Federal & State Program Grants
The 2000 Florida Statutes
Title XVII
MILITARY AFFAIRS AND RELATED MATTERS Chapter 252
Emergency ManagementView Entire Chapter
252.385 Public shelter space.--
(1) It is the intent of the Legislature that this state
not have a deficit of safe public hurricane evacuation
shelter space in any region of the state by 1998 and
thereafter.
(2) The division shall administer a program to survey
existing schools, universities, community colleges, and
other state-owned, municipally owned, and county-owned
public buildings and any private facility that the
owner, in writing, agrees to provide for use as a public
hurricane evacuation shelter to identify those that are
appropriately designed and located to serve as such
shelters. The owners of the facilities must be given the
opportunity to participate in the surveys. The Board of
Regents, district school boards, community college
boards of trustees, and the Department of Education are
responsible for coordinating and implementing the survey
of public schools, universities, and community colleges
with the division or the local emergency management
agency.
(3) The division shall annually provide to the
President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, and the Governor a list of facilities
recommended to be retrofitted using state funds. State
funds should be maximized and targeted to regional
planning council regions with hurricane evacuation
shelter deficits. Retrofitting facilities in regions
with public hurricane evacuation shelter deficits shall
be given first priority and should be completed by 2003.
All recommended facilities should be retrofitted by
2008. The owner or lessee of a public hurricane
evacuation shelter that is included on the list of
facilities recommended for retrofitting is not required
to perform any recommended improvements.
(4)(a) Public facilities, including schools,
postsecondary education facilities, and other facilities
owned or leased by the state or local governments, but
excluding hospitals or nursing homes, which are suitable
for use as public hurricane evacuation shelters shall be
made available at the request of the local emergency
management agencies. Such agencies shall coordinate with
the appropriate school board, university, community
college, or local governing board when requesting the
use of such facilities as public hurricane evacuation
shelters.
(b) The Department of Management Services shall
incorporate provisions for the use of suitable leased
public facilities as public hurricane evacuation
shelters into lease agreements for state agencies.
Suitable leased public facilities include leased public
facilities that are solely occupied by state agencies
and have at least 2,000 square feet of net floor area in
a single room or in a combination of rooms having a
minimum of 400 square feet in each room. The net square
footage of floor area must be determined by subtracting
from the gross square footage the square footage of
spaces such as mechanical and electrical rooms, storage
rooms, open corridors, restrooms, kitchens, science or
computer laboratories, shop or mechanical areas,
administrative offices, records vaults, and crawl
spaces.
(c) The Department of Management Services shall, in
consultation with local and state emergency management
agencies, assess Department of Management Services
facilities to identify the extent to which each facility
has public hurricane evacuation shelter space. The
Department of Management Services shall submit proposed
facility retrofit projects that incorporate hurricane
protection enhancements to the department for assessment
and inclusion in the annual report prepared in
accordance with subsection (3).
History.--s. 16, ch. 93-211; s. 6, ch. 2000-140.
