This bill amends Florida Statutes concerning administrative procedures, particularly focusing on the authority of agencies to issue rules and guidance documents. It establishes that any guidance document or statement interpreting a statute issued by an agency without explicit statutory delegation is deemed an invalid exercise of legislative authority. Agencies are prohibited from adopting rules or issuing guidance documents unless they have been expressly granted the power to do so through specific statutory delegation. Additionally, the bill requires agencies to prepare a statement of estimated regulatory costs for all proposed rules, notices of change, and final rules, with the materials used for these estimates to be published publicly. It also mandates retrospective cost-benefit analyses and assessment reports for certain rules four years post-implementation, along with a review schedule set by the Administrative Procedures Committee.

Moreover, the bill introduces new provisions for challenging rules and guidance documents, allowing any person substantially affected to seek an administrative determination of validity. It emphasizes that all provisions apply equally to both rules and guidance documents. The bill also requires agency-created forms incorporated by reference in rule notices to display specific identifying information and permits electronic filing of adopted rules and materials with hyperlinks to relevant documents. New grounds for challenging enforcement actions based on the lack of statutory authority for rules or guidance documents are established, along with specific failures related to regulatory cost statements that could invalidate a rule. The timeline for filing petitions challenging proposed rules is clarified, and the burden of proof is defined for both petitioners and agencies. The act is set to take effect on July 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
S 448 Filed: 120.52, 120.536
S 448 c1: 120.52, 120.536