FL
Florida House Bill H0293

Florida 2025 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0293 Compare Versions

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1010 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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1414 A bill to be entitled 1
1515 An act relating to the Office of Faith and Community; 2
1616 creating s. 14.311, F.S.; providing legislative 3
1717 findings; establishing the Office of Faith and 4
1818 Community within the Executive Office of the Governor 5
1919 for a specified purpose; specifying the duties of the 6
2020 Office of Faith and Community; providing for the 7
2121 appointment of a liaison for faith and community; 8
2222 specifying the duties of the liaison for faith and 9
2323 community; amending s. 14.31, F.S.; providing that the 10
2424 Office of Faith and Community provides administrative 11
2525 support to the Florida Faith -Based and Community-Based 12
2626 Advisory Council; providing an effective date. 13
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2828 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15
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3030 Section 1. Section 14.311, Florida Statutes, is created to 17
3131 read: 18
3232 14.311 Office of Faith and Community. — 19
3333 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. —The Legislature finds that 20
3434 faith-based, community-based, and nonprofit -based organizations, 21
3535 otherwise known as faith and community networks, have long been 22
3636 the cornerstone of prosperous and flourishing societies, serving 23
3737 as the original model of community care. Faith and community 24
3838 networks play an integral role in serving the most vulnerable 25
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4747 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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5151 persons of a community, including foster children, foster 26
5252 families, kinship caregivers, single parents, persons in 27
5353 poverty, veterans, persons with unique abilities, children in 28
5454 the juvenile justice system, and vulnerable adults. Faith and 29
5555 community networks offer a more impa ctful, efficient, and viable 30
5656 long-term solution, wholly apart from or in partnership with 31
5757 governmental programs. The impact of faith and community 32
5858 networks is greatly enhanced by the reduction of unnecessary 33
5959 bureaucracy through enhanced collaboration, comm unication, and 34
6060 connection with civil service systems. Responsible connections 35
6161 with faith and community networks are a just and necessary 36
6262 component of good governance in pursuit of greater societal 37
6363 growth in this state. Additionally, greater, more responsib le 38
6464 investments in such efforts have demonstrated an exponential 39
6565 yield of taxpayer savings, efficiency of governance, and 40
6666 effectiveness of care. It is therefore the intent of the 41
6767 Legislature to establish and create outlets of governmental 42
6868 infrastructure to preserve, protect, advance, and better connect 43
6969 the faith and community networks of this state for the greater 44
7070 social and economic benefit of all. 45
7171 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to establish 46
7272 an Office of Faith and Community within the Executi ve Office of 47
7373 the Governor, as well as the role of a liaison for faith and 48
7474 community, in order to better connect with, communicate with, 49
7575 and provide resources to this state's faith -based and community-50
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8484 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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8888 based organizations. 51
8989 (3) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE O F FAITH AND COMMUNITY. — 52
9090 (a) The Office of Faith and Community is established 53
9191 within the Executive Office of the Governor. The head of the 54
9292 office is the liaison for faith and community or a director 55
9393 appointed by the liaison who reports to the liaison. 56
9494 (b) The primary purpose of the office is to better serve 57
9595 the most vulnerable persons of this state through more robust 58
9696 and connected faith and community networks in coordination with 59
9797 state resources. 60
9898 (c) The office shall: 61
9999 1. Advocate for faith -based and community-based 62
100100 organizations seeking access to, direction from, or support from 63
101101 state agencies. 64
102102 2. Establish and operate the Florida Faith and Community 65
103103 Phone, a dedicated phone line for faith -based and community-66
104104 based leaders in this state to connect with the Executive Office 67
105105 of the Governor. 68
106106 3. Establish meaningful lines of communication to connect 69
107107 with and provide resources to faith -based and community-based 70
108108 organizations in this state. The office shall deliver relevant 71
109109 and useful information from the Executive Office of the Governor 72
110110 and state agencies to the faith and community networks in this 73
111111 state. 74
112112 4. Develop and provide resources for enhanced connection 75
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121121 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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125125 between civil service systems, state agencies, and faith -based 76
126126 and community-based organizations in this state. Specifically, 77
127-the office shall use technology to connect state and local 78
128-faith-based, community-based, and nonprofit -based organizations 79
129-to address the identified needs of a community. 80
130- 5. In coordination with the heads of the executive 81
131-agencies, identify bureaucratic or regulatory burdens within 82
132-state government that unnecessarily restrict, impede, or 83
133-otherwise burden faith -based and community-based organizations 84
134-from their involvement with, collaboration with, or service to 85
135-the most vulnerable persons in this state. 86
136- 6. Provide administrative support to the Florida Faith -87
137-based and Community-based Advisory Council under s. 14.31. 88
138- (4) LIAISON FOR FAITH AND COMMUNITY. — 89
139- (a) The position of the liaison for faith and community i s 90
140-established within the Executive Office of the Governor, and the 91
141-liaison shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the 92
142-Governor. 93
143- (b) The duties of the liaison for faith and community 94
144-include, but are not limited to: 95
145- 1. Serving as a senior ad visor of faith-based and 96
146-community-based issues to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and 97
147-senior leadership within the Executive Office of the Governor. 98
148- 2. Leading the Office of Faith and Community and executing 99
149-the objectives outlined in this section. 100
127+the office shall help implement, market, and expand the use of 78
128+CarePortal, a care-sharing platform that allows faith -based and 79
129+community-based organizations and individual persons to see 80
130+verified and vetted needs in thei r community in real time. 81
131+ 5. In coordination with the heads of the executive 82
132+agencies, identify bureaucratic or regulatory burdens within 83
133+state government that unnecessarily restrict, impede, or 84
134+otherwise burden faith -based and community-based organizations 85
135+from their involvement with, collaboration with, or service to 86
136+the most vulnerable persons in this state. 87
137+ 6. Provide administrative support to the Florida Faith -88
138+based and Community-based Advisory Council under s. 14.31. 89
139+ (4) LIAISON FOR FAITH AND COMMUNITY.— 90
140+ (a) The position of the liaison for faith and community is 91
141+established within the Executive Office of the Governor, and the 92
142+liaison shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the 93
143+Governor. 94
144+ (b) The duties of the liaison for f aith and community 95
145+include, but are not limited to: 96
146+ 1. Serving as a senior advisor of faith -based and 97
147+community-based issues to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and 98
148+senior leadership within the Executive Office of the Governor. 99
149+ 2. Leading the Office of Faith and Community and executing 100
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158158 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- 3. Engaging, advising, and coordinating with the heads of 101
163-the executive agencies in the provision of faith -based and 102
164-community-based initiatives in relevant state agencies as 103
165-determined by the Governor. 104
166- Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of se ction 105
167-14.31, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 106
168- 14.31 Florida Faith -based and Community-based Advisory 107
169-Council.— 108
170- (3) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COUNCIL. — 109
171- (a) The Florida Faith -based and Community-based Advisory 110
172-Council, an advisory council as defined in s. 20.03, is 111
173-established and assigned to the Executive Office of the 112
174-Governor. The council shall be administratively housed within 113
175-the Executive Office of the Governor and receive administrative 114
176-support from the Office of Faith and Community . 115
177- Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 116
162+the objectives outlined in this section. 101
163+ 3. Engaging, advising, and coordinating with the heads of 102
164+the executive agencies in the provision of faith -based and 103
165+community-based initiatives in relevant state agencies as 104
166+determined by the Governor. 105
167+ Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 106
168+14.31, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 107
169+ 14.31 Florida Faith -based and Community-based Advisory 108
170+Council.— 109
171+ (3) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COUNCIL. — 110
172+ (a) The Florida Fait h-based and Community-based Advisory 111
173+Council, an advisory council as defined in s. 20.03, is 112
174+established and assigned to the Executive Office of the 113
175+Governor. The council shall be administratively housed within 114
176+the Executive Office of the Governor and receive administrative 115
177+support from the Office of Faith and Community . 116
178+ Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 117