HB 0931 2003
1	CHAMBER ACTION
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6	The Committee on Health Care recommends the following:
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8	Committee Substitute
9	Remove the entire bill and insert:
10	A bill to be entitled
11	An act relating to dentistry; creating s. 466.005, F.S.,
12	the Board of Dentistry Empowerment Act; providing for the
13	appointment of an executive director; providing for duties
14	and board oversight; requiring director to oversee staff;
15	requiring the department to contract for a dental intake
16	officer and providing qualifications; requiring certain
17	responsibilities of the officer; requiring the board to
18	establish certain performance parameters for departmental
19	handling of disciplinary cases and consequences; requiring
20	the Testing Services office to report to the board if
21	requested; requiring a board spending plan and its
22	content; requiring board spending authority over
23	discretionary budget items; requiring a department report
24	of certain information; providing for a board response;
25	providing an effective date.
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27	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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29	Section 1. Section 466.005, Florida Statutes, is created
30	to read:
31	466.005 Board of Dentistry Empowerment Act.--
32	(1) If the board so decides, it shall direct the
33	department whom to appoint as the executive director of the
34	board pursuant to the rules of the state personnel system. The
35	committee conducting interviews of candidates for executive
36	director shall consist of the board chair or her or his designee
37	and the secretary or her or his designee. A list of final
38	candidates shall be submitted to the board, which shall approve
39	the candidate to be hired. The approval process shall include
40	the right of the board to interview the list of submitted
41	candidates. The board may reject all the candidates on the
42	submitted list and request that a new list be submitted by the
43	interview committee. The executive director shall perform those
44	duties and responsibilities specific to the board and shall
45	exclusively serve the board. The board shall monitor the
46	performance of the executive director, based on established
47	performance standards, and if the board determines, by a
48	majority vote, that the performance of the executive director is
49	consistently below the performance standards of the board and
50	thus unacceptable, the board shall promptly notify the
51	department of its findings, in writing, and the department shall
52	take appropriate action to replace the executive director,
53	pursuant to the state personnel rules.
54	(2) The executive director shall be responsible for
55	overseeing the hiring of all other staff members who work
56	directly for the executive director and who perform services for
57	the board.
58	(3) The department shall contract for a dental intake
59	officer when requested by the board in accordance with the state
60	personnel system and qualifications established for such
61	position by the board. The qualifications for the position shall
62	include a requirement that the candidate be a licensed Florida
63	dentist in good standing.
64	(4) The dental intake officer shall be responsible for
65	determining the legal sufficiency of all dental complaints
66	received by the department within 5 working days after the
67	complaint is filed, advising the board regarding dental health
68	regulation issues, and advising field investigators on dental
69	issues related to the complaints to ensure that complaints are
70	properly investigated in a timely and efficacious manner.
71	(5) The board, in consultation with the department, shall
72	establish reasonable and comprehensive performance parameters
73	for the prosecution of disciplinary cases by the department.
74	Such parameters shall reflect the quality and quantity of
75	services to be provided to the board, including, but not limited
76	to, the proportion of cases that are successfully prosecuted
77	through final hearing and appeal if such cases involve
78	irremediable harm or injury or the immediate threat of
79	irremediable harm or injury to the patient. The board shall
80	conduct an annual evaluation to determine if the department has
81	met the established performance parameters. A finding by the
82	board that the department has failed to meet established
83	parameters shall enable the board, by a majority vote, to
84	instruct the department to retain sufficient outside contractual
85	prosecutorial services pursuant to s. 287.057(3) to fulfill the
86	immediate and foreseeable prosecutorial needs of the board.
87	Contract negotiations and vendor selection shall be conducted in
88	consultation with the chair of the board or her or his designee.
89	A contract for prosecutorial services may not be executed by the
90	department until the contract is approved by the board. The
91	board has the right to reject any proposed contract presented
92	pursuant to this section. Each contract for prosecutorial
93	services shall include, at a minimum, the performance parameters
94	developed by the board for its assessment of the department.
95	(6) If requested, a representative of the Testing Services
96	office of the department shall appear before the board, or a
97	committee of the board, following the completion of each
98	examination cycle to discuss examination issues. If the board
99	identifies issues to be addressed, the Testing Services office
100	shall report to the board, as requested at the next board
101	meeting, on its progress in addressing the issues identified by
102	the board.
103	(7)(a) In conjunction with each fiscal year budgetary
104	cycle, the department, in consultation with the board, shall
105	develop a board spending plan encompassing anticipated revenue
106	of all types along with all anticipated operating expenses of
107	the board and associated support services of the department,
108	which shall include all direct and allocated expenses necessary
109	to enable the board to fulfill its responsibilities. All
110	expenditure detail as provided in this paragraph shall reflect
111	the methodology and calculations of the department in allocating
112	common expenses among all regulatory boards.
113	(b) The board shall have spending authority over
114	discretionary budgetary items, as determined by the department
115	and the board jointly. Discretionary budgetary items shall
116	include the selection of board meeting venue, hotel facilities,
117	and accommodations; travel of board members and necessary staff
118	to all meetings of the board; attendance by board members at
119	meetings and conferences deemed to be important by the board in
120	fulfilling its responsibilities, monitoring performance, and
121	confirming the accuracy of information provided to the board or
122	others which relates to the duties and responsibilities of the
123	board; and an operational contingency. The operational
124	contingency is that portion of cash on hand which exceeds that
125	required for the 5-year spending plan as described in s.
126	456.005. The operational contingency may be used for a special
127	project by the board in fulfilling its responsibilities if a
128	deficit does not or would not exist for the profession. In
129	exercising its spending authority over discretionary budget
130	items, the board must adhere to all applicable state laws and
131	directives, ensure that all meeting locations are accessible to
132	the public and licensees, ensure that board meetings are
133	conducted in an effective and efficient manner for the public
134	and licensees, ensure that the minimal number of board members
135	or staff attend any meeting or conference, and ensure the
136	maximum use of technology. When requested by the board, the
137	department shall provide timely procurement assistance to
138	facilitate all discretionary expenditures of the board.
139	(8)(a) The department shall submit a report to the
140	Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
141	House of Representatives by November 1 of each year on the
142	effectiveness and efficiency of this section, including:
143	1. The revenues, expenditures, and cash balances for the
144	prior year and a review of the adequacy of existing revenues.
145	2. The nature and extent of all services provided to the
146	board by the department.
147	3. The total cost allocated by the department for each
148	service provided by the department to the board and the amount
149	and percent by which each cost is appropriate to dentistry's pro
150	rata share of the total cost of such services provided by the
151	department to all affected boards, councils, and professions.
152	4. The number of licensure examinations taken, the fees
153	collected for licensure examination, and the time from which a
154	candidate for licensure completed the required examination to
155	the time in which the candidate received the results.
156	5. The number of licenses issued, revoked, or suspended.
157	6. The number of disciplinary complaints received,
158	determined to be legally sufficient, investigated, referred to
159	the board's probable cause panel, prosecuted, subject to final
160	board action, and appealed; the number and maximum and average
161	duration of licenses suspended; the number of licenses revoked;
162	the number of cases spanning more than 180, 270, and 365 days
163	after receipt of complaint to submission to the board's probable
164	cause panel; the proportion of cases which were eligible for and
165	the number of cases actually resolved by citation; the
166	proportion of cases where probable cause was found; the number
167	of cases where probable cause was found that were not prosecuted
168	or that did not result in stipulated agreements; the number of
169	cases involving stipulated agreements; the number of cases
170	involving stipulated agreements that were changed by the board
171	and the number of cases involving stipulated agreements that
172	were rejected without modification by the board; the number of
173	cases taking in excess of 1 year after the date of receipt of a
174	complaint to final board action; the number of cases involving
175	formal hearings; the status of all cases appealed; the number of
176	cases where licensure suspension or revocation was stayed
177	pending appeal; the number of emergency suspension orders
178	issued; the average and maximum range of costs of complaint
179	investigations and prosecutions; and the amount of fines and
180	expenses collected by type of cases prosecuted.
181	7. The status of the development and implementation of
182	rules providing for disciplinary guidelines pursuant to s.
183	456.079.
184	8. Such recommendations for administrative and statutory
185	changes necessary to facilitate efficient and cost-effective
186	operation of the board and the department.
187	(b) The department shall include in the report any
188	statement, comment, suggestion, recommendation, or objection
189	made by the board in response to the report.
190	Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.