Florida 2022 2022 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H1295 Comm Sub / Bill

Filed 01/21/2022

                       
 
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A bill to be entitled 1 
An act relating to executive appointments; amending s. 2 
20.201, F.S.; providing that the executive director of 3 
the Department of Law Enforcement shall be appointed 4 
by the Governor subject to a majority vote of the 5 
Governor and Cabinet with the Governor and Attorney 6 
General on the prevailing side; amending 20.24, F.S.; 7 
providing that the head of the Department of Hi ghway 8 
Safety and Motor Vehicles shall be a secretary 9 
appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate; 10 
providing that the secretary shall serve at the 11 
pleasure of the Governor; amending s. 20.255, F.S.; 12 
removing the requirement that the appointment of the 13 
Secretary of Environmental Protection be subject to 14 
the concurrence of three members of the Cabinet; 15 
amending s. 20.37, F.S.; providing that the executive 16 
director of the Department of Veterans' Affairs shall 17 
be appointed by the Governor subject to a majority 18 
vote of the Governor and Cabinet with the Governor on 19 
the prevailing side; amending ss. 206.27, 207.021, 20 
316.545, 320.275, 322.125, 397.333, 943.0313, and 21 
943.06, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by 22 
the act; providing an effective date. 23 
 24 
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 25     
 
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 26 
 Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 20.201, Florida 27 
Statutes, is amended to read: 28 
 20.201  Department of Law Enforcement. — 29 
 (1)  There is created a Department of Law Enforcement. The 30 
head of the department is the Governor and Cabinet. The 31 
executive director of the department shall be appointed by the 32 
Governor subject to a majority vote of the Governor and Cabinet, 33 
with the Governor and Attorney General on the prevailing side. 34 
The appointment is with the approval of three members of the 35 
Cabinet and subject to confirmation by the Senate. The executive 36 
director shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor and 37 
Cabinet. The executive director may establish a command, 38 
operational, and administrat ive services structure to assist, 39 
manage, and support the department in operating programs and 40 
delivering services. 41 
 Section 2.  Subsection (1) of section 20.24, Florida 42 
Statutes, is amended to read: 43 
 20.24  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle s.—44 
There is created a Department of Highway Safety and Motor 45 
Vehicles. 46 
 (1)  The head of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor 47 
Vehicles shall be a secretary appointed by the Governor and 48 
confirmed by the Senate. The secretary shall serve at the 49 
pleasure of the Governor is the Governor and Cabinet . 50     
 
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 Section 3.  Subsection (1) of section 20.255, Florida 51 
Statutes, is amended to read: 52 
 20.255  Department of Environmental Protection. —There is 53 
created a Department of Environmental Protection. 54 
 (1)  The head of the Department of Environmental Protection 55 
shall be a secretary, who shall be appointed by the Governor . 56 
The appointment is subject to confirmation , with the concurrence 57 
of three members of the Cabinet. The secretary shall be 58 
confirmed by the Florida Senate. The secretary shall serve at 59 
the pleasure of the Governor. 60 
 Section 4.  Subsection (1) of section 20.37, Florida 61 
Statutes, is amended to read: 62 
 20.37  Department of Veterans' Affairs. —There is created a 63 
Department of Veterans' Affairs. 64 
 (1)  The head of the department is the Governor and 65 
Cabinet. The executive director of the department shall be 66 
appointed by the Governor subject to a majority vote of the 67 
Governor and Cabinet, with the Governor on the prevailing side. 68 
The appointment is with the approval of three members of the 69 
Cabinet and subject to confirmation by the Senate. The executive 70 
director shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor and 71 
Cabinet. 72 
 Section 5.  Subsection (2) of section 206.27, Florida 73 
Statutes, is amended to read: 74 
 206.27 Records and files as public records. — 75     
 
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 (2)  Nothing herein shall be construed as requiring the 76 
department to provide as a public record any information 77 
concerning audits in progress or those records and files of the 78 
department described in this section w hich are currently the 79 
subject of pending investigation by the Department of Revenue or 80 
the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is specifically 81 
provided that the foregoing information shall be exempt from the 82 
provisions of s. 119.07(1) and shall be c onsidered confidential 83 
pursuant to s. 213.053; however, the department may make 84 
available to the Secretary executive director of the Department 85 
of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles or his or her designee, 86 
exclusively for official purposes in administering chapter 207, 87 
any information concerning any audit in progress, and the 88 
provisions of s. 213.053(8) requiring a written agreement and 89 
maintenance of confidentiality by the recipient, and the penalty 90 
for breach of confidentiality, shall apply if the departme nt 91 
makes such information available. Any officer, employee, or 92 
former officer or employee of the department who divulges any 93 
such information in any manner except for such official purposes 94 
or under s. 213.053 is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first 95 
degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 96 
 Section 6.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 97 
207.021, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 98 
 207.021  Informal conferences; settlement or compromise of 99 
taxes, penalties, or interest. — 100     
 
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 (2)(a)  The secretary executive director or his or her 101 
designee may enter into a closing agreement with a taxpayer 102 
settling or compromising the taxpayer's liability for any tax, 103 
interest, or penalty assessed under this chapter. Each agreement 104 
must be in writing, in the form of a closing agreement approved 105 
by the department, and signed by the secretary executive 106 
director or his or her designee. The agreement is final and 107 
conclusive, except upon a showing of material fraud or 108 
misrepresentation of material fact. T he department may not make 109 
an additional assessment against the taxpayer for the tax, 110 
interest, or penalty specified in the closing agreement for the 111 
time specified in the closing agreement, and the taxpayer may 112 
not institute a judicial or administrative p roceeding to recover 113 
any tax, interest, or penalty paid pursuant to the closing 114 
agreement. The secretary executive director of the department or 115 
his or her designee may approve the closing agreement. 116 
 Section 7.  Subsection (7) of section 316.545, Florid a 117 
Statutes, is amended to read: 118 
 316.545  Weight and load unlawful; special fuel and motor 119 
fuel tax enforcement; inspection; penalty; review. — 120 
 (7)  There is created within the Department of 121 
Transportation the Commercial Motor Vehicle Review Board, 122 
consisting of three permanent members who shall be the Secretary 123 
of Transportation, the Secretary executive director of the 124 
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and the 125     
 
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Commissioner of Agriculture, or their authorized 126 
representatives, and four additio nal members appointed pursuant 127 
to paragraph (b), which may review any penalty imposed upon any 128 
vehicle or person under the provisions of this chapter relating 129 
to weights imposed on the highways by the axles and wheels of 130 
motor vehicles, to special fuel and motor fuel tax compliance, 131 
or to violations of safety regulations. 132 
 (a)  The Secretary of Transportation or his or her 133 
authorized representative shall be the chair of the review 134 
board. 135 
 (b)  The Governor shall appoint one member from the road 136 
construction industry, one member from the trucking industry, 137 
and one member with a general business or legal background. The 138 
Commissioner of Agriculture shall appoint one member from the 139 
agriculture industry. Each member appointed under this paragraph 140 
must be a registered voter and resident of the state and must 141 
possess business experience in the private sector. Members 142 
appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall each serve a 2 -year 143 
term. A vacancy occurring during the term of a member appointed 144 
under this paragraph sh all be filled only for the remainder of 145 
the unexpired term. Members of the board appointed under this 146 
paragraph may be removed from office by the Governor for 147 
misconduct, malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance in office. 148 
 (c)  Each member, before enterin g upon his or her official 149 
duties, shall take and subscribe to an oath before an official 150     
 
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authorized by law to administer oaths that he or she will 151 
honestly, faithfully, and impartially perform the duties 152 
devolving upon him or her in office as a member of the review 153 
board and that he or she will not neglect any duties imposed 154 
upon him or her by s. 316.3025, s. 316.550, or this section. 155 
 (d)  The chair of the review board is responsible for the 156 
administrative functions of the review board. 157 
 (e)  Four members of the board constitute a quorum, and the 158 
vote of four members shall be necessary for any action taken by 159 
the board. A vacancy on the board does not impair the right of a 160 
quorum of the board to exercise all of the rights and perform 161 
all of the duties of t he board. 162 
 (f)  The review board may hold sessions and conduct 163 
proceedings at any place within the state. As an alternative to 164 
physical appearance, the Department of Transportation shall 165 
allow a person requesting a hearing to appear remotely before 166 
the board via communications media technology as authorized by 167 
chapter 28-109, Florida Administrative Code, regardless of the 168 
physical location of the board proceeding. 169 
 Section 8.  Subsections (1) and (2) of section 320.275, 170 
Florida Statutes, are amended to re ad: 171 
 320.275  Automobile Dealers Industry Advisory Board. — 172 
 (1)  AUTOMOBILE DEALERS INDUSTRY ADVISORY BOARD. —The 173 
Automobile Dealers Industry Advisory Board is created within the 174 
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The board shall 175     
 
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make recommendations on proposed legislation, make 176 
recommendations on proposed rules and procedures, present 177 
licensed motor vehicle dealer industry issues to the department 178 
for its consideration, consider any matters relating to the 179 
motor vehicle dealer industry presen ted to it by the department, 180 
and submit an annual report to the secretary executive director 181 
of the department and file copies with the Governor, the 182 
President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of 183 
Representatives. 184 
 (2)  MEMBERSHIP, TERMS, MEETING S.— 185 
 (a)  The board shall be composed of 12 members. The 186 
secretary executive director of the department of Highway Safety 187 
and Motor Vehicles shall appoint the members from names 188 
submitted by the entities for the designated categories the 189 
member will represent. The secretary executive director shall 190 
appoint one representative of the Department of Highway Safety 191 
and Motor Vehicles; two representatives of the independent motor 192 
vehicle industry as recommended by the Florida Independent 193 
Automobile Dealers Associ ation; two representatives of the 194 
franchise motor vehicle industry as recommended by the Florida 195 
Automobile Dealers Association; one representative of the 196 
auction motor vehicle industry who is from an auction chain and 197 
is recommended by a group affiliated with the National Auto 198 
Auction Association; one representative of the auction motor 199 
vehicle industry who is from an independent auction and is 200     
 
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recommended by a group affiliated with the National Auto Auction 201 
Association; one representative from the Departm ent of Revenue; 202 
a Florida tax collector representative recommended by the 203 
Florida Tax Collectors Association; one representative from the 204 
Better Business Bureau; one representative from the Department 205 
of Agriculture and Consumer Services, who must represen t the 206 
Division of Consumer Services; and one representative of the 207 
insurance industry who writes motor vehicle dealer surety bonds. 208 
 (b)1.  The secretary executive director shall appoint the 209 
following initial members to 1 -year terms: one representative 210 
from the motor vehicle auction industry who represents an 211 
auction chain, one representative from the independent motor 212 
vehicle industry, one representative from the franchise motor 213 
vehicle industry, one representative from the Department of 214 
Revenue, one Florida tax collector, and one representative from 215 
the Better Business Bureau. 216 
 2.  The secretary executive director shall appoint the 217 
following initial members to 2 -year terms: one representative 218 
from the motor vehicle auction industry who represents an 219 
independent auction, one representative from the independent 220 
motor vehicle industry, one representative from the franchise 221 
motor vehicle industry, one representative from the Division of 222 
Consumer Services, one representative from the insurance 223 
industry, and one representative from the department. 224 
 3.  As the initial terms expire, the secretary executive 225     
 
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director shall appoint successors from the same designated 226 
category for terms of 2 years. If renominated, a member may 227 
succeed himself or herself. 228 
 4.  The board shall appoint a chair and vice chair at its 229 
initial meeting and every 2 years thereafter. 230 
 (c)  The board shall meet at least two times per year. 231 
Meetings may be called by the chair of the board or by the 232 
secretary executive director of the department. One meeting 233 
shall be held in the fall of the year to review legislative 234 
proposals. The board shall conduct all meetings in accordance 235 
with applicable Florida Statutes and shall keep minutes of all 236 
meetings. Meetings may be held in locat ions around the state in 237 
department facilities or in other appropriate locations. 238 
 Section 9.  Subsection (1) of section 322.125, Florida 239 
Statutes, is amended to read: 240 
 322.125  Medical Advisory Board. — 241 
 (1)  There shall be a Medical Advisory Board compo sed of 242 
not fewer than 12 or more than 25 members, at least one of whom 243 
must be 60 years of age or older and all but one of whose 244 
medical and other specialties must relate to driving abilities, 245 
which number must include a doctor of medicine who is employed 246 
by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in 247 
Tallahassee, who shall serve as administrative officer for the 248 
board. The Secretary executive director of the Department of 249 
Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall recommend persons to 250     
 
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serve as board members. Every member but two must be a doctor of 251 
medicine licensed to practice medicine in this or any other 252 
state. One member must be an optometrist licensed to practice 253 
optometry in this state. One member must be a chiropractic 254 
physician licensed to p ractice chiropractic medicine in this 255 
state. Members shall be approved by the Cabinet and shall serve 256 
4-year staggered terms. The board membership must, to the 257 
maximum extent possible, consist of equal representation of the 258 
disciplines of the medical commu nity treating the mental or 259 
physical disabilities that could affect the safe operation of 260 
motor vehicles. 261 
 Section 10.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 262 
397.333, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 263 
 397.333  Statewide Drug Policy Advisory Council.— 264 
 (1) 265 
 (b)  The following state officials shall be appointed to 266 
serve on the advisory council: 267 
 1.  The Attorney General, or his or her designee. 268 
 2.  The executive director of the Department of Law 269 
Enforcement, or his or her designee. 270 
 3.  The Secretary of Children and Families, or his or her 271 
designee. 272 
 4.  The director of the Office of Planning and Budgeting in 273 
the Executive Office of the Governor, or his or her designee. 274 
 5.  The Secretary of Corrections, or his or her designee. 275     
 
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 6.  The Secretary of Juvenile Justice, or his or her 276 
designee. 277 
 7.  The Commissioner of Education, or his or her designee. 278 
 8.  The Secretary executive director of the Department of 279 
Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, or his or her designee. 280 
 9.  The Adjutant General of t he state as the Chief of the 281 
Department of Military Affairs, or his or her designee. 282 
 Section 11.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 283 
943.0313, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 284 
 943.0313  Domestic Security Oversight Council. —The 285 
Legislature finds that there exists a need to provide executive 286 
direction and leadership with respect to terrorism prevention, 287 
preparation, protection, response, and recovery efforts by state 288 
and local agencies in this state. In recognition of this need, 289 
the Domestic Security Oversight Council is hereby created. The 290 
council shall serve as an advisory council pursuant to s. 291 
20.03(7) to provide guidance to the state's regional domestic 292 
security task forces and other domestic security working groups 293 
and to make recommenda tions to the Governor and the Legislature 294 
regarding the expenditure of funds and allocation of resources 295 
related to counter-terrorism and domestic security efforts. 296 
 (1)  MEMBERSHIP.— 297 
 (b)  In addition to the members designated in paragraph 298 
(a), the council may invite other ex officio, nonvoting members 299 
to attend and participate in council meetings. Those nonvoting 300     
 
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members may include, but need not be limited to: 301 
 1.  The Secretary executive director of the Department of 302 
Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. 303 
 2.  The Secretary of Health Care Administration. 304 
 3.  The Secretary of Environmental Protection. 305 
 4.  The director of the Division of Law Enforcement within 306 
the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 307 
 5.  A representative of the Commission on Human Rel ations. 308 
 6.  A representative of the United States Coast Guard. 309 
 7.  A United States Attorney from a federal judicial 310 
circuit within this state. 311 
 8.  A special agent in charge from an office of the Federal 312 
Bureau of Investigation within this state. 313 
 Section 12.  Subsection (1) of section 943.06, Florida 314 
Statutes, is amended to read: 315 
 943.06  Criminal and Juvenile Justice Information Systems 316 
Council.—There is created a Criminal and Juvenile Justice 317 
Information Systems Council within the department. 318 
 (1)  The council shall be composed of 15 members, 319 
consisting of the Attorney General or a designated assistant; 320 
the executive director of the Department of Law Enforcement or a 321 
designated assistant; the secretary of the Department of 322 
Corrections or a designated assistant; the chair of the Florida 323 
Commission on Offender Review or a designated assistant; the 324 
Secretary of Juvenile Justice or a designated assistant; the 325     
 
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Secretary executive director of the Department of Highway Safety 326 
and Motor Vehicles or a designate d assistant; the Secretary of 327 
Children and Families or a designated assistant; the State 328 
Courts Administrator or a designated assistant; 1 public 329 
defender appointed by the Florida Public Defender Association, 330 
Inc.; 1 state attorney appointed by the Florida Prosecuting 331 
Attorneys Association, Inc.; and 5 members, to be appointed by 332 
the Governor, consisting of 2 sheriffs, 2 police chiefs, and 1 333 
clerk of the circuit court. 334 
 Section 13.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 335