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The Florida Senate

2012 Florida Statutes

Title IV EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Chapter 20 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE Entire Chapter
SECTION 255
Department of Environmental Protection.
F.S. 20.255
120.255 Department of Environmental Protection.—There is created a Department of Environmental Protection.
(1) The head of the Department of Environmental Protection shall be a secretary, who shall be appointed by the Governor, with the concurrence of three or more members of the Cabinet. The secretary shall be confirmed by the Florida Senate. The secretary shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor.
(2)(a) There shall be three deputy secretaries who are to be appointed by and shall serve at the pleasure of the secretary. The secretary may assign any deputy secretary the responsibility to supervise, coordinate, and formulate policy for any division, office, or district. The following special offices are established and headed by managers, each of whom is to be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the secretary:
1. Office of Chief of Staff;
2. Office of General Counsel;
3. Office of Inspector General;
4. Office of External Affairs;
5. Office of Legislative Affairs;
6. Office of Intergovernmental Programs; and
7. Office of Greenways and Trails.
8. Office of Emergency Response.
(b) There shall be six administrative districts involved in regulatory matters of waste management, water resource management, wetlands, and air resources, which shall be headed by managers, each of whom is to be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the secretary. Divisions of the department may have one assistant or two deputy division directors, as required to facilitate effective operation.

The managers of all divisions and offices specifically named in this section and the directors of the six administrative districts are exempt from part II of chapter 110 and are included in the Senior Management Service in accordance with s. 110.205(2)(j).

(3) The following divisions of the Department of Environmental Protection are established:
(a) Division of Administrative Services.
(b) Division of Air Resource Management.
(c) Division of Water Resource Management.
(d) Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration.
(e) Division of Waste Management.
(f) Division of Recreation and Parks.
(g) Division of State Lands, the director of which is to be appointed by the secretary of the department, subject to confirmation by the Governor and Cabinet sitting as the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund.

In order to ensure statewide and intradepartmental consistency, the department’s divisions shall direct the district offices and bureaus on matters of interpretation and applicability of the department’s rules and programs.

(4) Records and documents of the Department of Environmental Protection shall be retained by the department as specified in record retention schedules established under the general provisions of chapters 119 and 257. Further, the department is authorized to:
(a) Destroy, or otherwise dispose of, those records and documents in conformity with the approved retention schedules.
(b) Photograph, microphotograph, or reproduce such records and documents on film, as authorized and directed by the approved retention schedules, whereby each page will be exposed in exact conformity with the original records and documents retained in compliance with the provisions of this section. Photographs or microphotographs in the form of film or print of any records, made in compliance with the provisions of this section, shall have the same force and effect as the originals thereof would have and shall be treated as originals for the purpose of their admissibility in evidence. Duly certified or authenticated reproductions of such photographs or microphotographs shall be admitted in evidence equally with the original photographs or microphotographs. The impression of the seal of the Department of Environmental Protection on a certificate made by the department and signed by the Secretary of Environmental Protection entitles the certificate to be received in all courts and in all proceedings in this state and is prima facie evidence of all factual matters set forth in the certificate. A certificate may relate to one or more records as set forth in the certificate or in a schedule attached to the certificate.
(5) The Department of Environmental Protection may require that bond be given by any employee of the department, payable to the Governor of the state and the Governor’s successor in office, for the use and benefit of those whom it concerns, in such penal sums and with such good and sufficient surety or sureties as are approved by the department, conditioned upon the faithful performance of the duties of the employee.
(6) There is created as a part of the Department of Environmental Protection an Environmental Regulation Commission. The commission shall be composed of seven residents of this state appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate. In making appointments, the Governor shall provide reasonable representation from all sections of the state. Membership shall be representative of agriculture, the development industry, local government, the environmental community, lay citizens, and members of the scientific and technical community who have substantial expertise in the areas of the fate and transport of water pollutants, toxicology, epidemiology, geology, biology, environmental sciences, or engineering. The Governor shall appoint the chair, and the vice chair shall be elected from among the membership. All appointments shall be for 4-year terms. The Governor may at any time fill a vacancy for the unexpired term. The members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but shall be paid travel and per diem as provided in s. 112.061 while in the performance of their official duties. Administrative, personnel, and other support services necessary for the commission shall be furnished by the department. The commission may employ independent counsel and contract for the services of outside technical consultants.
(7) The department is the agency of state government responsible for collecting and analyzing information concerning energy resources in this state; for coordinating the energy conservation programs of state agencies; and for coordinating the development, review, and implementation of the state’s energy policy.
History.—ss. 3, 4, ch. 93-213; ss. 1, 5, ch. 94-356; s. 1319, ch. 95-147; s. 1, ch. 95-295; s. 3, ch. 96-410; s. 21, ch. 97-95; s. 1, ch. 98-146; s. 8, ch. 99-245; s. 7, ch. 2000-133; s. 1, ch. 2000-197; s. 8, ch. 2002-1; s. 6, ch. 2004-243; s. 1, ch. 2008-150; s. 7, ch. 2012-88.
1Note.—

A. Section 1, ch. 2012-88, provides that:

“(1) All powers, duties, functions, records, offices, personnel, property, pending issues and existing contracts, administrative authority, administrative rules, and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds relating to the Division of Law Enforcement within the Department of Environmental Protection, excluding the Bureau of Emergency Response, are transferred by a type two transfer, as defined in s. 20.06(2), Florida Statutes, to the Division of Law Enforcement within the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

“(2) The Bureau of Emergency Response within the Department of Environmental Protection is reassigned to the Secretary of Environmental Protection as the Office of Emergency Response within the Department of Environmental Protection.

“(3) The Secretary of Environmental Protection shall transfer to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission the number of administrative, auditing, inspector general, attorney, and operational support positions, including any related powers, duties, functions, property, and funding, proportionate to the number of Division of Law Enforcement full-time equivalent and other personal services positions being transferred from the department to the commission.

“(4) A memorandum of agreement shall be developed between the department and the commission detailing the responsibilities of the commission to the department, to include, at a minimum, the following:

“(a) Support and response for oil spills, hazardous spills, and natural disasters.

“(b) Law enforcement patrol and investigative services for all state-owned lands managed by the department.

“(c) Law enforcement services, including investigative services, for all criminal law violations of chapters 161, 258, 373, 376, and 403, Florida Statutes.

“(d) Enforcement services for all civil violations of all department administrative rules related to the following program areas:

“1. Division of Recreation and Parks.

“2. Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas.

“3. Office of Greenways and Trails.

“(e) Current and future funding for positions and property being transferred from the department to the commission that is funded through any trust fund.”

B. Section 3, ch. 2012-88, provides that:

“(1) The Secretary of Environmental Protection and the Executive Director of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shall each appoint three staff members to a transition advisory working group to review and determine the following:

“(a) The appropriate proportionate number of administrative, auditing, inspector general, attorney, and operational support positions and their related funding levels and sources and assigned property to be transferred from the Office of General Counsel, Office of Inspector General, and Division of Administrative Services or other relevant offices or divisions within the Department of Environmental Protection to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

“(b) The development of a recommended plan addressing the transfer or shared use of buildings, regional offices, and other facilities used or owned by the Department of Environmental Protection.

“(c) Any operating budget adjustments as necessary to implement the requirements of this act. Adjustments made to the operating budgets of the department and the commission in the implementation of this act must be made in consultation with the appropriate substantive and fiscal committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The revisions to the approved operating budgets for the 2012-2013 fiscal year which are necessary to reflect the organizational changes made by this act shall be implemented pursuant to s. 216.292(4)(d), Florida Statutes, and subject to s. 216.177, Florida Statutes. Subsequent adjustments between agencies that are determined necessary by the department or commission and approved by the Executive Office of the Governor are authorized and subject to s. 216.177, Florida Statutes. The appropriate substantive committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives shall also be notified of the proposed revisions to ensure consistency with legislative policy and intent.

“(2) The Secretary of Environmental Protection, the Commissioner of Agriculture, and the Executive Director of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shall each appoint two staff members to a transition advisory working group to identify rules of the Department of Environmental Protection, the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission that need to be amended to reflect the changes made by this act.”