HB 541

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to administrative procedures; amending
3	s. 120.55, F.S.; revising provisions with respect to
4	the revision and publication of the Florida
5	Administrative Code to provide that the Department of
6	State is not required to publish a printed version of
7	the code but may contract with a publishing firm for a
8	printed publication; providing that the electronic
9	version of the code is the official compilation of the
10	administrative rules of the state; providing for
11	adopted rules and material incorporated by reference
12	to be filed in electronic forms; renaming the "Florida
13	Administrative Weekly" as the "Florida Administrative
14	Register"; requiring a continuous revision and
15	publication of the Florida Administrative Register on
16	an Internet website managed by the Department of
17	State; revising content and website search
18	requirements; deleting a requirement to provide
19	printed copies of the Florida Administrative Register
20	to certain federal and state entities; providing a
21	directive to the Division of Statutory Revision;
22	providing an effective date.
23
24	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
25
26	Section 1.  Section 120.55, Florida Statutes, is amended to
27	read:
28	120.55  Publication.-
29	(1)  The Department of State shall:
30	(a)1.  Through a continuous revision and publication
31	system, compile and publish electronically, on an Internet
32	website managed by the department, the "Florida Administrative
33	Code." The Florida Administrative Code shall contain all rules
34	adopted by each agency, citing the grant of rulemaking authority
35	and the specific law implemented pursuant to which each rule was
36	adopted, all history notes as authorized in s. 120.545(7),
37	complete indexes to all rules contained in the code, and any
38	other material required or authorized by law or deemed useful by
39	the department. The electronic code shall display each rule
40	chapter currently in effect in browse mode and allow full text
41	search of the code and each rule chapter. The department shall
42	publish a printed version of the Florida Administrative Code and
43	may contract with a publishing firm for a such printed
44	publication; however, the department shall retain responsibility
45	for the code as provided in this section. Supplementation of the
46	printed code shall be made as often as practicable, but at least
47	monthly. The electronic printed publication shall be the
48	official compilation of the administrative rules of this state.
49	The Department of State shall retain the copyright over the
50	Florida Administrative Code.
51	2.  Rules general in form but applicable to only one school
52	district, community college district, or county, or a part
53	thereof, or state university rules relating to internal
54	personnel or business and finance shall not be published in the
55	Florida Administrative Code. Exclusion from publication in the
56	Florida Administrative Code shall not affect the validity or
57	effectiveness of such rules.
58	3.  At the beginning of the section of the code dealing
59	with an agency that files copies of its rules with the
60	department, the department shall publish the address and
61	telephone number of the executive offices of each agency, the
62	manner by which the agency indexes its rules, a listing of all
63	rules of that agency excluded from publication in the code, and
64	a statement as to where those rules may be inspected.
65	4.  Forms shall not be published in the Florida
66	Administrative Code; but any form which an agency uses in its
67	dealings with the public, along with any accompanying
68	instructions, shall be filed with the committee before it is
69	used. Any form or instruction which meets the definition of
70	"rule" provided in s. 120.52 shall be incorporated by reference
71	into the appropriate rule. The reference shall specifically
72	state that the form is being incorporated by reference and shall
73	include the number, title, and effective date of the form and an
74	explanation of how the form may be obtained. Each form created
75	by an agency which is incorporated by reference in a rule notice
76	of which is given under s. 120.54(3)(a) after December 31, 2007,
77	must clearly display the number, title, and effective date of
78	the form and the number of the rule in which the form is
79	incorporated.
80	5.  The department shall allow adopted rules and material
81	incorporated by reference to be filed in electronic form as
82	prescribed by department rule. When a rule is filed for adoption
83	with incorporated material in electronic form, the department's
84	publication of the Florida Administrative Code on its Internet
85	website must contain a hyperlink from the incorporating
86	reference in the rule directly to that material. The department
87	may not allow hyperlinks from rules in the Florida
88	Administrative Code to any material other than that filed with
89	and maintained by the department, but may allow hyperlinks to
90	incorporated material maintained by the department from the
91	adopting agency's website or other sites.
92	(b)  Electronically publish on an Internet website managed
93	by the department a continuous revision and weekly publication
94	entitled the "Florida Administrative Register Weekly," which
95	shall serve as the official Internet website for such
96	publication and must contain:
97	1.  Notice of adoption of, and an index to, all rules filed
98	during the preceding week.
99	1.2.  All notices required by s. 120.54(3)(a), showing the
100	text of all rules proposed for consideration.
101	2.3.  All notices of public meetings, hearings, and
102	workshops conducted in accordance with the provisions of s.
103	120.525, including a statement of the manner in which a copy of
104	the agenda may be obtained.
105	3.4.  A notice of each request for authorization to amend
106	or repeal an existing uniform rule or for the adoption of new
107	uniform rules.
108	4.5.  Notice of petitions for declaratory statements or
109	administrative determinations.
110	5.6.  A summary of each objection to any rule filed by the
111	Administrative Procedures Committee during the preceding week.
112	7.  A cumulative list of all rules that have been proposed
113	but not filed for adoption.
114	6.8.  Any other material required or authorized by law or
115	deemed useful by the department.
116
117	The department may contract with a publishing firm for a printed
118	publication shall publish a printed version of the Florida
119	Administrative Register Weekly and make copies available on an
120	annual subscription basis. The department may contract with a
121	publishing firm for printed publication of the Florida
122	Administrative Weekly.
123	(c)  Review notices for compliance with format and
124	numbering requirements before publishing them on the Florida
125	Administrative Weekly Internet website.
126	(c)(d)  Prescribe by rule the style and form required for
127	rules, notices, and other materials submitted for filing.
128	(e)  Correct grammatical, typographical, and like errors
129	not affecting the construction or meaning of the rules, after
130	having obtained the advice and consent of the appropriate
131	agency, and insert history notes.
132	(d)(f)  Charge each agency using the Florida Administrative
133	Register Weekly a space rate to cover the costs related to the
134	Florida Administrative Register Weekly and the Florida
135	Administrative Code.
136	(e)(g)  Maintain a permanent record of all notices
137	published in the Florida Administrative Register Weekly.
138	(2)  The Florida Administrative Register Weekly Internet
139	website must allow users to:
140	(a)  Search for notices by type, publication date, rule
141	number, word, subject, and agency.;
142	(b)  Search a database that makes available all notices
143	published on the website for a period of at least 5 years.;
144	(c)  Subscribe to an automated e-mail notification of
145	selected notices to be sent out before or concurrently with
146	weekly publication of the printed and electronic Florida
147	Administrative Register Weekly. Such notification must include
148	in the text of the e-mail a summary of the content of each
149	notice.;
150	(d)  View agency forms and other materials submitted to the
151	department in electronic form and incorporated by reference in
152	proposed rules.; and
153	(e)  Comment on proposed rules.
154	(3)  Publication of material required by paragraph (1)(b)
155	on the Florida Administrative Register Weekly Internet website
156	does not preclude publication of such material on an agency's
157	website or by other means.
158	(4)  Each agency shall provide copies of its rules upon
159	request, with citations to the grant of rulemaking authority and
160	the specific law implemented for each rule.
161	(5)  Any publication of a proposed rule promulgated by an
162	agency, whether published in the Florida Administrative Register
163	Code or elsewhere, shall include, along with the rule, the name
164	of the person or persons originating such rule, the name of the
165	agency head who approved the rule, and the date upon which the
166	rule was approved.
167	(6)  Access to the Florida Administrative Register Weekly
168	Internet website and its contents, including the e-mail
169	notification service, shall be free for the public.
170	(7)(a)  Each year the Department of State shall furnish the
171	Florida Administrative Weekly, without charge and upon request,
172	as follows:
173	1.  One subscription to each federal and state court having
174	jurisdiction over the residents of the state; the Legislative
175	Library; each state university library; the State Library; each
176	depository library designated pursuant to s. 257.05; and each
177	standing committee of the Senate and House of Representatives
178	and each state legislator.
179	2.  Two subscriptions to each state department.
180	3.  Three subscriptions to the library of the Supreme Court
181	of Florida, the library of each state district court of appeal,
182	the division, the library of the Attorney General, each law
183	school library in Florida, the Secretary of the Senate, and the
184	Clerk of the House of Representatives.
185	4.  Ten subscriptions to the committee.
186	(b)  The Department of State shall furnish one copy of the
187	Florida Administrative Weekly, at no cost, to each clerk of the
188	circuit court and each state department, for posting for public
189	inspection.
190	(7)(8)(a)  All fees and moneys collected by the Department
191	of State under this chapter shall be deposited in the Records
192	Management Trust Fund for the purpose of paying for costs
193	incurred by the department in carrying out this chapter.
194	(b)  The unencumbered balance in the Records Management
195	Trust Fund for fees collected pursuant to this chapter may not
196	exceed $300,000 at the beginning of each fiscal year, and any
197	excess shall be transferred to the General Revenue Fund.
198	Section 2.  The Division of Statutory Revision of the
199	Office of Legislative Services is requested to prepare a
200	reviser's bill for the 2013 Regular Session of the Legislature
201	to substitute the term "Florida Administrative Register" for the
202	term "Florida Administrative Weekly" throughout the Florida
203	Statutes."
204	Section 3.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2012.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.