The Florida Senate

The department and office shall enforce the provisions of this code and shall execute the duties imposed upon them by this code, within the respective jurisdiction of each, as provided by law.

The department shall have the powers and authority expressly conferred upon it by, or reasonably implied from, the provisions of this code. The office shall have the powers and authority expressly conferred upon it by, or reasonably implied from, the provisions of this code.

The department or office may conduct such investigations of insurance matters, in addition to investigations expressly authorized, as it may deem proper to determine whether any person has violated any provision of this code within its respective regulatory jurisdiction or to secure information useful in the lawful administration of any such provision. The cost of such investigations shall be borne by the state.

The department and office may each collect, propose, publish, and disseminate information relating to the subject matter of any duties imposed upon it by law.

The department and office shall each have such additional powers and duties as may be provided by other laws of this state.

The department and office may each employ actuaries who shall be at-will employees and who shall serve at the pleasure of the Chief Financial Officer, in the case of department employees, or at the pleasure of the director of the office, in the case of office employees. Actuaries employed pursuant to this paragraph shall be members of the Society of Actuaries or the Casualty Actuarial Society and shall be exempt from the Career Service System established under chapter 110. The salaries of the actuaries employed pursuant to this paragraph shall be set in accordance with ¹s. 216.251(2)(a)5. and shall be set at levels which are commensurate with salary levels paid to actuaries by the insurance industry.

The office shall, within existing resources, develop and implement an outreach program for the purpose of encouraging the entry of additional insurers into the Florida market.

Upon receiving service of legal process issued in any civil action or proceeding in this state against any regulated person required to appoint the Chief Financial Officer as its attorney to receive service of all legal process, the Chief Financial Officer, as attorney, may, in lieu of sending the process by registered or certified mail, send the process by any other verifiable means to the person last designated by the regulated person to receive the process.