HB 1953

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to administrative procedures; amending s.
3	120.55, F.S.; requiring forms incorporated by reference to
4	display specified information; requiring electronic
5	publication of the Florida Administrative Weekly on an
6	Internet website managed by the Department of State;
7	prescribing content and website search requirements;
8	providing for free public access to such website;
9	providing guidelines for publishing, revising guidelines
10	for distributing, and specifying the funding source for
11	the print version of the Florida Administrative Weekly;
12	amending s. 120.551, F.S.; postponing the repeal of such
13	section; requiring the Department of State to provide for
14	training courses for agencies currently publishing
15	materials in the Florida Administrative Weekly; providing
16	effective dates.
17
18	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
19
20	Section 1.  Effective December 31, 2005, section 120.55,
21	Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
22	120.55  Publication.--
23	(1)  The Department of State shall:
24	(a)1.  Publish in a permanent compilation entitled "Florida
25	Administrative Code" all rules adopted by each agency, citing
26	the specific rulemaking authority pursuant to which each rule
27	was adopted, all history notes as authorized in s. 120.545(9),
28	and complete indexes to all rules contained in the code.
29	Supplementation shall be made as often as practicable, but at
30	least monthly.  The department may contract with a publishing
31	firm for the publication, in a timely and useful form, of the
32	Florida Administrative Code; however, the department shall
33	retain responsibility for the code as provided in this section.
34	This publication shall be the official compilation of the
35	administrative rules of this state.  The Department of State
36	shall retain the copyright over the Florida Administrative Code.
37	2.  Rules general in form but applicable to only one school
38	district, community college district, or county, or a part
39	thereof, or state university rules relating to internal
40	personnel or business and finance shall not be published in the
41	Florida Administrative Code. Exclusion from publication in the
42	Florida Administrative Code shall not affect the validity or
43	effectiveness of such rules.
44	3.  At the beginning of the section of the code dealing
45	with an agency that files copies of its rules with the
46	department, the department shall publish the address and
47	telephone number of the executive offices of each agency, the
48	manner by which the agency indexes its rules, a listing of all
49	rules of that agency excluded from publication in the code, and
50	a statement as to where those rules may be inspected.
51	4.  Forms shall not be published in the Florida
52	Administrative Code; but any form which an agency uses in its
53	dealings with the public, along with any accompanying
54	instructions, shall be filed with the committee before it is
55	used. Any form or instruction which meets the definition of
56	"rule" provided in s. 120.52 shall be incorporated by reference
57	into the appropriate rule.  The reference shall specifically
58	state that the form is being incorporated by reference and shall
59	include the number, title, and effective date of the form and an
60	explanation of how the form may be obtained. Each form created
61	by an agency which is incorporated by reference in a rule
62	noticed pursuant to s. 120.54(3)(a) after December 31, 2005,
63	must clearly display the number, title, and effective date of
64	the form and the number of the rule in which the form is
65	incorporated.
66	(b)  Electronically publish on an Internet website, managed
67	by the department, a weekly publication entitled the "Florida
68	Administrative Weekly," which shall serve as the official
69	Internet website for such publication and shall contain:
70	1.  Notice of adoption of, and an index to, all rules filed
71	during the preceding week.
72	2.  All notices required by s. 120.54(3)(a), showing the
73	text of all rules proposed for consideration or a reference to
74	the location in the Florida Administrative Weekly where the text
75	of the proposed rules is published.
76	3.  All notices of public meetings, hearings, and workshops
77	conducted in accordance with the provisions of s. 120.525,
78	including a statement of the manner in which a copy of the
79	agenda may be obtained.
80	4.  A notice of each request for authorization to amend or
81	repeal an existing uniform rule or for the adoption of new
82	uniform rules.
83	5.  Notice of petitions for declaratory statements or
84	administrative determinations.
85	6.  A summary of each objection to any rule filed by the
86	Administrative Procedures Committee during the preceding week.
87	7.  A cumulative list of all rules that have been proposed
88	but not filed for adoption.
89	8.7.  Any other material required or authorized by law or
90	deemed useful by the department.
91
92	The department may contract with a publishing firm for printed
93	publication of the Florida Administrative Weekly and make copies
94	available on an annual subscription basis. All costs related to
95	the printed publication of the Florida Administrative Weekly
96	shall be funded solely by annual subscription revenue.
97	(c)  Review notices for compliance with format and
98	numbering requirements before publishing them on the Florida
99	Administrative Weekly Internet website.
100	(d)(c)  Prescribe by rule the style and form required for
101	rules submitted for filing and establish the form for their
102	certification.
103	(e)(d)  Correct grammatical, typographical, and like errors
104	not affecting the construction or meaning of the rules, after
105	having obtained the advice and consent of the appropriate
106	agency, and insert history notes.
107	(e)  Make copies of the Florida Administrative Weekly
108	available on an annual subscription basis computed to cover a
109	pro rata share of 50 percent of the costs related to the
110	publication of the Florida Administrative Weekly.
111	(f)  Charge each agency using the Florida Administrative
112	Weekly a space rate computed to cover a pro rata share of 50
113	percent of the costs related to the Florida Administrative
114	Weekly and the Florida Administrative Code.
115	(g)  Maintain a permanent record of all notices published
116	in the Florida Administrative Weekly.
117	(2)  The Florida Administrative Weekly Internet website
118	must allow users to:
119	(a)  Search for notices by type, publication date, rule
120	number, word, subject, or agency.
121	(b)  Search a database that makes available all notices
122	published on the website for a period of at least 5 years.
123	(c)  Subscribe to an automated e-mail notification of
124	selected notices.
125	(d)  View agency forms incorporated by reference in
126	proposed rules.
127	(3)(2)  Each agency shall provide copies of its rules upon
128	request, with citations to the grant of rulemaking authority and
129	the specific law implemented for each rule print or distribute
130	copies of its rules, citing the specific rulemaking authority
131	pursuant to which each rule was adopted.
132	(4)(3)  Any publication of a proposed rule promulgated by
133	an agency, whether published in the Florida Administrative Code
134	or elsewhere, shall include, along with the rule, the name of
135	the person or persons originating such rule, the name of the
136	supervisor or person who approved the rule, and the date upon
137	which the rule was approved.
138	(5)  Access to the Florida Administrative Weekly Internet
139	website and its contents, including the e-mail notification
140	service, shall be free for the public.
141	(6)(4)  If the Florida Administrative Weekly is made
142	available by the Department of State as a printed publication,
143	the department shall furnish:
144	(a)  Copies of Each year the Department of State shall
145	furnish the Florida Administrative Weekly, without charge and
146	upon request, as follows:
147	1.  One subscription to each federal and state court having
148	jurisdiction over the residents of the state; the Legislative
149	Library; each state university library; the State Library; each
150	depository library designated pursuant to s. 257.05; and each
151	standing committee of the Senate and House of Representatives
152	and each state legislator.
153	2.  Two subscriptions to each state department.
154	3.  Three subscriptions to the library of the Supreme Court
155	of Florida, the library of each state district court of appeal,
156	the division, the library of the Attorney General, each law
157	school library in Florida, the Secretary of the Senate, and the
158	Clerk of the House of Representatives.
159	4.  Ten subscriptions to the committee.
160	(b)  The Department of State shall furnish One copy of the
161	Florida Administrative Weekly, at no cost, to each clerk of the
162	circuit court and each state department, for posting for public
163	inspection.
164	(7)(5)(a)  There is hereby created in the State Treasury a
165	revolving fund to be known as the "Publication Revolving Trust
166	Fund" of the Department of State.
167	(b)  All fees and moneys collected by the Department of
168	State under this chapter shall be deposited in the revolving
169	trust fund for the purpose of paying for the publication and
170	distribution of the Florida Administrative Code and the Florida
171	Administrative Weekly and for associated costs incurred by the
172	department in carrying out this chapter.
173	(c)  The unencumbered balance in the revolving trust fund
174	at the beginning of each fiscal year may shall not exceed
175	$300,000, and any excess shall be transferred to the General
176	Revenue Fund.
177	(d)  It is the intent of the Legislature that the Florida
178	Administrative Weekly be supported entirely from funds collected
179	for subscriptions to and advertisements in the Florida
180	Administrative Weekly.  To that end, the Department of State is
181	authorized to add a surcharge of 10 percent to any charge
182	relating to the Florida Administrative Weekly until such time as
183	the Publication Revolving Trust Fund has transferred to the
184	General Revenue Fund an amount equal to all funds appropriated
185	to the trust fund.
186	Section 2.  Section 120.551, Florida Statutes, is amended
187	to read:
188	120.551  Internet publication.--
189	(1)  For purposes of this section, the term:
190	(a)  "Agency" means the Department of Environmental
191	Protection and the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement
192	Trust Fund.
193	(b)  "Internet website" means a centralized Internet
194	website that is established and maintained by the Department of
195	Environmental Protection, is provided to the public without
196	charge, and permits the public to:
197	1.  Search notices by type, publication date, program area,
198	or rule number;
199	2.  Search a permanent database that archives all notices
200	published on the website; and
201	3.  Subscribe to an automated e-mail notification of
202	selected notice types.
203	(2)  Whenever the agency is required to publish notices in
204	the Florida Administrative Weekly, the agency shall instead
205	publish the complete notice on the Internet website. Notices
206	published on the Internet website shall clearly state the date
207	the notice was first published and shall be published only on
208	the same days as the Florida Administrative Weekly is published.
209	The Department of State shall publish a statement in the Florida
210	Administrative Weekly that indicates the specific URL or address
211	for the Internet website. The agency shall publish all other
212	notices in the manner prescribed by law.
213	(3)  This section is repealed effective December 31, 2005
214	July 1, 2004, unless reviewed and reenacted by the Legislature
215	before that date.
216	Section 3.  The Department of State shall, before December
217	31, 2005, make available to all agencies required on the
218	effective date of this act to publish materials in the Florida
219	Administrative Weekly training courses for the purpose of
220	assisting the agencies with their transition to publishing on
221	the Florida Administrative Weekly Internet website. The training
222	courses may be provided in the form of workshops or software
223	packages that allow self-training by agency personnel.
224	Section 4.  Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
225	act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2004.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.