FL
Florida House Bill H0497

Florida 2024 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0497 Compare Versions

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1010 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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1414 A bill to be entitled 1
1515 An act relating to continuing education requirements; 2
1616 amending s. 455.2123, F.S.; requiring, rather than 3
1717 authorizing, a board, or the Department of Business 4
1818 and Professional Regulation when there is no board, to 5
19-allow by rule that distance learning may be used to 6
19+provide by rule that distance learning may be used to 6
2020 satisfy continuing education requirements; revising 7
2121 the requirements that such continuing education must 8
22-satisfy; amending s. 455.2124, F.S.; requiri ng the 9
23-board, or the department when there is no board, to 10
24-exempt certain individuals from completing their 11
25-continuing education requirements; providing 12
26-applicability; requiring the department and each 13
27-affected board to adopt rules; authorizing the 14
28-department to adopt emergency rules; specifying time 15
29-in which such emergency rules are effective; 16
30-authorizing renewal of such emergency rules in certain 17
31-circumstances; providing for the expiration of such 18
32-rulemaking authority; providing an effective date. 19
33- 20
34-Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 21
35- 22
36- Section 1. Section 455.2123, Florida Statutes, is amended 23
37-to read: 24
38- 455.2123 Continuing education. —A board, or the department 25
22+satisfy; providing applicability; amending s. 9
23+455.2124, F.S.; requiring a board, or the department 10
24+when there is no board, to exempt certain individuals 11
25+from completing their continuing education 12
26+requirements; providing applicability; requiring the 13
27+department and each affected board to adopt rules; 14
28+providing an effective date. 15
29+ 16
30+Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 17
31+ 18
32+ Section 1. Section 455.2123, Florida Statutes, is amended 19
33+to read: 20
34+ 455.2123 Continuing education. —A board, or the department 21
35+when there is no board, shall may provide by rule that distance 22
36+learning may be used to satisfy continuing education 23
37+requirements. A board, or the department when there is no board, 24
38+shall approve distance learning courses as an alternative to 25
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4747 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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51-when there is no board, shall allow may provide by rule that 26
52-distance learning may be used to satisfy continuing education 27
53-requirements. A board, or the department when there is no board, 28
54-shall approve distance learning courses as an alternative to 29
55-classroom courses to satisfy continuing education requirements . 30
56-A board, or the department when there is no board, provided for 31
57-in part VIII, part XV, or part XVI of chapter 468 or part I or 32
58-part II of chapter 475 and may not require centralized 33
59-examinations for completion of continuing education requirements 34
60-for the professions licensed under part VIII, part XV, or part 35
61-XVI of chapter 468 or part I or part II of chapter 475. 36
62- Section 2. Section 455.2124, Florida Statutes, is amended 37
63-to read: 38
64- 455.2124 Proration of or not requiring continuing 39
65-education.— 40
66- (1) A board, or the department when there is no board, 41
67-may: 42
68- (a)(1) Prorate continuing education for new licensees by 43
69-requiring half of the required continuing education for any 44
70-applicant who becomes licensed with more than half the renewal 45
71-period remaining and no continui ng education for any applicant 46
72-who becomes licensed with half or less than half of the renewal 47
73-period remaining; or 48
74- (b)(2) Require no continuing education until the first 49
75-full renewal cycle of the licensee. 50
51+classroom courses to satisfy continuing educa tion requirements. 26
52+A board, or the department when there is no board, provided for 27
53+in part VIII, part XV, or part XVI of chapter 468 or part I or 28
54+part II of chapter 475 and may not require centralized 29
55+examinations for completion of continuing education req uirements 30
56+for the professions licensed under part VIII, part XV, or part 31
57+XVI of chapter 468 or part I or part II of chapter 475. This 32
58+section does not apply to any medical board or department 33
59+regulated by the Department of Health. 34
60+ Section 2. Section 45 5.2124, Florida Statutes, is amended 35
61+to read: 36
62+ 455.2124 Proration of or not requiring continuing 37
63+education.— 38
64+ (1) A board, or the department when there is no board, 39
65+may: 40
66+ (a)(1) Prorate continuing education for new licensees by 41
67+requiring half of the req uired continuing education for any 42
68+applicant who becomes licensed with more than half the renewal 43
69+period remaining and no continuing education for any applicant 44
70+who becomes licensed with half or less than half of the renewal 45
71+period remaining; or 46
72+ (b)(2) Require no continuing education until the first 47
73+full renewal cycle of the licensee. 48
74+ 49
75+These options shall also apply when continuing education is 50
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8484 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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89-These options shall also apply when continuing education is 52
90-first required or the number of hours required is increased by 53
91-law or the board, or the department when there is no board. 54
92- (2)(a) A board, or the department when there is no board, 55
93-shall exempt an individual from completing the continuing 56
94-education required for renewal of a license for a renewal period 57
95-if: 58
96- 1. The individual holds an active license issued by the 59
97-board or the department to practice the profession. 60
98- 2. The individual has continuously held the license for at 61
99-least 10 years. 62
100- 3. Disciplinary action has not been imposed on the 63
101-individual's license. 64
102- (b) This subsection does not apply to: 65
103- 1. Engineers regulated by chapter 471; 66
104- 2. Certified public accountants regulated by chapter 473; 67
105- 3. Brokers, broker associates, and sales associates 68
106-regulated by part I of chapter 475; 69
107- 4. Appraisers regulated by part II of chapter 475; 70
108- 5. Architects or interior designers regulated by part I of 71
109-chapter 481; or 72
110- 6. Contractors regulated by chapter 489. 73
111- (3) The department and each affected board shall adopt 74
112-rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this 75
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121-F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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125-section. 76
126- Section 3. (1) The Department of Business and 77
127-Professional Regulation is authorized, and all conditions are 78
128-deemed to be met, to adopt emergency rules pursuant to s. 79
129-120.54(4), Florida Statutes, for the purpose of implementing the 80
130-amendments made by this act to s. 455.2124, Florida Statutes, 81
131-including establishing procedures to facilitate the exemption 82
132-for eligible individuals from completing continuing education. 83
133- (2) Notwithstanding any other law, emergency rules adopted 84
134-pursuant to subsection (1) are effective for 6 months after 85
135-adoption and may be renewed during the pendency of procedures to 86
136-adopt permanent rules add ressing the subject of the emergency 87
137-rules. 88
138- (3) This section expires on January 1, 2026. 89
139- Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 90
88+first required or the number of hours required is increased by 51
89+law or the board, or the department when there is no board. 52
90+ (2)(a) A board, or the department when there is no board, 53
91+shall exempt an individual from completing the continuing 54
92+education required for renewal of a license for a renewal period 55
93+if the individual: 56
94+ 1. Holds an active license issued by the board, or the 57
95+department when there is no board, to practice the profession; 58
96+ 2. Has continuously held the license for at least 10 59
97+years; and 60
98+ 3. Has had no disciplinary action imposed on the license. 61
99+ (b) This subsection does not apply to any medical board or 62
100+department regulated by the Department of Health. 63
101+ (3) The department and each affected board shall adopt 64
102+rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this 65
103+section. 66
104+ Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 67