Bill Text: FL S2698 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: International Development Relief/Haiti [CPSC]

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2010-04-30 - Died in Committee on Commerce [S2698 Detail]

Download: Florida-2010-S2698-Introduced.html

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Florida Senate - 2010                                    SB 2698 
 
By Senator Wise 
5-01745-10                                            20102698__ 
1                        A bill to be entitled 
2         An act relating to international development relief 
3         and outreach activities in Haiti; creating s. 
4         288.0252, F.S.; providing a definition; requiring the 
5         Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development to 
6         contract with the state’s international volunteer 
7         corps to provide certain relief activities for the 
8         people of Haiti; requiring that such activities focus 
9         on certain rural Haitian communities; requiring that 
10         such activities be conducted by volunteers with 
11         certain qualifications; directing the international 
12         volunteer corps to raise public and private funding to 
13         support the relief activities; authorizing the 
14         international volunteer corps to establish certain 
15         partnerships and build long-term relationships; 
16         providing for the award of grants to certain 
17         grassroots organizations; providing that professionals 
18         licensed by the Department of Business and 
19         Professional Regulation shall receive continuing 
20         education credit for certain volunteer services 
21         provided in Haiti; providing for future repeal; 
22         providing appropriations; providing an effective date. 
23 
24  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
25 
26         Section 1. Section 288.0252, Florida Statutes, is created 
27  to read: 
28         288.0252 International development relief and outreach 
29  activities in Haiti.— 
30         (1) As used in this section, the term “international 
31  volunteer corps” means the Florida Association for Volunteer 
32  Action in the Caribbean and the Americas, Inc. 
33         (2) The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development 
34  shall contract with the state’s international volunteer corps to 
35  provide the following rescue, recovery, rebuilding, and 
36  sustainable humanitarian outreach activities for the people of 
37  the Republic of Haiti: 
38         (a) Emergency disaster response and recovery, including 
39  food and relief supply distribution, coordination with existing 
40  relief efforts, and the support of firefighters, emergency 
41  medical technicians, paramedics, and urban search and rescue 
42  professionals. 
43         (b) Health care, including emergency rescue, emergency 
44  medical services, and post-traumatic stress counseling. 
45         (c) Domestic security, including the improvement of local 
46  food security. 
47         (d) Rebuilding, including alternative energy placement and 
48  structural engineering to assess damage to buildings, 
49  infrastructure, and other construction essential to the recovery 
50  and rebuilding of the country. 
51         (e) Sustainable economic development, including job 
52  creation, enterprise development, and the recovery of 
53  agriculture. 
54         (3) Such activities shall focus on rural communities 
55  receiving Haitian refugees and other residents from disaster 
56  stricken or otherwise impoverished areas of the country. 
57         (4) The international volunteer corps must require that 
58  such activities be conducted by qualified volunteers who are 
59  citizens of the state and who each have at least 5 years of 
60  experience in coordinating international volunteer programs in 
61  Haiti. 
62         (5) The international volunteer corps shall, to the maximum 
63  extent practicable, leverage the state funding provided to 
64  implement this section by raising funds from public and private 
65  sources, including, but not limited to, the Federal Government 
66  and charitable foundations, to support the activities described 
67  in subsection (2). 
68         (6) To support the activities described in subsection (2), 
69  the international volunteer corps may: 
70         (a) Establish partnerships with organizations and 
71  individuals. 
72         (b) Build long-term social and economic relationships with 
73  businesses and organizations based in this state. 
74         (c)	Award grants of at least $1,000 but not more than 
75  $5,000 to grassroots organizations in this state that have 
76  previously completed successful international volunteer corps 
77  assignments in Haiti. 
78         (7) Notwithstanding any provision of law, a professional 
79  licensed by the Department of Business and Professional 
80  Regulation shall receive one continuing education credit or 
81  unit, regardless of required categories, for each hour of 
82  volunteer service provided in Haiti in coordination with the 
83  state’s international volunteer corps, not to exceed 100 percent 
84  of his or her annual professional requirement for continuing 
85  education. 
86         (8) This section is repealed July 1, 2020, unless reviewed 
87  and reenacted by the Legislature before that date. 
88         Section 2. The recurring sum of $2 million is appropriated 
89  annually from the General Revenue Fund to the Office of Tourism, 
90  Trade, and Economic Development for the 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 
91  2012-2013, 2013-2014, 2014-2015, 2015-2016, 2016-2017, 2017 
92  2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020 fiscal years for the purpose of 
93  implementing s. 288.0252, Florida Statutes. 
94         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.