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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to administrative procedures; amending 2
s. 120.52, F.S.; defining terms; amending s. 120.54, 3
F.S.; applying certain provisions applicable to all 4
rules other than emergency rules to repromulgated 5
rules; requiring a notice of rule development to 6
include certain information; requiring a notice of 7
withdrawal if a notice of proposed rule is not filed 8
within a certain timeframe; requiring that certain 9
persons be available at a workshop or public hearing 10
to receive public input; requiring a notice o f 11
proposed rule to include certain information; 12
requiring certain notices to be published within a 13
specified timeframe; requiring that material proposed 14
to be incorporated by reference be made available in a 15
specified manner; authorizing electronic deliver y of 16
notices to persons who have requested advance notice 17
of agency rulemaking proceedings; revising the 18
circumstances under which a proposed rule's adverse 19
impact on small businesses is considered to exist; 20
requiring an agency to provide notice of a regul atory 21
alternative to the Administrative Procedures Committee 22
within a certain timeframe; requiring an agency to 23
publish a notice of convening a separate proceeding in 24
certain circumstances; providing that rulemaking 25
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timelines are tolled during such separat e proceedings; 26
requiring a notice of change for certain changes to a 27
statement of estimated regulatory costs; revising the 28
requirements for the contents of a notice of change; 29
requiring the committee to notify the Department of 30
State that the date for an a gency to adopt a rule has 31
expired under certain circumstances; requiring the 32
department to publish a notice of withdrawal under 33
certain circumstances; requiring that certain 34
information be available on the agency's website; 35
requiring emergency rules to be published in the 36
Florida Administrative Code; prohibiting agencies from 37
making changes to emergency rules by superseding the 38
rule; authorizing an agency to make technical changes 39
to an emergency rule during a specified timeframe; 40
requiring an agency to fil e a copy of a certain 41
petition with the committee; amending s. 120.541, 42
F.S.; requiring an agency to provide a copy of any 43
proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative to 44
the committee within a certain timeframe; specifying 45
the circumstances under whic h such a proposal is made 46
in good faith; revising requirements for an agency's 47
consideration of a lower cost regulatory alternative; 48
providing for an agency's revision and publication of 49
a revised statement of estimated regulatory costs in 50
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response to certain circumstances; requiring that a 51
revised statement of lower cost regulatory alternative 52
be submitted to the rules ombudsman in the Executive 53
Office of the Governor and published in a specified 54
manner; revising the information required in a 55
statement of estimated regulatory cost; deleting the 56
definition of the term "transactional costs"; revising 57
the applicability of specified provisions; providing 58
additional requirements for the calculation of 59
estimated regulatory costs; requiring the department 60
to include specified information on a website; 61
requiring certain agencies to include certain 62
information in a statement of estimated regulatory 63
costs and on their websites; providing certain 64
requirements for an agency that revises a statement of 65
estimated regulatory costs; creating s. 120.5435, 66
F.S.; providing legislative intent; requiring agency 67
review of rules and repromulgation of rules that do 68
not require substantive changes within a specified 69
timeframe; providing that failure of an agency to meet 70
certain deadlines applicable to a rule required to be 71
repromulgated constitutes the repeal of the rule; 72
requiring an agency to publish a notice of 73
repromulgation in the Florida Administrative Register 74
and file a rule for promulgation with the department 75
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within a specified timeframe; requiring an agency to 76
file a notice of repromulgation with the committee 77
within a specified timeframe; providing requirements 78
for the notice of repromulgation; providing that a 79
repromulgated rule is not subject to challenge as a 80
proposed rule and that certain hearing requirements do 81
not apply; requiring an agency to file a specified 82
number of certified copies of a proposed repromulgated 83
rule and any material incorporated by reference; 84
providing that a repromulgated rule is adopted upon 85
filing with the department and becomes effective after 86
a specified time; requiring the department to update 87
certain information in the Florida Administrative 88
Code; requiring the department to adopt rules by a 89
certain date; amending s. 120.545, F.S.; requiring t he 90
committee to examine existing rules; amending s. 91
120.55, F.S.; requiring the Florida Administrative 92
Code to be published once daily and indicate certain 93
information; requiring materials incorporated by 94
reference to be filed in a specified manner; requir ing 95
the department to include the date of a technical 96
change in the Florida Administrative Code; providing 97
that a technical change does not affect the effective 98
date of a rule; requiring specified rulemaking; 99
amending s. 120.74, F.S.; requiring an agency t o 100
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identify and describe each rule it plans to develop, 101
adopt, or repeal during the forthcoming year in the 102
agency's annual regulatory plan; requiring that an 103
agency's annual regulatory plan identify any rules 104
that are required to be repromulgated during th e 105
forthcoming year; requiring the agency to make certain 106
declarations concerning the annual regulatory plan; 107
amending ss. 120.80, 120.81, 420.9072, 420.9075, and 108
443.091, F.S.; conforming cross -references; providing 109
an effective date. 110
111
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 112
113
Section 1. Subsections (16) through (19) and subsections 114
(20) through (22) of section 120.52, Florida Statutes, are 115
renumbered as subsections (17) through (20) and subsections (22) 116
through (24), respectively, and new subsections (16) and (21) 117
are added to that section to read: 118
120.52 Definitions. —As used in this act: 119
(16) "Repromulgation" means the publication and adoption 120
of an existing rule following an agency's review of the rule for 121
consistency with the powers and duties granted by its enabling 122
statute. 123
(21) "Technical change" means a change limited to 124
correcting grammatical, typographical, and similar errors not 125
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affecting the substance of the rule. 126
Section 2. Paragraph (i) of subsection (1), subse ctions 127
(2) and (3), and paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section 128
120.54, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraphs (e) and 129
(f) are added to subsection (4) of that section, to read: 130
120.54 Rulemaking.— 131
(1) GENERAL PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO ALL RULE S OTHER THAN 132
EMERGENCY RULES.— 133
(i)1. A rule may incorporate material by reference but 134
only as the material exists on the date the rule is adopted. For 135
purposes of the rule, changes in the material are not effective 136
unless the rule is amended to incorpora te the changes. 137
2. An agency rule that incorporates by specific reference 138
another rule of that agency automatically incorporates 139
subsequent amendments to the referenced rule unless a contrary 140
intent is clearly indicated in the referencing rule. A notice of 141
amendments to a rule that has been incorporated by specific 142
reference in other rules of that agency must explain the effect 143
of those amendments on the referencing rules. 144
3. In rules adopted after December 31, 2010, and rules 145
repromulgated on or after July 1, 2022, material may not be 146
incorporated by reference unless: 147
a. The material has been submitted in the prescribed 148
electronic format to the Department of State and the full text 149
of the material can be made available for free public access 150
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through an electronic hyperlink from the rule making the 151
reference in the Florida Administrative Code; or 152
b. The agency has determined that posting the material on 153
the Internet for purposes of public examination and inspection 154
would constitute a violation of fede ral copyright law, in which 155
case a statement to that effect, along with the address of 156
locations at the Department of State and the agency at which the 157
material is available for public inspection and examination, 158
must be included in the notice required by subparagraph (3)(a)1. 159
4. A rule may not be amended by reference only. Amendments 160
must set out the amended rule in full in the same manner as 161
required by the State Constitution for laws. 162
5. Notwithstanding any contrary provision in this section, 163
when an adopted rule of the Department of Environmental 164
Protection or a water management district is incorporated by 165
reference in the other agency's rule to implement a provision of 166
part IV of chapter 373, subsequent amendments to the rule are 167
not effective as to the incorporating rule unless the agency 168
incorporating by reference notifies the committee and the 169
Department of State of its intent to adopt the subsequent 170
amendment, publishes notice of such intent in the Florida 171
Administrative Register, and files with the Department of State 172
a copy of the amended rule incorporated by reference. Changes in 173
the rule incorporated by reference are effective as to the other 174
agency 20 days after the date of th e published notice and filing 175
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with the Department of State. The Department of State shall 176
amend the history note of the incorporating rule to show the 177
effective date of such change. Any substantially affected person 178
may, within 14 days after the date of pu blication of the notice 179
of intent in the Florida Administrative Register, file an 180
objection to rulemaking with the agency. The objection shall 181
specify the portions of the rule incorporated by reference to 182
which the person objects and the reasons for the ob jection. The 183
agency shall not have the authority under this subparagraph to 184
adopt those portions of the rule specified in such objection. 185
The agency shall publish notice of the objection and of its 186
action in response in the next available issue of the Flor ida 187
Administrative Register. 188
6. The Department of State may adopt by rule requirements 189
for incorporating materials pursuant to this paragraph. 190
(2) RULE DEVELOPMENT; WORKSHOPS; NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING. — 191
(a)1. Except when the intended action is the repea l of a 192
rule, agencies shall provide notice of the development of 193
proposed rules by publication of a notice of rule development in 194
the Florida Administrative Register before providing notice of a 195
proposed rule as required by paragraph (3)(a). The notice of 196
rule development must shall indicate the subject area to be 197
addressed by rule development, provide a short, plain 198
explanation of the purpose and effect of the proposed rule, cite 199
the grant of rulemaking authority for the proposed rule and the 200
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law being implemented specific legal authority for the proposed 201
rule, and include the proposed rule number and the preliminary 202
text of the proposed rule rules, if available, or a statement of 203
how a person may promptly obtain, without cost, a copy of any 204
preliminary draft, when if available. 205
2. If a notice of a proposed rule is not filed within 12 206
months after the notice of rule development, the agency shall 207
withdraw the rule and give notice of the withdrawal in the next 208
available issue of the Florida Administrative Re gister. 209
(b) All rules should be drafted in readable language. The 210
language is readable if: 211
1. It avoids the use of obscure words and unnecessarily 212
long or complicated constructions; and 213
2. It avoids the use of unnecessary technical or 214
specialized language that is understood only by members of 215
particular trades or professions. 216
(c) An agency may hold public workshops for purposes of 217
rule development. If requested in writing by any affected 218
person, an agency must hold public workshops, including 219
workshops in various regions of the state or the agency's 220
service area, for purposes of rule development if requested in 221
writing by any affected person , unless the agency head explains 222
in writing why a workshop is unnecessary. The explanation is not 223
final agency action subject to review pursuant to ss. 120.569 224
and 120.57. The failure to provide the explanation when required 225
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may be a material error in procedure pursuant to s. 226
120.56(1)(c). When a workshop or public hearing is held, the 227
agency must ensure that the persons responsible for preparing 228
the proposed rule are available to receive public input, to 229
explain the agency's proposal , and to respond to questions or 230
comments regarding the rule being developed. The workshop may be 231
facilitated or mediated by a neutra l third person, or the agency 232
may employ other types of dispute resolution alternatives for 233
the workshop that are appropriate for rule development. Notice 234
of a workshop for rule development must workshop shall be by 235
publication in the Florida Administrativ e Register not fewer 236
less than 14 days before prior to the date on which the workshop 237
is scheduled to be held and must shall indicate the subject area 238
that which will be addressed; the agency contact person; and the 239
place, date, and time of the workshop. 240
(d)1. An agency may use negotiated rulemaking in 241
developing and adopting rules. The agency should consider the 242
use of negotiated rulemaking when complex rules are being 243
drafted or strong opposition to the rules is anticipated. The 244
agency should consider, but is not limited to considering, 245
whether a balanced committee of interested persons who will 246
negotiate in good faith can be assembled, whether the agency is 247
willing to support the work of the negotiating committee, and 248
whether the agency can use the grou p consensus as the basis for 249
its proposed rule. Negotiated rulemaking uses a committee of 250
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designated representatives to draft a mutually acceptable 251
proposed rule. 252
2. An agency that chooses to use the negotiated rulemaking 253
process described in this paragr aph shall publish in the Florida 254
Administrative Register a notice of negotiated rulemaking that 255
includes a listing of the representative groups that will be 256
invited to participate in the negotiated rulemaking process. Any 257
person who believes that his or he r interest is not adequately 258
represented may apply to participate within 30 days after 259
publication of the notice. All meetings of the negotiating 260
committee shall be noticed and open to the public pursuant to 261
the provisions of this chapter. The negotiating committee shall 262
be chaired by a neutral facilitator or mediator. 263
3. The agency's decision to use negotiated rulemaking, its 264
selection of the representative groups, and approval or denial 265
of an application to participate in the negotiated rulemaking 266
process are not agency action. Nothing in This subparagraph is 267
not intended to affect the rights of a substantially an affected 268
person to challenge a proposed rule developed under this 269
paragraph in accordance with s. 120.56(2). 270
(3) ADOPTION PROCEDURES. — 271
(a) Notices.— 272
1. Before Prior to the adoption, amendment, or repeal of 273
any rule other than an emergency rule, an agency, upon approval 274
of the agency head, shall give notice of its intended action, 275
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setting forth a short, plain explanation of the purpose and 276
effect of the proposed action; the proposed rule number and the 277
full text of the proposed rule or amendment and a summary 278
thereof; a reference to the grant of rulemaking authority 279
pursuant to which the rule is adopted; and a reference to the 280
section or subsection of the Florida Statutes or the Laws of 281
Florida being implemented or interpreted. The notice must 282
include a concise summary of the agency's statement of the 283
estimated regulatory costs, if one has been prepared, based on 284
the factors set forth in s. 1 20.541(2), which describes the 285
regulatory impact of the proposed rule in readable language; an 286
agency website address where the statement of estimated 287
regulatory costs can be viewed in its entirety, if one has been 288
prepared; a statement that any person who wishes to provide the 289
agency with information regarding the statement of estimated 290
regulatory costs, or to provide a proposal for a lower cost 291
regulatory alternative as provided by s. 120.541(1), must do so 292
in writing within 21 days after publication of the notice; and a 293
statement as to whether, based on the statement of the estimated 294
regulatory costs or other information expressly relied upon and 295
described by the agency if no statement of regulatory costs is 296
required, the proposed rule is expected to require legislative 297
ratification pursuant to s. 120.541(3). The notice must state 298
the procedure for requesting a public hearing on the proposed 299
rule. Except when the intended action is the repeal of a rule, 300
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the notice must incl ude a reference both to the date on which 301
and to the place where the notice of rule development that is 302
required by subsection (2) appeared. 303
2. The notice shall be published in the Florida 304
Administrative Register at least 7 days after the publication of 305
the notice of rule development and at least not less than 28 306
days before prior to the intended action. The proposed rule , 307
including all materials proposed to be incorporated by reference 308
and the statement of estimated regulatory costs, if one has been 309
prepared, must shall be available for inspection and copying by 310
the public at the time of the publication of notice. Material 311
proposed to be incorporated by reference in the notice must be 312
made available in the manner prescribed by sub -subparagraph 313
(1)(i)3.a. or sub-subparagraph (1)(i)3.b. 314
3. The notice shall be mailed to all persons named in the 315
proposed rule and mailed or delivered electronically to all 316
persons who, at least 14 days before publication of the notice 317
prior to such mailing , have made requests of the agency for 318
advance notice of its proceedings. The agency shall also give 319
such notice as is prescribed by rule to those particular classes 320
of persons to whom the intended action is directed. 321
4. The adopting agency shall file with the committee, at 322
least 21 days before prior to the proposed adoption date, a copy 323
of each rule it proposes to adopt; a copy of any material 324
incorporated by reference in the rule; a detailed written 325
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statement of the facts and circumstances justifying the proposed 326
rule; a copy of any statement of estimated regulatory costs that 327
has been prepared pursuant to s. 120.541; a statement of the 328
extent to which the proposed rule relates to federal standards 329
or rules on the same subject; and the notice required by 330
subparagraph 1. 331
(b) Special matters to be considered in rule adoption. — 332
1. Statement of estimated regulatory costs. —Before the 333
adoption , amendment, or repeal of any rule other than an 334
emergency rule, an agency is encouraged to prepare a statement 335
of estimated regulatory costs of the proposed rule, as provided 336
by s. 120.541. However, an agency must prepare a statement of 337
estimated regulatory costs of the proposed rule, as provided by 338
s. 120.541, if: 339
a. The proposed rule will have an adverse impact on small 340
business; or 341
b. The proposed rule is likely to directly or indirectly 342
increase regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in the aggregate 343
in this state within 1 year after the implementation of the 344
rule. 345
2. Small businesses, small counties, and small cities. — 346
a. For purposes of this subsection and s. 120.541(2), an 347
adverse impact on small businesses, as defined in s. 288.703 or 348
sub-subparagraph b., exists if, for any small business: 349
(I) An owner, officer, operator, or manager must complete 350
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any education, training, o r testing to comply with the rule in 351
the first year or is likely to spend at least 10 hours or 352
purchase professional advice to understand and comply with the 353
rule in the first year; 354
(II) Taxes or fees assessed on transactions are likely to 355
increase by $500 or more in the aggregate in 1 year because of 356
the rule; 357
(III) Prices charged for goods and services are restricted 358
or are likely to increase because of the rule; 359
(IV) Specially trained, licensed, or tested employees will 360
be required because of the r ule; 361
(V) Operating costs are expected to increase by at least 362
$1,000 annually because of the rule; or 363
(VI) Capital expenditures in excess of $1,000 are 364
necessary to comply with the rule. 365
b. Each agency, before the adoption, amendment, or repeal 366
of a rule, shall consider the impact of the rule on small 367
businesses as defined in by s. 288.703 and the impact of the 368
rule on small counties or small cities as defined in by s. 369
120.52. Whenever prac ticable, an agency shall tier its rules to 370
reduce disproportionate impacts on small businesses, small 371
counties, or small cities to avoid regulating small businesses, 372
small counties, or small cities that do not contribute 373
significantly to the problem the ru le is designed to address. An 374
agency may define "small business" to include businesses 375
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employing more than 200 persons, may define "small county" to 376
include those with populations of more than 75,000, and may 377
define "small city" to include those with popul ations of more 378
than 10,000, if it finds that such a definition is necessary to 379
adapt a rule to the needs and problems of small businesses, 380
small counties, or small cities. The agency shall consider each 381
of the following methods for reducing the impact of t he proposed 382
rule on small businesses, small counties, and small cities, or 383
any combination of these entities: 384
(I) Establishing less stringent compliance or reporting 385
requirements in the rule. 386
(II) Establishing less stringent schedules or deadlines in 387
the rule for compliance or reporting requirements. 388
(III) Consolidating or simplifying the rule's compliance 389
or reporting requirements. 390
(IV) Establishing performance standards or best management 391
practices to replace design or operational standards in the 392
rule. 393
(V) Exempting small businesses, small counties, or small 394
cities from any or all requirements of the rule. 395
c.(I)b.(I) If the agency determines that the proposed 396
action will affect small businesses as defined by the agency as 397
provided in sub-subparagraph b. a., the agency shall send 398
written notice of the rule to the rules ombudsman in the 399
Executive Office of the Governor at least 28 days before the 400
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intended action. 401
(II) Each agency shall adopt those regulatory alternatives 402
offered by the rules om budsman in the Executive Office of the 403
Governor and provided to the agency no later than 21 days after 404
the rules ombudsman's receipt of the written notice of the rule 405
which it finds are feasible and consistent with the stated 406
objectives of the proposed rul e and which would reduce the 407
impact on small businesses. When regulatory alternatives are 408
offered by the rules ombudsman in the Executive Office of the 409
Governor, the 90-day period for filing the rule in subparagraph 410
(e)2. is extended for a period of 21 day s. The agency shall 411
provide notice to the committee of any regulatory alternative 412
offered to the agency pursuant to this sub -subparagraph at least 413
21 days before filing the rule for adoption. 414
(III) If an agency does not adopt all alternatives offered 415
pursuant to this sub-subparagraph, it shall, before rule 416
adoption or amendment and pursuant to subparagraph (d)1., file a 417
detailed written statement with the committee explaining the 418
reasons for failure to adopt such alternatives. Within 3 working 419
days after the filing of such notice, the agency shall send a 420
copy of such notice to the rules ombudsman in the Executive 421
Office of the Governor. 422
(c) Hearings.— 423
1. If the intended action concerns any rule other than one 424
relating exclusively to procedure or practi ce, the agency shall, 425
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on the request of any affected person received within 21 days 426
after the date of publication of the notice of intended agency 427
action, give affected persons an opportunity to present evidence 428
and argument on all issues under considerati on. The agency may 429
schedule a public hearing on the proposed rule and, if requested 430
by any affected person, shall schedule a public hearing on the 431
proposed rule. When a public hearing is held, the agency must 432
ensure that the persons responsible for prepari ng the proposed 433
rule and the statement of estimated regulatory costs, if one has 434
been prepared, staff are available to explain the agency's 435
proposal and to respond to questions or comments regarding the 436
proposed rule, the statement of estimated regulatory costs, if 437
one has been prepared, and the agency's decision whether to 438
adopt a lower cost regulatory alternative submitted pursuant to 439
s. 120.541(1)(a). If the agency head is a board or other 440
collegial body created under s. 20.165(4) or s. 20.43(3)(g), and 441
one or more requested public hearings is scheduled, the board or 442
other collegial body shall conduct at least one of the public 443
hearings itself and may not delegate this responsibility without 444
the consent of those persons requesting the public hearing. Any 445
material pertinent to the issues under consideration submitted 446
to the agency within 21 days after the date of publication of 447
the notice or submitted to the agency between the date of 448
publication of the notice and the end of the final public 449
hearing shall be considered by the agency and made a part of the 450
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record of the rulemaking proceeding. 451
2. Rulemaking proceedings shall be governed solely by the 452
provisions of this section unless a person timely asserts that 453
the person's substantial interests will be aff ected in the 454
proceeding and affirmatively demonstrates to the agency that the 455
proceeding does not provide adequate opportunity to protect 456
those interests. If the agency determines that the rulemaking 457
proceeding is not adequate to protect the person's inter ests, it 458
shall suspend the rulemaking proceeding and convene a separate 459
proceeding under the provisions of ss. 120.569 and 120.57. The 460
agency shall publish notice of convening a separate proceeding 461
in the Florida Administrative Register. Similarly situated 462
persons may be requested to join and participate in the separate 463
proceeding. Upon conclusion of the separate proceeding, the 464
rulemaking proceeding shall be resumed. All timelines in this 465
section are tolled during any suspension of the rulemaking 466
proceeding under this subparagraph, beginning on the date the 467
notice of convening a separate proceeding is published and 468
resuming on the day after the conclusion of the separate 469
proceeding. 470
(d) Modification or withdrawal of proposed rules. — 471
1. After the final p ublic hearing on the proposed rule, or 472
after the time for requesting a hearing has expired, if the 473
proposed rule has not been changed from the proposed rule as 474
previously filed with the committee, or contains only technical 475
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changes, the adopting agency sha ll file a notice to that effect 476
with the committee at least 7 days before prior to filing the 477
proposed rule for adoption. Any change, other than a technical 478
change that does not affect the substance of the rule , must be 479
supported by the record of public he arings held on the proposed 480
rule, must be in response to written material submitted to the 481
agency within 21 days after the date of publication of the 482
notice of intended agency action or submitted to the agency 483
between the date of publication of the notice and the end of the 484
final public hearing, or must be in response to a proposed 485
objection by the committee. Any change, other than a technical 486
change, to a statement of estimated regulatory costs requires a 487
notice of change. In addition, when any change, other than a 488
technical change, to the text of is made in a proposed rule or 489
any material incorporated by reference requires , other than a 490
technical change, the adopting agency to shall provide a copy of 491
a notice of change by certified mail or actual delive ry to any 492
person who requests it in writing no later than 21 days after 493
the notice required in paragraph (a). The agency shall file the 494
notice of change with the committee, along with the reasons for 495
the change, and provide the notice of change to persons 496
requesting it, at least 21 days before prior to filing the 497
proposed rule for adoption. The notice of change shall be 498
published in the Florida Administrative Register at least 21 499
days before prior to filing the proposed rule for adoption. The 500
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notice of change must include a summary of any revision to a 501
statement of estimated regulatory costs required by s. 502
120.541(1)(c). This subparagraph does not apply to emergency 503
rules adopted pursuant to subsection (4). Material proposed to 504
be incorporated by reference i n the notice required by this 505
subparagraph must be made available in the manner prescribed by 506
sub-subparagraph (1)(i)3.a. or sub -subparagraph (1)(i)3.b. 507
2. After the notice required by paragraph (a) and before 508
prior to adoption, the agency may withdraw t he proposed rule in 509
whole or in part. 510
3. After the notice required by paragraph (a), the agency 511
shall withdraw the proposed rule if the agency has failed to 512
adopt it within the prescribed timeframes in this chapter. The 513
committee shall notify the agency that it has exceeded the 514
timeframe to adopt the proposed rule. If, 30 days after notice 515
by the committee, the agency has not given notice of the 516
withdrawal of the rule, the committee shall notify the 517
Department of State that the date for adoption of the ru le has 518
expired, and the Department of State shall publish a notice of 519
withdrawal of the proposed rule. 520
4.3. After adoption and before the rule becomes effective, 521
a rule may be modified or withdrawn only in the following 522
circumstances: 523
a. When the committee objects to the rule; 524
b. When a final order, which is not subject to further 525
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appeal, is entered in a rule challenge brought pursuant to s. 526
120.56 after the date of adoption but before the rule becomes 527
effective pursuant to subparagraph (e)6.; 528
c. If the rule requires ratification, when more than 90 529
days have passed since the rule was filed for adoption without 530
the Legislature ratifying the rule, in which case the rule may 531
be withdrawn but may not be modified; or 532
d. When the committee notifies the a gency that an 533
objection to the rule is being considered, in which case the 534
rule may be modified to extend the effective date by not more 535
than 60 days. 536
5.4. The agency shall give notice of its decision to 537
withdraw or modify a rule in the first available i ssue of the 538
publication in which the original notice of rulemaking was 539
published, shall notify those persons described in subparagraph 540
(a)3. in accordance with the requirements of that subparagraph, 541
and shall notify the Department of State if the rule is r equired 542
to be filed with the Department of State. 543
6.5. After a rule has become effective, it may be repealed 544
or amended only through the rulemaking procedures specified in 545
this chapter. 546
(e) Filing for final adoption; effective date. — 547
1. If the adopting agency is required to publish its rules 548
in the Florida Administrative Code, the agency, upon approval of 549
the agency head, shall file with the Department of State three 550
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certified copies of the rule it proposes to adopt; one copy of 551
any material incorpora ted by reference in the rule, certified by 552
the agency; a summary of the rule; a summary of any hearings 553
held on the rule; and a detailed written statement of the facts 554
and circumstances justifying the rule. Agencies not required to 555
publish their rules in t he Florida Administrative Code shall 556
file one certified copy of the proposed rule, and the other 557
material required by this subparagraph, in the office of the 558
agency head, and such rules shall be open to the public. 559
2. A rule may not be filed for adoption less than 28 days 560
or more than 90 days after the notice required by paragraph (a), 561
until 21 days after the notice of change required by paragraph 562
(d), until 14 days after the final public hearing, until 21 days 563
after a statement of estimated regulatory co sts required under 564
s. 120.541 has been provided to all persons who submitted a 565
lower cost regulatory alternative and made available to the 566
public at a readily accessible page on the agency's website , or 567
until the administrative law judge has rendered a dec ision under 568
s. 120.56(2), whichever applies. When a required notice of 569
change is published before prior to the expiration of the time 570
to file the rule for adoption, the period during which a rule 571
must be filed for adoption is extended to 45 days after the date 572
of publication. If notice of a public hearing is published 573
before prior to the expiration of the time to file the rule for 574
adoption, the period during which a rule must be filed for 575
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adoption is extended to 45 days after adjournment of the final 576
hearing on the rule, 21 days after receipt of all material 577
authorized to be submitted at the hearing, or 21 days after 578
receipt of the transcript, if one is made, whichever is latest. 579
The term "public hearing" includes any public meeting held by 580
any agency at which the rule is considered. If a petition for an 581
administrative determination under s. 120.56(2) is filed, the 582
period during which a rule must be filed for adoption is 583
extended to 60 days after the administrative law judge files the 584
final order with the cle rk or until 60 days after subsequent 585
judicial review is complete. 586
3. At the time a rule is filed, the agency shall certify 587
that the time limitations prescribed by this paragraph have been 588
complied with, that all statutory rulemaking requirements have 589
been met, and that there is no administrative determination 590
pending on the rule. 591
4. At the time a rule is filed, the committee shall 592
certify whether the agency has responded in writing to all 593
material and timely written comments or written inquiries made 594
on behalf of the committee. The Department of State shall reject 595
any rule that is not filed within the prescribed time limits; 596
that does not comply with all statutory rulemaking requirements 597
and rules of the Department of State; upon which an agency has 598
not responded in writing to all material and timely written 599
inquiries or written co mments; upon which an administrative 600
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determination is pending; or which does not include a statement 601
of estimated regulatory costs, if required. 602
5. If a rule has not been adopted within the time limits 603
imposed by this paragraph or has not been adopted in compliance 604
with all statutory rulemaking requirements, the agency proposing 605
the rule shall withdraw the proposed rule and give notice of its 606
action in the next available issue of the Florida Administrative 607
Register. 608
6. The proposed rule shall be adopted on being filed with 609
the Department of State and become effective 20 days after being 610
filed, on a later date specified in the notice required by 611
subparagraph (a)1., on a date required by statute, or upon 612
ratification by the Legislature pursuant to s. 120.5 41(3). Rules 613
not required to be filed with the Department of State shall 614
become effective when adopted by the agency head, on a later 615
date specified by rule or statute, or upon ratification by the 616
Legislature pursuant to s. 120.541(3). If the committee not ifies 617
an agency that an objection to a rule is being considered, the 618
agency may postpone the adoption of the rule to accommodate 619
review of the rule by the committee. When an agency postpones 620
adoption of a rule to accommodate review by the committee, the 621
90-day period for filing the rule is tolled until the committee 622
notifies the agency that it has completed its review of the 623
rule. 624
625
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For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "administrative 626
determination" does not include subsequent judicial review. 627
(4) EMERGENCY RULES.— 628
(e) Emergency rules shall be published in the Florida 629
Administrative Code. 630
(f) An agency may not supersede an emergency rule 631
currently in effect. Technical changes to an emergency rule may 632
be made within the first 7 days after adoptio n of the rule. 633
(7) PETITION TO INITIATE RULEMAKING. — 634
(a) Any person regulated by an agency or having 635
substantial interest in an agency rule may petition an agency to 636
adopt, amend, or repeal a rule or to provide the minimum public 637
information required b y this chapter. The petition shall specify 638
the proposed rule and action requested. The agency shall file a 639
copy of the petition with the committee. Not later than 30 640
calendar days following the date of filing a petition, the 641
agency shall initiate rulemakin g proceedings under this chapter, 642
otherwise comply with the requested action, or deny the petition 643
with a written statement of its reasons for the denial. 644
Section 3. Section 120.541, Florida Statutes, is amended 645
to read: 646
120.541 Statement of estimate d regulatory costs.— 647
(1)(a) Within 21 days after publication of the notice of a 648
proposed rule or notice of change required under s. 649
120.54(3)(a), a substantially affected person may submit to an 650
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agency a good faith written proposal for a lower cost regul atory 651
alternative to a proposed rule which substantially accomplishes 652
the objectives of the law being implemented. The agency shall 653
provide a copy of any proposal for a lower cost regulatory 654
alternative to the committee at least 21 days before filing the 655
rule for adoption. The proposal may include the alternative of 656
not adopting any rule if the proposal explains how the lower 657
costs and objectives of the law will be achieved by not adopting 658
any rule. If submitted after a notice of change, a proposal for 659
a lower cost regulatory alternative is deemed to be made in good 660
faith only if the person reasonably believes, and the proposal 661
states the person's reasons for believing, that the proposed 662
rule as changed by the notice of change increases the regulatory 663
costs or creates an adverse impact on small businesses that was 664
not created by the previous proposed rule. If such a proposal is 665
submitted, the 90-day period for filing the rule is extended 21 666
days. Upon the submission of the lower cost regulatory 667
alternative, the agency shall prepare a statement of estimated 668
regulatory costs as provided in subsection (2), or shall revise 669
its prior statement of estimated regulatory costs, and either 670
adopt the alternative proposal, reject the alternative proposal, 671
or modify the proposed rule to reduce the regulatory costs. If 672
the agency rejects the alternative proposal or modifies the 673
proposed rule, the agency shall or provide a statement of the 674
reasons for rejecting the alternative in favor of the proposed 675
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rule. 676
(b) If a proposed rule will have an adverse impact on 677
small business or if the proposed rule is likely to directly or 678
indirectly increase regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in 679
the aggregate within 1 year after the implementation of the 680
rule, the agency shall prepare a statement of estimated 681
regulatory costs as required by s. 120.54(3)(b). 682
(c) The agency shall revise a statement of estimated 683
regulatory costs if any change to the rule made under s. 684
120.54(3)(d) increases the regulatory costs of the rule or if 685
the rule is modified in response to the submission of a lower 686
cost regulatory alternative. A summary of the revised statement 687
must be included with any subsequent notice published under s. 688
120.54(3). 689
(d) At least 21 days before filing the proposed rule for 690
adoption, an agency that is required to revise a statement of 691
estimated regulatory costs shall provide the statement to the 692
person who submitted the lower cost regulatory alternative , to 693
the rules ombudsman in the Executive Office of the Governor, and 694
to the committee. The revised statement shall be published and 695
made available in the same manner as the original statement of 696
estimated regulatory costs and shall provide notice on the 697
agency's website that it is available to the public . 698
(e) Notwithstanding s. 120.56(1)(c), the failure of the 699
agency to prepare and publish a statement of estimated 700
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regulatory costs or to respond to a written lower cost 701
regulatory alternative as provided in this subsection is a 702
material failure to follow the applicable rulemaking procedures 703
or requirements set forth in this chapter. 704
(f) An agency's failure to prepare and publish a statement 705
of estimated regulatory costs or to respond to a written lower 706
cost regulatory alternative may not be raised in a proc eeding 707
challenging the validity of a rule pursuant to s. 120.52(8)(a) 708
unless: 709
1. Raised in a petition filed no later than 1 year after 710
the effective date of the rule; and 711
2. Raised by a person whose substantial interests are 712
affected by the rule's regu latory costs. 713
(g) A rule that is challenged pursuant to s. 120.52(8)(f) 714
may not be declared invalid unless: 715
1. The issue is raised in an administrative proceeding 716
within 1 year after the effective date of the rule; 717
2. The challenge is to the agency's rejection of a lower 718
cost regulatory alternative offered under paragraph (a) or s. 719
120.54(3)(b)2.c. s. 120.54(3)(b)2.b.; and 720
3. The substantial interests of the person challenging the 721
rule are materially affected by the rejection. 722
(2) A statement of e stimated regulatory costs must shall 723
include: 724
(a) An economic analysis showing whether the rule directly 725
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or indirectly: 726
1. Is likely to have an adverse impact on economic growth, 727
private sector job creation or employment, or private sector 728
investment in excess of $1 million in the aggregate within 5 729
years after the implementation of the rule; 730
2. Is likely to have an adverse impact on business 731
competitiveness, including the ability of persons doing business 732
in the state to compete with persons doing bu siness in other 733
states or domestic markets, productivity, or innovation in 734
excess of $1 million in the aggregate within 5 years after the 735
implementation of the rule; or 736
3. Is likely to increase regulatory costs, including all 737
any transactional costs and impacts estimated in the statement 738
of estimated regulatory costs , in excess of $1 million in the 739
aggregate within 5 years after the implementation of the rule. 740
(b) A good faith estimate of the number of individuals , 741
small businesses, and other entities likely to be required to 742
comply with the rule, together with a general description of the 743
types of individuals likely to be affected by the rule. 744
(c) A good faith estimate of the cost to the agency, and 745
to any other state and local government e ntities, of 746
implementing and enforcing the proposed rule, and any 747
anticipated effect on state or local revenues. 748
(d) A good faith estimate of the compliance transactional 749
costs likely to be incurred by individuals and entities, 750
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including local government entities, required to comply with the 751
requirements of the rule. As used in this section, 752
"transactional costs" are direct costs that are readily 753
ascertainable based upon standard business practices, and 754
include filing fees, the cost of obtaining a license , the cost 755
of equipment required to be installed or used or procedures 756
required to be employed in complying with the rule, additional 757
operating costs incurred, the cost of monitoring and reporting, 758
and any other costs necessary to comply with the rule. 759
(e) An analysis of the impact on small businesses as 760
defined in by s. 288.703, and an analysis of the impact on small 761
counties and small cities as defined in s. 120.52. The impact 762
analysis for small businesses must include the basis for the 763
agency's decision not to implement alternatives that would 764
reduce adverse impacts on small businesses. 765
(f) Any additional information that the agency determines 766
may be useful. 767
(g) In the statement or revised statement, whichever 768
applies, a description of any regulator y alternatives submitted 769
under paragraph (1)(a) and a statement adopting the alternative 770
or a statement of the reasons for rejecting the alternative in 771
favor of the proposed rule. 772
(3) If the adverse impact or regulatory costs of the rule 773
exceed any of the criteria established in paragraph (2)(a), the 774
rule shall be submitted to the President of the Senate and 775
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Speaker of the House of Representatives no later than 30 days 776
before prior to the next regular legislative session, and the 777
rule may not take effect until it is ratified by the 778
Legislature. 779
(4) Subsection (3) does not apply to the adoption of: 780
(a) Federal standards pursuant to s. 120.54(6). 781
(b) Triennial updates of and amendments to the Florida 782
Building Code which are expressly authorized by s. 5 53.73. 783
(c) Triennial updates of and amendments to the Florida 784
Fire Prevention Code which are expressly authorized by s. 785
633.202. 786
(d) Emergency rules adopted pursuant to s. 120.54(4). 787
(5) For purposes of subsections (2) and (3), adverse 788
impacts and regulatory costs likely to occur within 5 years 789
after implementation of the rule include adverse impacts and 790
regulatory costs estimated to occur within 5 years after the 791
effective date of the rule. However, if any provision of the 792
rule is not fully implement ed upon the effective date of the 793
rule, the adverse impacts and regulatory costs associated with 794
such provision must be adjusted to include any additional 795
adverse impacts and regulatory costs estimated to occur within 5 796
years after implementation of such p rovision. 797
(6)(a) In evaluating the impacts described in paragraphs 798
(2)(a) and (2)(e), an agency shall include good faith estimates 799
of market impacts likely to result from compliance with the 800
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proposed rule, including: 801
1. Increased customer charges for g oods or services. 802
2. Decreased market value of goods or services produced, 803
provided, or sold. 804
3. Increased costs resulting from the purchase of 805
substitute or alternative goods or services. 806
4. The reasonable value of time to be spent by owners, 807
officers, operators, and managers to understand and comply with 808
the proposed rule, including, but not limited to, time to be 809
spent to complete required education, training, or testing. 810
5. Capital costs. 811
6. Any other impacts suggested by the rules ombudsman i n 812
the Executive Office of the Governor or interested persons. 813
(b) In estimating and analyzing the information required 814
in paragraphs (2)(b) -(e), the agency may use surveys of 815
individuals, businesses, business organizations, counties, and 816
municipalities to collect data helpful to estimate and analyze 817
the costs and impacts. 818
(c) In estimating compliance costs under paragraph (2)(d), 819
the agency shall consider, among other matters, all direct and 820
indirect costs necessary to comply with the proposed rule that 821
are readily ascertainable based upon standard business 822
practices, including, but not limited to, costs related to: 823
1. Filing fees. 824
2. Expenses to obtain a license. 825
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3. Necessary equipment. 826
4. Installation, utilities, and maintenance of necessary 827
equipment. 828
5. Necessary operations and procedures. 829
6. Accounting, financial, information management, and 830
other administrative processes. 831
7. Other processes. 832
8. Labor based on relevant rates of wages, salaries, and 833
benefits. 834
9. Materials and supplies. 835
10. Capital expenditures, including financing costs. 836
11. Professional and technical services, including 837
contracted services necessary to implement and maintain 838
compliance. 839
12. Monitoring and reporting. 840
13. Qualifying and recurring educati on, training, and 841
testing. 842
14. Travel. 843
15. Insurance and surety requirements. 844
16. A fair and reasonable allocation of administrative 845
costs and other overhead. 846
17. Reduced sales or other revenues. 847
18. Other items suggested by the rules ombudsman in the 848
Executive Office of the Governor or any interested person, 849
business organization, or business representative. 850
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(7)(a) The Department of State shall include on the 851
Florida Administrative Register website the agency website 852
addresses where statements of estimated regulatory costs may be 853
viewed in their entirety. 854
(b) An agency that prepares a statement of estimated 855
regulatory costs must provide, as part of the notice required 856
under s. 120.54(3)(a), the agency website address where the 857
statement of estimated regulatory costs can be read in its 858
entirety to the Department of State for publication in the 859
Florida Administrative Register. 860
(c) If an agency revises its statement of estimated 861
regulatory costs, the agency must provide notice that a revision 862
has been made as provided in s. 120.54(3)(d). Such notice must 863
include the agency website address where the revision can be 864
viewed in its entirety. 865
Section 4. Section 120.5435, Florida Statutes, is created 866
to read: 867
120.5435 Repromulgation of rules. — 868
(1) It is the intent of the Legislature that each agency 869
periodically review its rules for consistency with the powers 870
and duties granted by its enabling statutes. 871
(2) If an agency determines after review that substantive 872
changes to update a rule are no t required, such agency shall 873
repromulgate the rule to reflect the date of the review. Each 874
agency shall review its rules pursuant to this section either 5 875
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years after July 1, 2022, if the rule was adopted before January 876
1, 2014, or 10 years after the rule was adopted, if the rule was 877
adopted on or after January 1, 2014. Failure of an agency to 878
adhere to the deadlines imposed in this section constitutes 879
repeal of any affected rule. In the event of such a failure, the 880
committee shall notify the Department of State that the agency, 881
by its failure to repromulgate the affected rule, has elected to 882
repeal the rule. Upon receipt of the committee's notice, the 883
Department of State shall publish a notice to that effect in the 884
next available issue of the Florida Admin istrative Register. 885
Upon publication of the notice, the rule shall be stricken from 886
the files of the Department of State and the files of the 887
agency. 888
(3) Before repromulgation of a rule, the agency must, upon 889
approval by the agency head or his or her des ignee: 890
(a) Publish a notice of repromulgation in the Florida 891
Administrative Register. A notice of repromulgation is not 892
required to include the text of the rule being repromulgated. 893
(b) File the rule for repromulgation with the Department 894
of State. A rule may not be filed for repromulgation fewer than 895
28 days, nor more than 90 days, after the date of publication of 896
the notice required by paragraph (a). 897
(4) The agency must file a notice of repromulgation with 898
the committee at least 14 days before filin g the rule for 899
repromulgation. At the time the rule is filed for 900
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repromulgation, the committee shall certify whether the agency 901
has responded in writing to all material and timely written 902
comments or written inquiries made on behalf of the committee. 903
(5) A repromulgated rule is not subject to challenge as a 904
proposed rule pursuant to s. 120.56(2). 905
(6) The hearing requirements of s. 120.54 do not apply to 906
repromulgation of a rule. 907
(7)(a) The agency, upon approval of the agency head or his 908
or her designee, shall file with the Department of State three 909
certified copies of the repromulgated rule it proposes to adopt 910
and one certified copy of any material incorporated by reference 911
in the rule. 912
(b) The repromulgated rule shall be adopted upon filing 913
with the Department of State and becomes effective 20 days after 914
the date it is filed. 915
(c) The Department of State shall update the history note 916
of the rule in the Florida Administrative Code to reflect the 917
effective date of the repromulgated rule. 918
(8) The Department of State shall adopt rules to implement 919
this section by December 31, 2022. 920
Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 120.545, Florida 921
Statutes, is amended to read: 922
120.545 Committee review of agency rules. — 923
(1) As a legislative check on legislatively created 924
authority, the committee shall examine each existing rule and 925
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proposed rule, except for those proposed rules exempted by s. 926
120.81(1)(e) and (2), and its accompanying material, and each 927
emergency rule, and may examine any existing rule, for the 928
purpose of determining whether: 929
(a) The rule is an invalid exercise of delegated 930
legislative authority. 931
(b) The statutory authority for the rule has been 932
repealed. 933
(c) The rule reiterates or paraphrases statu tory material. 934
(d) The rule is in proper form. 935
(e) The notice given before prior to its adoption was 936
sufficient to give adequate notice of the purpose and effect of 937
the rule. 938
(f) The rule is consistent with expressed legislative 939
intent pertaining to the specific provisions of law which the 940
rule implements. 941
(g) The rule is necessary to accomplish the apparent or 942
expressed objectives of the specific provision of law which the 943
rule implements. 944
(h) The rule is a reasonable implementation of the law as 945
it affects the convenience of the general public or persons 946
particularly affected by the rule. 947
(i) The rule could be made less complex or more easily 948
comprehensible to the general public. 949
(j) The rule's statement of estimated regulatory costs 950
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complies with the requirements of s. 120.541 and whether the 951
rule does not impose regulatory costs on the regulated person, 952
county, or city which could be reduced by the adoption of less 953
costly alternatives that substantially accomplish the statutory 954
objectives. 955
(k) The rule will require additional appropriations. 956
(l) If the rule is an emergency rule, there exists an 957
emergency justifying the adoption of such rule, the agency is 958
within its statutory authority, and the rule was adopted in 959
compliance with the requ irements and limitations of s. 960
120.54(4). 961
Section 6. Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (1) of 962
section 120.55, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 963
120.55 Publication. — 964
(1) The Department of State shall: 965
(a)1. Through a continuous revision an d publication 966
system, compile and publish electronically, on a website managed 967
by the department, the "Florida Administrative Code." The 968
Florida Administrative Code shall contain all rules adopted by 969
each agency, citing the grant of rulemaking authority an d the 970
specific law implemented pursuant to which each rule was 971
adopted, all history notes as authorized in s. 120.545(7), 972
complete indexes to all rules contained in the code, and any 973
other material required or authorized by law or deemed useful by 974
the department. The electronic code shall display each rule 975
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chapter currently in effect in browse mode and allow full text 976
search of the code and each rule chapter. The department may 977
contract with a publishing firm for a printed publication; 978
however, the departme nt shall retain responsibility for the code 979
as provided in this section. The electronic publication shall be 980
the official compilation of the administrative rules of this 981
state. The Florida Administrative Code shall be published once 982
daily by 8 a.m. If, aft er publication, a rule is corrected and 983
replaced, the Florida Administrative Code shall indicate: 984
a. That the Florida Administrative Code has been 985
republished. 986
b. The rule that has been corrected by the Department of 987
State. 988
989
The Department of State sha ll retain the copyright over the 990
Florida Administrative Code. 991
2. Not publish in the Florida Administrative Code rules 992
general in form but applicable to only one school district, 993
community college district, or county, or a part thereof, or 994
state university rules relating to internal personnel or 995
business and finance shall not be published in the Florida 996
Administrative Code. Exclusion from publication in the Florida 997
Administrative Code does shall not affect the validity or 998
effectiveness of such rules. 999
3. At the beginning of the section of the code dealing 1000
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with an agency that files copies of its rules with the 1001
department, the department shall publish the address and 1002
telephone number of the executive offices of each agency, the 1003
manner by which the agency ind exes its rules, a listing of all 1004
rules of that agency excluded from publication in the code, and 1005
a statement as to where those rules may be inspected. 1006
4. Not publish forms shall not be published in the Florida 1007
Administrative Code. However,; but any form that which an agency 1008
uses in its dealings with the public, along with any 1009
accompanying instructions, shall be filed with the committee 1010
before it is used. Any form or instruction which meets the 1011
definition of the term "rule" as defined provided in s. 120.52 1012
shall be incorporated by reference into the appropriate rule. 1013
The reference shall specifically state that the form is being 1014
incorporated by reference and shall include the number, title, 1015
and effective date of the form and an explanation of how the 1016
form may be obtained. Each form created by an agency which is 1017
incorporated by reference in a rule notice of which is given 1018
under s. 120.54(3)(a) after December 31, 2007, must clearly 1019
display the number, title, and effective date of the form and 1020
the number of the rule in which the form is incorporated. 1021
5. Require all materials incorporated by reference in any 1022
part of an adopted rule and in any part of a repromulgated rule 1023
The department shall allow adopted rules and material 1024
incorporated by reference to be filed in the manner prescribed 1025
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by s. 120.54(1)(i)3.a. or s. 120.54(1)(i)3.b. electronic form as 1026
prescribed by department rule . When a rule is filed for adoption 1027
or repromulgation with incorporated material in electronic form, 1028
the department's publication of the Florida Administrative Code 1029
on its website must contain a hyperlink from the incorporating 1030
reference in the rule directly to that material. The department 1031
may not allow hyperlinks from rules in the Florida 1032
Administrative Code to any material other than that filed with 1033
and maintained by the department, but may allow hyperlinks to 1034
incorporated material maintained by the department from the 1035
adopting agency's website or other si tes. 1036
6. Include the date of any technical changes to a rule in 1037
the history note of the rule in the Florida Administrative Code. 1038
A technical change does not affect the effective date of the 1039
rule. 1040
(c) Prescribe by rule the style and form required for 1041
rules, notices, and other materials submitted for filing , 1042
including a rule requiring documents created by an agency that 1043
are proposed to be incorporated by reference in notices 1044
published pursuant to s. 120.54(3)(a) and (d) to be coded in the 1045
same manner as notices published pursuant to s. 120.54(3)(a)1 . 1046
Section 7. Subsection (1) and paragraph (a) of subsection 1047
(2) of section 120.74, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1048
120.74 Agency annual rulemaking and regulatory plans; 1049
reports.— 1050
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(1) REGULATORY PLAN.—By October 1 of each year, each 1051
agency shall prepare a regulatory plan. 1052
(a) The plan must include a listing of each law enacted or 1053
amended during the previous 12 months which creates or modifies 1054
the duties or authority of the agency. If the Governo r or the 1055
Attorney General provides a letter to the committee stating that 1056
a law affects all or most agencies, the agency may exclude the 1057
law from its plan. For each law listed by an agency under this 1058
paragraph, the plan must state: 1059
1. Whether the agency must adopt rules to implement the 1060
law. 1061
2. If rulemaking is necessary to implement the law: 1062
a. Whether a notice of rule development has been published 1063
and, if so, the citation to such notice in the Florida 1064
Administrative Register. 1065
b. The date by which the agency expects to publish the 1066
notice of proposed rule under s. 120.54(3)(a). 1067
3. If rulemaking is not necessary to implement the law, a 1068
concise written explanation of the reasons why the law may be 1069
implemented without rulemaking. 1070
(b) The plan must also identify and describe each rule, 1071
including each rule number or proposed rule number, that include 1072
a listing of each law not otherwise listed pursuant to paragraph 1073
(a) which the agency expects to develop, adopt, or repeal for 1074
the 12-month period beginning on October 1 and ending on 1075
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September 30 implement by rulemaking before the following July 1076
1, excluding emergency rules except emergency rulemaking . For 1077
each rule identified and described law listed under this 1078
paragraph, the plan must state whether the rulemaking is 1079
intended to simplify, clarify, increase efficiency, improve 1080
coordination with other agencies, reduce regulatory costs, or 1081
delete obsolete, unnecessary, or redundant rules. 1082
(c) The plan must include any desired update to the prior 1083
year's regulatory plan or supplement published pursuant to 1084
subsection (7). If, in a prior year, a law was identified under 1085
this paragraph or under subparagraph (a)1. as a law requiring 1086
rulemaking to implement but a notice of proposed rule has not 1087
been published: 1088
1. The agency shall identify and again list such law, 1089
noting the applicable notice of rule development by citation to 1090
the Florida Administrative Register; or 1091
2. If the agency has subsequently determined that 1092
rulemaking is not necessary to implement the la w, the agency 1093
shall identify such law, reference the citation to the 1094
applicable notice of rule development in the Florida 1095
Administrative Register, and provide a concise written 1096
explanation of the reason why the law may be implemented without 1097
rulemaking. 1098
(d) The plan must identify any rules that are required to 1099
be repromulgated pursuant to s. 120.5435 for the 12 -month period 1100
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beginning on October 1 and ending on September 30. 1101
(e)(d) The plan must include a certification executed on 1102
behalf of the agency by both the agency head, or, if the agency 1103
head is a collegial body, the presiding officer; and the 1104
individual acting as principal legal advisor to the agency head. 1105
The certification must declare: 1106
1. Verify That the persons executing the certification 1107
have reviewed the plan. 1108
2. Verify That the agency regularly reviews all of its 1109
rules and identify the period during which all rules have most 1110
recently been reviewed to determine if the rules remain 1111
consistent with the agency's rulemaking authority and the la ws 1112
implemented. 1113
3. That the agency understands that regulatory 1114
accountability is necessary to ensure public confidence in the 1115
integrity of state government and, to that end, the agency is 1116
diligently working toward lowering the total number of rules 1117
adopted. 1118
4. The total number of rules adopted and repealed during 1119
the previous 12 months. 1120
(2) PUBLICATION AND DELIVERY TO THE COMMITTEE. — 1121
(a) By October 1 of each year, each agency shall: 1122
1. Publish its regulatory plan on its website or on 1123
another state website established for publication of 1124
administrative law records. A clearly labeled hyperlink to the 1125
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current plan must be included on the agency's primary website 1126
homepage. 1127
2. Electronically deliver to the committee a copy of the 1128
certification required in paragraph (1)(e) (1)(d). 1129
3. Publish in the Florida Administrative Register a notice 1130
identifying the date of publication of the agency's regulatory 1131
plan. The notice must include a hyperlink or website address 1132
providing direct access to the published p lan. 1133
Section 8. Subsection (11) of section 120.80, Florida 1134
Statutes, is amended to read: 1135
120.80 Exceptions and special requirements; agencies. — 1136
(11) NATIONAL GUARD. —Notwithstanding s. 120.52(17) s. 1137
120.52(16), the enlistment, organization, administ ration, 1138
equipment, maintenance, training, and discipline of the militia, 1139
National Guard, organized militia, and unorganized militia, as 1140
provided by s. 2, Art. X of the State Constitution, are not 1141
rules as defined by this chapter. 1142
Section 9. Paragraph ( c) of subsection (1) of section 1143
120.81, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1144
120.81 Exceptions and special requirements; general 1145
areas.— 1146
(1) EDUCATIONAL UNITS. — 1147
(c) Notwithstanding s. 120.52(17) s. 120.52(16), any 1148
tests, test scoring criteria, or testing procedures relating to 1149
student assessment which are developed or administered by the 1150
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Department of Education pursuant to s. 1003.4282, s. 1008.22, or 1151
s. 1008.25, or any other statewide educational tests requir ed by 1152
law, are not rules. 1153
Section 10. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 1154
420.9072, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1155
420.9072 State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program. —1156
The State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program is created for 1157
the purpose of providing funds to counties and eligible 1158
municipalities as an incentive for the creation of local housing 1159
partnerships, to expand production of and preserve affordable 1160
housing, to further the housing element of the local government 1161
comprehensive plan specific to affordable housing, and to 1162
increase housing-related employment. 1163
(1)(a) In addition to the legislative findings set forth 1164
in s. 420.6015, the Legislature finds that affordable housing is 1165
most effectively provided by combining availab le public and 1166
private resources to conserve and improve existing housing and 1167
provide new housing for very -low-income households, low -income 1168
households, and moderate -income households. The Legislature 1169
intends to encourage partnerships in order to secure the 1170
benefits of cooperation by the public and private sectors and to 1171
reduce the cost of housing for the target group by effectively 1172
combining all available resources and cost -saving measures. The 1173
Legislature further intends that local governments achieve this 1174
combination of resources by encouraging active partnerships 1175
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between government, lenders, builders and developers, real 1176
estate professionals, advocates for low -income persons, and 1177
community groups to produce affordable housing and provide 1178
related services. Extending the partnership concept to encompass 1179
cooperative efforts among small counties as defined in s. 120.52 1180
s. 120.52(19), and among counties and municipalities is 1181
specifically encouraged. Local governments are also intended to 1182
establish an affordable housing advisory committee to recommend 1183
monetary and nonmonetary incentives for affordable housing as 1184
provided in s. 420.9076. 1185
Section 11. Subsection (7) of section 420.9075, Florida 1186
Statutes, is amended to read: 1187
420.9075 Local housing assistance pl ans; partnerships.— 1188
(7) The moneys deposited in the local housing assistance 1189
trust fund shall be used to administer and implement the local 1190
housing assistance plan. The cost of administering the plan may 1191
not exceed 5 percent of the local housing distribu tion moneys 1192
and program income deposited into the trust fund. A county or an 1193
eligible municipality may not exceed the 5 -percent limitation on 1194
administrative costs, unless its governing body finds, by 1195
resolution, that 5 percent of the local housing distribu tion 1196
plus 5 percent of program income is insufficient to adequately 1197
pay the necessary costs of administering the local housing 1198
assistance plan. The cost of administering the program may not 1199
exceed 10 percent of the local housing distribution plus 5 1200
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percent of program income deposited into the trust fund, except 1201
that small counties, as defined in s. 120.52 s. 120.52(19), and 1202
eligible municipalities receiving a local housing distribution 1203
of up to $350,000 may use up to 10 percent of program income for 1204
administrative costs. 1205
Section 12. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section 1206
443.091, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1207
443.091 Benefit eligibility conditions. — 1208
(1) An unemployed individual is eligible to receive 1209
benefits for any week only if the Depa rtment of Economic 1210
Opportunity finds that: 1211
(d) She or he is able to work and is available for work. 1212
In order to assess eligibility for a claimed week of 1213
unemployment, the department shall develop criteria to determine 1214
a claimant's ability to work and ava ilability for work. A 1215
claimant must be actively seeking work in order to be considered 1216
available for work. This means engaging in systematic and 1217
sustained efforts to find work, including contacting at least 1218
five prospective employers for each week of unemp loyment 1219
claimed. The department may require the claimant to provide 1220
proof of such efforts to the one -stop career center as part of 1221
reemployment services. A claimant's proof of work search efforts 1222
may not include the same prospective employer at the same 1223
location in 3 consecutive weeks, unless the employer has 1224
indicated since the time of the initial contact that the 1225
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employer is hiring. The department shall conduct random reviews 1226
of work search information provided by claimants. As an 1227
alternative to contactin g at least five prospective employers 1228
for any week of unemployment claimed, a claimant may, for that 1229
same week, report in person to a one -stop career center to meet 1230
with a representative of the center and access reemployment 1231
services of the center. The cen ter shall keep a record of the 1232
services or information provided to the claimant and shall 1233
provide the records to the department upon request by the 1234
department. However: 1235
1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph 1236
or paragraphs (b) and (e), a n otherwise eligible individual may 1237
not be denied benefits for any week because she or he is in 1238
training with the approval of the department, or by reason of s. 1239
443.101(2) relating to failure to apply for, or refusal to 1240
accept, suitable work. Training may be approved by the 1241
department in accordance with criteria prescribed by rule. A 1242
claimant's eligibility during approved training is contingent 1243
upon satisfying eligibility conditions prescribed by rule. 1244
2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapte r, an 1245
otherwise eligible individual who is in training approved under 1246
s. 236(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, may not be 1247
determined ineligible or disqualified for benefits due to 1248
enrollment in such training or because of leaving work that is 1249
not suitable employment to enter such training. As used in this 1250
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subparagraph, the term "suitable employment" means work of a 1251
substantially equal or higher skill level than the worker's past 1252
adversely affected employment, as defined for purposes of the 1253
Trade Act of 1974, as amended, the wages for which are at least 1254
80 percent of the worker's average weekly wage as determined for 1255
purposes of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended. 1256
3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an 1257
otherwise eligible individ ual may not be denied benefits for any 1258
week because she or he is before any state or federal court 1259
pursuant to a lawfully issued summons to appear for jury duty. 1260
4. Union members who customarily obtain employment through 1261
a union hiring hall may satisfy t he work search requirements of 1262
this paragraph by reporting daily to their union hall. 1263
5. The work search requirements of this paragraph do not 1264
apply to persons who are unemployed as a result of a temporary 1265
layoff or who are claiming benefits under an app roved short-time 1266
compensation plan as provided in s. 443.1116. 1267
6. In small counties as defined in s. 120.52 s. 1268
120.52(19), a claimant engaging in systematic and sustained 1269
efforts to find work must contact at least three prospective 1270
employers for each wee k of unemployment claimed. 1271
7. The work search requirements of this paragraph do not 1272
apply to persons required to participate in reemployment 1273
services under paragraph (e). 1274
Section 13. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 1275