The Florida Senate

110.205  Career service; exemptions.--

(1)  CAREER POSITIONS.--The career service to which this part applies includes all positions not specifically exempted by this part, any other provisions of the Florida Statutes to the contrary notwithstanding.

(2)  EXEMPT POSITIONS.--The exempt positions which are not covered by this part include the following, provided that no position, except for positions established for a limited period of time pursuant to paragraph (h), shall be exempted if the position reports to a position in the career service:

(a)  All officers of the executive branch elected by popular vote and persons appointed to fill vacancies in such offices. Unless otherwise fixed by law, the salary and benefits for any such officer who serves as the head of a department shall be set by the department in accordance with the rules of the Senior Management Service.

(b)  All members, officers, and employees of the legislative branch, except for the members, officers, and employees of the Florida Public Service Commission.

(c)  All members, officers, and employees of the judicial branch.

(d)  All officers and employees of the State University System and the Correctional Education Program within the Department of Corrections, and the academic personnel and academic administrative personnel of the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind. In accordance with the provisions of chapter 242, the salaries for academic personnel and academic administrative personnel of the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind shall be set by the board of trustees for the school, subject only to the approval of the State Board of Education. The salaries for all instructional personnel and all administrative and noninstructional personnel of the Correctional Education Program shall be set by the Department of Corrections, subject to the approval of the Department of Management Services.

(e)  All members of state boards and commissions, however selected. Unless otherwise fixed by law, the salary and benefits for any full-time board or commission member shall be set by the department in accordance with the rules of the Senior Management Service.

(f)  Judges, referees, and receivers.

(g)  Patients or inmates in state institutions.

(h)  All positions which are established for a limited period of time for the purpose of conducting a special study, project, or investigation and any person paid from an other-personal-services appropriation. Unless otherwise fixed by law, the salaries for such positions and persons shall be set in accordance with rules established by the employing agency for other-personal-services payments pursuant to s. 110.131.

(i)  The appointed secretaries, assistant secretaries, deputy secretaries, and deputy assistant secretaries of all departments; the executive directors, assistant executive directors, deputy executive directors, and deputy assistant executive directors of all departments; and the directors of all divisions and those positions determined by the department to have managerial responsibilities comparable to such positions, which positions include, but are not limited to, program directors, assistant program directors, district administrators, deputy district administrators, the Director of Central Operations Services of the ¹Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, and the State Transportation Planner, State Highway Engineer, State Public Transportation Administrator, district secretaries, district directors of planning and programming, production, and operations, and the managers of the offices specified in s. 20.23(3)(d)2., of the Department of Transportation. Unless otherwise fixed by law, the department shall set the salary and benefits of these positions in accordance with the rules of the Senior Management Service.

(j)  The personal secretary to the incumbent of each position exempted in paragraph (a), and to each appointed secretary, assistant secretary, deputy secretary, executive director, assistant executive director, and deputy executive director of each department under paragraph (i). Unless otherwise fixed by law, the department shall set the salary and benefits of these positions in accordance with the rules of the Selected Exempt Service.

(k)  All officers and employees in the office of the Governor, including all employees at the Governor's mansion, and employees within each separate budget entity, as defined in chapter 216, assigned to the Governor. Unless otherwise fixed by law, the salary and benefits of these positions shall be set by the department as follows:

1.  The chief of staff, the assistant or deputy chief of staff, general counsel, Director of Legislative Affairs, inspector general, Director of Cabinet Affairs, Director of Press Relations, Director of Planning and Budgeting, director of administration, director of state-federal relations, and chief prosecutor of the statewide grand jury, and the director of each separate budget entity shall have their salaries and benefits established by the department in accordance with the rules of the Senior Management Service.

2.  The salaries and benefits of positions not established in subparagraph 1. shall be set by the employing agency. Salaries and benefits of employees whose professional training is comparable to that of licensed professionals under paragraph (q), or whose administrative responsibility is comparable to a bureau chief shall be set by the Selected Exempt Service. The department shall make the comparability determinations. Other employees shall have benefits set as if career service employees.

(l)  All assistant division director, deputy division director, and bureau chief positions in any department, and those positions determined by the department to have managerial responsibilities comparable to such positions, which positions include, but are not limited to, positions in the ¹Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services and the Department of Corrections that are assigned primary duties of serving as the superintendent of an institution: positions in the Department of Transportation that are assigned primary duties of serving as regional toll managers and managers of offices as defined in s. 20.23(3)(d)3. and (4)(d); positions in the Department of Environmental Protection that are assigned the duty of an Environmental Administrator or program administrator; and positions in the ¹Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services that are assigned the duty of an Environmental Administrator. Unless otherwise fixed by law, the department shall set the salary and benefits of these positions in accordance with the rules established for the Selected Exempt Service.

(m)1.  In addition to those positions exempted by other paragraphs of this subsection, each department head may designate a maximum of 20 policymaking or managerial positions, as defined by the department and approved by the Administration Commission, as being exempt from the Career Service System. Career service employees who occupy a position designated as a position in the Selected Exempt Service under this paragraph shall have the right to remain in the Career Service System by opting to serve in a position not exempted by the employing agency. Unless otherwise fixed by law, the department shall set the salary and benefits of these positions in accordance with the rules of the Selected Exempt Service; provided, however, that if the agency head determines that the general counsel, chief Cabinet aide, public information administrator or comparable position for a Cabinet officer, inspector general, or legislative affairs director has both policymaking and managerial responsibilities and if the department determines that any such position has both policymaking and managerial responsibilities, the salary and benefits for each such position shall be established by the department in accordance with the rules of the Senior Management Service.

2.  If otherwise exempt, employees of the Public Employees Relations Commission, the Commission on Human Relations, and the Unemployment Appeals Commission, upon the certification of their respective commission heads, may be provided for under this paragraph as members of the Senior Management Service, if otherwise qualified. However, the deputy general counsels of the Public Employees Relations Commission shall be compensated as members of the Selected Exempt Service.

(n)  The executive director, deputy executive director, general counsel, official reporters, and division directors within the Public Service Commission and the personal secretary and personal assistant to each member of the Public Service Commission. Unless otherwise fixed by law, the salary and benefits of the executive director, deputy executive directors, general counsel, Director of Administration, Director of Appeals, Director of Auditing and Financial Analysis, Director of Communications, Director of Consumer Affairs, Director of Electric and Gas, Director of Information Processing, Director of Legal Services, Director of Records and Reporting, Director of Research, and Director of Water and Sewer shall be set by the department in accordance with the rules of the Senior Management Service. The salary and benefits of the personal secretary and the personal assistant of each member of the commission and the official reporters shall be set by the department in accordance with the rules of the Selected Exempt Service, notwithstanding any salary limitations imposed by law for the official reporters.

(o)1.  All military personnel of the Department of Military Affairs. Unless otherwise fixed by law, the salary and benefits for such military personnel shall be set by the Department of Military Affairs in accordance with the appropriate military pay schedule.

2.  The military police chiefs, military police officers, firefighter trainers, firefighter-rescuers, and electronic security system technicians shall have salary and benefits the same as career service employees.

(p)  The staff directors, assistant staff directors, district program managers, district program coordinators, district subdistrict administrators, district administrative services directors, district attorneys, county health department directors, county health department administrators, and the Deputy Director of Central Operations Services of the ¹Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services. Unless otherwise fixed by law, the department shall establish the salary range and benefits for these positions in accordance with the rules of the Selected Exempt Service.

(q)  All positions not otherwise exempt under this subsection which require as a prerequisite to employment: licensure as a physician pursuant to chapter 458, licensure as an osteopathic physician pursuant to chapter 459, licensure as a chiropractic physician pursuant to chapter 460, including those positions which are occupied by employees who are exempted from licensure pursuant to s. 409.352; licensure as an engineer pursuant to chapter 471, which are supervisory positions except for such positions in the Department of Transportation; or for 12 calendar months, which require as a prerequisite to employment that the employee have received the degree of Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association and thereafter membership in The Florida Bar, except for any attorney who serves as an administrative law judge pursuant to s. 120.65 or for hearings conducted pursuant to s. 120.57(1)(a). Unless otherwise fixed by law, the department shall set the salary and benefits for these positions in accordance with the rules established for the Selected Exempt Service.

(r)  The statewide prosecutor in charge of the Office of Statewide Prosecution of the Department of Legal Affairs and all employees in the office. The Department of Legal Affairs shall set the salary of these positions.

(s)  The executive director of each board or commission established within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Unless otherwise fixed by law, the department shall establish the salary and benefits for these positions in accordance with the rules established for the Selected Exempt Service.

(t)  All officers and employees of the State Board of Administration. The State Board of Administration shall set the salaries and benefits of these positions.

(u)  Positions which are leased pursuant to a state employee lease agreement expressly authorized by the Legislature pursuant to s. 110.191.

(3)  PARTIAL EXEMPTION OF DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT.--Employees of the Department of Law Enforcement shall be subject to the provisions of s. 110.227, except in matters relating to transfer.

(4)  DEFINITION OF DEPARTMENT.--When used in this section, the term "department" shall mean all departments and commissions of the executive branch, whether created by the State Constitution or chapter 20; the office of the Governor; and the Public Service Commission; however, the term "department" shall mean the Department of Management Services when used in the context of the authority to establish salary ranges and benefits.

(5)  POSITIONS EXEMPTED BY OTHER STATUTES.--If any position is exempted from the career service by any other statute and the personnel system to which that position is assigned is not specifically included in the statute, the position shall be placed in the Selected Exempt Service, and the department shall establish the salary range and benefits for that position in accordance with the rules of the Selected Exempt Service.

(6)  EXEMPTION OF CHIEF INSPECTOR OF BOILER SAFETY PROGRAM, DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE.--In addition to those positions exempted from this part, there is hereby exempted from the Career Service System the chief inspector of the boiler inspection program of the Department of Insurance. The salary range of this position shall be established by the Department of Management Services in accordance with the classification and pay plan established for the Selected Exempt Service.

History.--s. 21, ch. 79-190; s. 2, ch. 80-404; s. 1, ch. 81-213; s. 1, ch. 82-187; s. 2, ch. 82-221; s. 2, ch. 83-72; s. 4, ch. 83-174; s. 2, ch. 83-177; s. 1, ch. 83-280; s. 10, ch. 83-332; s. 41, ch. 84-207; s. 2, ch. 85-65; s. 8, ch. 85-179; s. 2, ch. 85-219; ss. 9, 12, ch. 85-241; s. 2, ch. 85-318; s. 1, ch. 86-149; s. 16, ch. 87-361; s. 1, ch. 88-29; s. 1, ch. 88-174; s. 1, ch. 88-182; s. 3, ch. 88-215; s. 7, ch. 88-290; s. 1, ch. 88-366; s. 33, ch. 89-526; s. 1, ch. 90-337; s. 12, ch. 90-365; s. 11, ch. 91-139; s. 1, ch. 91-164; ss. 9, 21, ch. 91-431; s. 1, ch. 92-86; s. 158, ch. 92-152; s. 30, ch. 92-279; s. 55, ch. 92-326; s. 6, ch. 94-218; s. 1, ch. 94-264; s. 55, ch. 95-280; s. 2, ch. 95-295; s. 9, ch. 95-325; s. 44, ch. 96-323; s. 51, ch. 96-399; s. 11, ch. 96-410; s. 11, ch. 96-423; s. 173, ch. 97-101; s. 10, ch. 97-278.

¹Note.--The Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services was redesignated as the Department of Children and Family Services by s. 5, ch. 96-403, and the Department of Health was created by s. 8, ch. 96-403.