Senate Bill sb1374c1

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    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 1374

    By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Productivity;
    and Senator Peaden




    302-1968-03

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to to administrative

  3         procedures; amending s. 120.55, F.S.; providing

  4         for electronic publication of the Florida

  5         Administrative Weekly on an Internet website in

  6         lieu of paper publication; amending content

  7         requirements for the Florida Administrative

  8         Weekly; requiring the Department of State to

  9         review notices; eliminating fees associated

10         with the Florida Administrative Weekly;

11         providing website search and archiving

12         requirements; providing for free agency and

13         public access to the Florida Administrative

14         Weekly Internet website; eliminating trust fund

15         provisions; amending s. 120.551, F.S.;

16         extending the time for the Department of

17         Environmental Protection's Internet publication

18         pilot project; amending s. 287.042, F.S.;

19         eliminating obsolete provisions; repealing s.

20         120.551, F.S.; providing for the future repeal

21         of provisions requiring an Internet publication

22         pilot project; providing for discontinuation of

23         the paper version of the Florida Administrative

24         Weekly; requiring notice of discontinuation;

25         providing for agency training courses;

26         providing effective dates.

27  

28  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

29  

30         Section 1.  Effective January 1, 2004, section 120.55,

31  Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

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    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 1374
    302-1968-03




 1         120.55  Publication.--

 2         (1)  The Department of State shall:

 3         (a)1.  Publish in a permanent compilation entitled

 4  "Florida Administrative Code" all rules adopted by each

 5  agency, citing the specific rulemaking authority pursuant to

 6  which each rule was adopted, all history notes as authorized

 7  in s. 120.545(9), and complete indexes to all rules contained

 8  in the code. Supplementation shall be made as often as

 9  practicable, but at least monthly.  The department may

10  contract with a publishing firm for the publication, in a

11  timely and useful form, of the Florida Administrative Code;

12  however, the department shall retain responsibility for the

13  code as provided in this section.  This publication shall be

14  the official compilation of the administrative rules of this

15  state.  The Department of State shall retain the copyright

16  over the Florida Administrative Code.

17         2.  Rules general in form but applicable to only one

18  school district, community college district, or county, or a

19  part thereof, or state university rules relating to internal

20  personnel or business and finance shall not be published in

21  the Florida Administrative Code. Exclusion from publication in

22  the Florida Administrative Code shall not affect the validity

23  or effectiveness of such rules.

24         3.  At the beginning of the section of the code dealing

25  with an agency that files copies of its rules with the

26  department, the department shall publish the address and

27  telephone number of the executive offices of each agency, the

28  manner by which the agency indexes its rules, a listing of all

29  rules of that agency excluded from publication in the code,

30  and a statement as to where those rules may be inspected.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 1374
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 1         4.  Forms shall not be published in the Florida

 2  Administrative Code; but any form which an agency uses in its

 3  dealings with the public, along with any accompanying

 4  instructions, shall be filed with the committee before it is

 5  used. Any form or instruction that which meets the definition

 6  of "rule" provided in s. 120.52 shall be incorporated by

 7  reference into the appropriate rule.  The reference shall

 8  specifically state that the form is being incorporated by

 9  reference and shall include the number, title, and effective

10  date of the form and an explanation of how the form may be

11  obtained.

12         (b)  Electronically publish on an Internet website,

13  established and maintained by the State Technology Office, a

14  weekly publication entitled the "Florida Administrative

15  Weekly," which shall contain:

16         1.  Notice of adoption of, and an index to, all rules

17  filed during the preceding week.

18         2.  All notices required by s. 120.54(3)(a), showing

19  the text of all rules proposed for consideration or a

20  reference to the location in the Florida Administrative Weekly

21  where the text of the proposed rules is published.

22         3.  All notices of public meetings, hearings, and

23  workshops conducted in accordance with the provisions of s.

24  120.525, including a statement of the manner in which a copy

25  of the agenda may be obtained.

26         4.  A notice of each request for authorization to amend

27  or repeal an existing uniform rule or for the adoption of new

28  uniform rules.

29         5.  Notice of petitions for declaratory statements or

30  administrative determinations.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 1374
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 1         6.  A summary of each objection to any rule filed by

 2  the Administrative Procedures Committee during the preceding

 3  week.

 4         7.  Any other material required or authorized by law or

 5  deemed useful by the department.

 6         (c)  Review notices for compliance with format and

 7  numbering requirements prior to publishing on the Florida

 8  Administrative Weekly Internet website.

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10  The department may contract with a publishing firm for

11  publication of the Florida Administrative Weekly.

12         (d)(c)  Prescribe by rule the style and form required

13  for rules submitted for filing and establish the form for

14  their certification.

15         (e)(d)  Correct grammatical, typographical, and like

16  errors not affecting the construction or meaning of the rules,

17  after having obtained the advice and consent of the

18  appropriate agency, and insert history notes.

19         (e)  Make copies of the Florida Administrative Weekly

20  available on an annual subscription basis computed to cover a

21  pro rata share of 50 percent of the costs related to the

22  publication of the Florida Administrative Weekly.

23         (f)  Charge each agency using the Florida

24  Administrative Weekly a space rate computed to cover a pro

25  rata share of 50 percent of the costs related to the Florida

26  Administrative Weekly.

27         (2)  The Florida Administrative Weekly Internet website

28  shall allow users to:

29         (a)  Search for notices by type, publication date,

30  program area, rule number, or agency;

31         (b)  Search by word or subject;

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    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 1374
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 1         (c)  Search a permanent database that archives all

 2  notices published on the website; and

 3         (d)  Subscribe to an automated e-mail notification of

 4  selected notices.

 5         (3)(2)  Each agency shall print or distribute copies of

 6  its rules, citing the specific rulemaking authority pursuant

 7  to which each rule was adopted.

 8         (4)(3)  Any publication of a proposed rule promulgated

 9  by an agency, whether published in the Florida Administrative

10  Code or elsewhere, shall include, along with the rule, the

11  name of the person or persons originating such rule, the name

12  of the supervisor or person who approved the rule, and the

13  date upon which the rule was approved.

14         (5)(4)(a)  Agencies shall not be assessed any charge

15  for publishing in the Florida Administrative Weekly, and

16  access to the Florida Administrative Weekly Internet website

17  and its contents, including the e-mail notification service,

18  shall be free for agencies and the public. Each year the

19  Department of State shall furnish the Florida Administrative

20  Weekly, without charge and upon request, as follows:

21         1.  One subscription to each federal and state court

22  having jurisdiction over the residents of the state; the

23  Legislative Library; each state university library; the State

24  Library; each depository library designated pursuant to s.

25  257.05; and each standing committee of the Senate and House of

26  Representatives and each state legislator.

27         2.  Two subscriptions to each state department.

28         3.  Three subscriptions to the library of the Supreme

29  Court of Florida, the library of each state district court of

30  appeal, the division, the library of the Attorney General,

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 1374
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 1  each law school library in Florida, the Secretary of the

 2  Senate, and the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

 3         4.  Ten subscriptions to the committee.

 4         (b)  The Department of State shall furnish one copy of

 5  the Florida Administrative Weekly, at no cost, to each clerk

 6  of the circuit court and each state department, for posting

 7  for public inspection.

 8         (5)(a)  There is hereby created in the State Treasury a

 9  revolving fund to be known as the "Publication Revolving Trust

10  Fund" of the Department of State.

11         (b)  All fees and moneys collected by the Department of

12  State under this chapter shall be deposited in the revolving

13  trust fund for the purpose of paying for the publication and

14  distribution of the Florida Administrative Code and the

15  Florida Administrative Weekly and for associated costs

16  incurred by the department in carrying out this chapter.

17         (c)  The unencumbered balance in the revolving trust

18  fund at the beginning of each fiscal year shall not exceed

19  $300,000, and any excess shall be transferred to the General

20  Revenue Fund.

21         (d)  It is the intent of the Legislature that the

22  Florida Administrative Weekly be supported entirely from funds

23  collected for subscriptions to and advertisements in the

24  Florida Administrative Weekly.  To that end, the Department of

25  State is authorized to add a surcharge of 10 percent to any

26  charge relating to the Florida Administrative Weekly until

27  such time as the Publication Revolving Trust Fund has

28  transferred to the General Revenue Fund an amount equal to all

29  funds appropriated to the trust fund.

30         Section 2.  Subsection (1) of section 120.551, Florida

31  Statutes, is amended to read:

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    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 1374
    302-1968-03




 1         120.551  Internet publication pilot project.--

 2         (1)  On or before December 31, 2001, the Department of

 3  Environmental Protection and the State Technology Office shall

 4  establish and commence a pilot project to determine the

 5  cost-effectiveness of publication of notices on the Internet

 6  in lieu of complete publication in the Florida Administrative

 7  Weekly. The pilot project shall end on December 31, 2003 July

 8  1, 2003. Under this pilot project, notwithstanding any other

 9  provision of law, whenever the Department of Environmental

10  Protection is required to publish notices in the Florida

11  Administrative Weekly, the Department of Environmental

12  Protection instead may publish a summary of such notice in the

13  Florida Administrative Weekly along with the specific URL or

14  Internet address where the complete notice required by law

15  shall be published. The Department of Environmental Protection

16  shall publish all other notices in the manner prescribed by

17  law. Notices published on the Internet under this section

18  shall clearly state the date the notice was first posted on

19  the Internet and shall be initially posted only on the same

20  days the Florida Administrative Weekly is published. Notices

21  related to rulemaking published on the Internet under this

22  provision shall be maintained on the Internet for a period of

23  at least 12 months after the effective date of the rule or at

24  least 3 months after the publication of a notice of withdrawal

25  of the proposed rule. All other notices published on the

26  Internet under this provision shall be maintained on the

27  Internet for a period of at least 3 months after the date

28  first posted. A searchable database or other electronic system

29  to be permanently maintained on the Internet for the purpose

30  of archiving all notices published on the Internet and

31  allowing citizens permanent electronic access to such archived

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    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 1374
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 1  records shall also be established by the pilot project. No

 2  notice posted on the Internet shall be removed until the

 3  searchable database is implemented.

 4         Section 3.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section

 5  287.042, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

 6         287.042  Powers, duties, and functions.--The department

 7  shall have the following powers, duties, and functions:

 8         (3)  To establish a system of coordinated, uniform

 9  procurement policies, procedures, and practices to be used by

10  agencies in acquiring commodities and contractual services,

11  which shall include, but not be limited to:

12         (b)1.  Development of procedures for advertising

13  solicitations. These procedures must provide for electronic

14  posting of solicitations for at least 10 days before the date

15  set for receipt of bids, proposals, or replies, unless the

16  department or other agency determines in writing that a

17  shorter period of time is necessary to avoid harming the

18  interests of the state. The Office of Supplier Diversity may

19  consult with the department regarding the development of

20  solicitation distribution procedures to ensure that maximum

21  distribution is afforded to certified minority business

22  enterprises as defined in s. 288.703.

23         2.  Development of procedures for electronic posting.

24  The department shall designate a centralized website on the

25  Internet for the department and other agencies to

26  electronically post solicitations, decisions or intended

27  decisions, and other matters relating to procurement. From

28  July 1, 2002, until July 1, 2003, the department shall publish

29  a notice in each edition of the Florida Administrative Weekly

30  which indicates the specific URL or Internet address for the

31  centralized website.

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    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 1374
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 1         Section 4.  Effective December 31, 2003, section

 2  120.551, Florida Statutes, is repealed.

 3         Section 5.  Publication of the paper version of the

 4  Florida Administrative Weekly shall be discontinued as of

 5  December 31, 2003. Beginning October 1, 2003, each Florida

 6  Administrative Weekly issue published shall include a notice

 7  indicating that the paper version of the Florida

 8  Administrative Weekly will no longer be published as of the

 9  date established in this section and indicating the specific

10  Internet URL or address for the future Florida Administrative

11  Weekly Internet website.

12         Section 6.  The Department of State, with the

13  assistance of the State Technology Office, shall, prior to

14  December 31, 2003, make training courses available to all

15  agencies currently required to publish in the paper version of

16  the Florida Administrative Weekly. The training courses shall

17  be for the purpose of assisting the agencies with their

18  transition to publishing on the Florida Administrative Weekly

19  Internet website and may be provided in the form of workshops

20  or self-training software packages.

21         Section 7.  Except as otherwise expressly provided in

22  this act, this act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 1374
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 1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 2                         Senate Bill 1374

 3                                 

 4  Removes the bill's provisions that permitted agencies required
    to publish in the Florida Administrative Weekly to
 5  discretionarily elect to publish administrative notices on
    individual agency Internet websites. Requires the Department
 6  of State to discontinue paper publication of the Florida
    Adminstrative Weekly and to begin publishing the Florida
 7  Administrative Weekly on a single Internet website established
    and maintained by the State Technology Office. Specifies
 8  requirements for the contents of the website. Requires that
    access to the website be provided free of charge to agencies
 9  and the public. Requires training courses to be provided to
    agencies to assist with their transition to Internet
10  publishing.

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