Chapter 120 — Chapter 120

This chapter shall not apply to:(1) The Legislature.(2) The courts. (1) The Legislature. (2) The courts.

This chapter may be known and cited as the “Administrative Procedure Act.”

This chapter provides uniform procedures for the exercise of specified authority. This chapter does not limit or impinge upon the assignment of executive power under Article IV of the State Constitution or the legal authority of an appointing authority to direct and supervise tho…

As used in this act:(1) “Agency” means the following officers or governmental entities if acting pursuant to powers other than those derived from the constitution:(a) The Governor; each state officer and state department, and each departmental unit described in s. 20.04; the Boar…

(1) Except in the case of emergency meetings, each agency shall give notice of public meetings, hearings, and workshops by publication in the Florida Administrative Register and on the agency’s website not less than 7 days before the event. The notice shall include a statement of…

(1) In addition to maintaining records contained in s. 119.021(3), each agency shall also electronically transmit a certified text-searchable copy of each agency final order listed in subsection (2) rendered on or after July 1, 2015, to a centralized electronic database of agency…

The Department of State shall:(1) Coordinate the transmittal, indexing, management, preservation, and availability of agency final orders that must be transmitted, indexed, or listed pursuant to s. 120.53.(2) Provide guidelines for indexing agency final orders. More than one syst…

(1) A grant of rulemaking authority is necessary but not sufficient to allow an agency to adopt a rule; a specific law to be implemented is also required. An agency may adopt only rules that implement or interpret the specific powers and duties granted by the enabling statute. No…

(1) GENERAL PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO ALL RULES OTHER THAN EMERGENCY RULES.—(a) Rulemaking is not a matter of agency discretion. Each agency statement defined as a rule by s. 120.52 shall be adopted by the rulemaking procedure provided by this section as soon as feasible and pract…

(1)(a) Within 21 days after publication of the notice required under s. 120.54(3)(a), a substantially affected person may submit to an agency a good faith written proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative to a proposed rule which substantially accomplishes the objectives o…

(1) Strict application of uniformly applicable rule requirements can lead to unreasonable, unfair, and unintended results in particular instances. The Legislature finds that it is appropriate in such cases to adopt a procedure for agencies to provide relief to persons subject to …

(1) As a legislative check on legislatively created authority, the committee shall examine each proposed rule, except for those proposed rules exempted by s. 120.81(1)(e) and (2), and its accompanying material, and each emergency rule, and may examine any existing rule, for the p…

(1) The Department of State shall:(a)1. Through a continuous revision and publication system, compile and publish electronically, on a website managed by the department, the “Florida Administrative Code.” The Florida Administrative Code shall contain all rules adopted by each age…

When, as part of the continuous revision system authorized in s. 120.55(1)(a)1. or as otherwise provided by law, the Department of State is in doubt whether a rule published in the official version of the Florida Administrative Code is still in full force and effect, the procedur…

(1) GENERAL PROCEDURES.—(a) Any person substantially affected by a rule or a proposed rule may seek an administrative determination of the invalidity of the rule on the ground that the rule is an invalid exercise of delegated legislative authority.(b) The petition challenging the…

(1) Any substantially affected person may seek a declaratory statement regarding an agency’s opinion as to the applicability of a statutory provision, or of any rule or order of the agency, as it applies to the petitioner’s particular set of circumstances.(2) The petition seeking…

(1) The provisions of this section apply in all proceedings in which the substantial interests of a party are determined by an agency, unless the parties are proceeding under s. 120.573 or s. 120.574. Unless waived by all parties, s. 120.57(1) applies whenever the proceeding invo…

(1) ADDITIONAL PROCEDURES APPLICABLE TO HEARINGS INVOLVING DISPUTED ISSUES OF MATERIAL FACT.—(a) Except as provided in ss. 120.80 and 120.81, an administrative law judge assigned by the division shall conduct all hearings under this subsection, except for hearings before agency h…

Each announcement of an agency action that affects substantial interests shall advise whether mediation of the administrative dispute for the type of agency action announced is available and that choosing mediation does not affect the right to an administrative hearing. If the ag…

(1)(a) Within 5 business days following the division’s receipt of a petition or request for hearing, the division shall issue and serve on all original parties an initial order that assigns the case to a specific administrative law judge and provides general information regarding…

(1) CHALLENGES TO AGENCY ACTION PURSUANT TO SECTION 120.57(1).—(a) The provisions of this subsection are supplemental to, and do not abrogate, other provisions allowing the award of fees or costs in administrative proceedings.(b) The final order in a proceeding pursuant to s. 120…

(1) Upon receipt of a license application, an agency shall examine the application and, within 30 days after such receipt, notify the applicant of any apparent errors or omissions and request any additional information the agency is permitted by law to require. An agency may not …

(1) Every person who responds to a request or demand by any agency or representative thereof for written data or an oral statement shall be entitled to a transcript or recording of his or her oral statement at no more than cost.(2) Any person compelled to appear, or who appears v…

(1) Upon application of any agency, the Administration Commission may exempt any process or proceeding governed by this act from one or more requirements of this act:(a) When the agency head has certified that the requirement would conflict with any provision of federal law or ru…

(1) The Division of Administrative Hearings within the Department of Management Services shall be headed by a director who shall be appointed by the Administration Commission and confirmed by the Senate. The director, who shall also serve as the chief administrative law judge, an…

The Division of Administrative Hearings shall designate at least two administrative law judges who shall specifically preside over actions involving the Department of Health or boards within the Department of Health. Each designated administrative law judge must be a member of Th…

If a district school board fails to make a timely payment for the services provided by an administrative law judge of the Division of Administrative Hearings as provided annually in the General Appropriations Act, the Commissioner of Education shall withhold, from any general rev…

(1) In any proceeding under ss. 120.569 and 120.57, no ex parte communication relative to the merits, threat, or offer of reward shall be made to the agency head, after the agency head has received a recommended order, or to the presiding officer by:(a) An agency head or member o…

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 112.3143, any individual serving alone or with others as an agency head may be disqualified from serving in an agency proceeding for bias, prejudice, or interest when any party to the agency proceeding shows just cause by a suggestion file…

(1)(a) A party who is adversely affected by final agency action is entitled to judicial review.(b) A preliminary, procedural, or intermediate order of the agency or of an administrative law judge of the Division of Administrative Hearings is immediately reviewable if review of th…

(1) Except as otherwise provided by statute:(a) Any agency may seek enforcement of an action by filing a petition for enforcement, as provided in this section, in the circuit court where the subject matter of the enforcement is located.(b) A petition for enforcement of any agency…

(1) It is the policy of the state that the purpose of regulation is to protect the public by attaining compliance with the policies established by the Legislature. Fines and other penalties may be provided in order to assure compliance; however, the collection of fines and the im…

Unless expressly provided otherwise, a reference in any section of the Florida Statutes to chapter 120 or to any section or sections or portion of a section of chapter 120 includes, and shall be understood as including, all subsequent amendments to chapter 120 or to the reference…

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to repeal any provision of the Florida Statutes which grants the right to a proceeding in the circuit court in lieu of an administrative hearing or to divest the circuit courts of jurisdiction to render declaratory judgments under the pr…

(1) REGULATORY PLAN.—By October 1 of each year, each agency shall prepare a regulatory plan.(a) The plan must include a listing of each law enacted or amended during the previous 12 months which creates or modifies the duties or authority of the agency. If the Governor or the Att…

(1) DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS.—(a) Division as a party.—Notwithstanding s. 120.57(1)(a), a hearing in which the division is a party may not be conducted by an administrative law judge assigned by the division. An attorney assigned by the Administration Commission shall …

(1) EDUCATIONAL UNITS.—(a) Notwithstanding s. 120.536(1) and the flush left provisions of s. 120.52(8), district school boards may adopt rules to implement their general powers under s. 1001.41.(b) The preparation or modification of curricula by an educational unit is not a rule …

(1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the “Keep Our Graduates Working Act of 2020.”(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this act is to ensure that Floridians who graduate from an accredited college or university can maintain their occupational licenses, as defined in subsection (3…