| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to area agencies on aging; amending s. |
| 3 | 20.41, F.S.; requiring the Department of Elderly Affairs |
| 4 | to contract with area agencies on aging to fulfill |
| 5 | programmatic and funding requirements; revising |
| 6 | responsibilities of the governing body of an area agency |
| 7 | on aging and the executive director of the agency; |
| 8 | amending s. 430.203, F.S.; revising the definition of |
| 9 | "lead agency"; removing obsolete language; revising |
| 10 | requirements with respect to the request for proposal |
| 11 | process for the designation of a lead agency for community |
| 12 | care for the elderly; requiring the Department of Elderly |
| 13 | Affairs to create a dispute resolution mechanism by rule; |
| 14 | providing requirements with respect to the dispute |
| 15 | resolution mechanism; specifying required standards for a |
| 16 | bid protest; providing for specified entitlement of |
| 17 | litigants when certain lead agency designations are the |
| 18 | subject matter of litigation; eliminating provisions that |
| 19 | require an area agency on aging to exempt specified |
| 20 | providers from the competitive bid process; amending s. |
| 21 | 430.2053, F.S.; conforming a cross-reference; providing an |
| 22 | effective date. |
| 23 |
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| 24 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 25 |
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| 26 | Section 1. Subsections (6), (7), (8), and (9) of section |
| 27 | 20.41, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 28 | 20.41 Department of Elderly Affairs.--There is created a |
| 29 | Department of Elderly Affairs. |
| 30 | (6) In accordance with the federal Older Americans Act of |
| 31 | 1965, as amended, the department shall designate and contract |
| 32 | with area agencies on aging in each of the department's planning |
| 33 | and service areas. Area agencies on aging, as nongovernmental, |
| 34 | independent, not-for-profit corporations under s. 501(c)(3) of |
| 35 | the Internal Revenue Code, shall ensure a coordinated and |
| 36 | integrated provision of long-term care services to the elderly |
| 37 | and shall ensure the provision of prevention and early |
| 38 | intervention services. The department shall have overall |
| 39 | responsibility for information system planning. The department |
| 40 | shall ensure, through the development of equipment, software, |
| 41 | data, and connectivity standards, the ability to share and |
| 42 | integrate information collected and reported by the area |
| 43 | agencies in support of their contracted obligations to the |
| 44 | state. The department shall contract with area agencies on aging |
| 45 | to fulfill programmatic and funding requirements. |
| 46 | (7) The department shall contract with the governing body, |
| 47 | hereafter referred to as the "board," of an area agency on aging |
| 48 | to fulfill programmatic and funding requirements. The board |
| 49 | shall be responsible for the overall direction of the agency's |
| 50 | programs and services and shall ensure that the agency is |
| 51 | administered in accordance with the terms of its contract with |
| 52 | the department, legal requirements, established agency policy, |
| 53 | and effective management principles. The board shall also ensure |
| 54 | the accountability of the agency to the local communities |
| 55 | included in the planning and service area of the agency. |
| 56 | (7)(8) The area agency on aging board shall, in |
| 57 | consultation with the secretary, appoint a chief executive |
| 58 | officer, hereafter referred to as the "executive director," to |
| 59 | whom shall be delegated responsibility for agency management and |
| 60 | for implementation of board policy, and who shall be accountable |
| 61 | for the agency's performance. |
| 62 | (8)(9) Area agencies on aging are subject to chapter 119, |
| 63 | relating to public records, and, when considering any contracts |
| 64 | requiring the expenditure of funds, are subject to ss. 286.011- |
| 65 | 286.012, relating to public meetings. |
| 66 | Section 2. Subsection (9) of section 430.203, Florida |
| 67 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 68 | 430.203 Community care for the elderly; definitions.--As |
| 69 | used in ss. 430.201-430.207, the term: |
| 70 | (9) "Lead agency" means an agency designated at least once |
| 71 | every 6 3 years by an area agency on aging as the result of a |
| 72 | competitive procurement conducted through a request for proposal |
| 73 | process to be in place no later than the state fiscal year 1996- |
| 74 | 1997. |
| 75 | (a) The guidelines for the request for proposal must be |
| 76 | developed by the department in consultation with the area agency |
| 77 | agencies on aging and. Such guidelines must include requirements |
| 78 | for the assurance of quality and cost-efficiency of services, |
| 79 | minimum personnel standards, and employee benefits. The |
| 80 | department shall adopt a rule creating a dispute resolution |
| 81 | mechanism. The rule, which shall be adopted no later than August |
| 82 | 1, 2009, and which all area agencies on aging shall be required |
| 83 | to follow, shall create standards for a bid protest and a |
| 84 | procedure for resolution. The dispute resolution mechanism |
| 85 | established in the rule shall include a provision for a |
| 86 | qualified, impartial decisionmaker who shall conduct a hearing |
| 87 | to determine whether the area agency's proposed action is |
| 88 | contrary to the area agency's governing statutes or rules or to |
| 89 | the solicitation specifications. The standard of proof for the |
| 90 | protestor shall be whether the area agency's action was clearly |
| 91 | erroneous, contrary to competition, arbitrary, or capricious. |
| 92 | The dispute resolution mechanism shall also provide a mechanism |
| 93 | for review of the decisionmaker's determination by a qualified |
| 94 | and impartial reviewer, if review is requested. The standards |
| 95 | for the bid protest shall include: |
| 96 | 1. A provision requiring notice of an area agency's |
| 97 | proposed contract award and a clear point of entry for any |
| 98 | substantially affected entity to challenge the proposed award. |
| 99 | 2. A provision for an automatic stay of the contract award |
| 100 | process upon the filing of a bid protest that shall not be |
| 101 | lifted until the protest is resolved. |
| 102 | 3. Provisions permitting all substantially affected |
| 103 | entities to have an opportunity to participate in the hearing, |
| 104 | to conduct discovery, to obtain subpoenas compelling the |
| 105 | appearance of witnesses, to present evidence and argument on all |
| 106 | issues involved, to conduct cross-examination, to submit |
| 107 | rebuttal evidence, and to submit proposed findings of fact and |
| 108 | conclusions of law. |
| 109 | 4. Provisions for expeditious resolution of the bid |
| 110 | protest, including a requirement that once the area agency on |
| 111 | aging refers a bid protest petition to the decisionmaker, a |
| 112 | hearing shall be conducted within 30 days, unless that timeframe |
| 113 | is waived by all parties. |
| 114 | (b) For any lead agency designation conducted prior to the |
| 115 | effective date of this subsection that is the subject matter of |
| 116 | litigation on the date on which this subsection becomes law, the |
| 117 | litigants shall be entitled to proceed with discovery under the |
| 118 | Florida Rules of Civil Procedure immediately upon the date on |
| 119 | which this subsection becomes law, and the litigants shall |
| 120 | further be entitled to participate in the bid protest procedures |
| 121 | enacted by rule pursuant to this subsection. The area agency on |
| 122 | aging, in consultation with the department, shall exempt from |
| 123 | the competitive bid process any contract with a provider who |
| 124 | meets or exceeds established minimum standards, as determined by |
| 125 | the department. |
| 126 | (c) In each community care service system the lead agency |
| 127 | must be given the authority and responsibility to coordinate |
| 128 | some or all of the services, either directly or through |
| 129 | subcontracts, for functionally impaired elderly persons. These |
| 130 | services must include case management, homemaker and chore |
| 131 | services, respite care, adult day care, personal care services, |
| 132 | home-delivered meals, counseling, information and referral, and |
| 133 | emergency home repair services. The lead agency must compile |
| 134 | community care statistics and monitor, when applicable, |
| 135 | subcontracts with agencies providing core services. |
| 136 | Section 3. Subsection (7) of section 430.2053, Florida |
| 137 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 138 | 430.2053 Aging resource centers.-- |
| 139 | (7) The aging resource center shall have a governing body |
| 140 | which shall be the same entity described in s. 20.41(7), and an |
| 141 | executive director who may be the same person as described in s. |
| 142 | 20.41(7)(8). The governing body shall annually evaluate the |
| 143 | performance of the executive director. |
| 144 | Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |