Florida Senate - 2011 CS for CS for SB 1292
By the Committees on Budget; and Governmental Oversight and
Accountability; and Senator Alexander
576-03599-11 20111292c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Chief Financial Officer;
3 creating s. 215.89, F.S.; providing legislative
4 intent; providing definitions; requiring the Chief
5 Financial Officer to conduct workshops with state
6 agencies, local governments, educational entities, and
7 entities of higher education to gather information
8 pertaining to uniform reporting requirements;
9 requiring the Chief Financial Officer to accept
10 comments from state agencies, local governments,
11 educational entities, entities of higher education,
12 and interested parties regarding proposed charts of
13 account by a certain date; requiring the Chief
14 Financial Officer to adopt charts of account which
15 meet certain requirements by a certain date; requiring
16 a review and update of the charts of account;
17 requiring the Chief Financial Officer to consult with
18 the Legislature, the Auditor General, and the affected
19 parties about certain modifications; requiring the
20 Chief Financial Officer to publish the charts of
21 account by memoranda to all affected reporting
22 entities; amending s. 120.52, F.S.; revising the
23 definition of the term “rule” to include certain
24 statements, memoranda, or instructions by the Chief
25 Financial Officer on the manner in which accounts and
26 financial information are kept and reported by state
27 agencies, local governments, educational entities, and
28 entities of higher education; providing a declaration
29 of important state interest; providing an effective
30 date.
31
32 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
33
34 Section 1. Section 215.89, Florida Statutes, is created to
35 read:
36 215.89 Charts of account.—
37 (1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.—It is the intent of the Legislature
38 that a mechanism be provided for obtaining detailed, uniform
39 reporting of government financial information to enable citizens
40 to view compatible information on the use of public funds by
41 governmental entities. The Legislature intends that uniform
42 reporting requirements be developed specifically to promote
43 accountability and transparency in the use of public funds. In
44 order to accommodate the different financial management systems
45 currently in use, separate charts of account may be used as long
46 as the financial information is captured and reported
47 consistently and is compatible with any reporting entity.
48 (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
49 (a) “Charts of account” means a compilation of uniform data
50 codes that are to be used for reporting governmental assets,
51 liabilities, equities, revenues, and expenditures to the Chief
52 Financial Officer. Uniform data codes shall capture specific
53 details of the assets, liabilities, equities, revenues, and
54 expenditures that are of interest to the public.
55 (b) “State agency” means an official, officer, commission,
56 board, authority, council, committee, or department of the
57 executive branch; a state attorney, public defender, criminal
58 conflict and civil regional counsel, or capital collateral
59 regional counsel; the Florida Clerks of Court Operations
60 Corporation; the Justice Administrative Commission; the Florida
61 Housing Finance Corporation; the Florida Public Service
62 Commission; the State Board of Administration; the Supreme Court
63 or a district court of appeal, circuit court, or county court;
64 the Judicial Qualifications Commission; or the legislative
65 branch of government.
66 (c) “Local government” means a municipality, county, water
67 management district, special district, or any other entity
68 created by a local government.
69 (d) “Educational entity” means a school district or an
70 entity created by a school district.
71 (e) “Entity of higher education” means a state university,
72 a state or Florida College System institution, or an entity
73 created by a state university or state or Florida College System
74 institution.
75 (f) “State and local government financial information”
76 means the assets, liabilities, equities, revenues, and
77 expenditure information that is recorded in financial management
78 systems of state agencies, local governments, educational
79 entities, and entities of higher education.
80 (3) REPORTING STRUCTURE.—
81 (a) Beginning October 1, 2011, the Chief Financial Officer
82 shall conduct workshops with state agencies, local governments,
83 educational entities, entities of higher education, and the
84 Legislature to gather information pertaining to uniform
85 statewide reporting requirements to be used to develop charts of
86 account by the Chief Financial Officer. Proposed charts of
87 account shall be published by July 1, 2013.
88 (b) The Chief Financial Officer shall accept comments from
89 state agencies, local governments, educational entities,
90 entities of higher education, and other interested parties
91 regarding the proposed charts of account until November 1, 2013.
92 (c) By January 1, 2014, the Chief Financial Officer, after
93 consultation with affected state agencies, local governments,
94 educational entities, entities of higher education, and the
95 Auditor General, shall adopt charts of account which:
96 1. Require specific enterprise-wide information;
97 2. Allow additional agency-specific information;
98 3. Require uniform reporting for expenditures and revenues
99 by state agencies, local governments, educational entities, and
100 entities of higher education; and
101 4. To the maximum extent possible, require at least two
102 additional levels of specificity on the expenditure of public
103 funds.
104 (d) Each state agency, local government, educational
105 entity, and entity of higher education must implement the
106 applicable charts of account adopted pursuant to paragraph (c)
107 during the next fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2014.
108 (e) The Chief Financial Officer shall periodically update
109 the charts of account on an as-needed basis. The Chief Financial
110 Officer shall perform an annual review of the validity and
111 usefulness of the data reported and, after consultation with the
112 Legislature, the Auditor General, and the affected reporting
113 state agencies, local governments, educational entities, and
114 entities of higher education, shall determine whether
115 modification of reporting requirements is necessary.
116 (4) PROCEDURES.—The Chief Financial Officer shall publish
117 the charts of account by means of memoranda directed to all
118 affected reporting entities.
119 Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (16) of section
120 120.52, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
121 120.52 Definitions.—As used in this act:
122 (16) “Rule” means each agency statement of general
123 applicability that implements, interprets, or prescribes law or
124 policy or describes the procedure or practice requirements of an
125 agency and includes any form which imposes any requirement or
126 solicits any information not specifically required by statute or
127 by an existing rule. The term also includes the amendment or
128 repeal of a rule. The term does not include:
129 (c) The preparation or modification of:
130 1. Agency budgets.
131 2. Statements, memoranda, or instructions to state agencies
132 issued by the Chief Financial Officer or Comptroller as chief
133 fiscal officer of the state and relating or pertaining to claims
134 for payment submitted by state agencies to the Chief Financial
135 Officer or Comptroller.
136 3. Statements, memoranda, or instructions to state
137 agencies, local governments, educational entities, and entities
138 of higher education issued by the Chief Financial Officer and
139 relating or pertaining to the manner in which accounts and
140 financial information are kept and reported to the Chief
141 Financial Officer by state agencies, local governments,
142 educational entities, and entities of higher education.
143 4.3. Contractual provisions reached as a result of
144 collective bargaining.
145 5.4. Memoranda issued by the Executive Office of the
146 Governor relating to information resources management.
147 Section 3. The Legislature finds that this act fulfills an
148 important state interest.
149 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.