ENROLLED
       2011 Legislature                          SB 2132, 1st Engrossed
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                                             20112132er
    1  
    2         An act relating to the Department of Financial
    3         Services; repealing ss. 17.53 and 17.556, F.S.,
    4         relating to the Chief Financial Officer’s
    5         authorization to operate a personal check-cashing
    6         service or a remote financial service unit at the
    7         capitol and to employ additional persons to assist in
    8         performing such services; abolishing appropriations
    9         from the General Revenue Fund to pay the salaries of
   10         the additional employees; amending s. 20.121, F.S.;
   11         revising the duties of the Division of Consumer
   12         Services; amending ss. 284.01 and 284.36, F.S.;
   13         revising the criteria for premiums charged to agencies
   14         and departments for purposes of the State Risk
   15         Management Trust Fund; amending s. 284.42, F.S.;
   16         revising requirements for reports concerning the state
   17         insurance program; requiring the Division of Risk
   18         Management to analyze and report on certain agency
   19         return-to-work programs and activities; amending s.
   20         284.50, F.S.; requiring certain agencies to establish
   21         and maintain return-to-work programs for certain
   22         employees; providing program goals; requiring the
   23         Division of Risk Management to evaluate agency risk
   24         management programs; requiring reports; requiring
   25         agencies to respond to the division’s evaluation and
   26         recommendations; requiring the division to submit
   27         certain evaluation reports to the legislative
   28         appropriations committees; amending s. 440.50, F.S.;
   29         providing for reversion of certain unencumbered and
   30         undisbursed funds to the Workers’ Compensation
   31         Administration Trust Fund; creating s. 626.9894, F.S.;
   32         authorizing the department to accept any donation or
   33         grant of property or moneys from certain entities for
   34         purposes of anti-fraud efforts; providing for the
   35         vesting of certain rights in the Division of Insurance
   36         Fraud upon donation; providing for deposit of
   37         donations and grants to the division into the
   38         Insurance Regulatory Trust Fund; authorizing the
   39         department to request annual appropriations from such
   40         donations and grants; providing an effective date.
   41  
   42  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   43  
   44         Section 1. Section 17.53, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
   45         Section 2. Section 17.556, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
   46         Section 3. Paragraph (h) of subsection (2) of section
   47  20.121, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   48         20.121 Department of Financial Services.—There is created a
   49  Department of Financial Services.
   50         (2) DIVISIONS.—The Department of Financial Services shall
   51  consist of the following divisions:
   52         (h) The Division of Consumer Services.
   53         1. The Division of Consumer Services shall perform the
   54  following functions concerning products or services regulated by
   55  the department of Financial Services or by either office of the
   56  Office of Insurance Regulation Financial Services Commission:
   57         a. Receive inquiries and complaints from consumers.
   58         b. Prepare and disseminate such information as the
   59  department deems appropriate to inform or assist consumers.
   60         c. Provide direct assistance and advocacy for consumers who
   61  request such assistance or advocacy.
   62         d. With respect to apparent or potential violations of law
   63  or applicable rules by a person or entity licensed by the
   64  department or by either office of the commission, report such
   65  apparent or potential violations violation to the office or the
   66  appropriate division of the department or office of the
   67  commission, which may take such further action as it deems
   68  appropriate.
   69         e. Designate an employee of the division as primary contact
   70  for consumers on issues relating to sinkholes.
   71         2. Any person licensed or issued a certificate of authority
   72  by the department or by the Office of Insurance Regulation shall
   73  respond, in writing, to the Division of Consumer Services within
   74  20 days after receipt of a written request for information from
   75  the division concerning a consumer complaint. The response must
   76  address the issues and allegations raised in the this complaint.
   77  The division may, in its discretion, impose an administrative
   78  penalty for failure to comply with this subparagraph of in an
   79  amount up to $2,500 per violation upon any entity licensed by
   80  the department or the office of Insurance Regulation and $250
   81  for the first violation, $500 for the second violation, and up
   82  to $1,000 per violation thereafter upon any individual licensed
   83  by the department or the office of Insurance Regulation.
   84         3. The department may adopt rules to administer implement
   85  the provisions of this paragraph.
   86         4. The powers, duties, and responsibilities expressed or
   87  granted in this paragraph do shall not limit the powers, duties,
   88  and responsibilities of the Department of Financial Services,
   89  the Financial Services Commission, the Office of Insurance
   90  Regulation, or the Office of Financial Regulation set forth
   91  elsewhere in the Florida Statutes.
   92         Section 4. Subsection (5) of section 284.01, Florida
   93  Statutes, is amended to read:
   94         284.01 State Risk Management Trust Fund; coverages to be
   95  provided.—
   96         (5) Premiums charged to agencies for coverage shall be
   97  adopted promulgated on a retrospective rating arrangement based
   98  upon actual losses accruing to the fund and loss prevention
   99  results, taking into account reasonable expectations,
  100  maintenance, and stability of the fund and cost of reinsurance.
  101         Section 5. Section 284.36, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  102  read:
  103         284.36 Appropriation deposits; premium payment.—Premiums
  104  for coverage by the State Risk Management Trust Fund as
  105  calculated on all coverages shall be billed and charged to each
  106  state agency according to coverages obtained by the fund for
  107  their benefit, and such obligations shall be paid promptly by
  108  each agency from its operating budget upon presentation of a
  109  bill therefor. After the first year of operation, premiums to be
  110  charged to all departments of the state are to be computed on a
  111  retrospective rating arrangement based upon actual losses
  112  accruing to the fund and loss prevention results, taking into
  113  account reasonable expectations, the maintenance and stability
  114  of the fund, and the cost of insurance.
  115         Section 6. Subsection (1) of section 284.42, Florida
  116  Statutes, is amended to read:
  117         284.42 Reports on state insurance program.—
  118         (1)(a) The Department of Financial Services, with the
  119  Department of Management Services, shall conduct make an
  120  analysis of the state insurance program each year and submit the
  121  results on or before January 1 in a report to the Governor, the
  122  President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
  123  Representatives annually, which shall include:
  124         1.(a) Complete underwriting information as to the nature of
  125  the risks accepted for self-insurance and those risks that are
  126  transferred to the insurance market.
  127         2.(b) The funds allocated to the Florida Casualty Risk
  128  Management Trust Fund and premiums paid for insurance through
  129  the market.
  130         3.(c) The method of handling legal matters and the cost
  131  allocated.
  132         4.(d) The method and cost of handling inspection and
  133  engineering of risks.
  134         5.(e) The cost of risk management service purchased.
  135         6.(f) The cost of managing the State Insurance Program by
  136  the Department of Financial Services and the Department of
  137  Management Services.
  138         (b) Beginning January 1, 2013, the Division of Risk
  139  Management shall include in its annual report an analysis of
  140  agency return-to-work efforts, including, but not limited to,
  141  agency return-to-work program performance metrics and a status
  142  report on participating return-to-work programs. The report
  143  shall specify benchmarks, including, but not limited to, the
  144  average lost-time claims per year, per agency; the total number
  145  of lost claims; and specific agency measurable outcomes
  146  indicating the change in performance from year to year.
  147         Section 7. Subsections (3) and (4) are added to section
  148  284.50, Florida Statutes, to read:
  149         284.50 Loss prevention program; safety coordinators;
  150  Interagency Advisory Council on Loss Prevention; employee
  151  recognition program.—
  152         (3) The Department of Financial Services and all agencies
  153  that are provided workers’ compensation insurance coverage by
  154  the State Risk Management Trust Fund and employ more than 3,000
  155  full-time employees shall establish and maintain return-to-work
  156  programs for employees who are receiving workers’ compensation
  157  benefits. The programs shall have the primary goal of enabling
  158  injured workers to remain at work or return to work to perform
  159  job duties within the physical or mental functional limitations
  160  and restrictions established by the workers’ treating
  161  physicians. If no limitation or restriction is established in
  162  writing by a worker’s treating physician, the worker shall be
  163  deemed to be able to fully perform the same work duties he or
  164  she performed before the injury.
  165         (4) The Division of Risk Management shall evaluate each
  166  agency’s risk management programs, including, but not limited
  167  to, return-to-work, safety, and loss prevention programs, at
  168  least once every 5 years. Reports, including, but not limited
  169  to, any recommended corrective action, resulting from such
  170  evaluations shall be provided to the head of the agency being
  171  evaluated, the Chief Financial Officer, and the director of the
  172  Division of Risk Management. The agency head must provide to the
  173  Division of Risk Management a response to all report
  174  recommendations within 45 days and a plan to implement any
  175  corrective action to be taken as part of the response. If the
  176  agency disagrees with any final report recommendations,
  177  including, but not limited to, any recommended corrective
  178  action, or if the agency fails to implement any recommended
  179  corrective action within a reasonable time, the division shall
  180  submit the evaluation report to the legislative appropriations
  181  committees.
  182         Section 8. Subsection (5) is added to section 440.50,
  183  Florida Statutes, to read:
  184         440.50 Workers’ Compensation Administration Trust Fund.—
  185         (5) Funds appropriated by an operating appropriation or a
  186  nonoperating transfer from the Workers’ Compensation
  187  Administration Trust Fund to the Department of Education, the
  188  Agency for Health Care Administration, the Department of
  189  Business and Professional Regulation, the Department of
  190  Management Services, the First District Court of Appeal, and the
  191  Justice Administrative Commission remaining unencumbered as of
  192  June 30 or undisbursed as of September 30 each year shall revert
  193  to the Workers’ Compensation Administration Trust Fund.
  194         Section 9. Section 626.9894, Florida Statutes, is created
  195  to read:
  196         626.9894 Gifts and grants.—
  197         (1) The department may accept, for purposes of anti-fraud
  198  efforts, any donation or grant of property or moneys from any
  199  governmental unit, public agency, institution, person, firm, or
  200  corporation.
  201         (2) All rights to, interest in, and title to such donated
  202  or granted property shall immediately vest in the Division of
  203  Insurance Fraud upon donation. The division may hold such
  204  property in coownership, sell its interest in the property,
  205  liquidate its interest in the property, or dispose of its
  206  interest in the property in any other reasonable manner.
  207         (3) All donations or grants of moneys to the division shall
  208  be deposited into the Insurance Regulatory Trust Fund and shall
  209  be separately accounted for and may be used by the division to
  210  carry out its duties and responsibilities, or for the
  211  subgranting of such funds to state attorneys for the purpose of
  212  funding or defraying the costs of dedicated fraud prosecutors.
  213         (4) Moneys deposited into the Insurance Regulatory Trust
  214  Fund pursuant to this section may be appropriated by the
  215  Legislature, pursuant to the provisons of chapter 216, for the
  216  purpose of enabling the division to carry out its duties and
  217  responsibilities, or for the purpose of funding or defraying the
  218  costs of dedicated fraud prosecutors.
  219         (5) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 216.301 and
  220  pursuant to s. 216.351, any balance of moneys deposited into the
  221  Insurance Regulatory Trust Fund pursuant to this section
  222  remaining at the end of any fiscal year shall be available for
  223  carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the division.
  224  The department may request annual appropriations from the grants
  225  and donations received pursuant to this section and cash
  226  balances in the Insurance Regulatory Trust Fund for the purpose
  227  of carrying out its duties and responsibilities related to the
  228  division’s anti-fraud efforts, including the funding of
  229  dedicated prosecutors and related personnel.
  230         Section 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.