(1) The Department of Commerce shall implement an integrated, modular system hosted in a cloud computing service, as defined in s. 282.0041, that provides for rapid provisioning of additional data processing when necessary. The system must support the efficient distribution of benefits and the effective operation and management of the reemployment assistance program. The system may be cited as the “Reemployment Assistance Claims and Benefits Information System” and must:(a) Be accessible through the Internet on both mobile devices and personal computers.
(b) Process reemployment assistance claims.
(c) Process benefit payments.
(d) Process and manage overpayments.
(e) Perform adjudication functions.
(f) Process appeals and manage appeal hearings.
(g) Manage and process employer charging.
(2) Wherever cost-effective and operationally feasible, the Reemployment Assistance Claims and Benefits System shall accomplish the following main objectives:(a) Eliminate or automate existing paper processes and enhance any existing automated workflows in order to expedite customer transactions and eliminate redundancy.
(b) Enable and enhance online, self-service capabilities to claimant and employer information and federal and state reporting.
(c) Integrate benefit payment control with the adjudication program and collection system in order to improve the detection of fraud.
(d) Comply with all requirements established in federal and state law for reemployment assistance.
(e) Integrate with the Department of Revenue’s statewide unified tax system that collects reemployment assistance taxes.
(f) Maintain interoperability with other department workforce systems.
(g) Allow for employer-assisted claims.
(3) The scope of the Reemployment Assistance Claims and Benefits Information System does not include any of the following functionalities:(a) Collection of reemployment assistance taxes.
(b) General ledger, financial management, or budgeting capabilities.
(c) Human resource planning or management capabilities.
1(4)(a) The Department of Commerce shall perform an annual review of the system and identify enhancements or modernization efforts that improve the delivery of services to claimants and employers and reporting to state and federal entities. These improvements are subject to appropriation, and must include, but need not be limited to:1. Infrastructure upgrades through cloud services.
2. Software improvements.
3. Enhanced data analytics and reporting.
4. Increased cybersecurity pursuant to s. 282.318. (b) The department shall seek input on recommended enhancements from, at a minimum, the following entities:1. The Florida Digital Service within the Department of Management Services.
2. The General Tax Administration Program Office within the Department of Revenue.
3. The Division of Accounting and Auditing within the Department of Financial Services.
1(5) By September 1, 2025, and each year thereafter, the Department of Commerce shall submit a Reemployment Assistance Claims and Benefits Information System report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The report must, at a minimum, include:(a) A summary of clearly defined deliverables and measurable outcomes of maintenance, enhancement, and modernization efforts over the last fiscal year.
(b) A plan for the next 2 fiscal years of recommended enhancements or modernization efforts that includes projected nonrecurring project costs, clear deliverables, and timeframes for completion of each enhancement or modernization effort in priority order, and the projected recurring operations and maintenance costs after the completion of each enhancement or modernization effort.
1Note.—A. Section 104, ch. 2025-199, amended subsections (4) and (5) “[i]n order to implement Specific Appropriation 2089 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act.”
B. Section 105, ch. 2025-199, provides that “[t]he amendments to s. 443.1113(4) and (5), Florida Statutes, made by this act expire July 1, 2026, and the text of those subsections shall revert to that in existence on June 30, 2025, except that any amendments to such text enacted other than by this act shall be preserved and continue to operate to the extent that such amendments are not dependent upon the portions of text which expire pursuant to this section.” Effective July 1, 2026, subsections (4) and (5), as amended by s. 105, ch. 2025-199, will read:
(4)(a) The Department of Commerce shall perform an annual review of the system and identify enhancements or modernization efforts that improve the delivery of services to claimants and employers and reporting to state and federal entities. These improvements must include, but need not be limited to:
1. Infrastructure upgrades through cloud services.
2. Software improvements.
3. Enhanced data analytics and reporting.
4. Increased cybersecurity pursuant to s. 282.318.
(b) The department shall seek input on recommended enhancements from, at a minimum, the following entities:
1. The Florida Digital Service within the Department of Management Services.
2. The General Tax Administration Program Office within the Department of Revenue.
3. The Division of Accounting and Auditing within the Department of Financial Services.
(5) By October 1, 2023, and each year thereafter, the Department of Commerce shall submit a Reemployment Assistance Claims and Benefits Information System report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The report must, at a minimum, include:
(a) A summary of maintenance, enhancement, and modernization efforts over the last fiscal year.
(b) A 3-year outlook of recommended enhancements or modernization efforts that includes projected costs and timeframes for completion.
