(1) It is the intent of the Legislature to recognize and honor those persons, living or dead, who have made significant contributions to the arts in this state, either as performing artists, or practicing artists in individual disciplines.
(2)(a) There is hereby created the Florida Artists Hall of Fame. The Florida Council on Arts and Culture shall identify an appropriate location in the public area of a building in the Capitol Center that is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Management Services, which location shall be set aside by the department and designated as the Florida Artists Hall of Fame.
(b) Each person who is selected as a member shall have a plaque placed in the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, which plaque shall designate the member’s particular discipline or contribution and shall set forth vital information relating to the member. Each member, or the person designated by the Secretary of State in the case of a posthumous selection, shall also receive a standardized memento of the member’s selection.
(3) The Florida Council on Arts and Culture shall accept nominations annually for persons to be recommended as members of the Florida Artists Hall of Fame. The council shall recommend to the Secretary of State persons to be named as members of the Florida Artists Hall of Fame. The council shall recommend as members of the Florida Artists Hall of Fame persons who were born in Florida or adopted Florida as their home state and base of operation and who have made a significant contribution to the enhancement of the arts in this state.
(4) The Secretary of State shall name no more than four members to the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in any one year.
(5) Any benefactor of the arts who was named to the Florida Artists Hall of Fame before October 1, 1995, shall remain in the Florida Artists Hall of Fame.
(6) The Division of Arts and Culture of the Department of State shall adopt rules necessary to carry out the purposes of this section, including, but not limited to, procedures for accepting nominations to, making recommendations for, and selecting members of the Florida Artists Hall of Fame and providing travel expenses for such recipients. Notwithstanding s. 112.061, the Secretary of State may approve first-class travel accommodations for recipients of the Florida Artists Hall of Fame award and their representatives for health or security purposes. (7) The Secretary of State shall annually request an appropriation sufficient to carry out the purposes of this section.
