Bill Text: FL S1868 | 2012 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

---

Bill Title: Federal Grants

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Failed) 2012-03-09 - Died in Budget [S1868 Detail]

Download: Florida-2012-S1868-Comm_Sub.html

---

       Florida Senate - 2012                             CS for SB 1868
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senator Gardiner
       
       
       
       
       578-02596-12                                          20121868c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to federal grants; requiring a county,
    3         municipality, or special district to identify and
    4         disclose the costs of a federally funded project which
    5         will not be funded by the federal grant; requiring the
    6         entity to disclose a plan for funding the project
    7         after the depletion of federal funds; authorizing a
    8         person to file a civil action to enforce the
    9         disclosure of unfunded, long-term costs of a county,
   10         municipality, or special district project funded by a
   11         federal grant; requiring the court to assess
   12         reasonable costs, including attorney fees, against the
   13         county, municipality, or special district if the court
   14         finds that the county, municipality, or special
   15         district did not disclose the unfunded costs of a
   16         project funded by a federal grant; requiring auditors
   17         to report on compliance; providing an exception for
   18         federal grants associated with natural disasters,
   19         grants involving the Federal Emergency Management
   20         Agency, grants received from the Department of
   21         Homeland Security, or Medicaid funds; amending s.
   22         218.39, F.S.; requiring that the Auditor General
   23         notify the Legislative Auditing Committee of any audit
   24         report indicating that an audited entity has failed to
   25         comply with the disclosure requirements of the act;
   26         providing an effective date.
   27  
   28  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   29  
   30         Section 1. Disclosure of unfunded, long-term costs of
   31  federal grant programs.—
   32         (1)(a) Before accepting a federal grant, a county,
   33  municipality, or special district shall identify and disclose,
   34  for each project that is funded by the federal grant, the costs
   35  of the activities of the project which will not be funded by the
   36  federal funds. The costs shall be calculated from inception of
   37  the project through the 2 fiscal years after the federal funds
   38  have been depleted.
   39         (b) The costs of activities not paid by federal funds may
   40  include, but are not limited to, required state and local
   41  matching funds, projected payroll costs, maintenance costs, and
   42  costs to operate and administer the project.
   43         (c) Such unremitted costs shall be disclosed by prominently
   44  posting a disclosure statement on the website of the county,
   45  municipality, or special district undertaking the project or
   46  activity. The statement shall be posted at least 10 days before
   47  the governing body of the county, municipality, or special
   48  district votes to accept the federal grant or otherwise takes
   49  any other action to authorize acceptance of the federal grant.
   50         (d) If a special district does not operate an official
   51  website, the special district shall, within a reasonable period
   52  of time as established by the local general-purpose government
   53  or governments in which the special district is located or the
   54  local governing authority to which the district is dependent,
   55  transmit the disclosure statement to the manager or
   56  administrator of the local general-purpose government or the
   57  local governing authority. Thereafter, the manager or
   58  administrator shall post the special district disclosure
   59  statement on the website of the local general-purpose government
   60  or governing authority.
   61         (e) The disclosure statement for a county, municipality, or
   62  special district shall describe the project and include a plan
   63  for funding the project for up to 2 fiscal years after the
   64  federal grant funds have been depleted.
   65         (2) A person may file a civil action to enforce compliance
   66  with subsection (1). If a civil action is filed against a
   67  county, municipality, or special district and the court finds
   68  that the county, municipality, or special district failed to
   69  comply with subsection (1), the court shall assess and award
   70  against the appropriate county, municipality, or special
   71  district the reasonable costs of enforcing subsection (1),
   72  including reasonable attorney fees.
   73         (3) Certified public accountants conducting audits of
   74  counties, municipalities, or special districts pursuant to s.
   75  218.39, Florida Statutes, shall report, as part of the audit,
   76  whether or not the county, municipality, or special district has
   77  complied with this section.
   78         (4) This section does not apply to federal grants
   79  associated with natural disasters, grants involving the Federal
   80  Emergency Management Agency, grants received from the Department
   81  of Homeland Security, or Medicaid funds.
   82         Section 2. Present subsections (9) through (12) of section
   83  218.39, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (10)
   84  through (13), respectively, and a new subsection (9) is added to
   85  that section, to read:
   86         218.39 Annual financial audit reports.—
   87         (9) The Auditor General shall notify the Legislative
   88  Auditing Committee of any audit report that indicates that an
   89  audited entity has failed to comply with the required
   90  disclosures relating to the receipt of federal funds.
   91         (a) The committee may direct the governing body of the
   92  audited entity to provide to the committee the required
   93  disclosure statement or a written statement explaining why the
   94  required disclosure statement was not prepared.
   95         (b) If the committee determines that the written statement
   96  is not sufficient, it may require the chair of the governing
   97  body of the local governmental entity or the chair’s designee,
   98  or the elected official of each county agency or the elected
   99  official’s designee, as appropriate, to appear before the
  100  committee.
  101         (c) If the committee determines that an audited entity has
  102  failed to prepare a required disclosure statement for which
  103  there is no justifiable reason for not preparing such, or has
  104  failed to comply with committee requests made pursuant to this
  105  subsection, the committee may proceed in accordance with s.
  106  11.40(2).
  107         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.