Florida § 381.79 - Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program Trust Fund.

§ 381.79. Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program Trust Fund.

(1) There is created in the State Treasury the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program Trust Fund. Moneys in the fund shall be appropriated to the department for the purpose of providing the cost of care for brain or spinal cord injuries as a payor of last resort to residents of this state, for multilevel programs of care established pursuant to s. 381.75. (a) Authorization of expenditures for brain or spinal cord injury care shall be made only by the department. (b) Authorized expenditures include acute care, rehabilitation, transitional living, equipment and supplies necessary for activities of daily living, public information, prevention, education, and research. In addition, the department may provide matching funds for public or private assistance provided under the brain and spinal cord injury program and may provide funds for any approved expansion of services for treating individuals who have sustained a brain or spinal cord injury. (2) The department shall issue a report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by March 1 of each year, summarizing the activities supported by the trust fund. (3) Annually, 5 percent of the revenues deposited monthly in the fund pursuant to s. 318.21(2)(d) shall be appropriated to the University of Florida and 5 percent to the University of Miami for spinal cord injury and brain injury research. The amount to be distributed to the universities shall be calculated based on the deposits into the fund for each quarter in the fiscal year, but may not exceed $500,000 per university per year. Funds distributed under this subsection shall be made in quarterly payments at the end of each quarter during the fiscal year. (4) The Board of Governors of the State University System shall establish a program administration process which shall include: an annual prospective program plan with goals, research design, proposed outcomes, a proposed budget, an annual report of research activities and findings, and an annual end-of-year financial statement. Prospective program plans shall be submitted to the Board of Governors, and funds shall be released upon acceptance of the proposed program plans. The annual report of research activities and findings shall be submitted to the Board of Governors, with the executive summaries submitted to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the State Surgeon General. (5) Moneys received under s. 381.785 shall be deposited into the trust fund and used for the purposes specified in subsection (1). (6) The department may accept, deposit into the trust fund, and use for carrying out the purposes of ss. 381.739-381.79 gifts made unconditionally by will or otherwise. Any gift made under conditions that, in the judgment of the department, are proper and consistent with this section, the laws of the United States, and the laws of this state may be accepted and shall be held, invested, reinvested, and used in accordance with the conditions of the gift.