CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 1479
Amendment No. 01 (for drafter's use only)
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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5 ORIGINAL STAMP BELOW
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11 The Committee on Governmental Operations offered the
12 following:
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14 Amendment (with title amendment)
15 Remove from the bill: Everything after the enacting clause
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17 and insert in lieu thereof:
18 Section 1. Section 120.695, Florida Statutes, is
19 amended to read:
20 120.695 Notice of noncompliance.--
21 (1) It is the policy of the state that the purpose of
22 regulation is to protect the public by attaining compliance
23 with the policies established by the Legislature. Fines and
24 other penalties may be provided in order to ensure assure
25 compliance; however, the collection of fines and the
26 imposition of penalties are intended to be secondary to the
27 primary goal of attaining compliance with the rules or
28 statutes an agency's rules. It is the intent of the
29 Legislature that an agency charged with enforcing the rules or
30 statutes rules shall issue a notice of noncompliance as its
31 first response to a minor violation of a rule in any instance
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 1479
Amendment No. 01 (for drafter's use only)
1 in which it is reasonable to assume that the violator was
2 unaware of the rule or statute, or was unclear as to how to
3 comply with it.
4 (2)(a) Each agency shall issue a notice of
5 noncompliance as a first response to a minor violation. A
6 "notice of noncompliance" is a notification by the agency
7 charged with enforcing the rule issued to the person or
8 business subject to the rule or statute in question. A notice
9 of noncompliance may not be accompanied with a fine or other
10 disciplinary penalty. It must identify the specific provision
11 found in rule or statute rule that is being violated, provide
12 information on how to comply with it the rule, and specify a
13 reasonable time for the violator to comply with the rule. A
14 rule is agency action that regulates a business, occupation,
15 or profession, or regulates a person operating a business,
16 occupation, or profession, and that, if not complied with, may
17 result in a disciplinary penalty.
18 (b) Each agency shall review all of its rules and
19 designate those for which a violation would be a minor
20 violation and for which a notice of noncompliance must be the
21 first enforcement action taken against a person or business
22 subject to regulation. A violation of a rule is a minor
23 violation if it does not result in economic or physical harm
24 to a person or adversely affect the public health, safety, or
25 welfare, or create a significant threat of such harm. If an
26 agency under the direction of a cabinet officer mails to each
27 licensee a notice of the designated rules at the time of
28 licensure and at least annually thereafter, the provisions of
29 paragraph (a) may be exercised at the discretion of the
30 agency. Such notice shall include a subject-matter index of
31 the rules and information on how the rules may be obtained.
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 1479
Amendment No. 01 (for drafter's use only)
1 (c) The agency's review and designation must be
2 completed by December 1, 1995; each agency under the direction
3 of the Governor shall make a report to the Governor, and each
4 agency under the joint direction of the Governor and Cabinet
5 shall report to the Governor and Cabinet by January 1, 1996,
6 on which of its rules have been designated as rules the
7 violation of which would be a minor violation.
8 (d) The Governor or the Governor and Cabinet, as
9 appropriate pursuant to paragraph (c), may evaluate the review
10 and designation effects of each agency and may apply a
11 different designation than that applied by the agency.
12 (3)(e) This section does not apply to the Department
13 of Revenue, criminal law, statutes relating to taxes or fees,
14 or the regulation of law enforcement personnel or teachers.
15 (f) Designation pursuant to this section is not
16 subject to challenge under this chapter.
17 Section 2. Section 120.696, Florida Statutes, is
18 created to read:
19 120.696 Classification of disciplinary actions.--
20 (1) The legislative intent of this subsection is to
21 clear minor violations from the disciplinary record of certain
22 persons or businesses after a set period of time. A person or
23 business may petition the appropriate agency to review a
24 disciplinary incident to determine whether the specific
25 violation meets the standard of a minor violation as set forth
26 in s. 120.695(2). If the circumstances of the violation meet
27 that standard, and 2 years have passed since the issuance of a
28 final order imposing discipline, the agency shall reclassify
29 that violation as inactive, so long as the person or business
30 has not been disciplined for a subsequent violation of the
31 same nature. Once the agency has reclassified the violation as
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 1479
Amendment No. 01 (for drafter's use only)
1 inactive, it shall no longer be considered as part of the
2 disciplinary record of that person or business, and the person
3 or business may lawfully deny or fail to acknowledge the
4 incident as a disciplinary action. The agency has authority to
5 adopt rules to implement this subsection.
6 (d) Each agency may establish a schedule classifying
7 violations according to the severity of the violation. After
8 the expiration of set periods of time, the agency may provide
9 for such disciplinary records to become inactive, according to
10 their classification. Once the disciplinary record has become
11 inactive, the agency may clear the violation from the
12 disciplinary record and the subject person or business may
13 lawfully deny or fail to acknowledge such disciplinary
14 actions. Each agency has authority to adopt rules to
15 implement this subsection.
16 Section 3. Subsection (3) of section 455.225, Florida
17 Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:
18 455.225 Disciplinary proceedings.--Disciplinary
19 proceedings for each board shall be within the jurisdiction of
20 the department.
21 (3)(a) As an alternative to the provisions of
22 subsections (1) and (2), when a complaint is received, the
23 department may provide a licensee with a notice of
24 noncompliance for an initial offense of a minor violation. A
25 violation is a minor violation if it does not demonstrate a
26 serious inability to practice the profession, result in
27 economic or physical harm to a person, or adversely affect the
28 public health, safety, or welfare or create a significant
29 threat of such harm. Each board, or the department if there is
30 no board, shall establish by rule those violations which are
31 minor violations under this provision. Failure of a licensee
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 1479
Amendment No. 01 (for drafter's use only)
1 to take action in correcting the violation within 15 days
2 after notice may result in the institution of regular
3 disciplinary proceedings.
4 (b) The department may issue a notice of noncompliance
5 for an initial offense of a minor violation, notwithstanding a
6 board's failure to designate a particular minor violation by
7 rule as provided in paragraph (a).
8 (c) The legislative intent of this paragraph is to
9 clear minor violations from a licensee's disciplinary record
10 after a set period of time. A licensee may petition the
11 department to review a disciplinary incident to determine
12 whether the specific violation meets the standard of a minor
13 violation as set forth in paragraph (a). If the circumstances
14 of the violation meet that standard, and 2 years have passed
15 since the issuance of a final order imposing discipline, the
16 agency shall reclassify that violation as inactive, so long as
17 the licensee has not been disciplined for a subsequent
18 violation of the same nature. Once the department has
19 reclassified the violation as inactive, it shall no longer be
20 considered as part of the licensee's disciplinary record, and
21 the licensee may lawfully deny or fail to acknowledge the
22 incident as a disciplinary action. The department has
23 authority to adopt rules to implement this paragraph.
24 (d) Each agency may establish a schedule classifying
25 violations according to the severity of the violation. After
26 the expiration of set periods of time, the agency may provide
27 for such disciplinary records to become inactive, according to
28 their classification. Once the disciplinary record has become
29 inactive, the agency may clear the violation from the
30 disciplinary record and the subject person or business may
31 lawfully deny or fail to acknowledge such disciplinary
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 1479
Amendment No. 01 (for drafter's use only)
1 actions. Each agency has authority to adopt rules to
2 implement this subsection.
3 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.
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7 And the title is amended as follows:
8 On page 1, line 1
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10 insert in lieu thereof:
11 An act relating to notices of noncompliance;
12 amending s. 120.695, F.S.; providing that
13 notices of noncompliance apply to violations of
14 regulatory provisions of an agency found in
15 rule or statute; eliminating obsolete
16 provisions relating to review and designation
17 of agency rules for notice issuance purposes;
18 providing exemptions from applicability of the
19 section; creating s. 120.696, F.S.; providing
20 for classification of disciplinary actions as
21 active or inactive; providing for the periodic
22 clearing of minor violations from the
23 disciplinary record; providing rulemaking
24 authority; amending s. 455.225, F.S.; providing
25 for classification of disciplinary actions by
26 the Department of Business and Professional
27 Regulation as active or inactive; providing for
28 the periodic clearing of minor violations from
29 the disciplinary record; providing rulemaking
30 authority; providing an effective date.
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