiness 237 program to assist rural communities in evaluating property in 238 their jurisdictions, promoting the availability and benefits of 239 such sites, and other related issues. The department must 240 identify technical requirements and quality control standards 241 that would best benefit such a program, and must provide options 242 for the implementation of such a program. The department must 243 seek the input of stakeholders and persons, groups, and 244 organizations that are knowledgeable about rural areas and site 245 readiness issues. The department must submit a report to the 246 Legislature by December 1, 2018, of its findings. 247 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.