Florida Senate - 2020 CS for SB 1050 By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability; and Senator Diaz 585-02221-20 20201050c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to disaster volunteer leave for state 3 employees; amending s. 110.120, F.S.; reordering, 4 revising, and providing definitions; revising 5 conditions under which an employee may be granted 6 leave under the Florida Disaster Volunteer Leave Act; 7 specifying requirements and limitations; providing an 8 effective date. 9 10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 11 12 Section 1. Section 110.120, Florida Statutes, is amended to 13 read: 14 110.120 Administrative leave for disaster service 15 volunteers.— 16 (1) SHORT TITLE.—This section shall be known and may be 17 cited as the “Florida Disaster Volunteer Leave Act.” 18 (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term 19 following terms shall apply: 20 (c)(a) “State agency” means any official, officer, 21 commission, board, authority, council, committee, or department 22 of the executive branch of state government. 23 (a)(b) “Disaster” means an event that results in a state of 24 emergency, as declared by executive order or proclamation issued 25 by the Governor of this state or any other state or territory of 26 the United States includes disasters designated at level II and 27 above in the American National Red Cross regulations and 28 procedures. 29 (b) “Disaster area” means a location covered under a state 30 of emergency, as declared by executive order or proclamation 31 issued by the Governor of this state or any other state or 32 territory of the United States. 33 (d) “Volunteer” means an individual who has entered into an 34 agreement with a tax-exemptnonprofit organization under s. 35 501(c)(3) or s. 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code to 36 provide nonpaid services to a disaster area for disaster 37 response or recovery. 38 (3) LEAVE OF ABSENCE.—An employee of a state agency who is 39 a certified disaster service volunteer of the American Red Cross 40 may be granted a leave of absence with pay for no not more than 41 120 working hours 15 working days in any 12-month period to 42 serve as a volunteer participate in specialized disaster relief 43 services for the American Red Cross. Such leave of absence may 44 be granted upon the request of the employee American Red Cross 45 and upon the approval of the employee’s employing agency after 46 verifying the employee’s volunteer status. An employee granted 47 leave under this section is shall not be deemed to be an 48 employee of the state for purposes of workers’ compensation. 49 Leave under this section act may be granted only for providing 50 volunteer for services related to a disaster occurring within 51 the boundaries of this the state of Florida, except that, with 52 the approval of the Governor and Cabinet, leave may be granted 53 to an employee to provide volunteer for services in response to 54 a disaster occurring within the states or territories boundaries 55 of the United States upon approval of the head of the employee’s 56 employing agency. An employee who is granted leave under this 57 section must attest to his or her employing agency that he or 58 she has completed his or her volunteer service for a disaster, 59 and must also specify the period of time for which he or she 60 served as a volunteer for that event and a description of the 61 disaster response or recovery services that the employee 62 provided. 63 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.