ENROLLED 2022 Legislature SB 418 2022418er 1 2 An act relating to the Assistive Technology Advisory 3 Council; amending s. 413.407, F.S.; revising 4 provisions relating to the membership of and 5 appointments and reappointments to the Assistive 6 Technology Advisory Council; requiring council members 7 to select a chair from among the council membership; 8 revising provisions relating to committees appointed 9 to perform the councils functions; expanding the 10 councils functions to include fundraising activities; 11 providing an effective date. 12 13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14 15 Section 1.Section 413.407, Florida Statutes, is amended to 16 read: 17 413.407Assistive Technology Advisory Council.There is 18 created the Assistive Technology Advisory Council, responsible 19 for ensuring consumer involvement in the creation, application, 20 and distribution of technology-related assistance to and for 21 persons who have disabilities. The council shall fulfill its 22 responsibilities through statewide policy development, both 23 state and federal legislative initiatives, advocacy at both the 24 state and federal levels level, planning of statewide resource 25 allocations, policy-level management, and reviews of both 26 consumer responsiveness and the adequacy of program service 27 delivery, and by performing the functions listed in this 28 section. 29 (1)(a)The council shall be composed of: 30 1.Persons Individuals who have disabilities and who are 31 assistive technology consumers or family members or guardians of 32 those persons individuals. 33 2.A representative Representatives of a consumer 34 organization organizations concerned with assistive technology. 35 3.A representative Representatives of business and 36 industry, including the insurance industry, concerned with 37 assistive technology. 38 4.A representative of the Division of Vocational 39 Rehabilitation. 40 5.A representative of the Division of Blind Services. 41 6.A representative of a center for independent living the 42 Florida Independent Living Council. 43 7.A representative of CareerSource Florida, Inc. 44 8.A representative of the Department of Education. 45 9.A representative Representatives of any other state 46 agency agencies that provides or coordinates provide or 47 coordinate services for persons with disabilities, if requested 48 by a majority vote of the council members. 49 50 Total membership on the council may not exceed 27 at any one 51 time. A majority of the members shall be appointed in accordance 52 with subparagraph 1. 53 (b)Members of the council shall be appointed by the 54 Commissioner of Education from a list of candidates proposed by 55 the division director. However, a member who is a representative 56 of a state agency shall be appointed by the head of that state 57 agency. 58 (c)A majority of council members must shall be persons who 59 have disabilities as defined in s. 413.20 and s. 413.20(7) who 60 are also consumers of assistive technology or family members or 61 guardians of such persons. 62 (d)Members of the council must be geographically 63 representative of the state and reflect the diversity of the 64 states population with respect to race, ethnicity, gender, age, 65 type of disability, and type of disability-related services and 66 devices received. 67 (e)(d)The members of the council shall select a chair two 68 co-chairs from among the membership of the council. 69 1.One co-chair may be selected from the group described in 70 paragraph (c) and one co-chair shall be selected from the other 71 council members. 72 2.The chair No co-chair may not be an elected member or an 73 employee of a state agency or of any political subdivision of 74 the state. 75 (f)1.(e)1.Each member of the council shall serve for a 76 term of not more than 3 years, except that a member appointed to 77 fill a vacancy occurring before prior to the expiration of the 78 term for which a predecessor was appointed shall be appointed 79 for the remainder of such term. 80 2.A No member of the council may not serve more than two 81 consecutive terms; however, any appointment under subparagraph 82 1., if for less than 18 months, is shall not be considered a 83 term for the purposes of this section. 84 3.A member who has served two consecutive terms and has 85 been retired from the council for at least 3 years 1 year may be 86 reappointed to the council on the same basis as a new member. 87 (g)(f)Any vacancy occurring in the membership of the 88 council shall be filled in the same manner as the original 89 appointment. A vacancy does not affect the power of the 90 remaining members to execute the duties of the council. 91 (2)In addition to the other functions specified in this 92 section, the council shall: 93 (a)Act as the board of directors of a not-for-profit 94 corporation created by the division. Through the corporation, 95 the council shall provide direction to the Florida Floridas 96 Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology, a project 97 sponsored by the department for the coordination and delivery of 98 appropriate, cost-effective, state-of-the-art assistive 99 technology services and devices. 100 (b)Appoint committees made up of members of the council to 101 focus on specific issues within the councils mandate. 102 Committees may request and accept in-kind contributions of 103 personnel from public or private entities to supply such 104 staffing as the committees deem necessary to carry out their 105 individual mandates. These committees shall include, but are not 106 limited to: 107 1.Members who are representatives of state agencies 108 serving on the committees An interagency committee composed of 109 those members representing state agencies. The interagency 110 committee shall work towards the development of cooperative 111 agreements among government agencies and perform such other 112 duties as the council deems appropriate. 113 2.Members who are representatives of state agencies 114 serving on the committees The interagency committees members 115 shall assign staff from their respective agencies to the 116 alliance, as an in-kind contribution for a specified period of 117 time, to review federal and state legislation and agency 118 policies and practices and to identify both facilitators of, and 119 barriers to, accessibility and utilization of assistive 120 technology services, devices, and funding sources. 121 2.A technology-awareness committee to guide the councils 122 public awareness, coordination, and collaboration activities. 123 3.A public policy and advocacy committee to review federal 124 and state legislation and agency policies and practices and to 125 identify facilitators of and barriers to access and utilization 126 of assistive technology services, devices, and funding sources. 127 (c)Review and approve all reports, recommendations, and 128 proposed actions of committee staff. 129 (d)Appoint the executive director of the alliance who is. 130 The executive director shall be responsible for the overall 131 administration and day-to-day direction of the alliance, 132 including the as well as supervision of all staff. 133 (e)Annually review and approve the strategic or business 134 plan of the alliance, as submitted by the executive director. 135 (f)Submit an annual comprehensive report of the activities 136 of the council, the corporation, and the alliance to the 137 division director. 138 (g)Perform such other functions, including fundraising 139 activities, as the council determines to be appropriate which 140 are comparable to functions performed by the council. 141 (h)Convene at least four meetings each year in locations 142 that such places as it determines to be necessary to conduct 143 council business and may conduct such forums or hearings as it 144 the council considers appropriate. The council shall make a 145 report of each meeting which must contain shall include a record 146 of its discussions and recommendations and must, all of which 147 reports shall be made available to the public. 148 (3)In accordance with Pub. L. No. 108-364, the council 149 shall: 150 (a)Investigate financing options that will increase access 151 to and funding for assistive technology devices and assistive 152 technology services. 153 (b)Develop assistive technology demonstrations, 154 reutilization programs, and loan programs. 155 (c)Provide training and technical assistance in order to 156 increase knowledge and awareness of the uses and benefits of 157 assistive technology devices and assistive technology services. 158 (d)Promote public awareness activities designed to provide 159 information relating to the benefits of assistive technology 160 devices and assistive technology services. 161 (e)Promote coordination and collaboration among public and 162 private entities that are responsible for policies, procedures, 163 or funding for the provision of assistive technology devices and 164 assistive technology services. 165 Section 2.This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.