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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 Department of Financial Services; 2
repealing s. 17.315, F.S., relating to the financial 3
and cash management system and task force; amending s. 4
48.151, F.S.; providing an exception to service of 5
process on public entities under certain 6
circumstances; requiring the Department of Financial 7
Services to create a secure online portal as the sole 8
means to accept certain service of process; amending 9
s. 110.123, F.S.; revising definitions; authorizing 10
specified persons relating to the Division of 11
Rehabilitation and Liquidation to purchase coverage in 12
a state group health insurance plan at specified 13
premium costs; providing that the enrollment period 14
for the state group insurance program begins with a 15
specified plan year for certain persons relating to 16
the division; amending s. 110.131, F.S.; conforming a 17
cross-reference; amending s. 120.541, F.S.; revising 18
applicability of certain provisions relating to a 19
specified proposed rule; amending s. 215.34, F.S.; 20
deleting the requirement for specified entiti es 21
receiving certain charged -back items to prepare a 22
journal transfer; amending s. 215.93, F.S.; renaming a 23
subsystem of the Florida Financial Management 24
Information System; amending s. 215.94, F.S.; 25
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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
conforming a provision to changes made by the act; 26
amending s. 216.102, F.S.; making technical changes; 27
amending s. 218.32, F.S.; revising legislative intent; 28
providing functions of the Florida Open Financial 29
Statement System; requiring local governments to use 30
the system to file specified reports; providing 31
requirements for the system; revising the list of 32
entities with which the Chief Financial Officer may 33
consult with regard to the system; authorizing, rather 34
than requiring, certain local governmental financial 35
statements to be filed in a specified format; de leting 36
certain requirements for such statements; providing 37
construction; providing exceptions; creating s. 38
395.1061, F.S.; providing definitions; requiring 39
certain hospitals and hospital systems to demonstrate 40
financial responsibility for maintaining profe ssional 41
liability coverage; prohibiting the Agency for Health 42
Care Administration from issuing or renewing licenses 43
of hospitals under certain circumstances; providing 44
exemptions from professional liability coverage 45
requirements; amending s. 414.40, F.S.; transferring 46
the Stop Inmate Fraud Program from the Department of 47
Financial Services to the Department of Economic 48
Opportunity; authorizing the program to provide 49
reports of certain data to the Division of Public 50
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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
Assistance Fraud for a specified purpose; a mending s. 51
440.02, F.S.; revising the definition of the term 52
"employer"; amending s. 440.05, F.S.; revising 53
information that must be submitted with the notice of 54
election to be exempt from workers' compensation 55
coverage; providing the circumstance under wh ich the 56
department must send certain electronic notifications 57
to workers' compensation carriers; providing 58
information included in such notification; requiring 59
certificates of election to be exempt to contain 60
certain notice; deleting a provision requiring certain 61
corporation officers to maintain business records; 62
revising applicability of certificates of election to 63
be exempt; amending s. 440.107, F.S.; revising the 64
timeframe for certain employers to produce specified 65
records under certain circumstances; re moving the 66
requirement that specified information be updated 67
daily on certain website; prohibiting employers from 68
entering a payment agreement schedule with the 69
department unless a specified condition is met; 70
revising circumstances that result in immediate 71
reinstatement of stop -work orders; revising penalty 72
assessments; amending s. 440.13, F.S.; revising 73
statewide schedules of maximum reimbursement 74
allowances for medically necessary treatment, care, 75
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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
and attendance; authorizing the department to adopt 76
rules; amending s. 440.185, F.S.; revising the 77
timeline and methods for workers' compensation 78
carriers to send certain informational brochure to 79
injured workers; revising methods by which such 80
informational brochure is sent to employers; amending 81
s. 440.381, F.S.; specifying workers' compensation 82
policies that require physical onsite audits for a 83
specified class; amending s. 497.277, F.S.; deleting a 84
cap on transferring burial rights fees; amending s. 85
497.369, F.S.; revising requirements for licenses by 86
endorsement to practice embalming; amending s. 87
497.372, F.S.; revising the scope of funeral directing 88
practice; amending s. 497.374, F.S.; revising 89
requirements for licenses by endorsement to practice 90
funeral directing; amending s. 554.108, F.S.; 91
requiring boilers manufactured after a specified date, 92
rather than boilers of certain heat input, to be 93
stamped with a specified code symbol; revising the 94
boilers' information that must be filed; requiring 95
that specified spaces and rooms be equipped with 96
carbon monoxide detector devices; amending s. 554.111, 97
F.S.; deleting a requirement for a specified fee for a 98
certificate of competency; requiring applications for 99
boiler permits to include a specified report; revising 100
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the purpose for special trips that the department is 101
required to make for boiler inspections; amending s. 102
554.114, F.S.; revising the schedules of penalties 103
against boiler insurance companies, inspection 104
agencies, and other persons for specified violations; 105
amending s. 624.307, F.S.; providing that certain 106
regulated persons or unauthorized insurers are 107
required to appoint the Chief Financial Officer as 108
their agents, rather than as their attorneys, to 109
receive service of legal process; revising the method 110
by which the Chief Financial Officer makes the process 111
available; amending s. 624.422, F.S.; requiring 112
insurers to file with the department email -addresses, 113
rather than addresses, of specified persons; providing 114
that a specified method by which process is served 115
upon the Chief Financial Officer is the sole method of 116
service; conforming provisions to changes made by the 117
act; amending s. 624.423, F.S.; revising procedures 118
for service of process; requiring the Chief Financial 119
Officer to promptly notify certain persons of the 120
process and to make the process available t o such 121
persons through specified means; revising the method 122
by which records are retained; amending s. 624.610, 123
F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the 124
act; amending s. 626.015, F.S.; revising the 125
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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
definition of the term "unaffiliated insurance a gent"; 126
amending s. 626.171, F.S.; requiring fingerprints for 127
certain licenses to be processed in accordance with 128
specified laws; amending s. 626.172, F.S.; revising 129
the method by which fingerprints for applications for 130
insurance agency licenses are submitt ed; deleting a 131
fingerprint processing fee; creating s. 626.173, F.S.; 132
requiring insurance agencies' licenses to be 133
immediately cancelled under certain circumstances; 134
providing the method by which such cancellations must 135
be made; providing duties for certai n insurance agency 136
persons within a specified timeframe after cessation 137
of insurance transactions; authorizing the department 138
to impose administrative fines against such persons 139
for specified violations; providing a cap on such 140
fines; authorizing the depar tment and the Office of 141
Insurance Regulation to suspend or revoke licenses 142
under certain circumstances; providing requirements 143
for determining penalties and remedies; amending s. 144
626.201, F.S.; conforming a provision to changes made 145
by the act; providing c ontinuation of jurisdiction of 146
the licensing authority to investigate and prosecute 147
specified violations under certain circumstances; 148
amending s. 626.202, F.S.; conforming provisions to 149
changes made by the act; amending s. 626.221, F.S.; 150
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adding a designation to the list of designations that 151
allow applicants for all -lines adjuster license to be 152
exempt from an examination; amending s. 626.311, F.S.; 153
providing an exception to the prohibition against 154
unaffiliated insurance agents' holding appointments 155
from insurers; amending ss. 626.321, 626.601, 156
626.8411, and 626.8412, F.S.; conforming provisions to 157
changes made by the act; amending s. 626.8417, F.S.; 158
revising requirements to qualify for title insurance 159
agent licenses; amending s. 626.8421, F.S.; requiring 160
title agencies to have separate appointments under 161
certain circumstances; amending s. 626.843, F.S.; 162
providing appointments of title insurance agencies; 163
amending s. 626.8433, F.S.; requiring title insurers 164
that terminate appointments of title insurance 165
agencies to file certain information with the 166
department; amending s. 626.8447, F.S.; providing 167
effects of suspension or revocation of title insurance 168
agency licenses; amending s. 626.854, F.S.; providing 169
restrictions on public adjuster compensations; 170
providing exceptions to such restrictions; amending s. 171
626.8561, F.S.; revising the definition of the term 172
"public adjuster apprentice"; amending s. 626.865, 173
F.S.; revising requirements to qualify for public 174
adjuster licenses; requiring that certain bonds remain 175
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in effect for a specified period after expiration of 176
the license; amending s. 626.8651, F.S.; requiring 177
that certain bonds remain in effect for a specified 178
period after expiration of the public adjuster 179
apprentice license; revising requirements for public 180
adjuster apprentices to be, act as, or hold themselves 181
out to be public adjust apprentices; amending s. 182
626.8696, F.S.; revising requirements for adjusting 183
firm license applications; amending s. 626.8732, F.S.; 184
requiring applicants for nonresident public adjus ter 185
licenses to maintain certain bonds after the 186
expiration or termination of licenses; amending ss. 187
626.8734, 626.906, 626.912, 626.937, and 626.9953, 188
F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the 189
act; amending s. 633.135, F.S.; providing additional 190
uses for firefighter funds; amending s. 633.216, F.S.; 191
revising requirements for renewal of firesafety 192
inspector certificates; amending s. 633.408, F.S.; 193
revising requirements for the issuance of a 194
Firefighter Certificate of Compliance and Special 195
Certificate of Compliance; deleting provisions 196
relating to requirements to retain a Special 197
Certificate of Compliance; amending s. 633.414, F.S.; 198
providing requirements to retain a Special Certificate 199
of Compliance; revising requirements to retain a 200
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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
Firefighter Certificate of Compliance; providing a 201
definition; amending ss. 648.34 and 648.355, F.S.; 202
conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 203
amending s. 648.46, F.S.; providing continuation of 204
jurisdiction of the licensing authority to investigate 205
and prosecute specified violations under certain 206
circumstances; amending s. 766.105, F.S.; deleting 207
provisions relating to the duties of the Agency for 208
Health Care Administration and to the board of 209
governors of the Florida Patient's Compensation Fund; 210
requiring that the fund be subject to the supervision 211
and approval of the Chief Financial Officer rather 212
than the board of governors and be dissolved on or 213
before a specified date; providing duties of the 214
department before the legal dissolution of the fund; 215
requiring that provisions relating to the fund be 216
repealed on a specified date; amending ss. 945.6041 217
and 985.6441, F.S.; making technical changes; 218
transferring the Stop Inmate Fraud Program within the 219
Department of Financial Services to the Department of 220
Economic Opportunity by a type two transfer; providing 221
effective dates. 222
223
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 224
225
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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
Section 1. Section 17.0315, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 226
Section 2. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 48.151, 227
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 228
48.151 Service on statutory agents for certain persons. — 229
(1) When any law designates a public officer, board, 230
agency, or commission as the agent for service of process on any 231
person, firm, or corporation, service of process thereunder 232
shall be made by leaving one copy of the process with the public 233
officer, board, agency, or commission or in the office thereof, 234
or by mailing one copy to the public officer, board, agency, or 235
commission, except as provided in subsection (3) . The public 236
officer, board, agency, or commission so served shall retain a 237
record copy and promptly send the copy served, by registered or 238
certified mail, to the person to be served as shown by his or 239
her or its records. Proof of service on the public officer , 240
board, agency, or commission shall be by a notice accepting the 241
process which shall be issued by the public officer, board, 242
agency, or commission promptly after service and filed in the 243
court issuing the process. The notice accepting service shall 244
state the date upon which the copy of the process was mailed by 245
the public officer, board, agency, or commission to the person 246
being served and the time for pleading prescribed by the rules 247
of procedure shall run from this date. The service is valid 248
service for all purposes on the person for whom the public 249
officer, board, agency, or commission is statutory agent for 250
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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
service of process. 251
(3) The Chief Financial Officer or his or her assistant or 252
deputy or another person in charge of the office is the agent 253
for service of process on all insurers applying for authority to 254
transact insurance in this state, all licensed nonresident 255
insurance agents, all nonresident disability insurance agents 256
licensed pursuant to s. 626.835, any unauthorized insurer under 257
s. 626.906 or s. 626.937, domestic reciprocal insurers, 258
fraternal benefit societies under chapter 632, warranty 259
associations under chapter 634, prepaid limited health service 260
organizations under chapter 636, and persons required to file 261
statements under s. 628.461. As an alternative to service of 262
process made by mail or personal service on the Chief Financial 263
Officer, on his or her assistant or deputy, or on another person 264
in charge of the office, The Department of Financial Services 265
shall may create a secure online portal as the sole means an 266
Internet-based transmission system to accept service of process 267
on the Chief Financial Officer under this section by electronic 268
transmission of documents . 269
Section 3. Subsections (9) through (13) of section 270
110.123, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsection (10) 271
through (14), respectively, paragraphs (b), (c), (f), (h), (i), 272
and (o) of subsection (2) and paragraph (i) of subsection (5) 273
are amended, and a new subsection (9) is added to that section, 274
to read: 275
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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
110.123 State group insurance program. — 276
(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in ss. 110.123 -110.1239, the 277
term: 278
(b) "Enrollee" means all state officers and employees, 279
retired state officers and employees, surviving spouses of 280
deceased state officers and employees, and terminat ed employees 281
or individuals with continuation coverage who are enrolled in an 282
insurance plan offered by the state group insurance program. The 283
term "Enrollee" includes all state university officers and 284
employees, retired state university officers and emplo yees, 285
surviving spouses of deceased state university officers and 286
employees, and terminated state university employees or 287
individuals with continuation coverage who are enrolled in an 288
insurance plan offered by the state group insurance program. As 289
used in this paragraph, state employees and retired state 290
employees also include employees and retired employees of the 291
Division of Rehabilitation and Liquidation. 292
(c) "Full-time state employees" means employees of all 293
branches or agencies of state government ho lding salaried 294
positions who are paid by state warrant or from agency funds and 295
who work or are expected to work an average of at least 30 or 296
more hours per week; employees of the Division of Rehabilitation 297
and Liquidation who work or are expected to work an average of 298
at least 30 hours per week; employees paid from regular salary 299
appropriations for 8 months' employment, including university 300
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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
personnel on academic contracts; and employees paid from other -301
personal-services (OPS) funds as described in subparag raphs 1. 302
and 2. The term includes all full -time employees of the state 303
universities. The term does not include seasonal workers who are 304
paid from OPS funds. 305
1. For persons hired before April 1, 2013, the term 306
includes any person paid from OPS funds who: 307
a. Has worked an average of at least 30 hours or more per 308
week during the initial measurement period from April 1, 2013, 309
through September 30, 2013; or 310
b. Has worked an average of at least 30 hours or more per 311
week during a subsequent measurement perio d. 312
2. For persons hired after April 1, 2013, the term 313
includes any person paid from OPS funds who: 314
a. Is reasonably expected to work an average of at least 315
30 hours or more per week; or 316
b. Has worked an average of at least 30 hours or more per 317
week during the person's measurement period. 318
(f) "Part-time state employee" means an employee of any 319
branch or agency of state government paid by state warrant from 320
salary appropriations or from agency funds , or an employee of 321
the Division of Rehabilitation a nd Liquidation, and who is 322
employed for less than an average of 30 hours per week or, if on 323
academic contract or seasonal or other type of employment which 324
is less than year-round, is employed for less than 8 months 325
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during any 12-month period, but does not include a person paid 326
from other-personal-services (OPS) funds. The term includes all 327
part-time employees of the state universities. 328
(h) "Retired state officer or employee" or "retiree" means 329
any state or state university officer or employee , or, beginning 330
with the 2023 plan year, an employee of the Division of 331
Rehabilitation and Liquidation, who retires under a state 332
retirement system or a state optional annuity or retirement 333
program or is placed on disability retirement, and who was 334
insured under the state group insurance program or the Division 335
of Rehabilitation and Liquidation's group insurance program at 336
the time of retirement, and who begins receiving retirement 337
benefits immediately after retirement from state or state 338
university office or employmen t. The term also includes any 339
state officer or state employee who retires under the Florida 340
Retirement System Investment Plan established under part II of 341
chapter 121 if he or she: 342
1. Meets the age and service requirements to qualify for 343
normal retirement as set forth in s. 121.021(29); or 344
2. Has attained the age specified by s. 72(t)(2)(A)(i) of 345
the Internal Revenue Code and has 6 years of creditable service. 346
(i) "State agency" or "agency" means any branch, 347
department, or agency of state government. "State agency" or 348
"agency" includes any state university and the Division of 349
Rehabilitation and Liquidation for purposes of this section 350
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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
only. 351
(o) "Surviving spouse" means the widow or widower of a 352
deceased state officer, full -time state employee, part -time 353
state employee, or retiree if such widow or widower was covered 354
as a dependent under the state group health insurance plan, 355
TRICARE supplemental insurance plan, or a health maintenance 356
organization plan established pursuant to this section , or the 357
Division of Rehabilitation and Liquidation's group insurance 358
program at the time of the death of the deceased officer, 359
employee, or retiree. "Surviving spouse" also means any widow or 360
widower who is receiving or eligible to receive a monthly state 361
warrant from a state retirement system as the beneficiary of a 362
state officer, full-time state employee, or retiree who died 363
prior to July 1, 1979. For the purposes of this section, any 364
such widow or widower shall cease to be a surviving spouse upon 365
his or her remarriage. 366
(5) DEPARTMENT POWERS AND DUTIES. —The department is 367
responsible for the administration of the state group insurance 368
program. The department shall initiate and supervise the program 369
as established by this section and shall adopt such rules as are 370
necessary to perform its responsibilities. To implement this 371
program, the department shall, with prior approval by the 372
Legislature: 373
(i) Contract with a single custodian to provide services 374
necessary to implement and administer the health savings 375
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accounts authorized in subsection (13) (12). 376
377
Final decisions concerning enrollment, the existence of 378
coverage, or covered benefits under the state group insurance 379
program shall not be delegated or deemed to have been delegated 380
by the department. 381
(9) COVERAGE AND EN ROLLMENT PERIOD FOR EMPLOYEES, 382
RETIREES, AND WIDOWS AND WIDOWERS OF EMPLOYEES AND RETIREES OF 383
THE DIVISION OF REHABILITATION AND LIQUIDATION. — 384
(a) Beginning with the 2023 plan year: 385
1. A retired employee insured under the Division of 386
Rehabilitation and Liquidation's group insurance program, or a 387
widow or widower of an employee or of a retired employee of the 388
Division of Rehabilitation and Liquidation who is covered as a 389
dependent under the Division of Rehabilitation and Liquidation's 390
group insurance program, may purchase coverage in a state group 391
health insurance plan at the same premium cost as that for a 392
retiree or a surviving spouse, respectively, enrolled in the 393
state group insurance program. 394
2. A terminated employee of the Division of Rehabilitation 395
and Liquidation, or an individual with continuing coverage, who 396
is insured under the Division of Rehabilitation and 397
Liquidation's group insurance program, may purchase coverage in 398
a state group health insurance plan at the same premium cost as 399
that for a terminated employee or an individual with 400
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continuation coverage, respectively, enrolled in the state group 401
insurance program. 402
(b) The enrollment period for the state group insurance 403
program begins with the 2023 plan year for: 404
1. Current and retired employees of the Division of 405
Rehabilitation and Liquidation. 406
2. Widows and widowers of employees and of retired 407
employees of the Division of Rehabilitation and Liquidation. 408
3. Terminated employee s of the Division of Rehabilitation 409
and Liquidation, or individuals with continuation coverage, who 410
are insured under the Division of Rehabilitation and 411
Liquidation's group insurance program. 412
Section 4. Subsection (5) of section 110.131, Florida 413
Statutes, is amended to read: 414
110.131 Other-personal-services employment. — 415
(5) Beginning January 1, 2014, an other -personal-services 416
(OPS) employee who has worked an average of at least 30 or more 417
hours per week during the measurement period described in s. 418
110.123(14)(c) or (d) s. 110.123(13)(c) or (d) , or who is 419
reasonably expected to work an average of at least 30 or more 420
hours per week following his or her employment, is eligible to 421
participate in the state group insurance program as provided 422
under s. 110.123. 423
Section 5. Paragraph (d) is added to subsection (4) of 424
section 120.541, Florida Statutes, and paragraph (a) of 425
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subsection (2) and subsection (3) of that section are 426
republished, to read: 427
120.541 Statement of estimated regulatory costs. — 428
(2) A statement of estimated regulatory costs shall 429
include: 430
(a) An economic analysis showing whether the rule directly 431
or indirectly: 432
1. Is likely to have an adverse impact on economic growth, 433
private sector job creation or employment, or private sector 434
investment in excess of $1 million in the aggregate within 5 435
years after the implementation of the rule; 436
2. Is likely to have an adverse impact on business 437
competitiveness, including the ability of persons doing business 438
in the state to compete with persons doing business in other 439
states or domestic markets, productivity, or innovation in 440
excess of $1 million in the aggregate within 5 years after the 441
implementation of the rule; or 442
3. Is likely to increase regulatory costs, including any 443
transactional costs, in excess of $1 million in the aggregate 444
within 5 years after the implementation of the rule. 445
(3) If the adverse impact or regulatory costs of the rule 446
exceed any of the criteria established in paragraph (2)(a), the 447
rule shall be submitted to th e President of the Senate and 448
Speaker of the House of Representatives no later than 30 days 449
prior to the next regular legislative session, and the rule may 450
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not take effect until it is ratified by the Legislature. 451
(4) Subsection (3) does not apply to the adoption of: 452
(d) Schedules of maximum reimbursement allowances by the 453
three-member panel which are expressly authorized by s. 440.13. 454
Section 6. Subsection (1) of section 215.34, Florida 455
Statutes, is amended to read: 456
215.34 State funds; noncollecti ble items; procedure. — 457
(1) Any check, draft, or other order for the payment of 458
money in payment of any licenses, fees, taxes, commissions, or 459
charges of any sort authorized to be made under the laws of the 460
state and deposited in the State Treasury as pro vided herein, 461
which may be returned for any reason by the bank or other payor 462
upon which same shall have been drawn shall be forthwith 463
returned by the Chief Financial Officer for collection to the 464
state officer, the state agency, or the entity of the judic ial 465
branch making the deposit. In such case, the Chief Financial 466
Officer may issue a debit memorandum charging an account of the 467
agency, officer, or entity of the judicial branch which 468
originally received the payment. The original of the debit 469
memorandum shall state the reason for the return of the check, 470
draft, or other order and shall accompany the item being 471
returned to the officer, agency, or entity of the judicial 472
branch being charged. The officer, agency, or entity of the 473
judicial branch receiving the charged-back item shall prepare a 474
journal transfer which shall debit the charge against the fund 475
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or account to which the same shall have been originally 476
credited. Such procedure for handling noncollectible items shall 477
not be construed as paying funds out of the State Treasury 478
without an appropriation, but shall be considered as an 479
administrative procedure for the efficient handling of state 480
records and accounts. 481
Section 7. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 482
215.93, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 483
215.93 Florida Financial Management Information System. — 484
(1) To provide the information necessary to carry out the 485
intent of the Legislature, there shall be a Florida Financial 486
Management Information System. The Florida Financial Management 487
Information System shall be fully implemented and shall be 488
upgraded as necessary to ensure the efficient operation of an 489
integrated financial management information system and to 490
provide necessary information for the effective operation of 491
state government. Upon the recommendation of the coordinating 492
council and approval of the board, the Florida Financial 493
Management Information System may require data from any state 494
agency information system or information subsystem or may 495
request data from any judicial bran ch information system or 496
information subsystem that the coordinating council and board 497
have determined to have statewide financial management 498
significance. Each functional owner information subsystem within 499
the Florida Financial Management Information Syst em shall be 500
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developed in such a fashion as to allow for timely, positive, 501
preplanned, and prescribed data transfers between the Florida 502
Financial Management Information System functional owner 503
information subsystems and from other information systems. The 504
principal unit of the system shall be the functional owner 505
information subsystem, and the system shall include, but shall 506
not be limited to, the following: 507
(c) Financial Cash Management Subsystem. 508
Section 8. Subsection (3) of section 215.94, Florida 509
Statutes, is amended to read: 510
215.94 Designation, duties, and responsibilities of 511
functional owners.— 512
(3) The Chief Financial Officer shall be the functional 513
owner of the Financial Cash Management Subsystem. The Chief 514
Financial Officer shall design, im plement, and operate the 515
subsystem in accordance with the provisions of ss. 215.90 -516
215.96. The subsystem shall include, but shall not be limited 517
to, functions for: 518
(a) Recording and reconciling credits and debits to 519
treasury fund accounts. 520
(b) Monitoring cash levels and activities in state bank 521
accounts. 522
(c) Monitoring short -term investments of idle cash. 523
(d) Administering the provisions of the Federal Cash 524
Management Improvement Act of 1990. 525
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Section 9. Subsection (3) of section 216.102, Florida 526
Statutes, is amended to read: 527
216.102 Filing of financial information; handling by Chief 528
Financial Officer; penalty for noncompliance. — 529
(3) The Chief Financial Officer shall: 530
(a) Prepare and furnish to the Auditor General annual 531
financial statements for the state on or before December 31 of 532
each year, using generally accepted accounting principles. 533
(b) Prepare and publish an annual a comprehensive annual 534
financial report for the state in accordance with generally 535
accepted accounting principles on o r before February 28 of each 536
year. 537
(c) Furnish the Governor, the President of the Senate, and 538
the Speaker of the House of Representatives with a copy of the 539
annual comprehensive annual financial report prepared pursuant 540
to paragraph (b). 541
(d) Notify each agency and the judicial branch of the data 542
that is required to be recorded to enhance accountability for 543
tracking federal financial assistance. 544
(e) Provide reports, as requested, to executive or 545
judicial branch entities, the President of the Senate, th e 546
Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the members of the 547
Florida Congressional Delegation, detailing the federal 548
financial assistance received and disbursed by state agencies 549
and the judicial branch. 550
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(f) Consult with and elicit comments from the Executive 551
Office of the Governor on changes to the Florida Accounting 552
Information Resource Subsystem which clearly affect the 553
accounting of federal funds, so as to ensure consistency of 554
information entered into the Federal Aid Tracking System by 555
state executive and judicial branch entities. While efforts 556
shall be made to ensure the compatibility of the Florida 557
Accounting Information Resource Subsystem and the Federal Aid 558
Tracking System, any successive systems serving identical or 559
similar functions shall p reserve such compatibility. 560
561
The Chief Financial Officer may furnish and publish in 562
electronic form the financial statements and the annual 563
comprehensive annual financial report required under paragraphs 564
(a), (b), and (c). 565
Section 10. Paragraph (h) of subsection (1) of section 566
218.32, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (i) is added 567
to subsection (1) of that section, to read: 568
218.32 Annual financial reports; local governmental 569
entities.— 570
(1) 571
(h) It is the intent of the Legislature to create The 572
Florida Open Financial Statement System must serve as, an 573
interactive repository for governmental financial statements. 574
This system serves as the primary reporting location for 575
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government financial information. A local government shall use 576
the system to file with the department copies of all audit 577
reports compiled pursuant to ss. 11.45 and 218.39. The system 578
must be accessible to the public and must be open to inspection 579
at all times by the Legislature, the Auditor General, and the 580
Chief Inspector Gene ral. 581
1. The Chief Financial Officer may consult with 582
stakeholders with regard to, including the department, the 583
Auditor General, a representative of a municipality or county, a 584
representative of a special district, a municipal bond investor, 585
and an information technology professional employed in the 586
private sector, for input on the design and implementation of 587
the Florida Open Financial Statement System. 588
2. The Chief Financial Officer may choose contractors to 589
build one or more eXtensible Business Repor ting Language (XBRL) 590
taxonomies suitable for state, county, municipal, and special 591
district financial filings and to create a software tool that 592
enables financial statement filers to easily create XBRL 593
documents consistent with such taxonomies. The Chief F inancial 594
Officer must recruit and select contractors through an open 595
request for proposals process pursuant to chapter 287. 596
3. The Chief Financial Officer must require that all work 597
products be completed no later than December 31, 2021. 598
4. If the Chief Financial Officer deems the work products 599
adequate, all local governmental financial statements for fiscal 600
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years ending on or after September 1, 2022, may must be filed in 601
XBRL format prescribed by the Chief Financial Officer and must 602
meet the validation requirements of the relevant taxonomy . 603
5. A local government that begins filing in XBRL format 604
may not be required to make filings in Portable Document Format. 605
(i) Each local governmental entity that enters all 606
required information in the Florida Open Financial Statement 607
System is deemed to be compliant with this section, except as 608
otherwise provided in this section. 609
Section 11. 395.1061, Florida Statutes, is created to 610
read: 611
395.1061 Professional liability coverage. — 612
(1) As used in this section , the term: 613
(a) "Committee" means a committee or board of a hospital 614
established to make recommendations, policies, or decisions 615
regarding patient institutional utilization, patient treatment, 616
or institutional staff privileges or to perform other 617
administrative or professional purposes or functions. 618
(b) "Covered individuals" means the officers; trustees; 619
volunteer workers; trainees; committee members, including 620
physicians, osteopathic physicians, podiatric physicians, and 621
dentists; and employees of the hospital other than employed 622
physicians licensed under chapter 458, physician assistants 623
licensed under chapter 458, osteopathic physicians licensed 624
under chapter 459, dentists licensed under chapter 466, and 625
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podiatric physicians licensed under chapter 461 . However, with 626
respect to a hospital, the term also includes house physicians, 627
interns, employed physician residents in a resident training 628
program, and physicians performing purely administrative duties 629
for the hospital instead of treating patients. The coverage 630
applies to the hospital and those included in the definition of 631
health care provider as provided in s. 985.6441(1). 632
(c) "Hospital system" means two or more hospitals 633
associated by common ownership or corporate affiliation. 634
(d) "House physician " means any physician, osteopathic 635
physician, podiatric physician, or dentist at a hospital, 636
except: 637
1. The physician, osteopathic physician, podiatric 638
physician, or dentist who has staff privileges at a hospital, 639
provides emergency room services, or per forms a medical or 640
dental service for a fee; or 641
2. An anesthesiologist, pathologist, or radiologist. 642
(e) "Occurrence" means an accident or incident, including 643
continuous or repeated exposure to certain harmful conditions, 644
which results in patient injuries. 645
(f) "Per claim" means all claims per patient arising out 646
of an occurrence. 647
(2) Each hospital, unless exempted under paragraph (3)(b), 648
must demonstrate financial responsibility for maintaining 649
professional liability coverage to pay claims and costs 650
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ancillary thereto arising out of the rendering of or failure to 651
render medical care or services and for bodily injury or 652
property damage to the person or property of any patient arising 653
out of the activities of the hospital or arising out of the 654
activities of covered individuals, to the satisfaction of the 655
Agency for Health Care Administration, by meeting one of the 656
following requirements: 657
(a) Establish an escrow account in an amount equivalent to 658
$10,000 per claim for each bed in such hospital, not to exceed a 659
$2.5 million annual aggregate. 660
(b) Obtain professional liability coverage in an amount 661
equivalent to $10,000 or more per claim for each bed in such 662
hospital from a private insurer, from the Joint Underwriting 663
Association established under s. 627.351(4), or through a plan 664
of self-insurance as provided in s. 627.357. However, a hospital 665
may not be required to obtain such coverage in an amount 666
exceeding a $2.5 million annual aggregate. 667
(3)(a) Each hospital, unless exempted under paragraph (b), 668
shall provide evidence of compliance and remain in continuous 669
compliance with the professional liability coverage provisions 670
of this section. The Agency for Health Care Administration may 671
not issue or renew the license of any hospital that does not 672
provide evidence of compliance or that provides evidence of 673
insufficient coverage. 674
(b) Any hospital operated by an agency, subdivision, or 675
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instrumentality of the state is exempt from the provisions of 676
this section. 677
(4) A hospital system may meet the professi onal liability 678
coverage requirement with an escrow account, insurance, or self -679
insurance policies if the $10,000 per claim and $2.5 million 680
annual aggregate are met for each hospital in the hospital 681
system. 682
Section 12. Section 414.40, Florida Statutes, is amended 683
to read: 684
414.40 Stop Inmate Fraud Program established; guidelines. — 685
(1) There is created within the Department of Economic 686
Opportunity Financial Services a Stop Inmate Fraud Program. 687
(2) The Department of Economic Opportunity Financial 688
Services is directed to implement the Stop Inmate Fraud Program 689
in accordance with the following guidelines: 690
(a) The program shall establish procedures for sharing 691
public records not exempt from the public records law among 692
social services agencies regardi ng the identities of persons 693
incarcerated in state correctional institutions, as defined in 694
s. 944.02, and or in county, municipal, or regional jails or 695
other detention facilities of local governments under chapters 696
chapter 950 and or chapter 951 who are wrongfully receiving 697
public assistance benefits or entitlement benefits. 698
(b) Pursuant to these procedures, the program shall have 699
access to records containing correctional information not exempt 700
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from the public records law on incarcerated persons which ha ve 701
been generated as criminal justice information. As used in this 702
paragraph, the terms "record" and "criminal justice information" 703
have the same meanings as provided in s. 943.045. 704
(c) Database searches shall be conducted of the inmate 705
population at each correctional institution or other detention 706
facility. A correctional institution or a detention facility 707
shall provide the Stop Inmate Fraud Program with the information 708
necessary to identify persons wrongfully receiving benefits in 709
the medium requested by the Stop Inmate Fraud Program if the 710
correctional institution or detention facility maintains the 711
information in that medium. 712
(d) Data obtained from correctional institutions or other 713
detention facilities shall be compared with the client files of 714
the Department of Children and Families, the Department of 715
Economic Opportunity, and other state or local agencies as 716
needed to identify persons wrongfully obtaining benefits. Data 717
comparisons shall be accomplished during periods of low 718
information demand by agency personnel to minimize inconvenience 719
to the agency. 720
(e) Results of data comparisons shall be furnished to the 721
appropriate office for use in the county in which the data 722
originated. The program may provide reports of the data it 723
obtains to appropria te state, federal, and local government 724
agencies or governmental entities, including, but not limited 725
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to: 726
1. The Child Support Enforcement Program of the Department 727
of Revenue, so that the data may be used as locator information 728
on persons being sought f or purposes of child support. 729
2. The Social Security Administration, so that the data 730
may be used to reduce federal entitlement fraud within the 731
state. 732
3. The Division of Public Assistance Fraud of the 733
Department of Financial Services, so that an inves tigation of 734
the fraudulent receipt of public assistance may be facilitated. 735
(f) Reports by the program to another agency or entity 736
shall be generated bimonthly, or as otherwise directed, and 737
shall be designed to accommodate that agency's or entity's 738
particular needs for data. 739
(g) Only those persons with active cases, or with cases 740
that were active during the incarceration period, shall be 741
reported, in order that the funding agency or entity, upon 742
verification of the data, may take whatever action is dee med 743
appropriate. 744
(h) For purposes of program review and analysis, each 745
agency or entity receiving data from the program shall submit 746
reports to the program which indicate the results of how the 747
data was used. 748
Section 13. Paragraph (a) of subsection ( 16) of section 749
440.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 750
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440.02 Definitions. —When used in this chapter, unless the 751
context clearly requires otherwise, the following terms shall 752
have the following meanings: 753
(16)(a) "Employer" means the state and all political 754
subdivisions thereof, all public and quasi -public corporations 755
therein, every person carrying on any employment, and the legal 756
representative of a deceased person or the receiver or trustees 757
of any person. The term "Employer" also includes employment 758
agencies and, employee leasing companies that, and similar 759
agents who provide employees to other business entities or 760
persons. If the employer is a corporation, parties in actual 761
control of the corporation, including, but not limited to, the 762
president, officers who exercise broad corporate powers, 763
directors, and all shareholders who directly or indirectly own a 764
controlling interest in the corporation, are considered the 765
employer for the purposes of ss. 440.105, 440.106, and 440.107. 766
Section 14. Effective January 1, 2023, subsections (11) 767
through (15) of section 440.05, Florida Statutes, are renumbered 768
as subsections (10) through (14), respectively, subsections (3) 769
and (4) and present subsections (10) and (12) of that section 770
are amended, to read: 771
440.05 Election of exemption; revocation of election; 772
notice; certification. — 773
(3) The notice of election to be exempt must be 774
electronically submitted to the department by the officer of a 775
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corporation who is allowed to claim an exemption as provided by 776
this chapter and must list the name, date of birth, valid driver 777
license number or Florida identification card number, and all 778
certified or registered licenses issued pursuant to chapter 489 779
held by the person seeking the exemption, the registration 780
number of the corporation filed with the Division of 781
Corporations of the Department of State, and the percentage of 782
ownership evidencing the required ownership under this chapter. 783
The notice of election to be exempt must identify each 784
corporation that employs th e person electing the exemption and 785
must list the social security number or federal tax 786
identification number of each such employer and the additional 787
documentation required by this section. In addition, the notice 788
of election to be exempt must provide tha t the officer electing 789
an exemption is not entitled to benefits under this chapter, 790
must provide that the election does not exceed exemption limits 791
for officers provided in s. 440.02, and must certify that any 792
employees of the corporation whose officer ele cts an exemption 793
are covered by workers' compensation insurance , and must certify 794
that the officer electing an exemption has completed an online 795
workers' compensation coverage and compliance tutorial developed 796
by the department. Upon receipt of the notice of the election to 797
be exempt, receipt of all application fees, and a determination 798
by the department that the notice meets the requirements of this 799
subsection, the department shall issue a certification of the 800
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election to the officer, unless the department determines that 801
the information contained in the notice is invalid. The 802
department shall revoke a certificate of election to be exempt 803
from coverage upon a determination by the department that the 804
person does not meet the requirements for exemption or tha t the 805
information contained in the notice of election to be exempt is 806
invalid. The certificate of election must list the name of the 807
corporation listed in the request for exemption. A new 808
certificate of election must be obtained each time the person is 809
employed by a new or different corporation that is not listed on 810
the certificate of election. Upon written request from a 811
workers' compensation carrier, the department shall send 812
thereafter an electronic notification to the carrier identifying 813
each of its policyholders for which a notice of election to be 814
exempt has been issued or for which a notice of revocation to be 815
exempt has been received A notice of the certificate of election 816
must be sent to each workers' compensation carrier identified in 817
the request for exemption. Upon filing a notice of revocation of 818
election, an officer who is a subcontractor or an officer of a 819
corporate subcontractor must notify her or his contractor. Upon 820
revocation of a certificate of election of exemption by the 821
department, the department shall notify the workers' 822
compensation carriers identified in the request for exemption. 823
(4) The notice of election to be exempt from the 824
provisions of this chapter must contain a notice that clearly 825
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states in substance the following: "Any pers on who, knowingly 826
and with intent to injure, defraud, or deceive the department or 827
any employer or employee, insurance company, or any other 828
person, files a notice of election to be exempt containing any 829
false or misleading information is guilty of a felon y of the 830
third degree." Each person filing a notice of election to be 831
exempt shall personally sign the notice and attest that he or 832
she has reviewed, understands, and acknowledges the foregoing 833
notice. The certificate of election to be exempt must contain 834
the following notice: "This certificate of election to be exempt 835
is NOT a license issued by the Department of Business and 836
Professional Regulation (DBPR). To determine if the 837
certificateholder is required to have a license to perform work 838
or to verify the license of the certificateholder, go to (insert 839
DBPR's website address for where to find this information)." 840
(10) Each officer of a corporation who is actively engaged 841
in the construction industry and who elects an exemption from 842
this chapter shall maint ain business records as specified by the 843
department by rule. 844
(11)(12) Certificates of election to be exempt issued 845
under subsection (3) shall apply only to the corporate officer 846
named on the notice of election to be exempt and apply only 847
within the scope of the business or trade listed on the notice 848
of election to be exempt . 849
Section 15. Effective January 1, 2023, paragraphs (a) and 850
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(d) of subsection (7) of section 440.107, Florida Statutes, are 851
amended to read: 852
440.107 Department powers to enforce e mployer compliance 853
with coverage requirements. — 854
(7)(a) Whenever the department determines that an employer 855
who is required to secure the payment to his or her employees of 856
the compensation provided for by this chapter has failed to 857
secure the payment of workers' compensation required by this 858
chapter or to produce the required business records under 859
subsection (5) within 21 10 business days after receipt of the 860
written request of the department, such failure shall be deemed 861
an immediate serious danger to p ublic health, safety, or welfare 862
sufficient to justify service by the department of a stop -work 863
order on the employer, requiring the cessation of all business 864
operations. If the department makes such a determination, the 865
department shall issue a stop -work order within 72 hours. The 866
order shall take effect when served upon the employer or, for a 867
particular employer worksite, when served at that worksite. In 868
addition to serving a stop -work order at a particular worksite 869
which shall be effective immediately, t he department shall 870
immediately proceed with service upon the employer which shall 871
be effective upon all employer worksites in the state for which 872
the employer is not in compliance. A stop -work order may be 873
served with regard to an employer's worksite by p osting a copy 874
of the stop-work order in a conspicuous location at the 875
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worksite. Information related to an employer's stop -work order 876
shall be made available on the division's website , be updated 877
daily, and remain on the website for at least 5 years. The or der 878
shall remain in effect until the department issues an order 879
releasing the stop-work order upon a finding that the employer 880
has come into compliance with the coverage requirements of this 881
chapter and has paid any penalty assessed under this section. 882
The department may issue an order of conditional release from a 883
stop-work order to an employer upon a finding that the employer 884
has complied with the coverage requirements of this chapter, 885
paid a penalty of $1,000 as a down payment, and agreed to remit 886
periodic payments of the remaining penalty amount pursuant to a 887
payment agreement schedule with the department or pay the 888
remaining penalty amount in full. An employer may not enter into 889
a payment agreement schedule unless the employer has fully paid 890
any previous penalty assessed under this section. If an order of 891
conditional release is issued, failure by the employer to pay 892
the penalty in full or enter into a payment agreement with the 893
department within 21 28 days after service of the first penalty 894
assessment calculation stop-work order upon the employer, or to 895
meet any term or condition of such penalty payment agreement, 896
shall result in the immediate reinstatement of the stop -work 897
order and the entire unpaid balance of the penalty shall become 898
immediately due. 899
(d)1. In addition to any penalty, stop -work order, or 900
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injunction, the department shall assess against an any employer 901
who has failed to secure the payment of compensation as required 902
by this chapter a penalty equal to 2 times the amount the 903
employer would have paid in premium when applying approved 904
manual rates to the employer's payroll during periods for which 905
it failed to secure the payment of workers' compensation 906
required by this chapter within the preceding 12-month 2-year 907
period or $1,000, whi chever is greater. However, for an employer 908
who is issued a stop -work order for materially understating or 909
concealing payroll or has been previously issued a stop -work 910
order or order of penalty assessment, the preceding 24 -month 911
period shall be used to cal culate the penalty as specified in 912
this subparagraph. 913
a. For an employer employers who has have not been 914
previously issued a stop -work order or order of penalty 915
assessment, the department must allow the employer to receive a 916
credit for the initial paymen t of the estimated annual workers' 917
compensation policy premium, as determined by the carrier, to be 918
applied to the penalty. Before applying the credit to the 919
penalty, the employer must provide the department with 920
documentation reflecting that the employer has secured the 921
payment of compensation pursuant to s. 440.38 and proof of 922
payment to the carrier. In order for the department to apply a 923
credit for an employer that has secured workers' compensation 924
for leased employees by entering into an employee leasin g 925
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contract with a licensed employee leasing company, the employer 926
must provide the department with a written confirmation, by a 927
representative from the employee leasing company, of the dollar 928
or percentage amount attributable to the initial estimated 929
workers' compensation expense for leased employees, and proof of 930
payment to the employee leasing company. The credit may not be 931
applied unless the employer provides the documentation and proof 932
of payment to the department within 21 28 days after the 933
employer's receipt of the written request to produce business 934
records for calculating the penalty under this subparagraph 935
service of the stop-work order or first order of penalty 936
assessment upon the employer . 937
b. For an employer employers who has have not been 938
previously issued a stop -work order or order of penalty 939
assessment, the department must reduce the final assessed 940
penalty by 25 percent if the employer has complied with 941
administrative rules adopted pursuant to subsection (5) and has 942
provided such business records to the department within 21 10 943
business days after the employer's receipt of the written 944
request to produce business records for calculating the penalty 945
under this subparagraph . 946
c. For an employer who has not been previously issued a 947
stop-work order or order of penalty assessment, the department 948
must reduce the final assessed penalty by 15 percent if the 949
employer correctly answers at least 80 percent of the questions 950
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from an online workers' compensation coverage and compliance 951
tutorial, developed by the department, within 21 days after the 952
employer's receipt of the written request to produce business 953
records for calculating the penalty under this subparagraph. The 954
online tutorial must be taken in a department office location 955
identified by rule. 956
957
c. The $1,000 penalty shall be assessed against the employer 958
even if the calculated penalty after the credit provided in sub-959
subparagraph a., the and 25 percent reduction provided in sub-960
subparagraph b., and the 15 percent reduction provided in s ub-961
subparagraph c., as applicable, have been applied is less than 962
$1,000. 963
2. Any subsequent violation within 5 years after the most 964
recent violation shall, in addition to the penalties set forth 965
in this subsection, be deemed a knowing act within the mean ing 966
of s. 440.105. 967
Section 16. Subsection (12) of section 440.13, Florida 968
Statutes, is amended to read: 969
440.13 Medical services and supplies; penalty for 970
violations; limitations. — 971
(12) CREATION OF THREE -MEMBER PANEL; GUIDES OF MAXIMUM 972
REIMBURSEMENT ALLOWANCES.— 973
(a) A three-member panel is created, consisting of the 974
Chief Financial Officer, or the Chief Financial Officer's 975
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designee, and two members to be appointed by the Governor, 976
subject to confirmation by the Senate, one member who, on 977
account of present or previous vocation, employment, or 978
affiliation, shall be classified as a representative of 979
employers, the other member who, on account of previous 980
vocation, employment, or affiliation, shall be classified as a 981
representative of employees. The pa nel shall determine statewide 982
schedules of maximum reimbursement allowances for medically 983
necessary treatment, care, and attendance provided by 984
physicians, hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, work -985
hardening programs, pain programs, and durable medical 986
equipment. The maximum reimbursement allowances for inpatient 987
hospital care shall be based on a schedule of per diem rates, to 988
be approved by the three -member panel no later than March 1, 989
1994, to be used in conjunction with a precertification manual 990
as determined by the department, including maximum hours in 991
which an outpatient may remain in observation status, which 992
shall not exceed 23 hours. All compensable charges for hospital 993
outpatient care shall be reimbursed at 75 percent of usual and 994
customary charges, except as otherwise provided by this 995
subsection. Annually, the three -member panel shall adopt 996
schedules of maximum reimbursement allowances for physicians, 997
hospital inpatient care, hospital outpatient care, ambulatory 998
surgical centers, work -hardening programs, and pain programs. An 999
individual physician, hospital, ambulatory surgical center, pain 1000
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program, or work-hardening program shall be reimbursed : 1001
1. either The agreed-upon contract price; or 1002
2. If there is no agreed -upon contract price, the less er 1003
of the provider's billed charge or the maximum reimbursement 1004
allowance in the appropriate schedule. 1005
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to increase the 1006
schedule of maximum reimbursement allowances for selected 1007
physicians effective January 1, 2004, and to pay for the 1008
increases through reductions in payments to hospitals. Revisions 1009
developed pursuant to this subsection are limited to the 1010
following: 1011
1. Payments for outpatient physical, occupational, and 1012
speech therapy provided by hospitals shall be reduced to the 1013
schedule of maximum reimbursement allowances for these services 1014
which applies to nonhospital providers. 1015
2. Payments for scheduled outpatient nonemergency 1016
radiological and clinical laboratory services that are not 1017
provided in conjunction wi th a surgical procedure shall be 1018
reduced to the schedule of maximum reimbursement allowances for 1019
these services which applies to nonhospital providers. 1020
3. Outpatient reimbursement for scheduled surgeries shall 1021
be reduced from 75 percent of charges to 60 percent of charges. 1022
4. Maximum reimbursement for a physician licensed under 1023
chapter 458 or chapter 459 shall be increased to 110 percent of 1024
the reimbursement allowed by Medicare, using appropriate codes 1025
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and modifiers or the medical reimbursement level ad opted by the 1026
three-member panel as of January 1, 2003, whichever is greater. 1027
5. Maximum reimbursement for surgical procedures shall be 1028
increased to 140 percent of the reimbursement allowed by 1029
Medicare or the medical reimbursement level adopted by the 1030
three-member panel as of January 1, 2003, whichever is greater. 1031
(c) As to reimbursement for a prescription medication, the 1032
reimbursement amount for a prescription shall be the average 1033
wholesale price plus $4.18 for the dispensing fee. For 1034
repackaged or relabeled prescription medications dispensed by a 1035
dispensing practitioner as provided in s. 465.0276, the fee 1036
schedule for reimbursement shall be 112.5 percent of the average 1037
wholesale price, plus $8.00 for the dispensing fee. For purposes 1038
of this subsection, the average wholesale price shall be 1039
calculated by multiplying the number of units dispensed times 1040
the per-unit average wholesale price set by the original 1041
manufacturer of the underlying drug dispensed by the 1042
practitioner, based upon the published manufact urer's average 1043
wholesale price published in the Medi -Span Master Drug Database 1044
as of the date of dispensing. All pharmaceutical claims 1045
submitted for repackaged or relabeled prescription medications 1046
must include the National Drug Code of the original 1047
manufacturer. Fees for pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical 1048
services shall be reimbursable at the applicable fee schedule 1049
amount except where the employer or carrier, or a service 1050
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company, third party administrator, or any entity acting on 1051
behalf of the employer o r carrier directly contracts with the 1052
provider seeking reimbursement for a lower amount. 1053
(d) Reimbursement for all fees and other charges for such 1054
treatment, care, and attendance, including treatment, care, and 1055
attendance provided by any hospital or othe r health care 1056
provider, ambulatory surgical center, work -hardening program, or 1057
pain program, must not exceed the amounts provided by the 1058
uniform schedule of maximum reimbursement allowances as 1059
determined by the panel or as otherwise provided in this 1060
section. This subsection also applies to independent medical 1061
examinations performed by health care providers under this 1062
chapter. In determining the uniform schedule, the panel shall 1063
first approve the data which it finds representative of 1064
prevailing charges in th e state for similar treatment, care, and 1065
attendance of injured persons. Each health care provider, health 1066
care facility, ambulatory surgical center, work -hardening 1067
program, or pain program receiving workers' compensation 1068
payments shall maintain records ver ifying their usual charges. 1069
In establishing the uniform schedule of maximum reimbursement 1070
allowances, the panel must consider: 1071
1. The levels of reimbursement for similar treatment, 1072
care, and attendance made by other health care programs or 1073
third-party providers; 1074
2. The impact upon cost to employers for providing a level 1075
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of reimbursement for treatment, care, and attendance which will 1076
ensure the availability of treatment, care, and attendance 1077
required by injured workers; 1078
3. The financial impact of the r eimbursement allowances 1079
upon health care providers and health care facilities, including 1080
trauma centers as defined in s. 395.4001, and its effect upon 1081
their ability to make available to injured workers such 1082
medically necessary remedial treatment, care, and attendance. 1083
The uniform schedule of maximum reimbursement allowances must be 1084
reasonable, must promote health care cost containment and 1085
efficiency with respect to the workers' compensation health care 1086
delivery system, and must be sufficient to ensure avail ability 1087
of such medically necessary remedial treatment, care, and 1088
attendance to injured workers; and 1089
4. The most recent average maximum allowable rate of 1090
increase for hospitals determined by the Health Care Board under 1091
chapter 408. 1092
(e) In addition to e stablishing the uniform schedule of 1093
maximum reimbursement allowances, the panel shall: 1094
1. Take testimony, receive records, and collect data to 1095
evaluate the adequacy of the workers' compensation fee schedule, 1096
nationally recognized fee schedules and altern ative methods of 1097
reimbursement to health care providers and health care 1098
facilities for inpatient and outpatient treatment and care. 1099
2. Survey health care providers and health care facilities 1100
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to determine the availability and accessibility of workers' 1101
compensation health care delivery systems for injured workers. 1102
3. Survey carriers to determine the estimated impact on 1103
carrier costs and workers' compensation premium rates by 1104
implementing changes to the carrier reimbursement schedule or 1105
implementing alternative reimbursement methods. 1106
4. Submit recommendations on or before January 15, 2017, 1107
and biennially thereafter, to the President of the Senate and 1108
the Speaker of the House of Representatives on methods to 1109
improve the workers' compensation health care de livery system. 1110
1111
The department, as requested, shall provide data to the panel, 1112
including, but not limited to, utilization trends in the 1113
workers' compensation health care delivery system. The 1114
department shall provide the panel with an annual report 1115
regarding the resolution of medical reimbursement disputes and 1116
any actions pursuant to subsection (8). The department shall 1117
provide administrative support and service to the panel to the 1118
extent requested by the panel and may adopt rules necessary to 1119
administer this subsection . For prescription medication 1120
purchased under the requirements of this subsection, a 1121
dispensing practitioner shall not possess such medication unless 1122
payment has been made by the practitioner, the practitioner's 1123
professional practice, or the practitioner's pra ctice management 1124
company or employer to the supplying manufacturer, wholesaler, 1125
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distributor, or drug repackager within 60 days of the dispensing 1126
practitioner taking possession of that medication. 1127
Section 17. Subsection (3) of section 440.185, Florida 1128
Statutes, is amended to read: 1129
440.185 Notice of injury or death; reports; penalties for 1130
violations.— 1131
(3) Within 3 business days after the employer or the 1132
employee informs the carrier of an injury , the carrier shall 1133
send by regular mail or e-mail to the injured worker an 1134
informational brochure approved by the department which sets 1135
forth in clear and understandable language an explanation of the 1136
rights, benefits, procedures for obtaining benefits and 1137
assistance, criminal penalties, and obligations of injured 1138
workers and their employers under the Florida Workers' 1139
Compensation Law. Annually, the carrier or its third -party 1140
administrator shall send by regular mail or e-mail to the 1141
employer an informational brochure approved by the department 1142
which sets forth in clear and understandable language an 1143
explanation of the rights, benefits, procedures for obtaining 1144
benefits and assistance, criminal penalties, and obligations of 1145
injured workers and their employers under the Florida Workers' 1146
Compensation Law. All such informational brochures shall contain 1147
a notice that clearly states in substance the following: "Any 1148
person who, knowingly and with intent to injure, defraud, or 1149
deceive any employer or employee, insurance company, or self -1150
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insured program, files a sta tement of claim containing any false 1151
or misleading information commits a felony of the third degree." 1152
Section 18. Subsection (3) of section 440.381, Florida 1153
Statutes, is amended to read: 1154
440.381 Application for coverage; reporting payroll; 1155
payroll audit procedures; penalties. — 1156
(3) The Financial Services Commission, in consultation 1157
with the department, shall establish by rule minimum 1158
requirements for audits of payroll and classifications in order 1159
to ensure that the appropriate premium is charged for workers' 1160
compensation coverage. The rules must shall ensure that audits 1161
performed by both carriers and employers are adequate to provide 1162
that all sources of payments to employees, subcontractors, and 1163
independent contractors are have been reviewed and that the 1164
accuracy of classification of employees is has been verified. 1165
The rules must require shall provide that employers in all 1166
classes other than the construction class be audited at least 1167
not less frequently than biennially and may provide for more 1168
frequent audits of employers in specified classifications based 1169
on factors such as amount of premium, type of business, loss 1170
ratios, or other relevant factors. In no event shall Employers 1171
in the construction class, generating more than the amount of 1172
premium required to be experience rated must, be audited at 1173
least less than annually. The annual audits required for 1174
construction classes must shall consist of physical onsite 1175
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audits for policies only if the estimated annual premium is 1176
$10,000 or more. Payroll verification audit rules must include, 1177
but need not be limited to, the use of state and federal reports 1178
of employee income, payroll and other accounting records, 1179
certificates of insurance maintained by subcontractors, and 1180
duties of employees. At the completion of a n audit, the employer 1181
or officer of the corporation and the auditor must print and 1182
sign their names on the audit document and attach proof of 1183
identification to the audit document. 1184
Section 19. Subsection (2) of section 497.277, Florida 1185
Statutes, is amended to read: 1186
497.277 Other charges. —Other than the fees for the sale of 1187
burial rights, burial merchandise, and burial services, no other 1188
fee may be directly or indirectly charged, contracted for, or 1189
received by a cemetery company as a condition for a cus tomer to 1190
use any burial right, burial merchandise, or burial service, 1191
except for: 1192
(2) Charges paid for transferring burial rights from one 1193
purchaser to another ; however, no such fee may exceed $50 . 1194
Section 20. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of secti on 1195
497.369, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1196
497.369 Embalmers; licensure as an embalmer by 1197
endorsement; licensure of a temporary embalmer. — 1198
(1) The licensing authority shall issue a license by 1199
endorsement to practice embalming to an applicant who has 1200
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remitted an examination fee set by rule of the licensing 1201
authority not to exceed $200 and who the licensing authority 1202
certifies: 1203
(b)1. Holds a valid license in good standing to practice 1204
embalming in another state of the United States and has engaged 1205
in the full-time, licensed practice of embalming in that state 1206
for at least 5 years , provided that, when the applicant secured 1207
her or his original license, the requirements for licensure were 1208
substantially equivalent to or more stringent than those 1209
existing in this state; or 1210
2. Meets the qualifications for licensure in s. 497.368, 1211
except that the internship requirement shall be deemed to have 1212
been satisfied by 1 year's practice as a licensed embalmer in 1213
another state, and has, within 10 years before prior to the date 1214
of application, successfully completed a state, regional, or 1215
national examination in mortuary science, which, as determined 1216
by rule of the licensing authority, is substantially equivalent 1217
to or more stringent than the examination given by the licensing 1218
authority. 1219
Section 21. Paragraphs (b) and (f) of subsection (1) of 1220
section 497.372, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1221
497.372 Funeral directing; conduct constituting practice 1222
of funeral directing. — 1223
(1) The practice of funeral direct ing shall be construed 1224
to consist of the following functions, which may be performed 1225
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only by a licensed funeral director: 1226
(b) Planning or arranging, on an at -need basis, the 1227
details of funeral services, embalming, cremation, or other 1228
services relating to the final disposition of human remains, and 1229
including the removal of such remains from the state; setting 1230
the time of the services; establishing the type of services to 1231
be rendered; acquiring the services of the clergy; and obtaining 1232
vital information for the filing of death certificates and 1233
obtaining of burial transit permits . 1234
(f) Directing, being in charge or apparent charge of, or 1235
supervising, directly or indirectly, any memorial service held 1236
prior to or within 72 hours of the burial or cremation, if such 1237
memorial service is sold or arranged by a licensee. 1238
Section 22. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 1239
497.374, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1240
497.374 Funeral directing; licensure as a funeral director 1241
by endorsement; licensure of a t emporary funeral director. — 1242
(1) The licensing authority shall issue a license by 1243
endorsement to practice funeral directing to an applicant who 1244
has remitted a fee set by rule of the licensing authority not to 1245
exceed $200 and who: 1246
(b)1. Holds a valid lic ense in good standing to practice 1247
funeral directing in another state of the United States and has 1248
engaged in the full-time, licensed practice of funeral directing 1249
in that state for at least 5 years , provided that, when the 1250
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applicant secured her or his orig inal license, the requirements 1251
for licensure were substantially equivalent to or more stringent 1252
than those existing in this state ; or 1253
2. Meets the qualifications for licensure in s. 497.373 , 1254
except that the applicant need not hold an associate degree or 1255
higher if the applicant holds a diploma or certificate from an 1256
accredited program of mortuary science, and has successfully 1257
completed a state, regional, or national examination in mortuary 1258
science or funeral service arts, which, as determined by rule of 1259
the licensing authority, is substantially equivalent to or more 1260
stringent than the examination given by the licensing authority. 1261
Section 23. Subsection (6) of section 554.108, Florida 1262
Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (7), subsection (1) is 1263
amended, and a new subsection (6) is added to that section, to 1264
read: 1265
554.108 Inspection. — 1266
(1) The inspection requirements of this chapter apply only 1267
to boilers located in public assembly locations. A potable hot 1268
water supply boiler with an a heat input of 200,000 British 1269
thermal units (Btu) per hour and above, up to an a heat input 1270
not exceeding 400,000 Btu per hour, is exempt from inspection ; 1271
however, such an exempt boiler, if manufactured after July 1, 1272
2022, but must be stamped with the A.S.M.E. code symbol . 1273
Additionally, "HLW" and the boiler's A.S.M.E data report of a 1274
boiler with an input of 200,000 to 400,000 Btu per hour must be 1275
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filed as required under s. 554.103(2). 1276
(6) Each enclosed space or room containing a boiler 1277
regulated under this chapter which is fired by the direct 1278
application of energy from the combustion of fuels and which is 1279
located in any portion of a public lodging establishment under 1280
s. 509.242 shall be equipped with one or more carbon monoxide 1281
detector devices. 1282
Section 24. Paragraphs (a) and (e) of subsection (1) and 1283
paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 554.111, Florida 1284
Statutes, are amended to read: 1285
554.111 Fees.— 1286
(1) The department shall charge the following fees: 1287
(a) For an applicant for a certificate of competency, the 1288
initial application fee shall be $50, and the annual renewal fee 1289
shall be $30. The fee for examination shall be $50. 1290
(e) An application for a boiler permit must include the 1291
manufacturer's data report applicable certificate inspection fee 1292
provided in paragraph (b). 1293
(2) Not more than an amount equal to one certificate 1294
inspection fee may be charged or collected for any and all 1295
boiler inspections in any inspection period, except as otherwise 1296
provided in this chapter. 1297
(a) When it is necessary to make a spe cial trip for 1298
testing and verification inspections to observe the application 1299
of a hydrostatic test , an additional fee equal to the fee for a 1300
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certificate inspection of the boiler must be charged. 1301
Section 25. Subsection (4) of section 554.114, Florida 1302
Statutes, is amended to read: 1303
554.114 Prohibitions; penalties. — 1304
(4) A boiler insurance company, authorized inspection 1305
agency, or other person in violation of this section for more 1306
than 30 days shall pay a fine of $10 per day for the subsequent 1307
first 10 days of noncompliance, $50 per day for the subsequent 1308
20 days of noncompliance, and $100 per day for each subsequent 1309
day over 20 days of noncompliance thereafter. 1310
Section 26. Subsection (9) of section 624.307, Florida 1311
Statutes, is amended to read: 1312
624.307 General powers; duties. — 1313
(9) Upon receiving service of legal process issued in any 1314
civil action or proceeding in this state against any regulated 1315
person or any unauthorized insurer under s. 626.906 or s. 1316
626.937 that which is required to appoint th e Chief Financial 1317
Officer as its agent attorney to receive service of all legal 1318
process, the Chief Financial Officer shall make the process 1319
available through a secure online portal , as attorney, may, in 1320
lieu of sending the process by registered or certifie d mail, 1321
send the process or make it available by any other verifiable 1322
means, including, but not limited to, making the documents 1323
available by electronic transmission from a secure website 1324
established by the department to the person last designated by 1325
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the regulated person or the unauthorized insurer to receive the 1326
process. When process documents are made available 1327
electronically, the Chief Financial Officer shall promptly send 1328
a notice of receipt of service of process to the person last 1329
designated by the reg ulated person or unauthorized insurer to 1330
receive legal process. The notice must state the date and manner 1331
in which the copy of the process was made available to the 1332
regulated person or unauthorized insurer being served and 1333
contain the uniform resource loca tor (URL) where for a hyperlink 1334
to access files and information on the department's website to 1335
obtain a copy of the process may be obtained. 1336
Section 27. Section 624.422, Florida Statutes, is amended 1337
to read: 1338
624.422 Service of process; appointment of Chief Financial 1339
Officer as process agent. — 1340
(1) Each licensed insurer, whether domestic, foreign, or 1341
alien, shall be deemed to have appointed the Chief Financial 1342
Officer and her or his successors in office as its agent 1343
attorney to receive service of all legal process issued against 1344
it in any civil action or proceeding in this state; and process 1345
so served shall be valid and binding upon the insurer. 1346
(2) Before Prior to its authorization to transact 1347
insurance in this state, each insurer shall file with th e 1348
department designation of the name and e-mail address of the 1349
person to whom process against it served upon the Chief 1350
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Financial Officer is to be made available through the 1351
department's secure online portal forwarded. Each insurer shall 1352
also file with the department designation of the name and e -mail 1353
address of the person to whom the department shall forward civil 1354
remedy notices filed under s. 624.155. The insurer may change a 1355
designation at any time by a new filing. 1356
(3) Service of process submitted through the department's 1357
secure online portal upon the Chief Financial Officer as the 1358
insurer's agent attorney pursuant to such an appointment shall 1359
be the sole method of service of process upon an authorized 1360
domestic, foreign, or alien insurer in this state. 1361
Section 28. Subsection (1) of section 624.423, Florida 1362
Statutes, is amended to read: 1363
624.423 Serving process. — 1364
(1) Service of process upon the Chief Financial Officer as 1365
process agent of the insurer under s. 624.422 and s. 626.937 1366
shall be made by serving a copy of the process upon the Chief 1367
Financial Officer or upon her or his assistant, deputy, or other 1368
person in charge of her or his office. Service may also be made 1369
by mail or electronically as provided in s. 48.151(3) s. 48.151. 1370
Upon receiving such service, the Chief Financial Officer shall 1371
retain a record of the process copy and promptly notify and make 1372
forward one copy of the process available through the 1373
department's secure online portal by registered or certified 1374
mail or by other verifiable means, as provided under s. 1375
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624.307(9), to the person last designated by the insurer to 1376
receive the same, as provided under s. 624.422(2). For purposes 1377
of this section, records shall may be retained electronically as 1378
paper or electronic copies . 1379
Section 29. Paragraph (f) of subsection (3) and paragraph 1380
(d) of subsection (4) of section 624.610, Florida Statutes, are 1381
amended to read: 1382
624.610 Reinsurance. — 1383
(3) 1384
(f) If the assuming insurer is not authorized or 1385
accredited to transact insurance or reinsura nce in this state 1386
pursuant to paragraph (a) or paragraph (b), the credit permitted 1387
by paragraph (c) or paragraph (d) must not be allowed unless the 1388
assuming insurer agrees in the reinsurance agreements: 1389
1.a. That in the event of the failure of the assumi ng 1390
insurer to perform its obligations under the terms of the 1391
reinsurance agreement, the assuming insurer, at the request of 1392
the ceding insurer, shall submit to the jurisdiction of any 1393
court of competent jurisdiction in any state of the United 1394
States, will comply with all requirements necessary to give the 1395
court jurisdiction, and will abide by the final decision of the 1396
court or of any appellate court in the event of an appeal; and 1397
b. To designate the Chief Financial Officer, pursuant to 1398
s. 48.151(3) s. 48.151, as its true and lawful agent attorney 1399
upon whom may be served any lawful process in any action, suit, 1400
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or proceeding instituted by or on behalf of the ceding company. 1401
2. This paragraph is not intended to conflict with or 1402
override the obligation of the parties to a reinsurance 1403
agreement to arbitrate their disputes, if this obligation is 1404
created in the agreement. 1405
(4) Credit must be allowed when the reinsurance is ceded 1406
to an assuming insurer meeting the requirements of this 1407
subsection. 1408
(d) The assuming insurer must, in a form specified by the 1409
commission: 1410
1. Agree to provide prompt written notice and explanation 1411
to the office if the assuming insurer falls below the minimum 1412
requirements set forth in paragraph (b) or paragraph (c), or if 1413
any regulatory action is taken against it for serious 1414
noncompliance with applicable law of any jurisdiction. 1415
2. Consent in writing to the jurisdiction of the courts of 1416
this state and to the designation of the Chief Financial 1417
Officer, pursuant to s. 48.151(3) s. 48.151, as its true and 1418
lawful agent attorney upon whom may be served any lawful process 1419
in any action, suit, or proceeding instituted by or on behalf of 1420
the ceding insurer. This subparagraph does not limit or alter in 1421
any way the capacity of parties to a re insurance agreement to 1422
agree to an alternative dispute resolution mechanism, except to 1423
the extent that such agreement is unenforceable under applicable 1424
insolvency or delinquency laws. 1425
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3. Consent in writing to pay all final judgments, wherever 1426
enforcement is sought, obtained by a ceding insurer or its legal 1427
successor which have been declared enforceable in the 1428
jurisdiction where the judgment was obtained. 1429
4. Confirm in writing that it will include in each 1430
reinsurance agreement a provision requiring the a ssuming insurer 1431
to provide security in an amount equal to 100 percent of the 1432
assuming insurer's liabilities attributable to reinsurance ceded 1433
pursuant to that agreement, if the assuming insurer resists 1434
enforcement of a final judgment that is enforceable un der the 1435
law of the jurisdiction in which it was obtained or enforcement 1436
of a properly enforceable arbitration award, whether obtained by 1437
the ceding insurer or by its legal successor on behalf of its 1438
resolution estate. 1439
5. Confirm in writing that it is not presently 1440
participating in any solvent scheme of arrangement which 1441
involves this state's ceding insurers, and agree to notify the 1442
ceding insurer and the office and to provide security in an 1443
amount equal to 100 percent of the assuming insurer's 1444
liabilities to the ceding insurer if the assuming insurer enters 1445
into such a solvent scheme of arrangement. Such security must be 1446
consistent with subsection (5) or as specified by commission 1447
rule. 1448
Section 30. Subsection (20) of section 626.015, Florida 1449
Statutes, is amended to read: 1450
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626.015 Definitions. —As used in this part: 1451
(20) "Unaffiliated insurance agent" means a licensed 1452
insurance agent, except a limited lines agent, who is self -1453
appointed and who practices as an independent consultant in the 1454
business of analyzing or abstracting insurance policies, 1455
providing insurance advice or counseling, or making specific 1456
recommendations or comparisons of insurance products for a fee 1457
established in advance by written contract signed by the 1458
parties. An unaffiliated insura nce agent may not be affiliated 1459
with an insurer, insurer -appointed insurance agent, or insurance 1460
agency contracted with or employing insurer -appointed insurance 1461
agents. A licensed adjuster who is also an unaffiliated 1462
insurance agent may obtain an adjuster appointment in order to 1463
adjust claims while holding an unaffiliated appointment on the 1464
agent license. 1465
Section 31. Subsection (4) of section 626.171, Florida 1466
Statutes, is amended to read: 1467
626.171 Application for license as an agent, customer 1468
representative, adjuster, service representative, or reinsurance 1469
intermediary.— 1470
(4) An applicant for a license under this chapter as an 1471
agent, customer representative, adjuster, service 1472
representative, or reinsurance intermediary must submit a set of 1473
the individual applicant's fingerprints, or, if the applicant is 1474
not an individual, a set of the fingerprints of the sole 1475
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proprietor, majority owner, partners, officers, and directors, 1476
to the department and must pay the fingerprint pr ocessing fee 1477
set forth in s. 624.501. Fingerprints must be processed in 1478
accordance with s. 624.34 and used to investigate the 1479
applicant's qualifications pursuant to s. 626.201. The 1480
fingerprints must be taken by a law enforcement agency, 1481
designated examination center, or other department -approved 1482
entity. The department shall require all designated examination 1483
centers to have fingerprinting equipment and to take 1484
fingerprints from any applicant or prospective applicant who 1485
pays the applicable fee. The departme nt may not approve an 1486
application for licensure as an agent, customer service 1487
representative, adjuster, service representative, or reinsurance 1488
intermediary if fingerprints have not been submitted. 1489
Section 32. Paragraph (f) of subsection (2) of section 1490
626.172, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1491
626.172 Application for insurance agency license. — 1492
(2) An application for an insurance agency license must be 1493
signed by an individual required to be listed in the application 1494
under paragraph (a). An insura nce agency may permit a third 1495
party to complete, submit, and sign an application on the 1496
insurance agency's behalf; however, the insurance agency is 1497
responsible for ensuring that the information on the application 1498
is true and correct and is accountable for any misstatements or 1499
misrepresentations. The application for an insurance agency 1500
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license must include: 1501
(f) The fingerprints , submitted in accordance with s. 1502
626.171(4), of each of the following: 1503
1. A sole proprietor; 1504
2. Each individual required to be listed in the 1505
application under paragraph (a); and 1506
3. Each individual who directs or participates in the 1507
management or control of an incorporated agency whose shares are 1508
not traded on a securities exchange. 1509
1510
Fingerprints must be taken by a law enforceme nt agency or other 1511
entity approved by the department and must be accompanied by the 1512
fingerprint processing fee specified in s. 624.501. Fingerprints 1513
must be processed in accordance with s. 624.34. However, 1514
Fingerprints need not be filed for an individual w ho is 1515
currently licensed and appointed under this chapter. This 1516
paragraph does not apply to corporations whose voting shares are 1517
traded on a securities exchange. 1518
Section 33. Section 626.173, Florida Statutes, is created 1519
to read: 1520
626.173 Insurance age ncy closure; cancellation of 1521
licenses.— 1522
(1) If a licensed insurance agency permanently ceases the 1523
transacting of insurance or ceases the transacting of insurance 1524
for more than 31 days, the agent in charge, director of the 1525
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agency, or other officer listed on the original application for 1526
licensure shall immediately cancel the insurance agency's 1527
license by completing and submitting a form to notify the Bureau 1528
of Licensing of the Division of Insurance Agent and Agency 1529
Services within the department of the canc ellation of the 1530
license. 1531
(2) Within 30 days after the agency ceases the transacting 1532
of insurance, the agent in charge, director of the agency, or 1533
other officer listed on the original application for licensure 1534
shall: 1535
(a) Notify all insurers by which the agency or agent in 1536
charge is appointed of the agency's cessation of operations, the 1537
date on which operations ceased, the identity of any agency or 1538
agent to which the agency's current book of business has been 1539
transferred, and the method by which agency re cords may be 1540
obtained during the time periods specified in ss. 626.561 and 1541
626.748. 1542
(b) Notify all policyholders currently insured by a policy 1543
written, produced, or serviced by the agency of the agency's 1544
cessation of operations; the date on which operati ons ceased; 1545
and the identity of the agency or agent to which the agency's 1546
current book of business has been transferred or, if no transfer 1547
has occurred, a statement directing the policyholder to contact 1548
the insurance company for assistance in locating a li censed 1549
agent to service the policy. 1550
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(c) Notify all premium finance companies through which 1551
active policies are financed of the agency's cessation of 1552
operations, the date on which operations ceased, and the 1553
identity of the agency or agent to which the age ncy's current 1554
book of business has been transferred. 1555
(d) Ensure that all funds held in a fiduciary capacity are 1556
properly distributed to the rightful owners. 1557
(3)(a) The department or office may, in a proceeding 1558
initiated pursuant to chapter 120, impose an administrative fine 1559
against the agent in charge or director or officer of the agency 1560
found in the proceeding to have violated any provision of this 1561
section. A proceeding may not be initiated and a fine may not 1562
accrue until after the person has been noti fied in writing of 1563
the nature of the violation, has been afforded 10 business days 1564
to correct the violation, and has failed to do so. 1565
(b) A fine imposed under this subsection may not exceed 1566
the amounts specified in s. 626.681 per violation. 1567
(c) The department or office may, in addition to the 1568
imposition of an administrative fine under this subsection, also 1569
suspend or revoke the license of the licensee fined under this 1570
subsection. 1571
(d) In imposing any administrative penalty or remedy 1572
provided under this subsection, the department or office shall 1573
take into account the appropriateness of the penalty with 1574
respect to the size of the financial resources and the good 1575
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faith of the person charged, the gravity of the violation, the 1576
history of previous violations, and other matters as justice may 1577
require. 1578
Section 34. Subsection (3) of section 626.201, Florida 1579
Statutes, is amended, and subsection (4) is added to that 1580
section, to read: 1581
626.201 Investigation. — 1582
(3) An inquiry or investigation of the applicant's 1583
qualifications, character, experience, background, and fitness 1584
must include submission of the applicant's fingerprints , in 1585
accordance with s. 626.171(4), to the Department of Law 1586
Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and 1587
consideration of any state criminal records, federal criminal 1588
records, or local criminal records obtained from these agencies 1589
or from local law enforcement agencies. 1590
(4) The expiration, nonrenewal, or surrender of a license 1591
under this chapter does not eliminate jurisdiction of the 1592
licensing authority to investigate and prosecute for a violation 1593
committed by the licensee while licensed under this chapter. The 1594
prosecution of any matter may be initiated or continued 1595
notwithstanding the withdrawal of a complaint. 1596
Section 35. Section 626.202, Florida Statutes, is amended 1597
to read: 1598
626.202 Fingerprinting requirements. — 1599
(1) The requirements for completion and submission of 1600
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fingerprints under this chapter in accordance with s. 626.171(4) 1601
are deemed to be met when an individual currently licensed under 1602
this chapter seeks additional licensure and has previously 1603
submitted fingerprints to the department within the past 48 1604
months. However, the department may require the individual to 1605
file fingerprints if it has reason to believe tha t an applicant 1606
or licensee has been found guilty of, or pleaded guilty or nolo 1607
contendere to, a felony or a crime related to the business of 1608
insurance in this state or any other state or jurisdiction. 1609
(2) If there is a change in ownership or control of a ny 1610
entity licensed under this chapter, or if a new partner, 1611
officer, or director is employed or appointed, a set of 1612
fingerprints of the new owner, partner, officer, or director 1613
must be filed with the department or office within 30 days after 1614
the change. The acquisition of 10 percent or more of the voting 1615
securities of a licensed entity is considered a change of 1616
ownership or control. The fingerprints must be submitted in 1617
accordance with s. 626.171(4) taken by a law enforcement agency 1618
or other department-approved entity and be accompanied by the 1619
fingerprint processing fee in s. 624.501 . 1620
Section 36. Paragraph (j) of subsection (2) of section 1621
626.221, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1622
626.221 Examination requirement; exemptions. — 1623
(2) However, an exam ination is not necessary for any of 1624
the following: 1625
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(j) An applicant for license as an all -lines adjuster who 1626
has the designation of Accredited Claims Adjuster (ACA) from a 1627
regionally accredited postsecondary institution in this state, 1628
Certified All Lines Adjuster (CALA) from Kaplan Financial 1629
Education, Associate in Claims (AIC) from the Insurance 1630
Institute of America, Professional Claims Adjuster (PCA) from 1631
the Professional Career Institute, Professional Property 1632
Insurance Adjuster (PPIA) from the HurriCl aim Training Academy, 1633
Certified Adjuster (CA) from ALL LINES Training, Certified 1634
Claims Adjuster (CCA) from AE21 Incorporated, Claims Adjuster 1635
Certified Professional (CACP) from WebCE, Inc., Accredited 1636
Insurance Claims Specialist (AICS) from Encore Claim S ervices, 1637
or Universal Claims Certification (UCC) from Claims and 1638
Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) whose curriculum has been 1639
approved by the department and which includes comprehensive 1640
analysis of basic property and casualty lines of insurance and 1641
testing at least equal to that of standard department testing 1642
for the all-lines adjuster license. The department shall adopt 1643
rules establishing standards for the approval of curriculum. 1644
Section 37. Subsection (6) of section 626.311, Florida 1645
Statutes, is amended to read: 1646
626.311 Scope of license. — 1647
(6) An agent who appoints his or her license as an 1648
unaffiliated insurance agent may not hold an appointment from an 1649
insurer for any license he or she holds , with the exception of 1650
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an adjuster license; transact, solicit, or service an insurance 1651
contract on behalf of an insurer; interfere with commissions 1652
received or to be received by an insurer -appointed insurance 1653
agent or an insurance agency contracted with or employing 1654
insurer-appointed insurance agents; or recei ve compensation or 1655
any other thing of value from an insurer, an insurer -appointed 1656
insurance agent, or an insurance agency contracted with or 1657
employing insurer-appointed insurance agents for any transaction 1658
or referral occurring after the date of appointmen t as an 1659
unaffiliated insurance agent. An unaffiliated insurance agent 1660
may continue to receive commissions on sales that occurred 1661
before the date of appointment as an unaffiliated insurance 1662
agent if the receipt of such commissions is disclosed when 1663
making recommendations or evaluating products for a client that 1664
involve products of the entity from which the commissions are 1665
received. An adjuster who holds an adjuster license and who is 1666
also an unaffiliated insurance agent may obtain an adjuster 1667
appointment while maintaining his or her unaffiliated insurance 1668
agent appointment and may adjust claims and receive compensation 1669
in accordance with the authority granted by the adjuster license 1670
and appointment. 1671
Section 38. Paragraph (h) of subsection (1) of section 1672
626.321, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1673
626.321 Limited licenses and registration. — 1674
(1) The department shall issue to a qualified applicant a 1675
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license as agent authorized to transact a limited class of 1676
business in any of the following categories o f limited lines 1677
insurance: 1678
(h) Portable electronics insurance. —License for property 1679
insurance or inland marine insurance that covers only loss, 1680
theft, mechanical failure, malfunction, or damage for portable 1681
electronics. 1682
1. The license may be issued onl y to: 1683
a. Employees or authorized representatives of a licensed 1684
general lines agent; or 1685
b. The lead business location of a retail vendor that 1686
sells portable electronics insurance. The lead business location 1687
must have a contractual relationship with a general lines agent. 1688
2. Employees or authorized representatives of a licensee 1689
under subparagraph 1. may sell or offer for sale portable 1690
electronics coverage without being subject to licensure as an 1691
insurance agent if: 1692
a. Such insurance is sold or offer ed for sale at a 1693
licensed location or at one of the licensee's branch locations 1694
if the branch location is appointed by the licensed lead 1695
business location or its appointing insurers; 1696
b. The insurer issuing the insurance directly supervises 1697
or appoints a general lines agent to supervise the sale of such 1698
insurance, including the development of a training program for 1699
the employees and authorized representatives of vendors that are 1700
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directly engaged in the activity of selling or offering the 1701
insurance; and 1702
c. At each location where the insurance is offered, 1703
brochures or other written materials that provide the 1704
information required by this subparagraph are made available to 1705
all prospective customers. The brochures or written materials 1706
may include information r egarding portable electronics 1707
insurance, service warranty agreements, or other incidental 1708
services or benefits offered by a licensee. 1709
3. Individuals not licensed to sell portable electronics 1710
insurance may not be paid commissions based on the sale of such 1711
coverage. However, a licensee who uses a compensation plan for 1712
employees and authorized representatives which includes 1713
supplemental compensation for the sale of noninsurance products, 1714
in addition to a regular salary or hourly wages, may include 1715
incidental compensation for the sale of portable electronics 1716
insurance as a component of the overall compensation plan. 1717
4. Brochures or other written materials related to 1718
portable electronics insurance must: 1719
a. Disclose that such insurance may duplicate coverage 1720
already provided by a customer's homeowners insurance policy, 1721
renters insurance policy, or other source of coverage; 1722
b. State that enrollment in insurance coverage is not 1723
required in order to purchase or lease portable electronics or 1724
services; 1725
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c. Summarize the material terms of the insurance coverage, 1726
including the identity of the insurer, the identity of the 1727
supervising entity, the amount of any applicable deductible and 1728
how it is to be paid, the benefits of coverage, and key terms 1729
and conditions of coverage, such as whether portable electronics 1730
may be repaired or replaced with similar make and model 1731
reconditioned or nonoriginal manufacturer parts or equipment; 1732
d. Summarize the process for filing a claim, including a 1733
description of how to return port able electronics and the 1734
maximum fee applicable if the customer fails to comply with 1735
equipment return requirements; and 1736
e. State that an enrolled customer may cancel coverage at 1737
any time and that the person paying the premium will receive a 1738
refund of any unearned premium. 1739
5. A licensed and appointed general lines agent is not 1740
required to obtain a portable electronics insurance license to 1741
offer or sell portable electronics insurance at locations 1742
already licensed as an insurance agency, but may apply for a 1743
portable electronics insurance license for branch locations not 1744
otherwise licensed to sell insurance. 1745
6. A portable electronics license authorizes the sale of 1746
individual policies or certificates under a group or master 1747
insurance policy. The license als o authorizes the sale of 1748
service warranty agreements covering only portable electronics 1749
to the same extent as if licensed under s. 634.419 or s. 1750
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634.420. 1751
7. A licensee may bill and collect the premium for the 1752
purchase of portable electronics insurance pr ovided that: 1753
a. If the insurance is included with the purchase or lease 1754
of portable electronics or related services, the licensee 1755
clearly and conspicuously discloses that insurance coverage is 1756
included with the purchase. Disclosure of the stand -alone cost 1757
of the premium for same or similar insurance must be made on the 1758
customer's bill and in any marketing materials made available at 1759
the point of sale. If the insurance is not included, the charge 1760
to the customer for the insurance must be separately itemize d on 1761
the customer's bill. 1762
b. Premiums are incidental to other fees collected, are 1763
maintained in a manner that is readily identifiable, and are 1764
accounted for and remitted to the insurer or supervising entity 1765
within 60 days of receipt. Licensees are not re quired to 1766
maintain such funds in a segregated account. 1767
c. All funds received by a licensee from an enrolled 1768
customer for the sale of the insurance are considered funds held 1769
in trust by the licensee in a fiduciary capacity for the benefit 1770
of the insurer. Licensees may receive compensation for billing 1771
and collection services. 1772
8. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the terms 1773
for the termination or modification of coverage under a policy 1774
of portable electronics insurance are those set forth in the 1775
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policy. 1776
9. Notice or correspondence required by the policy, or 1777
otherwise required by law, may be provided by electronic means 1778
if the insurer or licensee maintains proof that the notice or 1779
correspondence was sent. Such notice or correspondence may be 1780
sent on behalf of the insurer or licensee by the general lines 1781
agent appointed by the insurer to supervise the administration 1782
of the program. For purposes of this subparagraph, an enrolled 1783
customer's provision of an electronic mail address to the 1784
insurer or licensee is deemed to be consent to receive notices 1785
and correspondence by electronic means if a conspicuously 1786
located disclosure is provided to the customer indicating the 1787
same. 1788
10. The provisions of this chapter requiring submission of 1789
fingerprints requirements in s. 626.171(4) do not apply to 1790
licenses issued to qualified entities under this paragraph. 1791
11. A branch location that sells portable electronics 1792
insurance may, in lieu of obtaining an appointment from an 1793
insurer or warranty association, obtain a single appointment 1794
from the associated lead business location licensee and pay the 1795
prescribed appointment fee under s. 624.501 if the lead business 1796
location has a single appointment from each insurer or warranty 1797
association represented and such appointment applies to the lead 1798
business location and all of its branch locations. Branch 1799
location appointments shall be renewed 24 months after the 1800
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initial appointment date of the lead business location and every 1801
24 months thereafter. Notwithstanding s. 624.501, the renewal 1802
fee applicable to such branch location appointments is $30 per 1803
appointment. 1804
12. For purposes of this paragraph: 1805
a. "Branch location" means any physical location in this 1806
state at which a licensee offers its products or services for 1807
sale. 1808
b. "Portable electronics" means personal, self -contained, 1809
easily carried by an individual, battery -operated electronic 1810
communication, viewing, listening, recording, gaming, computing 1811
or global positioning devices, including cell or satellite 1812
phones, pagers, personal global positioning satellite units, 1813
portable computers, portable audio listening, video viewing or 1814
recording devices, digital cameras, video camcorders, portable 1815
gaming systems, docking stations, automatic answering devices, 1816
and other similar device s and their accessories, and service 1817
related to the use of such devices. 1818
c. "Portable electronics transaction" means the sale or 1819
lease of portable electronics or a related service, including 1820
portable electronics insurance. 1821
Section 39. Subsection (5) of section 626.601, Florida 1822
Statutes, is amended to read: 1823
626.601 Improper conduct; inquiry; fingerprinting. — 1824
(5) If the department or office, after investigation, has 1825
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reason to believe that an individual may have been found guilty 1826
of or pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to a felony or a crime 1827
related to the business of insurance in this or any other state 1828
or jurisdiction, the department or office may require the 1829
individual to file with the department or office a complete set 1830
of his or her fingerprints, in accordance with s. 626.171(4), 1831
which shall be accompanied by the fingerprint processing fee set 1832
forth in s. 624.501. The fingerprints shall be taken by an 1833
authorized law enforcement agency or other department -approved 1834
entity. 1835
Section 40. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 1836
626.8411, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (f) is 1837
added to subsection (1) of that section, to read: 1838
626.8411 Application of Florida Insurance Code provisions 1839
to title insurance agents or agencies. — 1840
(1) The following provisions applicable to general lines 1841
agents or agencies also apply to title insurance agents or 1842
agencies: 1843
(f) Section 626.172(2)(f), relating to fingerprints. 1844
(2) The following provisions of part I do not apply to 1845
title insurance agents or ti tle insurance agencies: 1846
(d) Section 626.172 , except for paragraph (2)(f) of that 1847
section, relating to agent in full -time charge. 1848
Section 41. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 1849
626.8412, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1850
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626.8412 License and appointments required. — 1851
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this part: 1852
(b) A title insurance agent may not sell a title insurance 1853
policy issued by an insurer for which the agent and the agency 1854
do does not hold a current appointment. 1855
Section 42. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 1856
626.8417, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1857
626.8417 Title insurance agent licensure; exemptions. — 1858
(3) The department may not grant or issue a license as a 1859
title insurance agent to an individual who is f ound by the 1860
department to be untrustworthy or incompetent, who does not meet 1861
the qualifications for examination specified in s. 626.8414, or 1862
who does not meet the following qualifications: 1863
(a) Within the 4 years immediately preceding the date of 1864
the application for license, the applicant must have completed a 1865
40-hour classroom course in title insurance, 3 hours of which 1866
are on the subject matter of ethics, as approved by the 1867
department, or must have had at least 12 months of experience in 1868
responsible title insurance duties, under the supervision of a 1869
licensed title insurance agent, title insurer, or attorney while 1870
working in the title insurance business as a substantially full -1871
time, bona fide employee of a title insurance agency, title 1872
insurance agent, tit le insurer, or attorney who conducts real 1873
estate closing transactions and issues title insurance policies 1874
but who is exempt from licensure under subsection (4). If an 1875
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applicant's qualifications are based upon the periods of 1876
employment at responsible title insurance duties, the applicant 1877
must submit, with the license application, an affidavit of the 1878
applicant and of the employer affirming the period of such 1879
employment, that the employment was substantially full time, and 1880
giving a brief abstract of the nature of the duties performed by 1881
the applicant. 1882
Section 43. Section 626.8421, Florida Statutes, is amended 1883
to read: 1884
626.8421 Number of appointments permitted or required. —A 1885
title agent and a title agency shall be required to have a 1886
separate appointment as to each insurer by which they are he or 1887
she is appointed as agents agent. As a part of each appointment 1888
there shall be a certified statement or affidavit of an 1889
appropriate officer or official of the appointing insurer 1890
stating that to the best of the insurer's knowledge and belief 1891
the applicant, or its principals in the case of a corporation or 1892
other legal entity, has met the requirements of s. 626.8417. 1893
Section 44. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 626.843, 1894
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1895
626.843 Renewal, continuation, reinstatement, termination 1896
of title insurance agent's and title insurance agency's 1897
appointments appointment.— 1898
(1) Appointments the appointment of a title insurance 1899
agent and a title insurance agency shall continue in forc e until 1900
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suspended, revoked, or otherwise terminated, but subject to a 1901
renewed request filed by the insurer every 24 months after the 1902
original issue dates date of the appointments appointment, 1903
accompanied by payments payment of the renewal appointment fees 1904
fee and taxes as prescribed in s. 624.501. 1905
(2) Title insurance agent and title insurance agency 1906
appointments shall be renewed pursuant to s. 626.381 for 1907
insurance representatives in general. 1908
Section 45. Subsection (1) of section 626.8433, Florida 1909
Statutes, is amended to read: 1910
626.8433 Filing of reasons for terminating appointment of 1911
title insurance agent and title insurance agency ; confidential 1912
information.— 1913
(1) Any title insurer that is terminating the appointment 1914
of a title insurance agent or title insurance agency , whether 1915
such termination is by direct action of the appointing title 1916
insurer or by failure to renew or continue the appointment as 1917
provided, shall file with the department a statement of the 1918
reasons, if any, for, and the facts relativ e to, such 1919
termination. 1920
Section 46. Section 626.8447, Florida Statutes, is amended 1921
to read: 1922
626.8447 Effect of suspension or revocation upon other 1923
licensees, appointees. —In case of the suspension or revocation 1924
of the license and appointment of any ti tle insurance agent or 1925
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title insurance agency , the licenses and appointments of all 1926
other title insurance agents who knowingly were parties to the 1927
act that which formed the ground for such suspension or 1928
revocation may likewise be suspended or revoked for t he same 1929
period as that of the offending title insurance agent or title 1930
insurance agency, but such suspension or revocation does shall 1931
not prevent any title insurance agent, except the one whose 1932
license and appointment was first suspended or revoked, from 1933
being issued an appointment for some other title insurer. 1934
Section 47. Paragraph (d) of subsection (10) of section 1935
626.854, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph (f), and 1936
a new paragraph (d) and paragraph (e) are added to subsection 1937
(10) of that section, to read: 1938
626.854 "Public adjuster" defined; prohibitions. —The 1939
Legislature finds that it is necessary for the protection of the 1940
public to regulate public insurance adjusters and to prevent the 1941
unauthorized practice of law. 1942
(10) 1943
(d) Public adjuster compensation may not be based on 1944
amounts attributable to additional living expenses, unless such 1945
compensation is affirmatively agreed to in a separate agreement 1946
that includes a disclosure in substantially the following form: 1947
"I agree to retain and co mpensate the public adjuster for 1948
adjusting my additional living expenses and securing payment 1949
from my insurer for amounts attributable to additional living 1950
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expenses payable under the policy issued on my (home/mobile 1951
home/condominium unit)." 1952
(e) Public adjuster compensation may not be increased 1953
based on a claim being resolved by litigation. 1954
Section 48. Section 626.8561, Florida Statutes, is amended 1955
to read: 1956
626.8561 "Public adjuster apprentice" defined. —The term 1957
"public adjuster apprentice" means a person licensed as an all -1958
lines adjuster who: 1959
(1) Is appointed and employed or contracted by a public 1960
adjuster or a public adjusting firm; 1961
(2) Assists the public adjuster or public adjusting firm 1962
in ascertaining and determining the amount of any claim , loss, 1963
or damage payable under an insurance contract, or who undertakes 1964
to effect settlement of such claim, loss, or damage; and 1965
(3) Satisfies the requirements of s. 626.8651. 1966
Section 49. Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) and subsection 1967
(2) of section 626.865, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1968
626.865 Public adjuster's qualifications, bond. — 1969
(1) The department shall issue a license to an applicant 1970
for a public adjuster's license upon determining that the 1971
applicant has paid the applicable fees specified in s. 624.501 1972
and possesses the following qualifications: 1973
(e) Has been licensed and appointed in this state as a 1974
nonresident public adjuster on a continual basis for the 1975
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previous 6 months, or has been licensed as an all-lines 1976
adjuster, and has been appointed on a continual basis for the 1977
previous 6 months as a public adjuster apprentice under s. 1978
626.8561, as an independent adjuster under s. 626.855, or as a 1979
company employee adjuster under s. 626.856. 1980
(2) At the time of application for license a s a public 1981
adjuster, the applicant shall file with the department a bond 1982
executed and issued by a surety insurer authorized to transact 1983
such business in this state, in the amount of $50,000, 1984
conditioned for the faithful performance of his or her duties as 1985
a public adjuster under the license for which the applicant has 1986
applied, and thereafter maintain the bond unimpaired throughout 1987
the existence of the license and for at least 1 year after 1988
termination of the license . 1989
(a) The bond must shall be in favor of the department and 1990
must shall specifically authorize recovery by the department of 1991
the damages sustained in case the licensee is guilty of fraud or 1992
unfair practices in connection with his or her business as 1993
public adjuster. 1994
(b) The bond must remain in ef fect for 1 year after the 1995
expiration or termination of the license. 1996
(c) The aggregate liability of the surety for all such 1997
damages may not shall in no event exceed the amount of the bond. 1998
The Such bond may shall not be terminated unless at least 30 1999
days' written notice is given to the licensee and filed with the 2000
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department. 2001
Section 50. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and subsection 2002
(3) of section 626.8651, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 2003
626.8651 Public adjuster apprentice appointment; 2004
qualifications.— 2005
(1)(a) The department shall issue an appointment as a 2006
public adjuster apprentice to a licensee who: 2007
1. Is licensed as an all -lines adjuster under s. 626.866; 2008
2. Has filed with the department a bon d executed and 2009
issued by a surety insurer that is authorized to transact such 2010
business in this state in the amount of $50,000, which is 2011
conditioned upon the faithful performance of his or her duties 2012
as a public adjuster apprentice; and 2013
3. Maintains such bond unimpaired throughout the existence 2014
of the appointment. The bond must remain in effect for 1 year 2015
after the expiration or termination of the license and for at 2016
least 1 year after termination of the appointment . 2017
(3) A public adjuster apprentice has t he same authority as 2018
the licensed public adjuster or public adjusting firm that 2019
employs the apprentice except that an apprentice may not execute 2020
contracts for the services of a public adjuster or public 2021
adjusting firm. An individual may not be, act as, or hold 2022
himself or herself out to be a public adjuster apprentice unless 2023
the individual is licensed as an all -lines adjuster and holds a 2024
current appointment by a licensed public all-lines adjuster or a 2025
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public adjusting firm that has designated with the depart ment a 2026
primary employs a licensed public adjuster as required by s. 2027
626.8695. 2028
Section 51. Section 626.8696, Florida Statutes, is amended 2029
to read: 2030
626.8696 Application for adjusting firm license. — 2031
(1) The application for an adjusting firm license mu st 2032
include: 2033
(a) The name of each majority owner, partner, officer, and 2034
director of the adjusting firm. 2035
(b) The resident address of each person required to be 2036
listed in the application under paragraph (a). 2037
(c) The name of the adjusting firm and its pr incipal 2038
business address. 2039
(d) The location of each adjusting firm office and the 2040
name under which each office conducts or will conduct business. 2041
(e) The name and license number of the designated primary 2042
adjuster for each adjusting firm location as req uired in s. 2043
626.8695. 2044
(f) The fingerprints of each individual required to be 2045
listed in the application under paragraph (a), filed in 2046
accordance with s. 626.171(4). However, fingerprints need not be 2047
filed for an individual who is currently licensed and appointed 2048
under this chapter. 2049
(g)(e) Any additional information that the department 2050
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requires. 2051
(2) An application for an adjusting firm license must be 2052
signed by one of the individuals required to be listed in the 2053
application under paragraph (1)(a) each owner of the firm. If 2054
the firm is incorporated, the application must be signed by the 2055
president and secretary of the corporation . 2056
(3) Each application must be accompanied by payment of any 2057
applicable fee as prescribed in s. 624.501. 2058
(4) License fees are not refundable. 2059
(5) An adjusting firm required to be licensed pursuant to 2060
s. 626.8695 must remain so licensed for a period of 3 years from 2061
the date of licensure, unless the license is suspended or 2062
revoked. The department may suspend or revoke the adju sting 2063
firm's authority to do business for activities occurring during 2064
the time the firm is licensed, regardless of whether the 2065
licensing period has terminated. 2066
Section 52. Subsection (3) of section 626.8732, Florida 2067
Statutes, is amended to read: 2068
626.8732 Nonresident public adjuster's qualifications, 2069
bond.— 2070
(3) At the time of application for license as a 2071
nonresident public adjuster, the applicant shall file with the 2072
department a bond executed and issued by a surety insurer 2073
authorized to transact sure ty business in this state, in the 2074
amount of $50,000, conditioned for the faithful performance of 2075
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his or her duties as a nonresident public adjuster under the 2076
license applied for. Thereafter, the applicant shall maintain 2077
the bond unimpaired throughout the e xistence of the license and 2078
for 1 year after the expiration or termination of the license. 2079
(a) The bond must be in favor of the department and must 2080
specifically authorize recovery by the department of the damages 2081
sustained if the licensee commits fraud o r unfair practices in 2082
connection with his or her business as nonresident public 2083
adjuster. 2084
(b) The aggregate liability of the surety for all the 2085
damages may not exceed the amount of the bond. The bond may not 2086
be terminated unless at least 30 days' written notice is given 2087
to the licensee and filed with the department. 2088
Section 53. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 2089
626.8734, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2090
626.8734 Nonresident all -lines adjuster license 2091
qualifications.— 2092
(2) The applicant must furnish the following with his or 2093
her application: 2094
(a) A complete set of his or her fingerprints in 2095
accordance with s. 626.171(4) . The applicant's fingerprints must 2096
be certified by an authorized law enforcement officer. 2097
Section 54. Section 626.906, Florida Statutes, is amended 2098
to read: 2099
626.906 Acts constituting Chief Financial Officer as 2100
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process agent.—Any of the following acts in this state, effected 2101
by mail or otherwise, by an unauthorized foreign insurer, alien 2102
insurer, or person represent ing or aiding such an insurer is 2103
equivalent to and shall constitute an appointment by such 2104
insurer or person representing or aiding such insurer of the 2105
Chief Financial Officer to be its true and lawful agent 2106
attorney, upon whom may be served all lawful pro cess in any 2107
action, suit, or proceeding instituted by or on behalf of an 2108
insured or beneficiary, arising out of any such contract of 2109
insurance; and any such act shall be signification of the 2110
insurer's or person's agreement that such service of process is 2111
of the same legal force and validity as personal service of 2112
process in this state upon such insurer or person representing 2113
or aiding such insurer: 2114
(1) The issuance or delivery of contracts of insurance to 2115
residents of this state or to corporations authori zed to do 2116
business therein; 2117
(2) The solicitation of applications for such contracts; 2118
(3) The collection of premiums, membership fees, 2119
assessments, or other considerations for such contracts; or 2120
(4) Any other transaction of insurance. 2121
Section 55. Subsection (4) of section 626.912, Florida 2122
Statutes, is amended to read: 2123
626.912 Exemptions from ss. 626.904 -626.911.—The 2124
provisions of ss. 626.904 -626.911 do not apply to any action, 2125
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suit, or proceeding against any unauthorized foreign insurer, 2126
alien insurer, or person representing or aiding such an insurer 2127
arising out of any contract of insurance: 2128
(4) Issued under and in accordance with the Surplus Lines 2129
Law, when such insurer or person representing or aiding such 2130
insurer enters a general appearance o r when such contract of 2131
insurance contains a provision designating the Chief Financial 2132
Officer or designating a Florida resident agent to be the true 2133
and lawful agent attorney of such unauthorized insurer or person 2134
representing or aiding such insurer upon whom may be served all 2135
lawful process in any action, suit, or proceeding instituted by 2136
or on behalf of an insured or person representing or aiding such 2137
insurer or beneficiary arising out of any such contract of 2138
insurance; and service of process effected on such Chief 2139
Financial Officer or such resident agent shall be deemed to 2140
confer complete jurisdiction over such unauthorized insurer or 2141
person representing or aiding such insurer in such action. 2142
Section 56. Subsections (3) and (4) of section 626.937, 2143
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 2144
626.937 Actions against insurer; service of process. — 2145
(3) Each unauthorized insurer requesting eligibility 2146
pursuant to s. 626.918 shall file with the department its 2147
appointment of the Chief Financial Officer, on a f orm as 2148
furnished by the department, as its agent attorney to receive 2149
service of all legal process issued against it in any civil 2150
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action or proceeding in this state, and agreeing that process so 2151
served shall be valid and binding upon the insurer. The 2152
appointment shall be irrevocable, shall bind the insurer and any 2153
successor in interest as to the assets or liabilities of the 2154
insurer, and shall remain in effect as long as there is 2155
outstanding in this state any obligation or liability of the 2156
insurer resulting from its insurance transactions therein. 2157
(4) At the time of such appointment of the Chief Financial 2158
Officer as its process agent, the insurer shall file with the 2159
department designation of the name and e-mail address of the 2160
person to whom process against i t served upon the Chief 2161
Financial Officer is to be made available through the 2162
department's secure online portal forwarded. The insurer may 2163
change the designation at any time by a new filing. 2164
Section 57. Subsection (5) of section 626.9953, Florida 2165
Statutes, is amended to read: 2166
626.9953 Qualifications for registration; application 2167
required.— 2168
(5) An applicant must submit a set of his or her 2169
fingerprints in accordance with s. 626.171(4) to the department 2170
and pay the processing fee established under s. 624.501(23). The 2171
department shall submit the applicant's fingerprints to the 2172
Department of Law Enforcement for processing state criminal 2173
history records checks and local criminal records checks through 2174
local law enforcement agencies and for forwarding to t he Federal 2175
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Bureau of Investigation for national criminal history records 2176
checks. The fingerprints shall be taken by a law enforcement 2177
agency, a designated examination center, or another department -2178
approved entity. The department may not approve an applicat ion 2179
for registration as a navigator if fingerprints have not been 2180
submitted. 2181
Section 58. Paragraphs (e) and (f) are added to subsection 2182
(4) of section 633.135, Florida Statutes, to read: 2183
633.135 Firefighter Assistance Grant Program. — 2184
(4) Funds shall be used to: 2185
(e) Purchase other equipment and tools that improve 2186
firesafety and fire rescue capabilities for firefighters. 2187
(f) Purchase protective clothing and equipment compliant 2188
with NFPA 1977, "Standard on Protective Clothing and Equipment 2189
for Wildland Fire Fighting and Urban Interface Fire Fighting." 2190
Section 59. Subsections (6) through (9) of section 2191
633.216, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (5) 2192
through (8), respectively, and subsection (4) and present 2193
subsection (5) of that sect ion are amended, to read: 2194
633.216 Inspection of buildings and equipment; orders; 2195
firesafety inspection training requirements; certification; 2196
disciplinary action. —The State Fire Marshal and her or his 2197
agents or persons authorized to enforce laws and rules of the 2198
State Fire Marshal shall, at any reasonable hour, when the State 2199
Fire Marshal has reasonable cause to believe that a violation of 2200
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this chapter or s. 509.215, or a rule adopted thereunder, or a 2201
minimum firesafety code adopted by the State Fire Marsh al or a 2202
local authority, may exist, inspect any and all buildings and 2203
structures which are subject to the requirements of this chapter 2204
or s. 509.215 and rules adopted thereunder. The authority to 2205
inspect shall extend to all equipment, vehicles, and chemica ls 2206
which are located on or within the premises of any such building 2207
or structure. 2208
(4) Every firesafety inspector certificate is valid for a 2209
period of 4 years from the date of issuance. Renewal of 2210
certification is subject to the affected person's completi ng 2211
proper application for renewal and meeting all of the 2212
requirements for renewal as established under this chapter or by 2213
rule adopted under this chapter, which must include completion 2214
of at least 54 hours during the preceding 4 -year period of 2215
continuing education as required by the rule of the department 2216
or, in lieu thereof, successful passage of an examination as 2217
established by the department . 2218
(5) A previously certified firesafety inspector whose 2219
certification has lapsed for 8 years or more must repeat the 2220
fire safety inspector training as specified by the division. 2221
Section 60. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) and paragraphs 2222
(a) and (c) of subsection (6) of section 633.408, Florida 2223
Statutes, are amended to read: 2224
633.408 Firefighter and volunteer fir efighter training and 2225
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certification.— 2226
(4) The division shall issue a Firefighter Certificate of 2227
Compliance to an individual who does all of the following: 2228
(b) Passes the Minimum Standards Course certification 2229
examination within 12 months after completi ng the required 2230
courses. 2231
(6)(a) The division may issue a Special Certificate of 2232
Compliance to an individual who does all of the following: 2233
1. Satisfactorily completes the course established by rule 2234
by the division and successfully passes any examinatio n 2235
corresponding to such course in paragraph (1)(b) to obtain a 2236
Special Certificate of Compliance. 2237
2. Passes the examination established in paragraph (1)(b) 2238
to obtain a Special Certificate of Compliance. 2239
2.3. Possesses the qualifications in s. 633.412. 2240
(c) In order to retain a Special Certificate of 2241
Compliance, every 4 years an individual must: 2242
1. Be active as a firefighter; 2243
2. Maintain a current and valid fire service instructor 2244
certificate, instruct at least 40 hours during the 4 -year 2245
period, and provide proof of such instruction to the division, 2246
which proof must be registered in an electronic database 2247
designated by the division; or 2248
3. Within 6 months before the 4 -year period expires, 2249
successfully complete a Firefighter Retention Refresher Cours e 2250
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consisting of a minimum of 40 hours of training as prescribed by 2251
rule. 2252
Section 61. Subsections (5), (6), and (7) of section 2253
633.414, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (4), 2254
(5), and (6) respectively, and subsection (1) and present 2255
subsection (4) of that section are amended, to read: 2256
633.414 Retention of firefighter and volunteer firefighter 2257
certifications.— 2258
(1) In order for a firefighter to retain her or his 2259
Firefighter Certificate of Compliance or Special Certificate of 2260
Compliance, every 4 years he or she must meet the requirements 2261
for renewal provided in this chapter and by rule, which must 2262
include at least one of the following: 2263
(a) Be active as a firefighter. As used in this section, 2264
the term "active" means being employed as a fir efighter or 2265
providing service as a volunteer firefighter as evidenced by the 2266
individual's name appearing on a fire service provider's 2267
employment roster in the Florida State Fire College database or 2268
a letter by the fire service provider attesting to dates o f 2269
employment. 2270
(b) Maintain a current and valid fire service instructor 2271
certificate, instruct at least 40 hours during the 4 -year 2272
period, and provide proof of such instruction to the division, 2273
which proof must be registered in an electronic database 2274
designated by the division. 2275
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(c) Before the expiration of the certificate Within 6 2276
months before the 4-year period expires, successfully complete a 2277
Firefighter Retention Refresher Course consisting of a minimum 2278
of 40 hours of training to be prescribed by rule. 2279
(d) Before the expiration of the certificate Within 6 2280
months before the 4-year period expires, successfully retake and 2281
pass the Minimum Standards Course examination pursuant to s. 2282
633.408. 2283
(4) For the purposes of this section, the term "active" 2284
means being employed as a firefighter or providing service as a 2285
volunteer firefighter for a cumulative period of 6 months within 2286
a 4-year period. 2287
2288
The 4-year period may, in the discretion of the department, be 2289
extended to 12 months after discharge from military service if 2290
the military service does not exceed 3 years, but in no event 2291
more than 6 years from the date of issue or renewal, if 2292
applicable, for an honorably discharged veteran of the United 2293
States Armed Forces or the spouse of such a veteran. A qualified 2294
individual must provide a copy of a military identification 2295
card, military dependent identification card, military service 2296
record, military personnel file, veteran record, discharge 2297
paper, or separation document that indicates such member is 2298
currently in good standing or such veteran is honorably 2299
discharged. 2300
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Section 62. Subsection (4) of section 648.34, Florida 2301
Statutes, is amended to read: 2302
648.34 Bail bond agents; qualifications. — 2303
(4) The applicant shall furnish, with his or her 2304
application, a complete set of his or her fingerprints in 2305
accordance with s. 626.171(4) and a recent credential -sized, 2306
fullface photograph of the applicant. The applicant's 2307
fingerprints shall be certified by an authorized law enforcement 2308
officer. The department shall not aut horize an applicant to take 2309
the required examination until the department has received a 2310
report from the Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal 2311
Bureau of Investigation relative to the existence or 2312
nonexistence of a criminal history report based on t he 2313
applicant's fingerprints. 2314
Section 63. Subsection (4) of section 648.355, Florida 2315
Statutes, is amended to read: 2316
648.355 Temporary limited license as limited surety agent 2317
or professional bail bond agent; pending examination. — 2318
(4) The applicant sha ll furnish, with the application for 2319
temporary license, a complete set of the applicant's 2320
fingerprints in accordance with s. 626.171(4) and a recent 2321
credential-sized, fullface photograph of the applicant. The 2322
applicant's fingerprints shall be certified by an authorized law 2323
enforcement officer. The department shall not issue a temporary 2324
license under this section until the department has received a 2325
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report from the Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal 2326
Bureau of Investigation relative to the existence or 2327
nonexistence of a criminal history report based on the 2328
applicant's fingerprints. 2329
Section 64. Subsection (4) is added to section 648.46, 2330
Florida Statutes, to read: 2331
648.46 Procedure for disciplinary action against 2332
licensees.— 2333
(4) The expiration, nonrenewal, or surrender of licensure 2334
under this chapter does not eliminate the jurisdiction of the 2335
licensing authority to investigate and prosecute for a violation 2336
committed by a licensee while licensed under this chapter. The 2337
prosecution of any matter ma y be initiated or continued 2338
notwithstanding the withdrawal of a complaint. 2339
Section 65. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) and paragraphs 2340
(b), (c), and (e) of subsection (3) of section 766.105, Florida 2341
Statutes, are amended, and paragraph (i) is added to s ubsection 2342
(3) and subsection (4) is added to that section, to read: 2343
766.105 Florida Patient's Compensation Fund. — 2344
(2) COVERAGE.— 2345
(d)1. Any health care provider who participates in the 2346
fund and who does not meet the provisions of paragraph (b) shall 2347
not be covered by the fund. 2348
2. Annually, the Agency for Health Care Administration 2349
shall require documentation by each hospital that such hospital 2350
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is in compliance, and will remain in compliance, with the 2351
provisions of this section. The agency shall revie w the 2352
documentation and then deliver the documentation to the board of 2353
governors. At least 60 days before the time a license will be 2354
issued or renewed, the agency shall request from the board of 2355
governors a certification that each hospital is in compliance 2356
with the provisions of this section. The board of governors 2357
shall not be liable under the law for any erroneous 2358
certification. The agency may not issue or renew the license of 2359
any hospital which has not been certified by the board of 2360
governors. The licens e of any hospital that fails to remain in 2361
compliance or fails to provide such documentation shall be 2362
revoked or suspended by the agency. 2363
(3) THE FUND.— 2364
(b) Fund administration and operation. — 2365
1. The fund shall operate subject to the supervision and 2366
approval of the Chief Financial Officer or his or her designee a 2367
board of governors consisting of a representative of the 2368
insurance industry appointed by the Chief Financial Officer, an 2369
attorney appointed by The Florida Bar, a representative of 2370
physicians appointed by the Florida Medical Association, a 2371
representative of physicians' insurance appointed by the Chief 2372
Financial Officer, a representative of physicians' self -2373
insurance appointed by the Chie f Financial Officer, two 2374
representatives of hospitals appointed by the Florida Hospital 2375
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Association, a representative of hospital insurance appointed by 2376
the Chief Financial Officer, a representative of hospital self -2377
insurance appointed by the Chief Financi al Officer, a 2378
representative of the osteopathic physicians' or podiatric 2379
physicians' insurance or self -insurance appointed by the Chief 2380
Financial Officer, and a representative of the general public 2381
appointed by the Chief Financial Officer . The board of governors 2382
shall, during the first meeting after June 30 of each year, 2383
choose one of its members to serve as chair of the board and 2384
another member to serve as vice chair of the board. The members 2385
of the board shall be appointed to serve terms of 4 years, 2386
except that the initial appointments of a representative of the 2387
general public by the Chief Financial Officer, an attorney by 2388
The Florida Bar, a representative of physicians by the Florida 2389
Medical Association, and one of the two representatives of the 2390
Florida Hospital Association shall be for terms of 3 years; 2391
thereafter, such representatives shall be appointed for terms of 2392
4 years. Subsequent to initial appointments for 4 -year terms, 2393
the representative of the osteopathic physicians' or podiatric 2394
physicians' insurance or self-insurance appointed by the Chief 2395
Financial Officer and the representative of hospital self -2396
insurance appointed by the Chief Financial Officer shall be 2397
appointed for 2-year terms; thereafter, such representatives 2398
shall be appointed for terms of 4 years. Each appointed member 2399
may designate in writing to the chair an alternate to act in the 2400
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member's absence or incapacity. A member of the board, or the 2401
member's alternate, may be reimbursed from the assets of the 2402
fund for expenses incurred by him or her as a member, or 2403
alternate member, of the board and for committee work, but he or 2404
she may not otherwise be compensated by the fund for his or her 2405
service as a board member or alternate. 2406
2. There shall be no liability on the part of, and no 2407
cause of action of any nature shall arise against, the fund or 2408
its agents or employees, professional advisers or consultants, 2409
the Chief Financial Officer or his or her designee members of 2410
the board of governors or their alternates , or the Department of 2411
Financial Services or the Office of Insurance Regulation of the 2412
Financial Services Commission or their representatives for any 2413
action taken by them in the performance of their powers and 2414
duties pursuant to this section. 2415
(c) Powers of the fund.—The fund has the powe r to: 2416
1. Sue and be sued, and appear and defend, in all actions 2417
and proceedings in its name to the same extent as a natural 2418
person. 2419
2. Adopt, change, amend, and repeal a plan of operation, 2420
not inconsistent with law, for the regulation and administratio n 2421
of the affairs of the fund. The plan and any changes thereto 2422
shall be filed with the Office of Insurance Regulation of the 2423
Financial Services Commission and are all subject to its 2424
approval before implementation by the fund. All fund members, 2425
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board members, and employees shall comply with the plan of 2426
operation. 2427
3. Have and exercise all powers necessary or convenient to 2428
effect any or all of the purposes for which the fund is created. 2429
4. Enter into such contracts as are necessary or proper to 2430
carry out the provisions and purposes of this section. 2431
5. Employ or retain such persons as are necessary to 2432
perform the administrative and financial transactions and 2433
responsibilities of the fund and to perform other necessary or 2434
proper functions unless prohibited b y law. 2435
6. Take such legal action as may be necessary to avoid 2436
payment of improper claims. 2437
7. Indemnify any employee, agent, member of the board of 2438
governors or his or her alternate, or person acting on behalf of 2439
the fund in an official capacity, for expenses, including 2440
attorney's fees, judgments, fines, and amounts paid in 2441
settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him or her in 2442
connection with any action, suit, or proceeding, inclu ding any 2443
appeal thereof, arising out of his or her capacity in acting on 2444
behalf of the fund, if he or she acted in good faith and in a 2445
manner he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed 2446
to, the best interests of the fund and, with respect to any 2447
criminal action or proceeding, he or she had reasonable cause to 2448
believe his or her conduct was lawful. 2449
(e) Fund accounting and audit. — 2450
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1. Money shall be withdrawn from the fund only upon a 2451
voucher as authorized by the Chief Financial Officer or his o r 2452
her designee board of governors. 2453
2. All books, records, and audits of the fund shall be 2454
open for reasonable inspection to the general public, except 2455
that a claim file in possession of the fund, fund members, and 2456
their insurers is confidential and exemp t from the provisions of 2457
s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution 2458
until termination of litigation or settlement of the claim, 2459
although medical records and other portions of the claim file 2460
may remain confidential and exempt as otherwise p rovided by law. 2461
Any book, record, document, audit, or asset acquired by, 2462
prepared for, or paid for by the fund is subject to the 2463
authority of the Chief Financial Officer or his or her designee 2464
board of governors, which shall be responsible therefor. 2465
3. Persons authorized to receive deposits, issue vouchers, 2466
or withdraw or otherwise disburse any fund moneys shall post a 2467
blanket fidelity bond in an amount reasonably sufficient to 2468
protect fund assets. The cost of such bond shall be paid from 2469
the fund. 2470
4. Annually, the fund shall furnish, upon request, audited 2471
financial reports to any fund participant and to the Office of 2472
Insurance Regulation and the Joint Legislative Auditing 2473
Committee. The reports shall be prepared in accordance with 2474
accepted accounting pr ocedures and shall include income and such 2475
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other information as may be required by the Office of Insurance 2476
Regulation or the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee. 2477
5. Any money held in the fund shall be invested in 2478
interest-bearing investments by the board of governors of the 2479
fund as administrator . However, in no case may any such money be 2480
invested in the stock of any insurer participating in the Joint 2481
Underwriting Association authorized by s. 627.351(4) or in the 2482
parent company of, or company owning a con trolling interest in, 2483
such insurer. All income derived from such investments shall be 2484
credited to the fund. 2485
6. Any health care provider participating in the fund may 2486
withdraw from such participation only at the end of a fiscal 2487
year; however, such health care provider shall remain subject to 2488
any assessment or any refund pertaining to any year in which 2489
such member participated in the fund. 2490
(i) Dissolution of the fund. —The fund shall operate 2491
subject to the supervision of the Chief Financial Officer or his 2492
or her designee, pursuant to the policies and procedures and 2493
under the auspices of the Department of Financial Services' 2494
Division of Rehabilitation and Liquidation, until the department 2495
executes a legal dissolution of the fund on or before December 2496
31, 2023. Before the legal dissolution of the fund, the 2497
Department of Financial Services must: 2498
1. Obtain all existing records and retain necessary 2499
records of the fund pursuant to law. 2500
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2. Identify all remaining property held by the fund and 2501
attempt to return such property to its owners and, for property 2502
that cannot be returned to the owner, transfer such property to 2503
the Department of Financial Services' Division of Unclaimed 2504
Property. 2505
3. Make a final accounting of the finances of the fund. 2506
4. Ensure that the fund has met all its obligations 2507
pursuant to structured settlements, annuities, or other 2508
instruments established to pay covered claims and, if the fund 2509
has not done so, attempt to meet such obligations before final 2510
and complete dissolution of the fund. 2511
5. Sell or otherwise dispose of all physical assets of the 2512
fund. 2513
6. Execute a legal dissolution of the fund. 2514
7. Transfer any remaining money or assets of the fund to 2515
the Chief Financial Officer for deposit in the General Revenue 2516
Fund. 2517
(4) REPEAL.—This section is repealed January 1, 2024. 2518
Section 66. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 2519
945.6041, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2520
945.6041 Inmate medical services. — 2521
(1) As used in this section, the term: 2522
(b) "Health care provider" means: 2523
1. A hospital licensed under chapter 395. 2524
2. A physician or physician assistant licensed under 2525
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chapter 458. 2526
3. An osteopathic physician or physician assistant 2527
licensed under chapter 459. 2528
4. A podiatric physician licensed under chapter 461. 2529
5. A health maintenance organization certificated under 2530
part I of chapter 641. 2531
6. An ambulatory surgical center licensed under chapter 2532
395. 2533
7. A professional association, partnership, corporation, 2534
joint venture, or other association established by the 2535
individuals set forth in subparagraphs 2., 3., and 4. for 2536
professional activity. 2537
8. Other medical facility. 2538
a. As used in this subparagraph, the term "other medical 2539
facility" means: 2540
(I) A facility the primary purpose of which is to provide 2541
human medical diagnostic services, or a facility providing 2542
nonsurgical human medical treatment which discharges patients on 2543
the same working day that the patients are admitted; and 2544
(II) A facility that is not part of a hospital. 2545
b. The term does not include a facility existing for the 2546
primary purpose of performing terminations of pregnancy, or an 2547
office maintained by a physician or dentist for the practice of 2548
medicine has the same meaning as provided in s. 766.105 . 2549
Section 67. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 2550
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985.6441, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2551
985.6441 Health care services. — 2552
(1) As used in this section, the term: 2553
(a) "Health care provider" means: 2554
1. A hospital licensed under chapter 395. 2555
2. A physician or physician assistan t licensed under 2556
chapter 458. 2557
3. An osteopathic physician or physician assistant 2558
licensed under chapter 459. 2559
4. A podiatric physician licensed under chapter 461. 2560
5. A health maintenance organization certificated under 2561
part I of chapter 641. 2562
6. An ambulatory surgical center licensed under chapter 2563
395. 2564
7. A professional association, partnership, corporation, 2565
joint venture, or other association established by the 2566
individuals set forth in subparagraphs 2., 3., and 4. for 2567
professional activity. 2568
8. Other medical facility. 2569
a. As used in this subparagraph, the term "other medical 2570
facility" means: 2571
(I) A facility the primary purpose of which is to provide 2572
human medical diagnostic services, or a facility providing 2573
nonsurgical human medical treatment whi ch discharges patients on 2574
the same working day that the patients are admitted; and 2575
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(II) A facility that is not part of a hospital. 2576
b. The term does not include a facility existing for the 2577
primary purpose of performing terminations of pregnancy, or an 2578
office maintained by a physician or dentist for the practice of 2579
medicine has the same meaning as provided in s. 766.105 . 2580
Section 68. All powers, duties, functions, records, 2581
offices, personnel, associated administrative support positions, 2582
property, pending issues, existing contracts, administrative 2583
authority, and administrative rules relating to the Stop Inmate 2584
Fraud Program within the Department of Financial Services are 2585
transferred by a type two transfer, as defined in s. 20.06(2), 2586
Florida Statutes, to the Department of Economic Opportunity. 2587
Section 69. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 2588
act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 2589