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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to administrative procedures and 2
permitting process review; amending s. 120.52, F.S.; 3
defining the terms "repromulgation" and "technical 4
change"; amending s. 120.54, F.S.; applying certain 5
provisions applicable to all rules other than 6
emergency rules to repromulgated rules; requiring that 7
a notice of rule development cite the grant of 8
rulemaking authority; requiring a notice of rule 9
development to contain a proposed rule number and 10
specified statements; requiring that a notice of 11
withdrawal be published in the next available issue of 12
the Florida Administrative Register if a notice of 13
proposed rule is not filed within a certain timeframe; 14
revising the scope of public workshops to include 15
information gathered for the preparation of statements 16
of estimated regulatory costs; requiring that a notice 17
of proposed rule include a website address where a 18
statement of regulatory costs can be viewed; requiring 19
that a notice of proposed rule include a request for 20
the submission of any helpful information r egarding 21
the statement of estimated regulatory costs; revising 22
the timeframe the notice must be published in the 23
Florida Administrative Register; requiring that 24
material proposed to be incorporated by reference and 25
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the statement of estimated regulatory cos ts be 26
available to the public; requiring that material 27
proposed to be incorporated by reference be made 28
available in a specified manner; authorizing 29
electronic delivery of notices to persons who have 30
requested advance notice of agency rulemaking 31
proceedings; requiring an agency to prepare a 32
statement of estimated regulatory costs before 33
adopting or amending any rule other than an emergency 34
rule; providing that an agency is not required to 35
prepare a statement of estimated regulatory costs 36
before repealing a rule; providing an exception; 37
requiring that certain rule repeals be considered 38
presumptively correct in a proceeding before the 39
Division of Administrative Hearings or a court of 40
competent jurisdiction; revising the criteria under 41
which a proposed rule's a dverse impact on small 42
businesses is deemed to exist; requiring an agency to 43
provide notice of a regulatory alternative to the 44
Administrative Procedures Committee within a certain 45
timeframe; requiring certain agency personnel to 46
attend public hearings on p roposed rules; requiring an 47
agency to publish a notice of convening a separate 48
proceeding in certain circumstances; providing that 49
rulemaking deadlines are tolled during such separate 50
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proceedings; revising the requirements for the 51
contents of a notice of c hange; requiring the 52
committee to notify the Department of State that the 53
date for an agency to adopt a rule has expired under 54
certain circumstances; requiring the department to 55
publish a notice of withdrawal under certain 56
circumstances; requiring emergenc y rules to be 57
published in the Florida Administrative Register; 58
prohibiting agencies from making changes to emergency 59
rules by superseding the rule; authorizing an agency 60
to make technical changes to an emergency rule during 61
a specified timeframe; requirin g an agency to file a 62
copy of a certain petition with the committee; making 63
technical changes; amending s. 120.541, F.S.; 64
requiring an agency to provide a copy of a proposal 65
for a lower cost regulatory alternative to the 66
committee within a certain timefram e; specifying the 67
circumstances under which such proposal is deemed to 68
be made in good faith; revising requirements for an 69
agency's consideration of a lower cost regulatory 70
alternative; providing for an agency's revision and 71
publication of a revised statem ent of estimated 72
regulatory costs in response to such alternatives; 73
requiring that the revised statement of estimated 74
regulatory costs be made available in the same manner 75
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as the original; deleting the definition of the term 76
"transactional costs"; revising the applicability of 77
specified provisions; providing additional 78
requirements for the calculation of estimated 79
regulatory costs; making technical changes; conforming 80
provisions to changes made by the act; conforming a 81
cross-reference; creating s. 120.5435, F.S.; providing 82
legislative intent; requiring agency review of rules 83
and repromulgation of rules that do not require 84
substantive changes within a specified timeframe; 85
providing the effect of a failure to adhere to certain 86
deadlines; requiring an agency to publish a notice of 87
repromulgation in the Florida Administrative Register 88
and file a rule for promulgation with the department 89
within a specified timeframe; requiring an agency to 90
file a notice of repromulgation with the committee 91
within a specified timef rame; requiring the committee 92
to provide the department a certain notice; requiring 93
the department to publish the notice in the Florida 94
Administrative Register; providing that a notice of 95
repromulgation is not required to include the text of 96
the rule being repromulgated; requiring the committee 97
to certify if the agency has provided certain 98
responses to the committee; providing that a 99
repromulgated rule is not subject to challenge as a 100
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proposed rule and that certain hearing requirements do 101
not apply; requiring an agency to file a specified 102
number of certified copies of a proposed repromulgated 103
rule and any material incorporated by reference; 104
providing that a repromulgated rule is adopted upon 105
filing with the department and becomes effective after 106
a specified time; requiring the department to update 107
certain information in the Florida Administrative 108
Code; requiring the submission of certain rules to the 109
Legislature within a certain period; requiring the 110
department to adopt rules by a certain date; creating 111
s. 120.5436, F.S.; providing legislative intent; 112
requiring the Department of Environmental Protection 113
and water management districts to conduct a review of 114
certain permitting processes and permit programs; 115
requiring the review to consider certain factors; 116
requiring the department and water management 117
districts to provide a report to the Governor and 118
Legislature by a certain date; amending s. 120.545, 119
F.S.; requiring the committee to examine certain 120
existing rules; amending s. 120.55, F.S.; requiring 121
the Department of State to publish the Florida 122
Administrative Code daily at a specified time; 123
requiring the department to indicate a rule was 124
corrected or replaced by republishing the code and 125
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noting the rule was corrected; requiring materials 126
incorporated by referenc e to be filed in a specified 127
manner; requiring the department to include the date 128
of a technical rule change in the Florida 129
Administrative Code; providing that a technical change 130
does not affect the effective date of a rule; 131
requiring publication in the Fl orida Administrative 132
Register of the full text of emergency rules in effect 133
on a certain date; requiring the department to adopt 134
specified rules; amending s. 120.56, F.S.; conforming 135
a cross-reference; amending s. 120.74, F.S.; requiring 136
an agency to list each rule it plans to develop, 137
adopt, or repeal during the forthcoming year in the 138
agency's annual regulatory plan; requiring that an 139
agency's annual regulatory plan identify any rules 140
that are required to be repromulgated during the 141
forthcoming year; requ iring the agency to make certain 142
declarations concerning the annual regulatory plan; 143
amending ss. 120.80, 120.81, 420.9072, 420.9075, and 144
443.091, F.S.; conforming cross -references; providing 145
an effective date. 146
147
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 148
149
Section 1. Subsections (16) through (19) and subsections 150
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(20), (21), and (22) of section 120.52, Florida Statutes, are 151
redesignated as subsections (17) through (20) and subsections 152
(22), (23), and (24), respectively, and new subsecti ons (16) and 153
(21) are added to that section, to read: 154
120.52 Definitions. —As used in this act: 155
(16) "Repromulgation" means the publication and adoption 156
of an existing rule following an agency's review of the rule for 157
consistency with the powers and dut ies granted by its enabling 158
statute. 159
(21) "Technical change" means a change limited to 160
correcting grammatical, typographical, and similar errors not 161
affecting the substance of a rule. 162
Section 2. Paragraph (i) of subsection (1), subsections 163
(2) and (3), and paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section 164
120.54, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraphs (e) and 165
(f) are added to subsection (4) of that section, to read: 166
120.54 Rulemaking.— 167
(1) GENERAL PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO ALL RULES OTHER THAN 168
EMERGENCY RULES.— 169
(i)1. A rule may incorporate material by reference but 170
only as the material exists on the date the rule is adopted. For 171
purposes of the rule, changes in the material are not effective 172
unless the rule is amended to incorporate the changes. 173
2. An agency rule that incorporates by specific reference 174
another rule of that agency automatically incorporates 175
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subsequent amendments to the referenced rule unless a contrary 176
intent is clearly indicated in the referencing rule. A notice of 177
amendments to a rule that has been incorporated by specific 178
reference in other rules of that agency must explain the effect 179
of those amendments on the referencing rules. 180
3. In rules adopted after December 31, 2010, and rules 181
repromulgated on or after July 1, 2023, material may not be 182
incorporated by reference unless: 183
a. The material has been submitted in the prescribed 184
electronic format to the Department of State and the full text 185
of the material can be made available for free public access 186
through an electronic hype rlink from the rule making the 187
reference in the Florida Administrative Code; or 188
b. The agency has determined that posting the material on 189
the Internet for purposes of public examination and inspection 190
would constitute a violation of federal copyright law , in which 191
case a statement to that effect, along with the address of 192
locations at the Department of State and the agency at which the 193
material is available for public inspection and examination, 194
must be included in the notice required by subparagraph (3)( a)1. 195
4. A rule may not be amended by reference only. Amendments 196
must set out the amended rule in full in the same manner as 197
required by the State Constitution for laws. 198
5. Notwithstanding any contrary provision in this section, 199
when an adopted rule of the Department of Environmental 200
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Protection or a water management district is incorporated by 201
reference in the other agency's rule to implement a provision of 202
part IV of chapter 373, subsequent amendments to the rule are 203
not effective as to the incorporating rule unless the agency 204
incorporating by reference notifies the committee and the 205
Department of State of its intent to adopt the subsequent 206
amendment, publishes notice of such intent in the Florida 207
Administrative Register, and files with the Department of State 208
a copy of the amended rule incorporated by reference. Changes in 209
the rule incorporated by reference are effective as to the other 210
agency 20 days after the date of th e published notice and filing 211
with the Department of State. The Department of State shall 212
amend the history note of the incorporating rule to show the 213
effective date of such change. Any substantially affected person 214
may, within 14 days after the date of pu blication of the notice 215
of intent in the Florida Administrative Register, file an 216
objection to rulemaking with the agency. The objection must 217
shall specify the portions of the rule incorporated by reference 218
to which the person objects and the reasons for t he objection. 219
The agency does shall not have the authority under this 220
subparagraph to adopt those portions of the rule specified in 221
such objection. The agency shall publish notice of the objection 222
and of its action in response in the next available issue o f the 223
Florida Administrative Register. 224
6. The Department of State may adopt by rule requirements 225
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for incorporating materials pursuant to this paragraph. 226
(2) RULE DEVELOPMENT; WORKSHOPS; NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING. — 227
(a)1. Except when the intended action is the repeal of a 228
rule, agencies shall provide notice of the development of 229
proposed rules by publication of a notice of rule development in 230
the Florida Administrative Register before providing notice of a 231
proposed rule as required by paragraph (3)(a). The notice of 232
rule development must shall indicate the subject area to be 233
addressed by rule development, provide a short, plain 234
explanation of the purpose and effect of the proposed rule, cite 235
the grant of rulemaking authority for the proposed rule and the 236
law being implemented specific legal authority for the proposed 237
rule, and include the proposed rule number and the preliminary 238
text of the proposed rules, if available, or a statement of how 239
a person may promptly obtain, without cost, a copy of any 240
preliminary draft, when if available. The notice must also 241
include a request for the submission of any information that 242
would be helpful to the agency in preparing the statement of 243
estimated regulatory costs required pursuant to paragraph (3)(b) 244
and a statement of h ow a person may submit comments to the 245
proposal and how a person may provide information regarding the 246
potential regulatory costs. 247
2. If a notice of a proposed rule is not filed within 12 248
months after the most recent notice of rule development, the 249
agency must withdraw the notice of rule development and publish 250
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notice of the withdrawal in the next available issue of the 251
Florida Administrative Register. 252
(b) All rules should be drafted in readable language. The 253
language is readable if it: 254
1. It Avoids the use of obscure words and unnecessarily 255
long or complicated constructions; and 256
2. It Avoids the use of unnecessary technical or 257
specialized language that is understood only by members of 258
particular trades or professions. 259
(c) An agency may hold public workshops for purposes of 260
rule development and information gathering for the preparation 261
of the statement of estimated regulatory costs . If requested in 262
writing by any affected person, an agency must hold public 263
workshops, including workshops in various r egions of the state 264
or the agency's service area, for purposes of rule development 265
and information gathering for the preparation of the statement 266
of estimated regulatory costs if requested in writing by any 267
affected person, unless the agency head explains in writing why 268
a workshop is unnecessary. The explanation is not final agency 269
action subject to review pursuant to ss. 120.569 and 120.57. The 270
failure to provide the explanation when required may be a 271
material error in procedure pursuant to s. 120.56(1)(c) . When a 272
workshop or public hearing is held, the agency must ensure that 273
the persons responsible for preparing the proposed rule and the 274
statement of estimated regulatory costs are available to receive 275
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public input, to explain the agency's proposal , and to respond 276
to questions or comments regarding the rule being developed and 277
the statement of estimated regulatory costs . The workshop may be 278
facilitated or mediated by a neutral third person, or the agency 279
may employ other types of dispute resolution alternat ives for 280
the workshop that are appropriate for rule development and for 281
preparation of the statement of estimated regulatory costs . 282
Notice of a workshop for rule development and for preparation of 283
the statement of estimated regulatory costs must workshop shall 284
be by publication in the Florida Administrative Register not 285
less than 14 days before prior to the date on which the workshop 286
is scheduled to be held and must shall indicate the subject area 287
that which will be addressed; the agency contact person; and the 288
place, date, and time of the workshop. 289
(d)1. An agency may use negotiated rulemaking in 290
developing and adopting rules. The agency should consider the 291
use of negotiated rulemaking when complex rules are being 292
drafted or strong opposition to the rules is anticipated. The 293
agency should consider, but is not limited to considering, 294
whether a balanced committee of interested persons who will 295
negotiate in good faith can be assembled, whether the agency is 296
willing to support the work of the negotiating commi ttee, and 297
whether the agency can use the group consensus as the basis for 298
its proposed rule. Negotiated rulemaking uses a committee of 299
designated representatives to draft a mutually acceptable 300
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proposed rule and to develop information necessary to prepare a 301
statement of estimated regulatory costs, when applicable . 302
2. An agency that chooses to use the negotiated rulemaking 303
process described in this paragraph shall publish in the Florida 304
Administrative Register a notice of negotiated rulemaking that 305
includes a listing of the representative groups that will be 306
invited to participate in the negotiated rulemaking process. Any 307
person who believes that his or her interest is not adequately 308
represented may apply to participate within 30 days after 309
publication of the notice. All meetings of the negotiating 310
committee shall be noticed and open to the public pursuant to 311
the provisions of this chapter. The negotiating committee shall 312
be chaired by a neutral facilitator or mediator. 313
3. The agency's decision to use negotiated rulemaking, its 314
selection of the representative groups , and approval or denial 315
of an application to participate in the negotiated rulemaking 316
process are not agency action. Nothing in This subparagraph is 317
not intended to affect the rights of a substantially an affected 318
person to challenge a proposed rule devel oped under this 319
paragraph in accordance with s. 120.56(2). 320
(3) ADOPTION PROCEDURES. — 321
(a) Notices.— 322
1. Before Prior to the adoption, amendment, or repeal of 323
any rule other than an emergency rule, an agency, upon approval 324
of the agency head, shall give notice of its intended action, 325
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setting forth a short, plain explanation of the purpose and 326
effect of the proposed action; the rule number and full text of 327
the proposed rule or amendment and a summary thereof; a 328
reference to the grant of rulemaking authori ty pursuant to which 329
the rule is adopted; and a reference to the section or 330
subsection of the Florida Statutes or the Laws of Florida being 331
implemented or interpreted. The notice must include a concise 332
summary of the agency's statement of the estimated reg ulatory 333
costs, if one has been prepared, based on the factors set forth 334
in s. 120.541(2), which describes the regulatory impact of the 335
rule in readable language; an agency website address where the 336
statement of estimated regulatory costs can be viewed in i ts 337
entirety; a statement that any person who wishes to provide the 338
agency with information regarding the statement of estimated 339
regulatory costs, or to provide a proposal for a lower cost 340
regulatory alternative as provided by s. 120.541(1), must do so 341
in writing within 21 days after publication of the notice; a 342
request for the submission of any information that could be 343
helpful to the agency regarding the statement of estimated 344
regulatory costs; and a statement as to whether, based on the 345
statement of the estimated regulatory costs or other information 346
expressly relied upon and described by the agency if no 347
statement of regulatory costs is required , the proposed rule is 348
expected to require legislative ratification pursuant to s. 349
120.541(3). The notice must s tate the procedure for requesting a 350
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public hearing on the proposed rule. Except when the intended 351
action is the repeal of a rule, the notice must include a 352
reference both to the date on which and to the place where the 353
notice of rule development that is re quired by subsection (2) 354
appeared. 355
2. The notice must shall be published in the Florida 356
Administrative Register at least 7 days after the publication of 357
the notice of rule development and at least not less than 28 358
days before prior to the intended action. The proposed rule, 359
including all materials proposed to be incorporated by reference 360
and the statement of estimated regulatory costs, must shall be 361
available for inspection and copying by the public at the time 362
of the publication of notice. Material proposed to be 363
incorporated by reference in the notice must be made available 364
in the manner prescribed by sub -subparagraph (1)(i)3.a. or sub -365
subparagraph (1)(i)3.b. 366
3. The notice must shall be mailed to all persons named in 367
the proposed rule and mailed or delivered electronically to all 368
persons who, at least 14 days before publication of the notice 369
prior to such mailing , have made requests of the agency for 370
advance notice of its proceedings. The agency shall also give 371
such notice as is prescribed by rule to th ose particular classes 372
of persons to whom the intended action is directed. 373
4. The adopting agency shall file with the committee, at 374
least 21 days before prior to the proposed adoption date, a copy 375
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of each rule it proposes to adopt; a copy of any material 376
incorporated by reference in the rule; a detailed written 377
statement of the facts and circumstances justifying the proposed 378
rule; a copy of the any statement of estimated regulatory costs 379
that has been prepared pursuant to s. 120.541; a statement of 380
the extent to which the proposed rule relates to federal 381
standards or rules on the same subject; and the notice required 382
by subparagraph 1. 383
(b) Special matters to be considered in rule adoption. — 384
1. Statement of estimated regulatory costs. —Before the 385
adoption or, amendment, or repeal of any rule, other than an 386
emergency rule, an agency must is encouraged to prepare a 387
statement of estimated regulatory costs of the proposed rule, as 388
provided by s. 120.541. However, an agency is not required to 389
prepare a statement of estimated regulatory costs for a rule 390
repeal unless such repeal would impose a regulatory cost. In any 391
challenge to a rule repeal, a rule repeal that only reduces or 392
eliminates regulations on those individuals or entities 393
presently regulated by the r ule must be considered presumptively 394
correct in any proceeding before the division or in any 395
proceeding before a court of competent jurisdiction However, an 396
agency must prepare a statement of estimated regulatory costs of 397
the proposed rule, as provided by s. 120.541, if: 398
a. The proposed rule will have an adverse impact on small 399
business; or 400
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b. The proposed rule is likely to directly or indirectly 401
increase regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in the aggregate 402
in this state within 1 year after the imple mentation of the 403
rule. 404
2. Small businesses, small counties, and small cities. — 405
a. For purposes of this subsection and s. 120.541(2), an 406
adverse impact on small businesses, as defined in s. 288.703 or 407
sub-subparagraph b., exists if, for any small business: 408
(I) An owner, officer, operator, or manager must complete 409
any education, training, or testing to comply, or is likely to 410
spend at least 10 hours or purchase professional advice to 411
understand and comply, with the rule in the first year; 412
(II) Taxes or fees assessed on transactions are likely to 413
increase by $500 or more in the aggregate in 1 year; 414
(III) Prices charged for goods and services are restricted 415
or are likely to increase because of the rule; 416
(IV) Specially trained, licensed, or test ed employees will 417
be required because of the rule; 418
(V) Operating costs are expected to increase by at least 419
$1,000 annually because of the rule; or 420
(VI) Capital expenditures in excess of $1,000 are 421
necessary to comply with the rule. 422
b. Each agency, before the adoption, amendment, or repeal 423
of a rule, shall consider the impact of the rule on small 424
businesses as defined in by s. 288.703 and the impact of the 425
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rule on small counties or small cities as defined in by s. 426
120.52. Whenever prac ticable, an agency shall tier its rules to 427
reduce disproportionate impacts on small businesses, small 428
counties, or small cities to avoid regulating small businesses, 429
small counties, or small cities that do not contribute 430
significantly to the problem the ru le is designed to address. An 431
agency may define "small business" to include businesses 432
employing more than 200 persons, may define "small county" to 433
include those with populations of more than 75,000, and may 434
define "small city" to include those with popul ations of more 435
than 10,000, if it finds that such a definition is necessary to 436
adapt a rule to the needs and problems of small businesses, 437
small counties, or small cities. The agency shall consider each 438
of the following methods for reducing the impact of t he proposed 439
rule on small businesses, small counties, and small cities, or 440
any combination of these entities: 441
(I) Establishing less stringent compliance or reporting 442
requirements in the rule. 443
(II) Establishing less stringent schedules or deadlines in 444
the rule for compliance or reporting requirements. 445
(III) Consolidating or simplifying the rule's compliance 446
or reporting requirements. 447
(IV) Establishing performance standards or best management 448
practices to replace design or operational standards in the 449
rule. 450
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(V) Exempting small businesses, small counties, or small 451
cities from any or all requirements of the rule. 452
c.b.(I) If the agency determines that the proposed action 453
will affect small businesses as defined by the agency as 454
provided in sub-subparagraph b. a., the agency must shall send 455
written notice of the rule to the rules ombudsman in the 456
Executive Office of the Governor at least 28 days before the 457
intended action. 458
(II) Each agency shall adopt those regulatory alternatives 459
offered by the rules ombudsman in the Executive Office of the 460
Governor and provided to the agency no later than 21 days after 461
the rules ombudsman's receipt of the written notice of the rule 462
which it finds are feasible and consistent with the stated 463
objectives of the proposed r ule and which would reduce the 464
impact on small businesses. When regulatory alternatives are 465
offered by the rules ombudsman in the Executive Office of the 466
Governor, the 90-day period for filing the rule in subparagraph 467
(e)2. is extended for a period of 21 d ays. The agency shall 468
provide notice to the committee of any regulatory alternative 469
offered to the agency pursuant to this sub -subparagraph at least 470
21 days before filing the rule for adoption. 471
(III) If an agency does not adopt all alternatives offered 472
pursuant to this sub-subparagraph, it must shall, before rule 473
adoption or amendment and pursuant to subparagraph (d)1., file a 474
detailed written statement with the committee explaining the 475
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reasons for failure to adopt such alternatives. Within 3 working 476
days after the filing of such notice, the agency shall send a 477
copy of such notice to the rules ombudsman in the Executive 478
Office of the Governor. 479
(c) Hearings.— 480
1. If the intended action concerns any rule other than one 481
relating exclusively to procedure o r practice, the agency must 482
shall, on the request of any affected person received within 21 483
days after the date of publication of the notice of intended 484
agency action, give affected persons an opportunity to present 485
evidence and argument on all issues unde r consideration. The 486
agency may schedule a public hearing on the proposed rule and, 487
if requested by any affected person, must shall schedule a 488
public hearing on the proposed rule. When a public hearing is 489
held, the agency must ensure that the persons responsible for 490
preparing the proposed rule and the statement of estimated 491
regulatory costs staff are in attendance available to explain 492
the agency's proposal and to respond to questions or comments 493
regarding the proposed rule, the statement of estimated 494
regulatory costs, and the agency's decision on whether to adopt 495
a lower cost regulatory alternative submitted pursuant to s. 496
120.541(1)(a). If the agency head is a board or other collegial 497
body created under s. 20.165(4) or s. 20.43(3)(g), and one or 498
more requested public hearings is scheduled, the board or other 499
collegial body must shall conduct at least one of the public 500
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hearings itself and may not delegate this responsibility without 501
the consent of those persons requesting the public hearing. Any 502
material pertinent to the issues under consideration submitted 503
to the agency within 21 days after the date of publication of 504
the notice or submitted to the agency between the date of 505
publication of the notice and the end of the final public 506
hearing must shall be considered by the agency and made a part 507
of the record of the rulemaking proceeding. 508
2. Rulemaking proceedings are shall be governed solely by 509
the provisions of this section unless a person timely asserts 510
that the person's substantial interests will be affecte d in the 511
proceeding and affirmatively demonstrates to the agency that the 512
proceeding does not provide adequate opportunity to protect 513
those interests. If the agency determines that the rulemaking 514
proceeding is not adequate to protect the person's interests , it 515
must shall suspend the rulemaking proceeding and convene a 516
separate proceeding under the provisions of ss. 120.569 and 517
120.57. The agency shall publish notice of convening a separate 518
proceeding in the Florida Administrative Register. Similarly 519
situated persons may be requested to join and participate in the 520
separate proceeding. Upon conclusion of the separate proceeding, 521
the rulemaking proceeding shall be resumed. All timelines in 522
this section are tolled during any suspension of the rulemaking 523
proceeding under this subparagraph, beginning on the date the 524
notice of convening a separate proceeding is published and 525
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resuming on the day after conclusion of the separate proceeding. 526
(d) Modification or withdrawal of proposed rules. — 527
1. After the final public hearing on the proposed rule, or 528
after the time for requesting a hearing has expired, if the 529
proposed rule has not been changed from the proposed rule as 530
previously filed with the committee, or contains only technical 531
changes, the adopting agency shall file a notice to that effect 532
with the committee at least 7 days before prior to filing the 533
proposed rule for adoption. Any change, other than a technical 534
change that does not affect the substance of the rule , must be 535
supported by the record of public hearings held on the proposed 536
rule, must be in response to written material submitted to the 537
agency within 21 days after the date of publication of the 538
notice of intended agency action or submitted to the agency 539
between the date of publi cation of the notice and the end of the 540
final public hearing, or must be in response to a proposed 541
objection by the committee. Any change, other than a technical 542
change, to a statement of estimated regulatory costs requires a 543
notice of change. In addition, when any change, other than a 544
technical change, to is made in a proposed rule text or any 545
material incorporated by reference requires , other than a 546
technical change, the adopting agency to shall provide a copy of 547
a notice of change by certified mail or ac tual delivery to any 548
person who requests it in writing no later than 21 days after 549
the notice required in paragraph (a). The agency shall file the 550
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notice of change with the committee, along with the reasons for 551
the change, and provide the notice of change to persons 552
requesting it, at least 21 days before prior to filing the 553
proposed rule for adoption. The notice of change must shall be 554
published in the Florida Administrative Register at least 21 555
days before prior to filing the proposed rule for adoption. The 556
notice of change must include a summary of any revision of the 557
statement of estimated regulatory costs required by s. 558
120.541(1)(c). This subparagraph does not apply to emergency 559
rules adopted pursuant to subsection (4). Material proposed to 560
be incorporated by reference in the notice required by this 561
subparagraph must be made available in the manner prescribed by 562
sub-subparagraph (1)(i)3.a. or sub -subparagraph (1)(i)3.b. 563
2. After the notice required by paragraph (a) and before 564
prior to adoption, the agency may withdraw the proposed rule in 565
whole or in part. 566
3. After the notice required by paragraph (a), the agency 567
must withdraw the proposed rule if the agency has failed to 568
adopt it within the prescribed timeframes in this chapter. If 569
the agency, 30 days after notice by the committee that the 570
agency has failed to adopt the proposed rule within the 571
prescribed timeframes in this chapter, has not given notice of 572
the withdrawal of the rule, the committee must notify the 573
Department of State that the date for adoption of the rule has 574
expired, and the Department of State must publish a notice of 575
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withdrawal of the proposed rule. 576
4. After adoption and before the rule becomes effective, a 577
rule may be modified or withdrawn only in the following 578
circumstances: 579
a. When the committee objects to the rule; 580
b. When a final order, which is not subject to further 581
appeal, is entered in a rule challenge brought pursuant to s. 582
120.56 after the date of adoption but before the rule becomes 583
effective pursuant to subparagraph (e)6.; 584
c. If the rule requires ratification, when more than 90 585
days have passed since the rule was filed for adoption without 586
the Legislature ratifying the rule, in which case the rule may 587
be withdrawn but may not be modified; or 588
d. When the committee notifies the agency that an 589
objection to the rule is being considered, in which case the 590
rule may be modified to extend the effective date by not more 591
than 60 days. 592
5.4. The agency shall give notice of its decision to 593
withdraw or modify a rule in the fi rst available issue of the 594
publication in which the original notice of rulemaking was 595
published, shall notify those persons described in subparagraph 596
(a)3. in accordance with the requirements of that subparagraph, 597
and shall notify the Department of State i f the rule is required 598
to be filed with the Department of State. 599
6.5. After a rule has become effective, it may be repealed 600
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or amended only through the rulemaking procedures specified in 601
this chapter. 602
(e) Filing for final adoption; effective date. — 603
1. If the adopting agency is required to publish its rules 604
in the Florida Administrative Code, the agency, upon approval of 605
the agency head, must shall file with the Department of State 606
three certified copies of the rule it proposes to adopt; one 607
copy of any material incorporated by reference in the rule, 608
certified by the agency; a summary of the rule; a summary of any 609
hearings held on the rule; and a detailed written statement of 610
the facts and circumstances justifying the rule. Agencies not 611
required to publish their rules in the Florida Administrative 612
Code shall file one certified copy of the proposed rule, and the 613
other material required by this subparagraph, in the office of 614
the agency head, and such rules must shall be open to the 615
public. 616
2. A rule may not be filed for adoption less than 28 days 617
or more than 90 days after the notice required by paragraph (a), 618
until 21 days after the notice of change required by paragraph 619
(d), until 14 days after the final public hearing, until 21 days 620
after a statement of estimated regulatory costs required under 621
s. 120.541 has been provided to all persons who submitted a 622
lower cost regulatory alternative and made available to the 623
public at a readily accessible page on the agency's website , or 624
until the administrative law judge has rendered a decision under 625
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s. 120.56(2), whichever applies. When a required notice of 626
change is published before prior to the expiration of the time 627
to file the rule for adoption, the period during which a rule 628
must be filed for adoption is exten ded to 45 days after the date 629
of publication. If notice of a public hearing is published 630
before prior to the expiration of the time to file the rule for 631
adoption, the period during which a rule must be filed for 632
adoption is extended to 45 days after adjour nment of the final 633
hearing on the rule, 21 days after receipt of all material 634
authorized to be submitted at the hearing, or 21 days after 635
receipt of the transcript, if one is made, whichever is latest. 636
The term "public hearing" includes any public meeting held by 637
any agency at which the rule is considered. If a petition for an 638
administrative determination under s. 120.56(2) is filed, the 639
period during which a rule must be filed for adoption is 640
extended to 60 days after the administrative law judge files the 641
final order with the clerk or until 60 days after subsequent 642
judicial review is complete. 643
3. At the time a rule is filed, the agency shall certify 644
that the time limitations prescribed by this paragraph have been 645
complied with, that all statutory rulemak ing requirements have 646
been met, and that there is no administrative determination 647
pending on the rule. 648
4. At the time a rule is filed, the committee shall 649
certify whether the agency has responded in writing to all 650
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material and timely written comments or written inquiries made 651
on behalf of the committee. The Department of State shall reject 652
any rule that is not filed within the prescribed time limits; 653
that does not comply with all statutory rulemaking requirements 654
and rules of the Department of State; upon which an agency has 655
not responded in writing to all material and timely written 656
inquiries or written comments; upon which an administrative 657
determination is pending; or which does not include a statement 658
of estimated regulatory costs, if required. 659
5. If a rule has not been adopted within the time limits 660
imposed by this paragraph or has not been adopted in compliance 661
with all statutory rulemaking requirements, the agency proposing 662
the rule must shall withdraw the proposed rule and give notice 663
of its action in the next available issue of the Florida 664
Administrative Register. 665
6. The proposed rule shall be adopted on being filed with 666
the Department of State and becomes become effective 20 days 667
after being filed, on a later date specified in the notice 668
required by subparagraph (a)1., on a date required by statute, 669
or upon ratification by the Legislature pursuant to s. 670
120.541(3). Rules not required to be filed with the Department 671
of State shall become effective when adopted by the agency head, 672
on a later date specified by rule or statute, or upon 673
ratification by the Legislature pursuant to s. 120.541(3). If 674
the committee notifies an agency that an objection to a rule is 675
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being considered, the agency may postpone the adoption of the 676
rule to accommodate revi ew of the rule by the committee. When an 677
agency postpones adoption of a rule to accommodate review by the 678
committee, the 90-day period for filing the rule is tolled until 679
the committee notifies the agency that it has completed its 680
review of the rule. 681
682
For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "administrative 683
determination" does not include subsequent judicial review. 684
(4) EMERGENCY RULES. — 685
(e) Emergency rules must be published in the Florida 686
Administrative Register. 687
(f) An agency may not supersede a n emergency rule 688
currently in effect. Technical changes to an emergency rule may 689
be made within the first 7 days after adoption of the rule. 690
(7) PETITION TO INITIATE RULEMAKING. — 691
(a) Any person regulated by an agency or having 692
substantial interest in a n agency rule may petition an agency to 693
adopt, amend, or repeal a rule or to provide the minimum public 694
information required by this chapter. The petition must shall 695
specify the proposed rule and action requested. The agency shall 696
file a copy of the petiti on with the committee. No Not later 697
than 30 calendar days after following the date of filing a 698
petition, the agency shall initiate rulemaking proceedings under 699
this chapter, otherwise comply with the requested action, or 700
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deny the petition with a written st atement of its reasons for 701
the denial. 702
Section 3. Section 120.541, Florida Statutes, is amended 703
to read: 704
120.541 Statement of estimated regulatory costs. — 705
(1)(a) Within 21 days after publication of the notice of a 706
proposed rule or notice of change required under s. 707
120.54(3)(a), a substantially affected person may submit to an 708
agency a good faith written proposal for a lower cost regulatory 709
alternative to a proposed rule which substantially accomplishes 710
the objectives of the law being implemented. The agency shall 711
provide a copy of any proposal for a lower cost regulatory 712
alternative to the committee at least 21 days before filing the 713
rule for adoption. The proposal may include the alternative of 714
not adopting any rule if the proposal explains how the lower 715
costs and objectives of the law will be achieved by not adopting 716
any rule. If submitted after a notice of change, a proposal for 717
a lower cost regulatory alternative is deemed to be made in good 718
faith only if the person reasonably believes, and the p roposal 719
states, the person's reasons for believing that the proposed 720
rule as changed by the notice of change increases the regulatory 721
costs or creates an adverse impact on small businesses that was 722
not created by the previous proposed rule. If such a proposal is 723
submitted, the 90-day period for filing the rule is extended 21 724
days. Upon the submission of the lower cost regulatory 725
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alternative, the agency shall prepare a statement of estimated 726
regulatory costs as provided in subsection (2), or shall revise 727
its prior statement of estimated regulatory costs , and either 728
adopt the alternative proposal, reject the alternative proposal, 729
or modify the proposed rule to reduce the regulatory costs. If 730
the agency rejects the alternative proposal or modifies the 731
proposed rule, the agency shall or provide a statement of the 732
reasons for rejecting the alternative in favor of the proposed 733
rule. 734
(b) If a proposed rule will have an adverse impact on 735
small business or if the proposed rule is likely to directly or 736
indirectly increase regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in 737
the aggregate within 1 year after the implementation of the 738
rule, the agency shall prepare a statement of estimated 739
regulatory costs as required by s. 120.54(3)(b). 740
(b)(c) The agency must shall revise a statement of 741
estimated regulatory costs if any change to the rule made under 742
s. 120.54(3)(d) increases the regulatory costs of the rule or if 743
the rule is modified in response to the submission of a lower 744
cost regulatory alternative. A summary of the revised s tatement 745
must be included with any subsequent notice published under s. 746
120.54(3). 747
(c)(d) At least 21 days before filing the proposed rule 748
for adoption, an agency that is required to revise a statement 749
of estimated regulatory costs shall provide the stat ement to the 750
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person who submitted the lower cost regulatory alternative , to 751
the rules ombudsman in the Executive Office of the Governor, and 752
to the committee. The revised statement must be published and 753
made available in the same manner as the original sta tement of 754
estimated regulatory costs and shall provide notice on the 755
agency's website that it is available to the public . 756
(d)(e) Notwithstanding s. 120.56(1)(c), the failure of the 757
agency to prepare and publish a statement of estimated 758
regulatory costs or to respond to a written lower cost 759
regulatory alternative as provided in this subsection is a 760
material failure to follow the applicable rulemaking procedures 761
or requirements set forth in this chapter. 762
(e)(f) An agency's failure to prepare a statement o f 763
estimated regulatory costs or to respond to a written lower cost 764
regulatory alternative may not be raised in a proceeding 765
challenging the validity of a rule pursuant to s. 120.52(8)(a) 766
unless: 767
1. Raised in a petition filed no later than 1 year after 768
the effective date of the rule; and 769
2. Raised by a person whose substantial interests are 770
affected by the rule's regulatory costs. 771
(f)(g) A rule that is challenged pursuant to s. 772
120.52(8)(f) may not be declared invalid unless: 773
1. The issue is raised i n an administrative proceeding 774
within 1 year after the effective date of the rule; 775
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2. The challenge is to the agency's rejection of a lower 776
cost regulatory alternative offered under paragraph (a) or s. 777
120.54(3)(b)2.c. s. 120.54(3)(b)2.b.; and 778
3. The substantial interests of the person challenging the 779
rule are materially affected by the rejection. 780
(2) A statement of estimated regulatory costs must shall 781
include: 782
(a) An economic analysis showing whether the rule directly 783
or indirectly: 784
1. Is likely to have an adverse impact on economic growth, 785
private sector job creation or employment, or private sector 786
investment in excess of $1 million in the aggregate within 5 787
years after the implementation of the rule; 788
2. Is likely to have an adverse impact on business 789
competitiveness, including the ability of persons doing business 790
in the state to compete with persons doing business in other 791
states or domestic markets, productivity, or innovation in 792
excess of $1 million in the aggregate within 5 years after th e 793
implementation of the rule; or 794
3. Is likely to increase regulatory costs, including all 795
any transactional costs and impacts estimated in the statement , 796
in excess of $1 million in the aggregate within 5 years after 797
the implementation of the rule. 798
(b) A good faith estimate of the number of individuals , 799
small businesses, and other entities likely to be required to 800
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comply with the rule, together with a general description of the 801
types of individuals likely to be affected by the rule. 802
(c) A good faith estimate of the cost to the agency, and 803
to any other state and local government entities, of 804
implementing and enforcing the proposed rule, and any 805
anticipated effect on state or local revenues. 806
(d) A good faith estimate of the compliance transactional 807
costs likely to be incurred by individuals and entities, 808
including local government entities, required to comply with the 809
requirements of the rule. As used in this section, 810
"transactional costs" are direct costs that are readily 811
ascertainable based upon stan dard business practices, and 812
include filing fees, the cost of obtaining a license, the cost 813
of equipment required to be installed or used or procedures 814
required to be employed in complying with the rule, additional 815
operating costs incurred, the cost of mon itoring and reporting, 816
and any other costs necessary to comply with the rule. 817
(e) An analysis of the impact on small businesses as 818
defined by s. 288.703, and an analysis of the impact on small 819
counties and small cities as defined in s. 120.52. The impact 820
analysis for small businesses must include the basis for the 821
agency's decision not to implement alternatives that would 822
reduce adverse impacts on small businesses. 823
(f) Any additional information that the agency determines 824
may be useful. 825
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(g) In the statement or revised statement, whichever 826
applies, a description of any regulatory alternatives submitted 827
under paragraph (1)(a) and a statement adopting the alternative 828
or a statement of the reasons for rejecting the alternative in 829
favor of the proposed rule . 830
(3) If the adverse impact or regulatory costs of the rule 831
exceed any of the criteria established in paragraph (2)(a), the 832
rule must shall be submitted to the President of the Senate and 833
Speaker of the House of Representatives no later than 30 days 834
before prior to the next regular legislative session, and the 835
rule may not take effect until it is ratified by the 836
Legislature. 837
(4) Subsection (3) does not apply to the adoption of: 838
(a) Federal standards pursuant to s. 120.54(6). 839
(b) Triennial updates of and amendments to the Florida 840
Building Code which are expressly authorized by s. 553.73. 841
(c) Triennial updates of and amendments to the Florida 842
Fire Prevention Code which are expressly authorized by s. 843
633.202. 844
(d) Emergency rules adopted pursuant to s. 120.54(4). 845
(5) For purposes of subsections (2) and (3), adverse 846
impacts and regulatory costs likely to occur within 5 years 847
after implementation of the rule include adverse impacts and 848
regulatory costs estimated to occur within 5 years after the 849
effective date of the rule. However, if any provision of the 850
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rule is not fully implemented upon the effective date of the 851
rule, the adverse impacts and regulatory costs associated with 852
such provision must be adjusted to include any additional 853
adverse impacts and regulatory costs estimated to occur within 5 854
years after implementation of such provision. 855
(6)(a) In evaluating the impacts described in paragraphs 856
(2)(a) and (e), an agency shall include good faith estimates of 857
market impacts likely to result from com pliance with the 858
proposed rule, including: 859
1. Increased customer charges for goods or services. 860
2. Decreased market value of goods or services produced, 861
provided, or sold. 862
3. Increased costs resulting from the purchase of 863
substitute or alternative go ods or services. 864
4. The reasonable value of time to be spent by owners, 865
officers, operators, and managers to understand and comply with 866
the proposed rule, including, but not limited to, time to be 867
spent to complete required education, training, or testin g. 868
5. Capital costs. 869
6. Any other impacts suggested by the rules ombudsman in 870
the Executive Office of the Governor or by any interested 871
persons. 872
(b) In estimating the information required in paragraphs 873
(2)(b)-(e), the agency may use surveys of indivi duals, 874
businesses, business organizations, counties, and municipalities 875
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to collect data helpful to estimate the costs and impacts. 876
(c) In estimating compliance costs under paragraph (2)(d), 877
the agency shall consider, among other matters, all direct and 878
indirect costs necessary to comply with the proposed rule which 879
are readily ascertainable based upon standard business 880
practices, including, but not limited to, costs related to: 881
1. Filing fees. 882
2. Expenses to obtain a license. 883
3. Necessary equipment. 884
4. Installation, utilities, and maintenance of necessary 885
equipment. 886
5. Necessary operations and procedures. 887
6. Accounting, financial, information management, and 888
other administrative processes. 889
7. Other processes. 890
8. Labor based on relevant rate s of wages, salaries, and 891
benefits. 892
9. Materials and supplies. 893
10. Capital expenditures, including financing costs. 894
11. Professional and technical services, including 895
contracted services necessary to implement and maintain 896
compliance. 897
12. Monitoring and reporting. 898
13. Qualifying and recurring education, training, and 899
testing. 900
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14. Travel. 901
15. Insurance and surety requirements. 902
16. A fair and reasonable allocation of administrative 903
costs and other overhead. 904
17. Reduced sales or othe r revenues. 905
18. Other items suggested by the rules ombudsman in the 906
Executive Office of the Governor or by any interested person, 907
business organization, or business representative. 908
(7)(a) The Department of State shall include on the 909
Florida Administrative Register website the agency website 910
addresses where statements of estimated regulatory costs can be 911
viewed in their entirety. 912
(b) An agency that prepares a statement of estimated 913
regulatory costs must provide, as part of the notice required 914
under s. 120.54(3)(a), the agency website address where the 915
statement of estimated regulatory costs can be read in its 916
entirety to the Department of State for publication in the 917
Florida Administrative Register. 918
(c) If an agency revises its statement of estimated 919
regulatory costs, the agency must provide notice that a revision 920
has been made. Such notice must include the agency website 921
address where the revision can be viewed in its entirety. 922
Section 4. Section 120.5435, Florida Statutes, is created 923
to read: 924
120.5435 Repromulgation of rules. — 925
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(1) It is the intent of the Legislature that each agency 926
periodically review its rules for consistency with the powers 927
and duties granted by its enabling statutes. 928
(2) If an agency determines after review that substa ntive 929
changes to update a rule are not required, such agency must 930
repromulgate the rule to reflect the date of the review. Each 931
agency shall review its rules pursuant to this section either 5 932
years after July 1, 2023, if the rule was adopted before January 933
1, 2010, or 10 years after the rule is adopted, if the rule was 934
adopted on or after January 1, 2010. Failure of an agency to 935
adhere to the deadlines imposed in this section shall be a basis 936
for any person regulated by the agency or having substantial 937
interest in the agency rule to petition the agency requesting 938
the agency to review the rule in accordance with this section. 939
Upon receipt of such a petition, the agency shall have 30 days 940
to either comply with the requirements of this section or, if 941
the agency determines that the duties imposed on the agency are 942
inapplicable at that time to the specified rule, deny the 943
petition with a statement explaining the basis for the denial. 944
(3) Before repromulgation of a rule, the agency must, upon 945
approval by the agen cy head or the agency head's designee: 946
(a) Publish a notice of repromulgation in the Florida 947
Administrative Register. A notice of repromulgation is not 948
required to include the text of the rule being repromulgated. 949
(b) File the rule for repromulgation w ith the Department 950
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of State. A rule may not be filed for repromulgation less than 951
28 days, and not more than 90 days, after the date of 952
publication of the notice required by paragraph (a). 953
(4) The agency must file a notice of repromulgation with 954
the committee at least 14 days before filing the rule for 955
repromulgation. At the time the rule is filed for 956
repromulgation, the committee shall certify whether the agency 957
has responded in writing to all material and timely written 958
comments or written inquiries mad e on behalf of the committee. 959
(5) A repromulgated rule is not subject to challenge as a 960
proposed rule pursuant to s. 120.56(2). 961
(6) The hearing requirements of s. 120.54 do not apply to 962
repromulgation of a rule. 963
(7)(a) The agency, upon approval of th e agency head or the 964
agency head's designee, shall file with the Department of State 965
three certified copies of the repromulgated rule it proposes to 966
adopt and one certified copy of any material incorporated by 967
reference in the rule. 968
(b) The repromulgated rule shall be adopted upon filing 969
with the Department of State and becomes effective 20 days after 970
the date it is filed. 971
(c) The Department of State shall update the history note 972
of the rule in the Florida Administrative Code to reflect the 973
effective date of the repromulgated rule. 974
(8) Any rule that is not repromulgated in accordance with 975
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this section must be submitted to the President of the Senate 976
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives within 7 days 977
after the decision to not repromulgate the rule. The decision to 978
not repromulgate shall not become effective until the conclusion 979
of the next regular session of the Legislature following the 980
decision. 981
(9) The Department of State shall adopt rules to implement 982
this section by December 31, 2023. 983
Section 5. Section 120.5436, Florida Statutes, is created 984
to read: 985
120.5436 Infrastructure permitting review. — 986
(1)(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to build a more 987
resilient and responsive government infrastructure to allow 988
quick recovery after natural disasters including hurricanes and 989
tropical storms without negatively impacting coastal ecosystems 990
or increasing future community vulnerability. 991
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to promote 992
efficiency in the state's government across branches, agencies, 993
and other governmental entities and to identify areas of 994
improvement within each that allows for quick, effective 995
delivery of services. 996
(c) Further, the Legislature intends for the state to seek 997
out ways to improve its administrative procedures in relevant 998
fields to build a streamlined permitting process that withstands 999
disruptions caused by natural disasters, including hurricanes 1000
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and tropical storms, while maintaining the integrity of natural 1001
coastal ecosystems. 1002
(2)(a) The Departmen t of Environmental Protection and 1003
water management districts shall conduct a holistic review of 1004
their current coastal permitting processes and other permit 1005
programs, excluding coastal high -hazard areas as described in s. 1006
163.3178(2)(h). These permitting pr ocesses shall include, but 1007
not be limited to, coastal construction control line permits, 1008
joint coastal permits, environmental resource permits, permits 1009
relating to nature-based infrastructure, and, consistent with 1010
the terms of the Endangered Species Act an d the United States 1011
Environmental Protection Agency's approval, state -administered 1012
404 permits. 1013
(b) The scope and purpose of the review shall be to 1014
identify areas of improvement to increase efficiency within each 1015
process. Factors that must be considered in the review include 1016
the following: 1017
1. The requirements to obtain a permit. 1018
2. Areas for improved efficiency and decision -point 1019
consolidation within a single project's process. 1020
3. Areas of duplication across one or more permit 1021
programs. 1022
4. The methods of requesting permits. 1023
5. Any other factors that may increase the efficiency of 1024
permitting processes and may allow improved storm recovery. 1025
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6. Adequate staffing levels necessary for complete and 1026
efficient review. 1027
(c) By December 31, 2023, the de partment and water 1028
management districts shall provide their findings and proposed 1029
solutions in a report to the Governor, the President of the 1030
Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 1031
Section 6. Subsection (1) of section 120.545, Florida 1032
Statutes, is amended to read: 1033
120.545 Committee review of agency rules. — 1034
(1) As a legislative check on legislatively created 1035
authority, the committee shall examine each existing rule and 1036
proposed rule, except for those proposed rules exempted by s. 1037
120.81(1)(e) and (2), and its accompanying material, and each 1038
emergency rule, and may examine any existing rule, for the 1039
purpose of determining whether: 1040
(a) The rule is an invalid exercise of delegated 1041
legislative authority. 1042
(b) The statutory authority f or the rule has been 1043
repealed. 1044
(c) The rule reiterates or paraphrases statutory material. 1045
(d) The rule is in proper form. 1046
(e) The notice given before prior to its adoption was 1047
sufficient to give adequate notice of the purpose and effect of 1048
the rule. 1049
(f) The rule is consistent with expressed legislative 1050
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intent pertaining to the specific provisions of law which the 1051
rule implements. 1052
(g) The rule is necessary to accomplish the apparent or 1053
expressed objectives of the specific provision of law which the 1054
rule implements. 1055
(h) The rule is a reasonable implementation of the law as 1056
it affects the convenience of the general public or persons 1057
particularly affected by the rule. 1058
(i) The rule could be made less complex or more easily 1059
comprehensible to the gene ral public. 1060
(j) The rule's statement of estimated regulatory costs 1061
complies with the requirements of s. 120.541 and whether the 1062
rule does not impose regulatory costs on the regulated person, 1063
county, or city which could be reduced by the adoption of less 1064
costly alternatives that substantially accomplish the statutory 1065
objectives. 1066
(k) The rule will require additional appropriations. 1067
(l) If the rule is an emergency rule, there exists an 1068
emergency justifying the adoption of such rule, the agency is 1069
within its statutory authority, and the rule was adopted in 1070
compliance with the requirements and limitations of s. 1071
120.54(4). 1072
Section 7. Paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of subsection (1) 1073
of section 120.55, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1074
120.55 Publication.— 1075
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(1) The Department of State shall: 1076
(a)1. Through a continuous revision and publication 1077
system, compile and publish electronically, on a website managed 1078
by the department, the "Florida Administrative Code." The 1079
Florida Administrative Code must shall contain all rules adopted 1080
by each agency, citing the grant of rulemaking authority and the 1081
specific law implemented pursuant to which each rule was 1082
adopted, all history notes as authorized in s. 120.545(7), 1083
complete indexes to all rules containe d in the code, and any 1084
other material required or authorized by law or deemed useful by 1085
the department. The electronic code must shall display each rule 1086
chapter currently in effect in browse mode and allow full text 1087
search of the code and each rule chapter . The department may 1088
contract with a publishing firm for a printed publication; 1089
however, the department shall retain responsibility for the code 1090
as provided in this section. The electronic publication is shall 1091
be the official compilation of the administrat ive rules of this 1092
state. The Florida Administrative Code must be published daily 1093
by 8 a.m. If a rule, after publication, is corrected and 1094
replaced, the Florida Administrative Code must indicate: 1095
a. That the Florida Administrative Code has been 1096
republished; and 1097
b. That the rule that has been corrected by the Department 1098
of State. 1099
1100
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The Department of State retains shall retain the copyright over 1101
the Florida Administrative Code. 1102
2. Not publish rules in the Florida Administrative Code 1103
which are general in form but applicable to only one school 1104
district, community college district, or county, or a part 1105
thereof, or state university rules relating to internal 1106
personnel or business and finance shall not be published in the 1107
Florida Administrative Cod e. Exclusion from publication in the 1108
Florida Administrative Code does shall not affect the validity 1109
or effectiveness of such rules. 1110
3. At the beginning of the section of the code dealing 1111
with an agency that files copies of its rules with the 1112
department, the department shall publish the address and 1113
telephone number of the executive offices of each agency, the 1114
manner by which the agency indexes its rules, a listing of all 1115
rules of that agency excluded from publication in the code, and 1116
a statement as to wher e those rules may be inspected. 1117
4. Not publish forms shall not be published in the Florida 1118
Administrative Code; but any form which an agency uses in its 1119
dealings with the public, along with any accompanying 1120
instructions, shall be filed with the committee before it is 1121
used. Any form or instruction which meets the definition of 1122
"rule" provided in s. 120.52 must shall be incorporated by 1123
reference into the appropriate rule. The reference must shall 1124
specifically state that the form is being incorporated by 1125
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reference and must shall include the number, title, and 1126
effective date of the form and an explanation of how the form 1127
may be obtained. Each form created by an agency which is 1128
incorporated by reference in a rule notice of which is given 1129
under s. 120.54(3)(a) a fter December 31, 2007, must clearly 1130
display the number, title, and effective date of the form and 1131
the number of the rule in which the form is incorporated. 1132
5. Require all materials incorporated by reference in any 1133
part of an adopted rule and in any part of a repromulgated rule 1134
The department shall allow adopted rules and material 1135
incorporated by reference to be filed in the manner prescribed 1136
by s. 120.54(1)(i)3.a. or b. electronic form as prescribed by 1137
department rule. When a rule is filed for adoption or 1138
repromulgation with incorporated material in electronic form, 1139
the department's publication of the Florida Administrative Code 1140
on its website must contain a hyperlink from the incorporating 1141
reference in the rule directly to that material. The department 1142
may not allow hyperlinks from rules in the Florida 1143
Administrative Code to any material other than that filed with 1144
and maintained by the department, but may allow hyperlinks to 1145
incorporated material maintained by the department from the 1146
adopting agency's web site or other sites. 1147
6. Include the date of any technical changes to a rule in 1148
the history note of the rule in the Florida Administrative Code. 1149
A technical change does not affect the effective date of the 1150
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rule. 1151
(b) Electronically publish on a website m anaged by the 1152
department a continuous revision and publication entitled the 1153
"Florida Administrative Register," which shall serve as the 1154
official publication and must contain: 1155
1. All notices required by s. 120.54(2) and (3)(a), 1156
showing the text of all rul es proposed for consideration. 1157
2. All notices of public meetings, hearings, and workshops 1158
conducted in accordance with s. 120.525, including a statement 1159
of the manner in which a copy of the agenda may be obtained. 1160
3. A notice of each request for author ization to amend or 1161
repeal an existing uniform rule or for the adoption of new 1162
uniform rules. 1163
4. Notice of petitions for declaratory statements or 1164
administrative determinations. 1165
5. A summary of each objection to any rule filed by the 1166
Administrative Procedures Committee. 1167
6. A list of rules filed for adoption in the previous 7 1168
days. 1169
7. A list of all rules filed for adoption pending 1170
legislative ratification under s. 120.541(3). A rule shall be 1171
removed from the list once notice of ratification or withdr awal 1172
of the rule is received. 1173
8. The full text of each emergency rule in effect on the 1174
date of publication. 1175
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9.8. Any other material required or authorized by law or 1176
deemed useful by the department. 1177
1178
The department may contract with a publishing firm fo r a printed 1179
publication of the Florida Administrative Register and make 1180
copies available on an annual subscription basis. 1181
(c) Prescribe by rule the style and form required for 1182
rules, notices, and other materials submitted for filing , 1183
including a rule req uiring documents created by an agency that 1184
are proposed to be incorporated by reference in notices 1185
published pursuant to s. 120.54(3)(a) and (d) to be coded in the 1186
same manner as notices published pursuant to s. 120.54(3)(a)1 . 1187
Section 8. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 1188
120.56, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1189
120.56 Challenges to rules. — 1190
(2) CHALLENGING PROPOSED RULES; SPECIAL PROVISIONS. — 1191
(a) A petition alleging the invalidity of a proposed rule 1192
shall be filed within 21 days after the date of publication of 1193
the notice required by s. 120.54(3)(a); within 10 days after the 1194
final public hearing is held on the proposed rule as provided by 1195
s. 120.54(3)(e)2.; within 20 days after the statement of 1196
estimated regulatory costs or revised statement of estimated 1197
regulatory costs, if applicable, has been prepared and made 1198
available as provided in s. 120.541(1)(c) s. 120.541(1)(d); or 1199
within 20 days after the date of publication of the notice 1200
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required by s. 120.54(3)(d). The petitioner has the burden to 1201
prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the petitioner 1202
would be substantially affected by the proposed rule. The agency 1203
then has the burden to prove by a preponderance of the evidence 1204
that the proposed rule is not an invalid exercise of delegated 1205
legislative authority as to the objections raised. A person who 1206
is not substantially affected by the proposed rule as initially 1207
noticed, but who is substanti ally affected by the rule as a 1208
result of a change, may challenge any provision of the resulting 1209
proposed rule. 1210
Section 9. Subsection (1) and paragraph (a) of subsection 1211
(2) of section 120.74, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1212
120.74 Agency annua l rulemaking and regulatory plans; 1213
reports.— 1214
(1) REGULATORY PLAN. —By October 1 of each year, each 1215
agency shall prepare a regulatory plan. 1216
(a) The plan must include a listing of each law enacted or 1217
amended during the previous 12 months which creates or modifies 1218
the duties or authority of the agency. If the Governor or the 1219
Attorney General provides a letter to the committee stating that 1220
a law affects all or most agencies, the agency may exclude the 1221
law from its plan. For each law listed by an agency under this 1222
paragraph, the plan must state: 1223
1. Whether the agency must adopt rules to implement the 1224
law. 1225
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2. If rulemaking is necessary to implement the law: 1226
a. Whether a notice of rule development has been published 1227
and, if so, the citation to such notice in the Florida 1228
Administrative Register. 1229
b. The date by which the agency expects to publish the 1230
notice of proposed rule under s. 120.54(3)(a). 1231
3. If rulemaking is not necessary to implement the law, a 1232
concise written explanation of the reasons why the l aw may be 1233
implemented without rulemaking. 1234
(b) The plan must also identify and describe each rule, 1235
including each rule number or proposed rule number, that include 1236
a listing of each law not otherwise listed pursuant to paragraph 1237
(a) which the agency expects to develop, adopt, or repeal for 1238
the 12-month period beginning on October 1 and ending on 1239
September 30 implement by rulemaking before the following July 1240
1, excluding emergency rules except emergency rulemaking . For 1241
each rule law listed under this paragr aph, the plan must state 1242
whether the rulemaking is intended to simplify, clarify, 1243
increase efficiency, improve coordination with other agencies, 1244
reduce regulatory costs, or delete obsolete, unnecessary, or 1245
redundant rules. 1246
(c) The plan must include any d esired update to the prior 1247
year's regulatory plan or supplement published pursuant to 1248
subsection (7). If, in a prior year, a law was identified under 1249
this paragraph or under subparagraph (a)1. as a law requiring 1250
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rulemaking to implement but a notice of prop osed rule has not 1251
been published: 1252
1. The agency must shall identify and again list such law, 1253
noting the applicable notice of rule development by citation to 1254
the Florida Administrative Register; or 1255
2. If the agency has subsequently determined that 1256
rulemaking is not necessary to implement the law, the agency 1257
must shall identify such law, reference the citation to the 1258
applicable notice of rule development in the Florida 1259
Administrative Register, and provide a concise written 1260
explanation of the reason why th e law may be implemented without 1261
rulemaking. 1262
(d) The plan must identify any rules that are required to 1263
be repromulgated pursuant to s. 120.5435 for the 12 -month period 1264
beginning on October 1 and ending on September 30. 1265
(e) The plan must include a certi fication executed on 1266
behalf of the agency by both the agency head, or, if the agency 1267
head is a collegial body, the presiding officer; and the 1268
individual acting as principal legal advisor to the agency head. 1269
The certification must declare: 1270
1. Verify That the persons executing the certification 1271
have reviewed the plan. 1272
2. Verify That the agency regularly reviews all of its 1273
rules and identify the period during which all rules have most 1274
recently been reviewed to determine if the rules remain 1275
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consistent with the agency's rulemaking authority and the laws 1276
implemented. 1277
3. That the agency understands that regulatory 1278
accountability is necessary to ensure public confidence in the 1279
integrity of state government and, to that end, the agency is 1280
diligently working tow ard lowering the total number of rules 1281
adopted. 1282
4. The total number of rules adopted and repealed during 1283
the previous 12 months. 1284
(2) PUBLICATION AND DELIVERY TO THE COMMITTEE. — 1285
(a) By October 1 of each year, each agency shall: 1286
1. Publish its regula tory plan on its website or on 1287
another state website established for publication of 1288
administrative law records. A clearly labeled hyperlink to the 1289
current plan must be included on the agency's primary website 1290
homepage. 1291
2. Electronically deliver to the co mmittee a copy of the 1292
certification required in paragraph (1)(e) (1)(d). 1293
3. Publish in the Florida Administrative Register a notice 1294
identifying the date of publication of the agency's regulatory 1295
plan. The notice must include a hyperlink or website addres s 1296
providing direct access to the published plan. 1297
Section 10. Subsection (11) of section 120.80, Florida 1298
Statutes, is amended to read: 1299
120.80 Exceptions and special requirements; agencies. — 1300
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(11) NATIONAL GUARD. —Notwithstanding s. 120.52(17) s. 1301
120.52(16), the enlistment, organization, administration, 1302
equipment, maintenance, training, and discipline of the militia, 1303
National Guard, organized militia, and unorganized militia, as 1304
provided by s. 2, Art. X of the State Constitution, are not 1305
rules as defined by this chapter. 1306
Section 11. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 1307
120.81, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1308
120.81 Exceptions and special requirements; general 1309
areas.— 1310
(1) EDUCATIONAL UNITS. — 1311
(c) Notwithstanding s. 120.52(17) s. 120.52(16), any 1312
tests, test scoring criteria, or testing procedures relating to 1313
student assessment which are developed or administered by the 1314
Department of Education pursuant to s. 1003.4282, s. 1008.22, or 1315
s. 1008.25, or any other statewide educational te sts required by 1316
law, are not rules. 1317
Section 12. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 1318
420.9072, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1319
420.9072 State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program. —1320
The State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program is cr eated for 1321
the purpose of providing funds to counties and eligible 1322
municipalities as an incentive for the creation of local housing 1323
partnerships, to expand production of and preserve affordable 1324
housing, to further the housing element of the local government 1325
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comprehensive plan specific to affordable housing, and to 1326
increase housing-related employment. 1327
(1)(a) In addition to the legislative findings set forth 1328
in s. 420.6015, the Legislature finds that affordable housing is 1329
most effectively provided by combini ng available public and 1330
private resources to conserve and improve existing housing and 1331
provide new housing for very -low-income households, low -income 1332
households, and moderate -income households. The Legislature 1333
intends to encourage partnerships in order to secure the 1334
benefits of cooperation by the public and private sectors and to 1335
reduce the cost of housing for the target group by effectively 1336
combining all available resources and cost -saving measures. The 1337
Legislature further intends that local governments ac hieve this 1338
combination of resources by encouraging active partnerships 1339
between government, lenders, builders and developers, real 1340
estate professionals, advocates for low -income persons, and 1341
community groups to produce affordable housing and provide 1342
related services. Extending the partnership concept to encompass 1343
cooperative efforts among small counties as defined in s. 1344
120.52(20) s. 120.52(19), and among counties and municipalities 1345
is specifically encouraged. Local governments are also intended 1346
to establish an affordable housing advisory committee to 1347
recommend monetary and nonmonetary incentives for affordable 1348
housing as provided in s. 420.9076. 1349
Section 13. Subsection (7) of section 420.9075, Florida 1350
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Statutes, is amended to read: 1351
420.9075 Local housing assistance plans; partnerships. — 1352
(7) The moneys deposited in the local housing assistance 1353
trust fund shall be used to administer and implement the local 1354
housing assistance plan. The cost of administering the plan may 1355
not exceed 5 percent of the local ho using distribution moneys 1356
and program income deposited into the trust fund. A county or an 1357
eligible municipality may not exceed the 5 -percent limitation on 1358
administrative costs, unless its governing body finds, by 1359
resolution, that 5 percent of the local ho using distribution 1360
plus 5 percent of program income is insufficient to adequately 1361
pay the necessary costs of administering the local housing 1362
assistance plan. The cost of administering the program may not 1363
exceed 10 percent of the local housing distribution plus 5 1364
percent of program income deposited into the trust fund, except 1365
that small counties, as defined in s. 120.52(20) s. 120.52(19), 1366
and eligible municipalities receiving a local housing 1367
distribution of up to $350,000 may use up to 10 percent of 1368
program income for administrative costs. 1369
Section 14. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section 1370
443.091, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1371
443.091 Benefit eligibility conditions. — 1372
(1) An unemployed individual is eligible to receive 1373
benefits for any wee k only if the Department of Economic 1374
Opportunity finds that: 1375
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(d) She or he is able to work and is available for work. 1376
In order to assess eligibility for a claimed week of 1377
unemployment, the department shall develop criteria to determine 1378
a claimant's ability to work and availability for work. A 1379
claimant must be actively seeking work in order to be considered 1380
available for work. This means engaging in systematic and 1381
sustained efforts to find work, including contacting at least 1382
five prospective employers for each week of unemployment 1383
claimed. The department may require the claimant to provide 1384
proof of such efforts to the one -stop career center as part of 1385
reemployment services. A claimant's proof of work search efforts 1386
may not include the same prospective emplo yer at the same 1387
location in 3 consecutive weeks, unless the employer has 1388
indicated since the time of the initial contact that the 1389
employer is hiring. The department shall conduct random reviews 1390
of work search information provided by claimants. As an 1391
alternative to contacting at least five prospective employers 1392
for any week of unemployment claimed, a claimant may, for that 1393
same week, report in person to a one -stop career center to meet 1394
with a representative of the center and access reemployment 1395
services of the center. The center shall keep a record of the 1396
services or information provided to the claimant and shall 1397
provide the records to the department upon request by the 1398
department. However: 1399
1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph 1400
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or paragraphs (b) and (e), an otherwise eligible individual may 1401
not be denied benefits for any week because she or he is in 1402
training with the approval of the department, or by reason of s. 1403
443.101(2) relating to failure to apply for, or refusal to 1404
accept, suitable work. Training may be approved by the 1405
department in accordance with criteria prescribed by rule. A 1406
claimant's eligibility during approved training is contingent 1407
upon satisfying eligibility conditions prescribed by rule. 1408
2. Notwithstanding any other provis ion of this chapter, an 1409
otherwise eligible individual who is in training approved under 1410
s. 236(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, may not be 1411
determined ineligible or disqualified for benefits due to 1412
enrollment in such training or because of leavin g work that is 1413
not suitable employment to enter such training. As used in this 1414
subparagraph, the term "suitable employment" means work of a 1415
substantially equal or higher skill level than the worker's past 1416
adversely affected employment, as defined for purpo ses of the 1417
Trade Act of 1974, as amended, the wages for which are at least 1418
80 percent of the worker's average weekly wage as determined for 1419
purposes of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended. 1420
3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an 1421
otherwise eligible individual may not be denied benefits for any 1422
week because she or he is before any state or federal court 1423
pursuant to a lawfully issued summons to appear for jury duty. 1424
4. Union members who customarily obtain employment through 1425
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a union hiring hall may satisfy the work search requirements of 1426
this paragraph by reporting daily to their union hall. 1427
5. The work search requirements of this paragraph do not 1428
apply to persons who are unemployed as a result of a temporary 1429
layoff or who are claiming ben efits under an approved short -time 1430
compensation plan as provided in s. 443.1116. 1431
6. In small counties as defined in s. 120.52(20) s. 1432
120.52(19), a claimant engaging in systematic and sustained 1433
efforts to find work must contact at least three prospective 1434
employers for each week of unemployment claimed. 1435
7. The work search requirements of this paragraph do not 1436
apply to persons required to participate in reemployment 1437
services under paragraph (e). 1438
Section 15. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 1439