HB 0931 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to dentistry; creating s. 466.005, F.S.;
3	requiring the Board of Dentistry to employ its executive
4	director pursuant to state personnel rules; providing for
5	employment of all board staff by the executive director;
6	declaring employees of the board public employees;
7	requiring the board to employ or retain a dental
8	compliance officer to ensure proper and timely
9	investigation of complaints; providing for assignment to
10	the board of investigators employed or retained by the
11	Department of Health; authorizing negotiation as a means
12	of obtaining examination and legal services, including
13	private legal services; providing for separate budget
14	authority for the board and the department and for
15	separate budget submission requirements; requiring the
16	department and the board to submit independent annual
17	reports for a specified period to the Governor and
18	Legislature on the effectiveness and efficiency of these
19	provisions; providing an effective date.
20
21	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23	Section 1. Section 466.005, Florida Statutes, is created
24	to read:
25	466.005 Board of Dentistry; executive director; staff;
26	dental compliance officer; support services; budget submission
27	and authority; annual reports.--
28	(1)(a) The Board of Dentistry shall employ its executive
29	director pursuant to the rules of the state personnel system,
30	including a background check by the Department of Law
31	Enforcement. The committee of the board conducting the interview
32	of applicants for executive director of the board shall include
33	the Secretary of Health, or his or her designee, provided that
34	such designee is not the executive director of the board or
35	other board staff. The executive director shall be exclusively
36	employed by the board and no other board. The executive director
37	shall report directly to the board.
38	(b) The executive director shall be responsible for
39	employing all other staff members pursuant to state personnel
40	rules. Employees of the board are public employees for purposes
41	of chapters 110 and 112 and subject to the provisions of s.
42	112.061.
43	(2)(a) A dental compliance officer shall be employed or
44	retained by the board to provide dental expertise and advice to
45	the executive director, lead investigators, intake specialists,
46	and the board regarding dental health regulation issues to
47	ensure that probable cause complaints are properly investigated
48	and brought before the probable cause panel in a timely and
49	efficacious manner.
50	(b) The dental compliance officer shall be responsible for
51	determining legal sufficiency of all dental complaints received
52	by the department. Pursuant to s. 456.073(2), such determination
53	shall be made by the dental compliance officer within 5 working
54	days after receipt of the complaint.
55	(3) Within each department district, an investigator
56	employed or retained by the department shall be assigned to the
57	board.
58	(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the board
59	shall obtain services of legal counsel and prosecutors in
60	disciplinary cases by contracting with the department or the
61	Department of Legal Affairs or by retaining private counsel
62	pursuant to s. 287.057(3), provided that the board's retention
63	of private legal services, when applicable, shall be preceded by
64	a finding of the board that the types of services required are
65	of a highly specialized or unique nature not available through
66	the department or the Department of Legal Affairs. Private
67	counsel may be retained for prosecuting multiple disciplinary
68	cases to conclusion. In instances in which the board retains
69	private legal services, the chair of the board shall act as
70	agency head. No attorney shall prosecute a disciplinary case and
71	provide legal guidance to the board with respect to the same
72	disciplinary case.
73	(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the board
74	shall, at its discretion, obtain examination services by
75	contracting with the department or by retaining private services
76	pursuant to s. 287.057(3).
77	(6)(a)1. In conjunction with each budgetary cycle, the
78	board shall submit a proposed budget to the department, the
79	Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
80	House of Representatives covering:
81	a. All anticipated revenue of all types, including, but
82	not limited to, examination, licensure, and permitting fees as
83	well as disciplinary fines and reimbursements for court costs
84	and prosecutorial services.
85	b. Direct operating expenses of the board, which shall
86	include personnel, legal counsel and other consulting services,
87	the processing and examination of licensure applicants, the
88	issuance of licenses and permits, the review, investigation, and
89	prosecution of disciplinary actions, and all other support
90	services retained by the board, as well as office space,
91	furnishings, equipment, supplies, postage, printing, and other
92	costs necessary to enable the board to fulfill its
93	responsibilities under this chapter.
94	2. In addition to reflecting direct anticipated expenses,
95	the board's proposed budget shall include an operational
96	contingency in an amount determined by the board after reviewing
97	historical utilization, special assessments, and other cost
98	variables.
99	(b) In conjunction with each budgetary cycle, the
100	department shall include as a separate line item in its
101	legislative budget request funding to cover all anticipated
102	expenses of the department in providing various support services
103	to the board, including, when applicable, expenses associated
104	with the collection of licensure and permitting fees; the
105	issuance of licenses and permits; accounting services; complaint
106	review and investigation; the collection of disciplinary fines
107	and expense reimbursement; and all other indirect expenses of
108	the board that are not incurred directly by the board and are
109	borne on behalf of the board by the department. All expense
110	detail as provided in this paragraph shall reflect the
111	methodology and calculations of the department in allocating
112	common expenses among all regulatory boards, provided, however,
113	that in no event shall the total costs allocated for the
114	provision of such support services by the department exceed by
115	more than 150 percent the ratio of dental licensees to total
116	licensees of all professions whose boards receive the same type
117	of support services from the department. In the event the board
118	disputes the allocation of common expenses proposed by the
119	department or any other proposed expense of the department that
120	is associated with the department's provision of support
121	services to the board, the board shall timely provide an
122	exceptions report together with appropriate recommendations to
123	the Secretary of Health, the Governor, the President of the
124	Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
125	(c) The budget adopted by the state for the regulation of
126	dental professionals shall reflect the board's ability to obtain
127	support services from sources other than the department and
128	shall include separate line items to cover the revenue and
129	expenses of the board as specified in paragraph (a) and separate
130	line items to cover the revenue and expenses of the department
131	in connection with its rendering of support services to the
132	board as specified in paragraph (b).
133	(d) The board shall have budget authority over all revenue
134	and expenses authorized to be incurred by it, and the department
135	shall have budget authority over all revenue and expenses
136	authorized to be incurred by it on behalf of the board. All
137	revenues collected and all expenses incurred by the department
138	on behalf of the board shall be reported and duly accounted to
139	the board on a quarterly basis. Funds collected on behalf of the
140	board by the department shall not be commingled with funds
141	collected by the department from other regulatory sources not
142	affiliated with the regulation of dental professionals, and the
143	allocation of common expenses borne by the department on behalf
144	of all boards shall be annually reported to the board in terms
145	of cost and the total number of outstanding licenses for all
146	professions whose boards receive support services from the
147	department. The department shall maintain separate revenue and
148	expense accounts for each regulatory board under its support
149	jurisdiction. Except as provided by law, no funds may be
150	expended from the account of a profession regulated by the
151	department to pay for the expenses incurred on behalf of another
152	profession regulated by the department.
153	(7) The department and the board shall each independently
154	submit a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
155	and the Speaker of the House of Representatives prior to January
156	1 of each year through 2008 on the effectiveness and efficiency
157	of this section, including:
158	(a) The revenues, expenditures, and cash balances for the
159	prior fiscal year and a review of the adequacy of existing
160	revenues.
161	(b) The nature and extent of support services provided to
162	the board by the department and from vendors other than the
163	department.
164	(c) The number of licensure examinations taken and the
165	number of licenses issued, revoked, or suspended.
166	(d) The fees collected for licensure examination.
167	(e) The number and location of disciplinary complaints by
168	complaints received, verified, determined to be legally
169	sufficient, investigated, referred to the board's probable cause
170	panel, prosecuted, subject to final board action, and appealed;
171	the number and maximum and average durations of licenses
172	suspended; the number of licenses revoked; the number of cases
173	spanning more than 180 days, 270 days, or 365 days,
174	respectively, from receipt of a legally sufficient complaint to
175	submission to the board's probable cause panel; the proportion
176	of cases that were eligible for, and the number of cases
177	actually resolved by, citation; the proportion of cases in which
178	probable cause was found; the number of cases in which probable
179	cause was found that were not prosecuted or that did not result
180	in a stipulated agreement; the number of cases involving a
181	stipulated agreement; the number of cases involving a stipulated
182	agreement that was changed by the board and the number of cases
183	involving a stipulated agreement that was rejected by the board;
184	the number of cases taking in excess of 1 year, 2 years, or 3
185	years, respectively, from the date of receipt of a legally
186	sufficient complaint to final board action; the number of cases
187	involving a formal hearing; the status of all cases appealed;
188	the number of cases in which licensure suspension or revocation
189	has been stayed pending appeal; the number of emergency
190	suspension orders issued; the average and maximum ranges of
191	costs of complaint investigations and prosecutions; and the
192	amount of fines and expenses collected by types of cases
193	prosecuted.
194	(f) The status of the development and implementation of
195	rules providing for disciplinary guidelines pursuant to s.
196	456.079.
197	(g) Such recommendations for administrative and statutory
198	changes necessary to facilitate efficient and cost-effective
199	operation of the board and the department.
200	Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2003.