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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
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the Florida State Guard; amending 2
s. 115.07, F.S.; providing that members of the Florida 3
State Guard are entitled to specified leaves of 4
absences; amending s. 258.0145, F.S.; providing a 5
specified discount on annual state park entrance 6
passes to current members of the Florida State Guard; 7
amending s. 379.354, F.S.; creating the annual Florida 8
State Guard gold sportsman's license for state 9
residents who are current members of the Florida State 10
Guard; providing the cost of the license and uses of 11
the license; creating s. 1009.8959, F.S.; establishing 12
the Florida State Guard Scholarship Program within the 13
Department of Education for specified purposes; 14
providing eligibility criteria for the program; 15
providing requirements for awards through the program; 16
providing for funding for the program; providing for 17
rules and regulations to administer the program; 18
providing an effective date. 19
20
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 21
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Section 1. Subsections (1) and (4) of section 115.07, 23
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 24
115.07 Officers and employees' leaves of absence for 25
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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
reserve or guard training. — 26
(1) All officers or em ployees of the state, of the several 27
counties of the state, and of the municipalities or political 28
subdivisions of the state who are commissioned reserve officers 29
or reserve enlisted personnel in the United States military or 30
naval service or members of th e National Guard or Florida State 31
Guard are entitled to leaves of absence from their respective 32
duties, without loss of vacation leave, pay, time, or efficiency 33
rating, on all days during which they are engaged in training 34
ordered under the provisions of t he United States military or 35
naval training regulations for such personnel when assigned to 36
active or inactive duty. 37
(4) It is the intent of the Legislature that the state, 38
its several counties, and its municipalities and political 39
subdivisions shall gra nt leaves of absence for active or 40
inactive training to all employees who are members of the United 41
States Reserve Forces , or the National Guard, or the Florida 42
State Guard, to ensure the state and national security at all 43
times through a strong armed forc e of qualified and 44
mobilization-ready personnel. 45
Section 2. Subsections (2) through (4) of section 46
258.0145, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (3) 47
through (5), respectively, and a new subsection (2) is added to 48
that section, to read: 49
258.0145 Military, Florida State Guard, law enforcement, 50
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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
and firefighter state park fee discounts. —The Division of 51
Recreation and Parks shall provide the following discounts on 52
park fees to persons who present written documentation 53
satisfactory to the divisi on which evidences their eligibility 54
for the discounts: 55
(2) Current members of the Florida State Guard shall 56
receive a 15-percent discount on annual entrance passes. 57
Section 3. Paragraph (k) of subsection (4) of section 58
379.354, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph (l), and 59
a new paragraph (k) is added to that subsection, to read: 60
379.354 Recreational licenses, permits, and authorization 61
numbers; fees established. — 62
(4) RESIDENT HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES. —The licenses 63
and fees for residents participating in hunting and fishing 64
activities in this state are as follows: 65
(k) Annual Florida State Guard gold sportsman's license, 66
$34.48. A resident who is a current member of the Florida State 67
Guard may purchase the Florida State Guard gold s portsman's 68
license upon submission of a current Florida State Guard 69
identification card. The annual Florida State Guard gold 70
sportsman's license authorizes the same activities as the annual 71
gold sportsman's license. 72
Section 4. Section 1009.8959, Florid a Statutes, is created 73
to read: 74
1009.8959 The Florida State Guard Scholarship Program. —The 75
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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
Florida State Guard Scholarship Program is created to provide 76
scholarships to any member of the Florida State Guard who meets 77
the eligibility criteria established in subsection (1). The 78
Department of Education shall administer the program. 79
(1) INITIAL ELIGIBILITY. —To be eligible to receive a 80
scholarship through the program, an individual must: 81
(a) Have completed at least 4 years of active service with 82
the Florida State Guard. 83
(b) Have graduated with a standard high school diploma or 84
the equivalent. 85
(c) Currently be a member in good standing or have left 86
service with the Florida State Guard in good standing as 87
determined by rules adopted by the director of the Florida State 88
Guard. 89
(d) Have not earned a baccalaureate degree or higher. 90
(e) Enroll in a certificate program or an associate or 91
baccalaureate degree program at a Florida College System 92
institution, state university, or an independent college or 93
university that is eligible to participate in the William L. 94
Boyd, IV, Effective Access to Student Education Grant program 95
pursuant to s. 1009.89. 96
(2) RENEWAL ELIGIBILITY. —To be eligible for continued 97
funding through the program, an individual must: 98
(a) Enroll in a minimum of 6 credit hours per semester. 99
(b) Earn at least 24 credit hours in the last academic 100
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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
year in which the student earned the scholarship if the student 101
was enrolled full-time or a prorated number of credit hours as 102
determined by the depa rtment if the student was enrolled less 103
than full-time for any part of the academic year. 104
(3) PROGRAM AWARDS. — 105
(a) A student enrolled in a Florida College System 106
institution or state university shall be eligible for an award 107
equal to 100 percent of his or her tuition and fees. 108
(b) A student enrolled in an eligible independent college 109
or university shall receive a fixed award calculated by using 110
the average tuition and fee calculation as prescribed by the 111
department for full-time enrollment at a public postsecondary 112
educational institution at the comparable level. 113
(c) A student may be awarded a stipend for textbooks as 114
specifically funded in the General Appropriations Act. 115
(d) A student may receive an award for a maximum of 100 116
percent of the number of credit hours required to complete up to 117
a baccalaureate degree program. 118
(4) PROGRAM FUNDING. —The department shall issue awards for 119
the program annually. The funding for the program is subject to 120
legislative appropriation. If the funds appropriated ar e not 121
adequate to provide the maximum allowable award to each eligible 122
applicant, awards in all components of the program must be 123
prorated using the same percentage reduction for each award. 124
(5) RULES AND REGULATIONS. —The State Board of Education 125
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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
and the Board of Governors shall adopt rules and regulations, 126
respectively, to administer this section. 127
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 128