House Bill 0011
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 11
By Representative Wiles
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to serving people who have
3 disabilities; creating s. 14.275, F.S.;
4 creating the Office of Disability Coordination
5 within the Executive Office of the Governor;
6 providing for an advisory board; providing for
7 working groups; establishing membership, terms
8 of office, and officers; providing for an
9 executive director and other staff; authorizing
10 the executive director to employ consultants
11 and enter into contracts; providing for rules,
12 rights, and benefits applicable to staff;
13 providing duties of the office; requiring
14 entities serving people who have disabilities
15 to provide access to certain data; requiring
16 the office to make certain data available to
17 interested parties; requiring the office to
18 produce an annual report and transmit it to the
19 Executive Office of the Governor, to
20 legislative leaders, and to entities that deal
21 with people who have disabilities; requiring a
22 review and a report; providing appropriations;
23 providing an effective date.
24
25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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27 Section 1. Section 14.275, Florida Statutes, is
28 created to read:
29 14.275 Office of Disability Coordination.--
30 (1) There is created within the Executive Office of
31 the Governor the Office of Disability Coordination.
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1 (a) The office shall have an advisory board that
2 includes the following members:
3 1. Commissioner of Education.
4 2. Secretary of Children and Family Services.
5 3. Secretary of Juvenile Justice.
6 4. Secretary of Labor and Employment Security.
7 5. Director of Health Care Administration.
8 6. Secretary of Corrections.
9 7. Secretary of Veterans' Affairs.
10 8. Secretary of Elderly Affairs.
11 9. Secretary of Health.
12 (b) Each member of the advisory board shall appoint
13 members of his or her staff to act as a working group for the
14 advisory board. The working group shall meet at least monthly
15 and comply with paragraphs (c) through (g), with the exception
16 of the requirements pertaining to the number of meetings.
17 (c) Each member of the advisory board shall perform
18 the duties of a member of the advisory board as additional
19 duties required of that member in his or her official
20 capacity.
21 (d) The term of office of each advisory board member
22 corresponds to the respective member's period of service in
23 his or her official capacity.
24 (e) The members of the advisory board shall elect a
25 chair and a vice chair from the membership of the advisory
26 board. The chair and vice chair shall be elected to serve
27 1-year terms and may be reelected.
28 (f) A majority of the advisory board constitutes a
29 quorum for the conduct of business. The advisory board shall
30 meet at least four times a year, and the chair may call
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 11
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1 meetings as often as necessary to transact business or as
2 directed by the advisory board.
3 (g) A member of the advisory board who ceases to be an
4 officer of the agency that he or she represents on the
5 advisory board must resign immediately from the advisory
6 board, and the resulting vacancy must be filled by a deputy or
7 the newly appointed head of the agency.
8 (h)1. The advisory board shall employ and set the
9 compensation for an executive director. The executive director
10 shall employ and set the compensation for a person who has
11 expertise in information management systems, who shall serve
12 at the pleasure of the board. The executive director may
13 employ and set the compensation for additional professional,
14 technical, legal, or clerical staff as needed. With the
15 consent of the advisory board, the executive director may
16 employ consultants and enter into contracts on behalf of the
17 advisory board.
18 2. The Executive Office of the Governor shall provide
19 staff, which may come from the agencies represented on the
20 advisory board, to provide support and services to the Office
21 of Disability Coordination, full time or part time, to the
22 extent required by the advisory board.
23 3. The staff employed by the advisory board or the
24 executive director shall be governed by the same rules as
25 personnel of the Executive Office of the Governor and shall
26 receive the same rights and benefits, including membership in
27 the Florida Retirement System. The office shall make employer
28 contributions for this purpose.
29 4. The Department of Management Services shall assist
30 the Office of Disability Coordination in obtaining office
31 space and equipment.
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1 (2) The Office of Disability Coordination may consult
2 with entities that deal with people who have disabilities, who
3 have physical or mental impairments that substantially limit
4 one or more major life activities, who have a record of such
5 impairments, or who are regarded as having such impairments,
6 to:
7 (a) Collect and provide information concerning
8 individuals who are being served and those who are on waiting
9 lists for services, and information concerning the
10 demographics of state residents who have disabilities;
11 (b) Streamline intake for clients;
12 (c) Consolidate, coordinate, and reduce regulatory
13 functions;
14 (d) Eliminate duplications in service;
15 (e) Maximize federal funding;
16 (f) Collect and disseminate information relating to
17 budget items that are requested by the entities on behalf of
18 people who have disabilities;
19 (g) Evaluate outcomes and accountability measures and
20 make programmatic recommendations to the agencies represented
21 on the advisory board;
22 (h) Coordinate the implementation of state and federal
23 policies;
24 (i) Review requests for legislative funding and
25 proposed policy changes;
26 (j) Periodically convene the agencies represented on
27 the advisory board, for the purpose of reviewing the agencies'
28 missions, services, activities, and funding capabilities;
29 (k) Encourage research on the effectiveness of
30 programs and propose pilot projects aimed at improving the
31 services of the agencies represented on the advisory board;
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1 (l) Identify areas in which needed services are not
2 being provided; and
3 (m) Identify groups of people who have disabilities
4 and are not being served or are not being served adequately.
5 (3)(a) The Office of Disability Coordination shall
6 develop and maintain a continuing program of information
7 management, the purpose of which is to compile, maintain, and
8 disseminate information concerning met and unmet needs of,
9 providers of services to, and costs and availability of
10 services for, people who have disabilities.
11 (b) The agencies represented on the advisory board
12 must provide direct access to all of the data they maintain on
13 people who have disabilities to the Office of Disability
14 Coordination by October 1, 2000. The Office of Disability
15 Coordination should not maintain or duplicate data currently
16 maintained by any other entity.
17 (c) The Office of Disability Coordination shall make
18 the information collected under paragraph (b) available to
19 interested parties.
20 (d) The Office of Disability Coordination must not
21 make public any otherwise confidential information that could
22 identify an individual. The office shall ensure that the
23 purpose of obtaining information is to evaluate and improve
24 programs in all areas which serve people who have
25 disabilities.
26 (e) The Office of Disability Coordination may notify
27 the Governor and the Legislature of any agency's noncompliance
28 with its duties under this section. The Governor may
29 disqualify or suspend a noncompliant agency's ability to
30 receive grants, awards, or funding.
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1 (4)(a) By December 1, 2001, and thereafter by December
2 1 of each year, the Office of Disability Coordination shall
3 produce a report that documents the progress made in the
4 activities described in subsection (2). Each advisory board
5 member shall provide information for the report which relates
6 to his or her agency. The report must also describe the
7 barriers that prevent full collaboration among entities that
8 serve people who have disabilities. Recommendations as to what
9 measures are needed to achieve full coordination of services
10 to people who have disabilities, as well as recommendations
11 concerning how to better serve such people, must be included
12 in the report. Copies of the report must be transmitted
13 electronically or in writing to the Executive Office of the
14 Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
15 House of Representatives, as well as to other interested
16 parties upon request.
17 (b) Before the 2002 Regular Session of the
18 Legislature, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and
19 Governmental Accountability shall conduct a review of, and
20 prepare a report on, the Office of Disability Coordination.
21 The review must be comprehensive and, at a minimum, must
22 specifically determine:
23 1. The progress made toward achieving the established
24 outcomes.
25 2. The circumstances contributing to the Office of
26 Disability Coordination's ability to achieve, not to achieve,
27 or to exceed its established outcomes.
28 3. Whether it would be sound public policy to continue
29 or discontinue the Office of Disability Coordination, and the
30 consequences of discontinuation.
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 11
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1 Section 2. There is appropriated from the General
2 Revenue Fund to the Executive Office of the Governor for
3 fiscal year 2000-2001:
4 (a) The sum of $250,000, to be used for startup
5 expenses of the Office of Disability Coordination, including,
6 but not limited to, the cost of hardware, software, and office
7 equipment.
8 (b) The sum of $350,000, to be used for the operating
9 costs of the Office of Disability Coordination, including, but
10 not limited to, salaries, benefits, and travel expenses.
11 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.
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14 HOUSE SUMMARY
15 Creates the Office of Disability Coordination within the
Executive Office of the Governor. Provides for an
16 advisory board. Provides for working groups. Establishes
membership, terms of office, and officers. Provides for
17 staff, including an executive director, an expert in
information management, and additional staff as needed.
18 Authorizes the executive director to employ consultants
and enter into contracts. Provides for rules, rights, and
19 benefits applicable to staff. Provides duties of the
office. Requires entities serving people who have
20 disabilities to provide access to certain data. Requires
the office to make certain data available to interested
21 parties. Requires the office to produce an annual report
and transmit it to the Executive Office of the Governor,
22 to legislative leaders, and to entities that deal with
people who have disabilities. Requires the Office of
23 Program Policy Analysis and Governmental Accountability
to review and report on the Office of Disability
24 Coordination before the 2002 Regular Session of the
Legislature. Provides appropriations.
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