Florida Senate - 2023 SB 846 By Senator Avila 39-00235F-23 2023846__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to agreements of state colleges and 3 state universities with foreign entities; amending s. 4 288.860, F.S.; defining terms; prohibiting state 5 universities and state colleges from accepting grants 6 or participating in agreements with a foreign country 7 of concern unless specified conditions are met; 8 authorizing state universities to enter into 9 agreements with a foreign country of concern if such 10 agreement is approved by the Board of Governors and 11 specified requirements are met; authorizing the board 12 to sanction and to withhold performance funding from a 13 state university for entering into an unauthorized 14 foreign agreement; authorizing a state college to 15 enter into an agreement with a foreign country of 16 concern if such agreement is authorized by the State 17 Board of Education and specified requirements are met; 18 authorizing the state board to sanction and to 19 withhold performance funding from a state college for 20 entering into an unauthorized agreement with a foreign 21 country of concern; requiring each state university 22 and state college to annually submit specified 23 information to the Board of Governors and Department 24 of Education if certain conditions are met; requiring 25 the Board of Governors and the department to annually 26 submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature; 27 providing requirements for the report; requiring the 28 Board of Governors and the State Board of Education to 29 adopt regulations and rules, respectively; amending s. 30 286.101, F.S.; revising and defining terms; 31 prohibiting a state university or state college from 32 soliciting or accepting a gift from a foreign country 33 of concern; requiring the Board of Governors and the 34 State Board of Education to adopt regulations and 35 rules, respectively; providing an effective date. 36 37 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 38 39 Section 1.Section 288.860, Florida Statutes, is amended to 40 read: 41 288.860International cultural agreements. 42 (1)As used in this section, the term: 43 (a)Foreign country of concern means the Peoples 44 Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic 45 of Iran, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, the Republic 46 of Cuba, the Venezuelan regime of Nicols Maduro, or the Syrian 47 Arab Republic, including any agency of or any other entity under 48 significant control of such foreign country of concern. 49 (b)Partnership means a faculty or student exchange 50 program, a study abroad program, an articulation program, a 51 recruiting program, or a dual degree program. 52 (c)Political subdivision has the same meaning as in s. 53 1.01(8) and includes any entity under the control of or 54 established for the benefit of the political subdivision. 55 (d)(c)Public school means any education institution 56 under the supervision of a school district and any entity under 57 the control of or established for the benefit of a public school 58 or school district. 59 (e)(d)State agency means any agency or unit of state 60 government created or established by law and any entity under 61 the control of or established for the benefit of a state agency. 62 (f)(e)State college means any postsecondary education 63 institution under the supervision of the State Board of 64 Education, including any entity under the control of or 65 established for the benefit of a state college. 66 (g)(f)State university means any state university under 67 the supervision of the Board of Governors, including any entity 68 under the control of or established for the benefit of a state 69 university. 70 (2)A state agency, political subdivision, or public 71 school, state college, or state university authorized to expend 72 state-appropriated funds or levy ad valorem taxes may not 73 participate in any agreement with or accept any grant from a 74 foreign country of concern, or any entity controlled by a 75 foreign country of concern, which: 76 (a)Constrains the freedom of contract of such public 77 entity; 78 (b)Allows the curriculum or values of a program in the 79 state to be directed or controlled by the foreign country of 80 concern; or 81 (c)Promotes an agenda detrimental to the safety or 82 security of the United States or its residents. Before Prior to 83 the execution of any cultural exchange agreement with a foreign 84 country of concern, the substance of the agreement must shall be 85 shared with federal agencies concerned with protecting national 86 security or enforcing trade sanctions, embargoes, or other 87 restrictions under federal law. If such federal agency provides 88 information suggesting that such agreement promotes an agenda 89 detrimental to the safety or security of the United States or 90 its residents, the public entity may not enter into the 91 agreement. 92 (3)(a)For the purposes of this subsection only, the term 93 agreement means a written statement of mutual interest in 94 academic or research collaboration. 95 (b)A state university or state college authorized to 96 expend state-appropriated funds may not accept any grant from or 97 participate in any agreement or partnership with any college, 98 university, or entity that is based in or controlled by a 99 foreign country of concern, except as specified in paragraphs 100 (c) and (d). 101 (c)A state university may, upon approval by the Board of 102 Governors, enter into an agreement with a foreign country of 103 concern or an entity located in or controlled by a foreign 104 country of concern if such agreement is deemed by the board to 105 be valuable to students and the state university and is not 106 detrimental to the safety or security of the United States or 107 its residents. An agreement approved under this subsection must 108 meet the other relevant requirements of s. 288.860. 109 1.Beginning July 1, 2023, the board shall exercise the 110 authority provided pursuant to s. 1008.322 to sanction a state 111 university pursuant to subparagraph 2. which enters into a 112 partnership or agreement with a foreign country of concern or an 113 entity that is located in or controlled by a foreign country of 114 concern without approval from the board. 115 2.The board may withhold additional performance funding 116 for a state university that enters into an agreement with a 117 foreign country of concern or an entity that is located in or 118 controlled by a foreign country of concern without approval from 119 the board. The funds must be deposited into the General Revenue 120 Fund. 121 (d)A state college may, upon approval by the State Board 122 of Education, enter into an agreement with a foreign country of 123 concern or an entity located in or controlled by a foreign 124 country of concern if such agreement is deemed by the state 125 board to be valuable to students and the state college and is 126 not detrimental to the safety or security of the United States 127 or its residents. An agreement approved under this subsection 128 must meet the requirements of s. 288.860. 129 1.Beginning July 1, 2023, the state board shall exercise 130 the authority provided pursuant to s. 1008.32 to sanction a 131 state college pursuant to subparagraph 2. which enters into a 132 partnership or agreement with a foreign country of concern or an 133 entity that is located in or controlled by a foreign country of 134 concern without approval from the state board. 135 2.The state board may withhold additional performance 136 funding for a state college that enters into an agreement with a 137 foreign country of concern or an entity that is located in or 138 controlled by a foreign country of concern without approval from 139 the state board. The funds must be deposited into the General 140 Revenue Fund. The state board may administratively enforce this 141 section. 142 (e)Each state university and state college shall submit 143 the information required in paragraph (f) to the Board of 144 Governors and the Department of Education, respectively, by July 145 1 of each year. 146 (f)By August 1, 2024, and each August 1 thereafter, the 147 Board of Governors and the Department of Education, 148 respectively, shall submit a report to the Governor, the 149 President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of 150 Representatives relating to agreements of state universities and 151 state colleges, respectively, with foreign entities. At a 152 minimum, the report must include the following information for 153 the previous fiscal year: 154 1.Data reflecting any grant program, agreement, 155 partnership, or contract between a state university or state 156 college and any university, college, or entity that is based in 157 or controlled by a foreign country. 158 2.Data reflecting any office, campus, or physical location 159 used or maintained by a state university or state college in a 160 foreign country. 161 3.The date on which any such grant program, agreement, 162 partnership, or contract reported pursuant to subparagraph 1. is 163 expected to terminate. 164 (g)The Board of Governors and the State Board of Education 165 shall adopt regulations and rules, respectively, to administer 166 this subsection. 167 (4)(3)A state agency, political subdivision, public 168 school, state college, or state university may not accept 169 anything of value conditioned upon participation in a program or 170 other endeavor to promote the language or culture of a foreign 171 country of concern. 172 (5)(4)For the 2022-2023 fiscal year, notwithstanding 173 subsection (2), a state agency, political subdivision, public 174 school, state college, or state university may not enter into 175 any agreement with or accept any grant from the Russian 176 Federation. This subsection expires July 1, 2023. 177 Section 2.Paragraph (h) of subsection (1) of section 178 286.101, Florida Statutes, is amended, paragraphs (i) and (j) 179 are added to that subsection, and subsection (10) is added to 180 that section, to read: 181 286.101Foreign gifts and contracts. 182 (1)As used in this section, the term: 183 (h)State agency means any agency or unit of state 184 government created or established by law. For the purposes of 185 this section only, the term does not include a state university 186 or a state college. 187 (i)State college means any postsecondary education 188 institution under the supervision of the State Board of 189 Education, including any entity under the control of or 190 established for the benefit of a state college. 191 (j)State university means any state university under the 192 supervision of the Board of Governors, including any entity 193 under the control of or established for the benefit of a state 194 university. 195 (10)(a)A state university or state college, or any 196 employee or representative of a state university or state 197 college, may not solicit or accept any gift, including any 198 physical object, loan, reward, promise of future employment, 199 favor, or service, from: 200 1.A foreign country of concern or an entity that is 201 located in or controlled by a foreign country of concern; or 202 2.A person associated with or employed by a foreign 203 country of concern or an entity that is located in or controlled 204 by a foreign country of concern. 205 (b)The Board of Governors and the State Board of Education 206 shall adopt regulations and rules, respectively, to administer 207 this subsection. 208 Section 3.This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.