Florida 2022 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0055 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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10	10	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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14	14	A bill to be entitled 1
15	15	An act relating to the Assistive Technology Advisory 2
16	16	Council; amending s. 413.407, F.S.; revising 3
17	17	provisions relating to the membership of and 4
18	18	appointments and reappointments to the Assistive 5
19	19	Technology Advisory Council; requiring council members 6
20	20	to select a chair from among the council membership; 7
21	21	revising provisions relating to committees appointed 8
22	22	to perform the council's functions; expanding the 9
23	23	council's functions to include fundraising activities; 10
24	24	providing an effective date. 11
25	25	12
26	26	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 13
27	27	14
28	28	Section 1. Section 413.407, Florida Statutes, is amended 15
29	29	to read: 16
30	30	413.407 Assistive Technology Advisory Council. —There is 17
31	31	created the Assistive Technology Advisory Council, responsible 18
32	32	for ensuring consumer involvement in the creation, application, 19
33	33	and distribution of technology -related assistance to and for 20
34	34	persons who have disabilities. The council shall fulfill its 21
35	35	responsibilities through statewide policy development, both 22
36	36	state and federal legislative initiatives, advocacy at both the 23
37	37	state and federal levels level, planning of statewide resource 24
38	38	allocations, policy-level management, and reviews of both 25
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47	47	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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51	51	consumer responsiveness and the adequacy of program service 26
52	52	delivery, and by performing the functions listed in this 27
53	53	section. 28
54	54	(1)(a) The council shall be composed of: 29
55	55	1. Persons Individuals who have disabilities and who are 30
56	56	assistive technology consumers or famil y members or guardians of 31
57	57	those persons individuals. 32
58	58	2. A representative Representatives of a consumer 33
59	59	organization organizations concerned with assistive technology. 34
60	60	3. A representative Representatives of business and 35
61	61	industry, including the insurance industry, concerned with 36
62	62	assistive technology. 37
63	63	4. A representative of the Division of Vocational 38
64	64	Rehabilitation. 39
65	65	5. A representative of the Division of Blind Services. 40
66	66	6. A representative of a center for independent living the 41
67	67	Florida Independent Li ving Council. 42
68	68	7. A representative of CareerSource Florida, Inc. 43
69	69	8. A representative of the Department of Education. 44
70	70	9. A representative Representatives of any other state 45
71	71	agency agencies that provides or coordinates provide or 46
72	72	coordinate services for persons with disabilities , if requested 47
73	73	by a majority vote of the council members . 48
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75	75	Total membership on the council may not exceed 27 at any one 50
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84	84	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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88	88	time. A majority of the members shall be appointed in accordance 51
89	89	with subparagraph 1. 52
90	90	(b) Members of the council shall be appointed by the 53
91	91	Commissioner of Education from a list of candidates proposed by 54
92	92	the division director. However, a member who is a representative 55
93	93	of a state agency shall be appointed by the head of that state 56
94	94	agency. 57
95	95	(c) A majority of council members must shall be persons 58
96	96	who have disabilities as defined in s. 413.20 and s. 413.20(7) 59
97	97	who are also consumers of assistive technology or family members 60
98	98	or guardians of such persons. 61
99	99	(d) Members of the council must be geogr aphically 62
100	100	representative of the state and reflect the diversity of the 63
101	101	state's population with respect to race, ethnicity, gender, age, 64
102	102	type of disability, and type of disability -related services and 65
103	103	devices received. 66
104	104	(e)(d) The members of the council sh all select a chair two 67
105	105	co-chairs from among the membership of the council. 68
106	106	1. One co-chair may be selected from the group described 69
107	107	in paragraph (c) and one co -chair shall be selected from the 70
108	108	other council members. 71
109	109	2. The chair No co-chair may not be an elected member or 72
110	110	an employee of a state agency or of any political subdivision of 73
111	111	the state. 74
112	112	(f)1.(e)1. Each member of the council shall serve for a 75
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121	121	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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125	125	term of not more than 3 years, except that a member appointed to 76
126	126	fill a vacancy occurring before prior to the expiration of the 77
127	127	term for which a predecessor was appointed shall be appointed 78
128	128	for the remainder of such term. 79
129	129	2. A No member of the council may not serve more than two 80
130	130	consecutive terms; however, any appointment under subparagraph 81
131	131	1., if for less than 18 months, is shall not be considered a 82
132	132	term for the purposes of this section. 83
133	133	3. A member who has served two consecutive terms and has 84
134	134	been retired from the council for at least 3 years 1 year may be 85
135	135	reappointed to the council on the same b asis as a new member. 86
136	136	(g)(f) Any vacancy occurring in the membership of the 87
137	137	council shall be filled in the same manner as the original 88
138	138	appointment. A vacancy does not affect the power of the 89
139	139	remaining members to execute the duties of the council. 90
140	140	(2) In addition to the other functions specified in this 91
141	141	section, the council shall: 92
142	142	(a) Act as the board of directors of a not -for-profit 93
143	143	corporation created by the division. Through the corporation, 94
144	144	the council shall provide direction to the Florida Florida's 95
145	145	Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology, a project 96
146	146	sponsored by the department for the coordination and delivery of 97
147	147	appropriate, cost-effective, state-of-the-art assistive 98
148	148	technology services and devices. 99
149	149	(b) Appoint committees made up of membe rs of the council 100
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158	158	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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162	162	to focus on specific issues within the council's mandate. 101
163	163	Committees may request and accept in -kind contributions of 102
164	164	personnel from public or private entities to supply such 103
165	165	staffing as the committees deem necessary to carry out their 104
166	166	individual mandates. These committees shall include, but are not 105
167	167	limited to: 106
168	168	1. Members who are representatives of state agencies 107
169	169	serving on the committees An interagency committee composed of 108
170	170	those members representing state agencies. The interagency 109
171	171	committee shall work towards the development of cooperative 110
172	172	agreements among government agencies and perform such other 111
173	173	duties as the council deems appropriate. 112
174	174	2. Members who are representatives of state agencies 113
175	175	serving on the committees The interagency committee's members 114
176	176	shall assign staff from their respective agencies to the 115
177	177	alliance, as an in-kind contribution for a specified period of 116
178	178	time, to review federal and state legislation and agency 117
179	179	policies and practices and to identify both facilitators of, a nd 118
180	180	barriers to, accessibility and utilization of assistive 119
181	181	technology services, devices, and funding sources. 120
182	182	2. A technology-awareness committee to guide the council's 121
183	183	public awareness, coordination, and collaboration activities. 122
184	184	3. A public policy an d advocacy committee to review 123
185	185	federal and state legislation and agency policies and practices 124
186	186	and to identify facilitators of and barriers to access and 125
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195	195	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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199	199	utilization of assistive technology services, devices, and 126
200	200	funding sources. 127
201	201	(c) Review and approve a ll reports, recommendations, and 128
202	202	proposed actions of committee staff. 129
203	203	(d) Appoint the executive director of the alliance who is. 130
204	204	The executive director shall be responsible for the overall 131
205	205	administration and day -to-day direction of the alliance, 132
206	206	including the as well as supervision of all staff. 133
207	207	(e) Annually review and approve the strategic or business 134
208	208	plan of the alliance, as submitted by the executive director. 135
209	209	(f) Submit an annual comprehensive report of the 136
210	210	activities of the council, the corporati on, and the alliance to 137
211	211	the division director. 138
212	212	(g) Perform such other functions, including fundraising 139
213	213	activities, as the council determines to be appropriate which 140
214	214	are comparable to functions performed by the council. 141
215	215	(h) Convene at least four meeting s each year in locations 142
216	216	that such places as it determines to be necessary to conduct 143
217	217	council business and may conduct such forums or hearings as it 144
218	218	the council considers appropriate. The council shall make a 145
219	219	report of each meeting which must contain shall include a record 146
220	220	of its discussions and recommendations and must , all of which 147
221	221	reports shall be made available to the public. 148
222	222	(3) In accordance with Pub. L. No. 108 -364, the council 149
223	223	shall: 150
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232	232	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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236	236	(a) Investigate financing options that will increase 151
237	237	access to and funding for assistive technology devices and 152
238	238	assistive technology services. 153
239	239	(b) Develop assistive technology demonstrations, 154
240	240	reutilization programs, and loan programs. 155
241	241	(c) Provide training and technical assistance in order to 156
242	242	increase knowledge a nd awareness of the uses and benefits of 157
243	243	assistive technology devices and assistive technology services. 158
244	244	(d) Promote public awareness activities designed to 159
245	245	provide information relating to the benefits of assistive 160
246	246	technology devices and assistive techno logy services. 161
247	247	(e) Promote coordination and collaboration among public 162
248	248	and private entities that are responsible for policies, 163
249	249	procedures, or funding for the provision of assistive technology 164
250	250	devices and assistive technology services. 165
251	251	Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 166