Florida Senate - 2025 SB 884 By Senator Martin 33-01178-25 2025884__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to the Florida State Guard; amending 3 s. 115.07, F.S.; authorizing leaves of absence for 4 members of the Florida State Guard when they are 5 engaged in certain ordered training; revising 6 legislative intent; amending s. 258.0145, F.S.; 7 providing a discount on annual entrance passes to 8 state parks for current members of the Florida State 9 Guard; amending s. 379.354, F.S.; creating and 10 specifying the annual fee for the Florida State Guard 11 gold sportsmans license for hunting and fishing; 12 specifying application requirements for the license; 13 providing construction; creating s. 1009.8959, F.S.; 14 creating the Florida State Guard Scholarship Program 15 for a specified purpose; requiring the Department of 16 Education to administer the program according to rules 17 and procedures established by the State Board of 18 Education; specifying eligibility requirements for 19 initial and recurring funding under the program; 20 providing for the issuance of awards under the 21 program; requiring the Department of Education to 22 issue the awards annually, subject to legislative 23 appropriation; specifying requirements if appropriated 24 funds are not sufficient to fully fund awards; 25 requiring the State Board of Education and the Board 26 of Governors to adopt rules and regulations, 27 respectively; providing an effective date. 28 29 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 30 31 Section 1.Subsections (1) and (4) of section 115.07, 32 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 33 115.07Officers and employees leaves of absence for 34 reserve or guard training. 35 (1)All officers or employees of the state, of the several 36 counties of the state, and of the municipalities or political 37 subdivisions of the state who are commissioned reserve officers 38 or reserve enlisted personnel in the United States military or 39 naval service, or members of the National Guard, or members of 40 the Florida State Guard are entitled to leaves of absence from 41 their respective duties, without loss of vacation leave, pay, 42 time, or efficiency rating, on all days during which they are 43 engaged in training ordered under the provisions of the United 44 States military or naval training regulations for such personnel 45 when assigned to active or inactive duty or training ordered by 46 the Florida State Guard, as applicable. 47 (4)It is the intent of the Legislature that the state, its 48 several counties, and its municipalities and political 49 subdivisions shall grant leaves of absence for active or 50 inactive training to all employees who are members of the United 51 States Reserve Forces or the National Guard or members of the 52 Florida State Guard, to ensure the state and national security 53 at all times through a strong armed force of qualified and 54 mobilization-ready personnel. 55 Section 2.Section 258.0145, Florida Statutes, is amended 56 to read: 57 258.0145Military, Florida State Guard, law enforcement, 58 and firefighter state park fee discounts.The Division of 59 Recreation and Parks shall provide the following discounts on 60 park fees to persons who present written documentation 61 satisfactory to the division which evidences their eligibility 62 for the discounts: 63 (1)Active duty members and honorably discharged veterans 64 of the United States Armed Forces, National Guard, or reserve 65 components thereof shall receive a 25-percent discount on annual 66 entrance passes. 67 (2)Current members of the Florida State Guard shall 68 receive a 15-percent discount on annual entrance passes. 69 (3)Honorably discharged veterans who have service 70 connected disabilities shall receive lifetime family annual 71 entrance passes at no charge. 72 (4)(3)Surviving spouses and parents of deceased members of 73 the United States Armed Forces, National Guard, or reserve 74 components thereof who have fallen in combat shall receive 75 lifetime family annual entrance passes at no charge. 76 (5)(4)The surviving spouse and parents of a law 77 enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(1), or a 78 firefighter, as defined in s. 633.102, who has died in the line 79 of duty shall receive lifetime family annual entrance passes at 80 no charge. 81 Section 3.Present paragraph (k) of subsection (4) of 82 section 379.354, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph 83 (l), and a new paragraph (k) is added to that subsection, to 84 read: 85 379.354Recreational licenses, permits, and authorization 86 numbers; fees established. 87 (4)RESIDENT HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES.The licenses and 88 fees for residents participating in hunting and fishing 89 activities in this state are as follows: 90 (k)Annual Florida State Guard gold sportsmans license, 91 $34.48. A resident who is a current member of the Florida State 92 Guard may purchase the Florida State Guard gold sportsmans 93 license upon presenting a current Florida State Guard 94 identification card. The annual Florida State Guard gold 95 sportsmans license authorizes the same activities as the annual 96 gold sportsmans license. 97 Section 4.Section 1009.8959, Florida Statutes, is created 98 to read: 99 1009.8959The Florida State Guard Scholarship Program. 100 (1)The Florida State Guard Scholarship Program is created 101 to reward members of the Florida State Guard enrolled in 102 eligible Florida public or independent postsecondary educational 103 institutions who meet the eligibility criteria established in 104 subsection (2). The Department of Education shall administer the 105 program according to rules and procedures established by the 106 State Board of Education. 107 (2)To be eligible to receive a scholarship under the 108 program, an individual must meet all of the following criteria: 109 (a)Have completed 4 years of active service with the 110 Florida State Guard. 111 (b)Have graduated with a standard high school diploma or 112 its equivalent. 113 (c)Be a current or former member the Florida State Guard 114 in good standing as determined by rules adopted by the director 115 of the Florida State Guard. 116 (d)Have not yet earned a baccalaureate degree. 117 (e)Be enrolled in a career certificate or an associate or 118 a baccalaureate degree program at a state university, a Florida 119 College System institution, or an independent Florida college or 120 university that is eligible to participate in the William L. 121 Boyd, IV, Effective Access to Student Education Grant Program 122 under s. 1009.89. 123 (3)To be eligible for continued scholarship funding under 124 the program, an individual must: 125 (a)Enroll in at least 6 credit hours per semester; and 126 (b)Earn at least 24 semester credit hours in the last 127 academic year or the academic year in which the student earned 128 the scholarship, if the student was enrolled full time; or a 129 prorated number of credit hours as determined by the Department 130 of Education if the student was enrolled for less than full time 131 for any part of the academic year. 132 (4)The Department of Education shall issue awards as 133 follows: 134 (a)Students enrolled in a state university or a Florida 135 College System institution are eligible for an award equal to 136 100 percent of tuition and fees. 137 (b)Students enrolled in an eligible independent Florida 138 college or university are eligible for a fixed award calculated 139 by using the average tuition and fee calculation as prescribed 140 by the Department of Education for full-time attendance at a 141 public postsecondary education institution at the comparable 142 level. 143 (c)A stipend for textbooks may be granted if the 144 Legislature appropriates sufficient funding to cover the cost of 145 such stipends. 146 (d)Students may receive an award for a maximum of 100 147 percent of the number of credits required to complete a 148 baccalaureate degree program. 149 (5)The Department of Education shall issue awards from the 150 scholarship program annually, subject to the appropriation of 151 funds by the Legislature. If funds appropriated are not adequate 152 to provide the maximum allowable award to each eligible 153 applicant, awards in all components of the program must be 154 prorated using the same percentage reduction. 155 (6)The State Board of Education and the Board of Governors 156 shall adopt rules and regulations, respectively, to implement 157 this program. 158 Section 5.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.