The Florida Senate

400.0066  Office of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman and departments of state government.--

(1)  The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman shall perform the duties specified in state and federal law.

(2)  Officials from the Department of Elderly Affairs, the Agency for Health Care Administration, and the Department of Children and Family Services shall not interfere in the performance of official duties of any ombudsman staff or volunteers.

(3)  ¹The Department of Elderly Affairs shall provide administrative support to the long-term care ombudsman program, including:

(a)  Office space for state and local ombudsman councils.

(b)  Assistance with personnel, accounting, and management information systems.

(4)  The Department of Elderly Affairs shall meet the costs associated with these functions from funds appropriated to the department.

(5)  The Department of Elderly Affairs shall include the costs associated with support of the ²long-term care ombudsman program in developing its budget requests for consideration by the Governor and submittal to the Legislature.

³(6)  The Department of Elderly Affairs may divert from the federal ombudsman appropriation an amount equal to the department's administrative cost ratio, not to exceed 10 percent of the federal appropriation, for the ombudsman. The remaining 90 percent or more of the allotment from the Older Americans Act program shall be expended on direct ombudsman activities.

History.--s. 123, ch. 2000-349; s. 43, ch. 2000-367.

¹Note.--As enacted by s. 123, ch. 2000-349. As enacted by s. 43, ch. 2000-367, this sentence reads: "The Department of Elderly Affairs shall provide administrative support to the ombudsman program."

²Note.--As amended by s. 123, ch. 2000-349. The amendment by s. 43, ch. 2000-367, does not include the words "long-term care."

³Note.--As enacted by s. 123, ch. 2000-349. This material was also enacted by s. 43, ch. 2000-367, as subsection (5). The s. 43, ch. 2000-367, version reads:

(5)  The department may divert from the federal ombudsman appropriation an amount not to exceed 10 percent of the federal appropriation for the ombudsman.