The Florida Senate

455.2177  Monitoring of compliance with continuing education requirements.--

(1)  The department shall establish a system to monitor licensee compliance with applicable continuing education requirements and to determine each licensee's continuing education status. The department is authorized to provide for a phase-in of the compliance monitoring system, but the system must provide for monitoring of compliance with applicable continuing education requirements by all professions regulated by the department no later than July 1, 2002. The compliance monitoring system may use staff of the department or may be privatized. As used in this section, the term "monitor" means the act of determining, for each licensee, whether the licensee was in full compliance with applicable continuing education requirements as of the time of the licensee's license renewal.

(2)  If the compliance monitoring system required under this section is privatized, the following provisions apply:

(a)  The department may contract pursuant to s. 287.057 with a vendor or vendors for the monitoring of compliance with applicable continuing education requirements by all licensees within one or more professions regulated by the department. The contract shall include, but need not be limited to, the following terms and conditions:

1.a.  The vendor shall create a computer database, in the form required by the department, that includes the continuing education status of each licensee and shall provide a report to the department within 90 days after the vendor receives the list of licensees to be monitored as provided in sub-subparagraph b. The report shall be in a format determined by the department and shall include each licensee's continuing education status by license number, hours of continuing education credit per cycle, and such other information the department deems necessary.

b.  No later than 30 days after the end of each renewal period, the department shall provide to the vendor a list that includes all licensees of a particular profession whose licenses were renewed during a particular renewal period. In order to account for late renewals, the department shall provide the vendor with such updates to the list as are mutually determined to be necessary.

2.a.  Before the vendor informs the department of the status of any licensee the vendor has determined is not in compliance with continuing education requirements, the vendor, acting on behalf of the department, shall provide the licensee with a notice stating that the vendor has determined that the licensee is not in compliance with applicable continuing education requirements. The notice shall also include the licensee's continuing education record for the renewal period, as shown in the records of the vendor, and a description of the process for correcting the vendor's record under sub-subparagraph b.

b.  The vendor shall give the licensee 45 days to correct the vendor's information. The vendor shall correct a record only on the basis of evidence of compliance supplied to the vendor by a continuing education provider.

3.a.  The vendor must provide the department, with the report required under subparagraph 1., a list, in a form determined by the department, identifying each licensee who the vendor has determined is not in compliance with applicable continuing education requirements.

b.  The vendor shall provide the department with access to such information and services as the department deems necessary to ensure that the actions of the vendor conform to the contract and to the duties of the department and the vendor under this subsection.

4.  The department shall ensure the vendor access to such information from continuing education providers as is necessary to determine the continuing education record of each licensee. The vendor shall inform the department of any provider that fails to provide such information to the vendor.

5.  If the vendor fails to comply with a provision of the contract, the vendor is obligated to pay the department liquidated damages in the amounts specified in the contract.

6.  The department's payments to the vendor must be based on the number of licensees monitored. The department may allocate from the unlicensed activity account of any profession under s. 455.2281 up to $2 per licensee for the monitoring of that profession's licensees under this subsection, which allocations are the exclusive source of funding for contracts under this subsection.

7.  A continuing education provider is not eligible to be a vendor under this subsection.

(b)  When it receives notice from a vendor that a licensee is not in compliance with continuing education requirements, the department shall send the licensee written notice that disciplinary actions will be taken, together with a description of the remedies available to the licensee under the dispute resolution process created under paragraph (c). If a licensee does not prevail in the dispute resolution process, the department:

1.  May impose an administrative fine in the amount of $500 against the licensee; however, the department may reduce the amount of the fine to $250 if the licensee comes into compliance with the applicable continuing education requirements within 90 days after imposition of the original fine. All proceeds of fines under this subparagraph shall be deposited in the appropriate unlicensed activity account under s. 455.2281

2.  May refuse any further renewal of the licensee's license unless the licensee has paid the fine and satisfied the applicable continuing education requirements.

(c)  The department is authorized to adopt by rule a process for the resolution of disputes between a vendor and a continuing education provider, between a vendor and a licensee, and between a licensee and a continuing education provider. The process shall ensure all parties a fair opportunity to correct any erroneous information. If the parties are unable to reach an agreement, the department shall determine the resolution of the dispute.

(d)  Upon the failure of a vendor to meet its obligations under a contract as provided in paragraph (a), the department may suspend the contract and enter into an emergency contract under s. 287.057(5).

(3)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary and regardless of whether the compliance monitoring system is privatized, neither the department nor a board may impose any sanction other than the sanctions specified in paragraph (2)(b) for the failure of a licensee to meet continuing education requirements. This subsection does not apply to actions under chapter 473.

(4)  The department shall waive the continuing education monitoring requirements of this section for any profession that demonstrates to the department that it has a program in place which measures compliance with continuing education requirements through statistical sampling techniques or other methods and can indicate that at least 95 percent of its licensees are in compliance.

(5)  The department is authorized to adopt rules to implement this section.

History.--s. 157, ch. 99-251; s. 17, ch. 2001-278; s. 43, ch. 2002-207.