The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Fiscal Policy
BILL: CS/CS/SB 364
INTRODUCER: Fiscal Policy Committee; Education Pre-K - 12 Committee; and Senators Osgood and
Pizzo
SUBJECT: Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys
DATE: April 17, 2025
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Jahnke Bouck ED Fav/CS
2. Gray Elwell AED Favorable
3. Jahnke Siples FP Fav/CS
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/CS/SB 364 transfers the Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys (the council)
from the Department of Legal Affairs to Florida Memorial University. The bill also shifts
administrative responsibilities, including staffing support and expense reimbursements, from the
Department of Legal Affairs and the Office of the Attorney General to Florida Memorial
University.
The bill reduces the number of members necessary to constitute a quorum for the council.
Members of the council are authorized to appear at meetings electronically and still count
towards the council’s quorum requirements for purposes of conducting business. The bill also
adds notice requirements for the council’s public meetings or workshops that will be conducted
using communications media technology.
Additionally, the bill designates the authority to approve the council’s meeting times from the
Attorney General to the president of Florida Memorial University.
If no direct appropriation is provided to the university to support the council, the university
would incur a cost to implement the various provisions of the bill. See Section V., Fiscal Impact
Statement.
The bill takes effect on July 1, 2025.
REVISED: BILL: CS/CS/SB 364 Page 2
II. Present Situation:
The 2006 Florida Legislature established the Florida Council on the Social Status of Black Men
and Boys (the council) to study conditions negatively affecting black males in our state. The
council is housed within the Department of Legal Affairs in the Office of the Attorney General.
1
The council is comprised of 19 appointed members who serve four-year terms. These members
include representatives of state agencies and the Legislature, as well as citizens who represent
relevant areas of interest. The members include:
• Two members of the Senate who are not members of the same political party, appointed by
the President of the Senate with the advice of the minority leader of the Senate.
• Two members of the House of Representatives who are not members of the same political
party, appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives with the advice of the
minority leader of the House of Representatives.
• The Secretary of Children and Family Services (DCF), or his or her designee.
• The director of the Mental Health Program Office within the DCF, or his or her designee.
• The State Surgeon General, or his or her designee.
• The Commissioner of Education, or his or her designee.
• The Secretary of Corrections, or his or her designee.
• The Attorney General, or his or her designee.
• The Secretary of Management Services, or his or her designee.
• The Secretary of Commerce, or his or her designee.
• A businessperson who is an African American appointed by the Governor.
• Two persons appointed by the President of the Senate who are not members of the
Legislature or employed by state government. One of these appointments must be a clinical
physiologist.
• Two persons appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives who are not members
of the Legislature or employed by state government. One of these appointments must be an
Africana studies professional.
• The deputy secretary for Medicaid in the Agency for Health Care Administration, or his or
her designee.
• The Secretary of Juvenile Justice, or his or her designee.
2
The council is tasked with conducting a systematic study of the social and economic conditions
affecting black men and boys, including, but not limited to:
• Homicide rates;
• Arrest and incarceration rates;
• Poverty;
• Violence;
• Drug use;
• Death rates;
• Disparate annual income levels;
1
Section 16.615, F.S.; Florida Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys, About the Council,
https://cssbmb.com/about-the-council/ (last visited Mar. 20, 2025).
2
Section 16.615(1), F.S. BILL: CS/CS/SB 364 Page 3
• School performance in all grade levels including postsecondary levels; and
• Health issues.
Based on these findings, the council proposes legislative and nonlegislative measures to alleviate
and correct the underlying causes of these conditions. In addition to its mandated studies, the
council may explore additional topics at the direction of the Legislature or its chair. It also
receives input from legislators, government agencies, advocacy organizations, and private
citizens. Furthermore, the council is responsible for developing a strategic program and funding
initiative to establish local councils dedicated to addressing these issues at the community level.
Additionally, it is tasked with developing a strategic program and funding initiative for the
establishment of local councils.
3
The council has statutory authority to access public records from state agencies, request research
assistance from the Office of Economic and Demographic Research and the Office of Program
Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, seek assistance from state or local government
entities, and apply for and accept funding from public and private sources to support its work. It
may also collaborate with Florida’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to
address education-related issues.
4
The Office of the Attorney General provides staffing and administrative support and oversees the
council’s meeting schedule. The council meets quarterly and may hold additional meetings with
the approval of the Attorney General.
5
A quorum of 11 members is required for official actions,
with a majority vote needed for final decisions.
6
The council must submit an annual report by
December 15 to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, and the relevant legislative committees outlining its findings and
recommendations.
7
As a public entity, the council and any subcommittees it forms are subject to Florida’s public
records law and public meetings law, ensuring transparency.
8
Additionally, members not already
required to file a financial disclosure statement must submit a disclosure of financial interests.
9
Council members serve without compensation but are eligible for reimbursement for per diem
and travel expenses. State officers and employees receive reimbursement through their respective
agencies, while other members may be reimbursed through the Department of Legal Affairs.
10
3
Section 16.615(4), F.S.
4
Section 16.615(5), F.S.
5
Section 16.615(6) and (7), F.S.
6
Section 16.615(8), F.S.
7
Section 16.615(9), F.S.
8
Section 16.615(11), F.S.
9
Section 16.615(12), F.S.
10
Section 16.615(10), F.S. BILL: CS/CS/SB 364 Page 4
Use of Electronic Media and Public Meetings
Section 120.54(5)(b)2., F.S., requires the Administration Commission
11
to create uniform rules
for state agencies to use when conducting public meetings, hearings or workshops, including
procedures for conducting meetings in person and by means of communications media
technology (CMT).
12
Specifically, a notice for a public meeting, hearing, or workshop that will
use CMT must state:
• That the public meeting will be conducted using CMT;
• If attendance may be provided for through CMT;
• How persons who wish to attend
13
the meeting may do so; and
• The locations at which CMT facilities will be available to allow participation in the meeting.
Other laws relating to public meetings, hearings, and workshops, including penal and remedial
provisions, apply to meetings conducted by means of CMT, and must be “liberally construed in
their application to such public meetings, hearings, and workshops.”
14
A body subject to public meetings laws that will conduct its meeting exclusively using CMT
must provide a means for a member of the public to attend, which must include physical
attendance if the available technology is insufficient to permit all interest persons to attend.
15
The
public access to the meeting must be provided via a “designated place where a person interested
in attending a CMT proceeding may go for the purpose of attending the proceeding.”
16
Unless otherwise authorized by the Legislature, these procedures for communications media
technology apply only to state agencies and not to local boards or commissions. In the absence of
any law otherwise, local government bodies that require a quorum to conduct their business may
only use communications media technology to do so if either a statute permits a quorum to be
present by means other than in-person or the in-person requirement for constituting a quorum is
lawfully suspended.
17
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
CS/CS/SB 364 transfers the Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys (the council)
from the Department of Legal Affairs to Florida Memorial University. The bill also shifts
11
Section 14.202, F.S. The Administration Commission is composed of the Governor and the Cabinet (The Attorney
General, the Chief Financial Officer, and the Commissioner of Agriculture compose the Cabinet. Section 20.03(1), F.S.).
12
Section 120.54(5)(b)2., F.S. The term “communications media technology” means the electronic transmission of printed
matter, audio, full-motion video, freeze-frame video, compressed video, and digital video by any method available. See also
Rules 28-109.001-.006, F.A.C.
13
Rule 28-109.002 of the Florida Administrative Code defines attendance as having access to the CMT network being used
to conduct a proceeding, or being used to take evidence, testimony, or argument relative to issues considered at the
proceeding. The entity must also publish a public meeting notice which includes the address of each access point (a
designated place where a person interested in attending a CMT proceeding may go for the purpose of attending). See, Rules
28-109.002, and .005, Fla. Admin. Code.
14
Section 120.54(5)(b)2., F.S.
15
See Rule 28-109.004, F.A.C.
16
Rule 28-109.002(1), F.S.
17
Op. Att’y Gen. Fla. 2020-03. BILL: CS/CS/SB 364 Page 5
administrative responsibilities, including staffing support and expense reimbursements, from the
Department of Legal Affairs and the Office of the Attorney General to Florida Memorial
University.
Additionally, the bill designates the authority to approve the council’s meeting times from the
Attorney General to the president of Florida Memorial University.
The bill reduces the number of council members needed to constitute a quorum from eleven to
nine. The bill also allows council members who appear by communications media technology to
count towards quorum requirements. For the purposes of the bill, “communications media
technology” means the electronic transmission of printed matter, audio, full-motion video,
freeze-frame video, compressed video, and digital video by any method available.
18
This
presumably allows the council to hold meetings and take action with fewer members in physical
attendance and voting for the proposition. For example, under current law, with 19 members, 11
are needed to meet quorum requirements, and six are needed to approve council action. Under
the bill, with 19 members but only nine needed to meet quorum requirements, only five are
needed to approve council action.
The bill additionally requires that the council provide notice when it conducts a public meeting
or workshop using communications media technology, specifically requiring that it state how an
interested person may participate, and where facilities with communications media technology
will be available during the meeting or workshop.
No substantive changes are made to the council’s composition, powers, or duties, aside from
shifting oversight to the Florida Memorial University.
The bill takes effect on July 1, 2025.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
None.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
Section 286.011, F.S., the Government in the Sunshine Law, ensures a right of access to
government proceedings. A fundamental requirement of the Government in the Sunshine
Law is that meetings of entities subject to its provisions are “open to the public,” which
means open to all persons who choose to attend.
19
Therefore, the Council must, in its use
of CMT for the purpose of allowing its members to attend Council meetings, ensure that
members of the public are afforded access not only to the physical meeting, but also to
the portions held via CMT.
18
See s. 120.54(5)(b)2., F.S.
19
Op. Att’y Gen. Fla. 2009-56. BILL: CS/CS/SB 364 Page 6
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
Article I, section 24(b) of the Florida Constitution and the Sunshine Law “aim[s] to
prevent the evil of closed door operation of government without permitting public
scrutiny and participation.”
20
The bill provides procedural safeguards through the
Administrative Procedures Act for public notice and participation in meetings that
employ CMT.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
None.
C. Government Sector Impact:
The Council will be able to conduct its meetings and take action via communications
media technology (CMT), such as Zoom. This may reduce costs associated with the
Council’s meetings by lowering travel expense reimbursements to members who
participate via CMT.
The Department of Legal Affairs is appropriated $350,000 to support the Council on the
Social Status of Black Men and Boys. It is anticipated that Florida Memorial University
would need a similar amount of money to implement the provisions of the council. If no
direct appropriation is provided to the university to support the council, the university
would incur a cost to implement the various provisions of the bill.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
None.
20
Transparency for Fla. v. City of Port St. Lucie, 240 So.2d 780, 784 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2018), quoting City of Miami Beach
v. Berns, 245 So.2d 38, 41 (Fla. 1971). BILL: CS/CS/SB 364 Page 7
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill transfers, renumbers, and amends section 16.615 of the Florida Statutes as section
1001.216 of the Florida Statutes.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Substantial Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
CS/CS by Fiscal Policy on April 17, 2025:
The committee substitute maintains the provisions of CS/SB 364, with the following
modifications:
• Reduces the number of members necessary to constitute a quorum for a meeting to be
held and for voting on final actions.
• Allows members to appear at meetings electronically and count toward the quorum
requirements to conduct business.
• Adds notice requirements for the Council’s public meetings or workshops that will be
conducted using communications media technology.
CS by Education Pre-K - 12 on March 17, 2025:
The committee substitute:
• Transfers the Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys at the Department
of Legal Affairs to Florida Memorial University, instead of the Department of
Education.
• Shifts staffing and administrative support responsibilities from the Office of the
Attorney General to Florida Memorial University, instead of the Department of
Education
• Designates the authority to approve the council’s meeting times from the Attorney
General to the president of Florida Memorial University, instead of the Commissioner
of Education.
• Reassigns responsibility for reimbursing council members for expenses from the
Department of Legal Affairs to Florida Memorial University, instead of the
Department of Education.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.