Cultural Endowment Program; administration; qualifying criteria; matching fund program levels; distribution.

(1) To be eligible for receipt of state matching funds, the local sponsoring organization shall meet all of the following criteria:

(a) Establish a cultural endowment program fund or funds, which it shall administer and invest.

(b) Deposit into the appropriate program fund account the required matching funds which have been collected from new public and private donations and gifts having a total annual value of at least $360,000 for each individual endowment.

(c) Be designated a cultural sponsoring organization by the department, if recommended by the Florida Council on Arts and Culture to the Secretary of State pursuant to the procedures contained in s. 265.285.

(2) Contributions to the sponsoring organization for which state matching funds may be received shall include cash or negotiable securities.

(3) Each individual endowment in this program shall have a total value of $600,000 of which $360,000 shall be raised by the sponsoring organization with the remaining $240,000 in matching funds being contributed by the state. A sponsoring organization that receives a matching fund endowment is eligible to apply for additional matching fund endowments; however, additional endowments shall not be awarded to a sponsoring organization more frequently than once every 36 months. Application for and award of each matching fund endowment must comply with the requirements of this section, including the matching fund requirements. A sponsoring organization may establish an endowment program fund for each endowment, or may combine two or more endowments in one program fund.

(4) Once the secretary has determined that the sponsoring organization has complied with the criteria imposed by this section, he or she may authorize the transfer of the appropriate state matching funds to the organization. However, the secretary shall ensure that the local group has made prudent arrangements for the trusteeship of the entire endowment, and such trusteeship is hereby created. The sponsoring organization may then expend moneys in the endowment program fund, subject to the following requirements:

(a) The organization may expend funds only for operating costs incurred while engaged in programs directly related to cultural activities.

(b) The organization shall annually submit a report to the division, in such form as the division specifies, explaining how endowment program funds were utilized.

(5) The $240,000 state matching fund endowment for each individual endowment shall revert to the General Revenue Fund if any of the following events occurs:

(a) The recipient sponsoring organization is no longer able to manage an endowment.

(b) The recipient sponsoring organization files for protection under federal bankruptcy provisions.

(c) The recipient sponsoring organization willfully expends a portion of the endowment principal of any individual endowment.

(6)(a) Preservation of the $600,000 capital value of each endowment shall be the primary investment constraint upon the trustee.

(b) The investment objectives of the trustee are to preserve the principal amount of each endowment while maximizing current income through the use of investment-quality financial instruments of the types set forth in rules promulgated by the department. The market value of $600,000 for each individual endowment in a local cultural endowment program fund shall be maintained.

(7) Qualified sponsoring organizations which are approved and recommended by the Secretary of State and not funded by the Legislature shall be retained on the Cultural Endowment Program priority list for the following fiscal year. All organizations that are retained shall be required to meet the definition of a sponsoring organization and qualifying criteria as required in this section and by the Department of State for the Cultural Endowment Program.