Department of Financial Services

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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the Department of Financial 2
Services; creating s. 17.324, F.S.; providing 3
definitions; establishing the Florida Agency for 4
Fiscal Oversight within the Department of Financial 5
Services; providing the purpose and duties of the 6
agency; requiring local governments to notify the 7
agency after authorizing specified referendums; 8
requiring the agency to conduct an audit; authorizing 9
the agency to request certain information; providing 10
penalties for noncompliance with such request; 11
requiring certain funds to be deposited in a specified 12
trust fund; authorizing the agency to waive fines in 13
certain circumstances; providing that certain actions 14
may be challenged in a specified manner; authorizing 15
the agency to report certain evidence to specified 16
parties; authorizing the Florida Commission on Ethics 17
to make certain recommendations; authorizing the 18
Department of Financial Services to create a certain 19
analysis using specified information; requiring that 20
such analysis be posted in a specified manner to 21
certain parties; authorizing the Department of 22
Financial Services to adopt rules; amending s. 17.325, 23
F.S.; removing a requirement that a specified hotline 24
be operated for a certain amount of time each day; 25

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removing a requirement that the hotline be advertised 26
in a specified manner; creating s. 112.31424, F.S.; 27
providing definitions; requiring specified employees 28
to take a certain training annually; requiring the 29
first training to be completed by a specified 30
deadline; requiring certain employees who report 31
information to the Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight 32
be afforded the same protection as whistle-blowers; 33
providing construction; prohibiting local governments 34
from executing certain documents with specified 35
provisions; providing that such contracts are void; 36
requiring local governments to submit a certain report 37
to the Department of Financial Services by a specified 38
date; requiring the department to adopt rules; 39
requiring the department to submit information from 40
the reports to certain entities by a specified date; 41
amending s. 215.985, F.S.; requiring counties to use 42
certain contract tracking systems; providing 43
information required to be tracked; authorizing the 44
use of an alternate contract tracking system in 45
certain circumstances; providing that certain 46
provisions may not be enforced until a specified 47
event; requiring the Chief Financial Officer to make 48
specified changes to the secure contract tracking 49
system by a specified date; providing an effective 50

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date. 51
52
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 53
54
Section 1. Section 17.324, Florida Statutes, is created to 55
read: 56
17.324 Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight.— 57
(1) As used in this section, the term: 58
(a) "Agency" has the same meaning as in s. 283.30. 59
(b) "Local government" has the same meaning as in s. 60
106.113(1). 61
(c) "Noncompliant" means, as determined by the Chief 62
Financial Officer, failing to respond to a request for 63
information, failing to include any requested information, or 64
providing incomplete or materially inaccurate information. 65
(d) "State funds" means funds provided to a local 66
government by the state, state shared revenue, state grants, 67
sales tax collected pursuant to chapter 212, and enterprise 68
funds as defined in s. 350.81(1); however, it does not include 69
local funds derived from local taxes or fees or funds related to 70
public safety. 71
(2) The Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight is established 72
within the department. The purpose of Florida Agency for Fiscal 73
Oversight is to identify and report unnecessary spending within 74
any agency or local governments and to provide fiscal management 75

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and public spending education and training to such governments. 76
The Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight shall: 77
(a) Develop the mandatory financial ethics training 78
required under s. 112.31424(2). The training must include 79
instruction on: 80
1. Recognizing misuse of public funds. 81
2. Reporting financial misconduct. 82
3. Whistle-blower rights and protections. 83
(b) Provide guidance and materials to agencies and local 84
governments for internal training sessions. 85
(c) Complete the audit of a local government required 86
under subsection (3). 87
(d) Determine the information required in the Local 88
Government Efficiency Report required by s. 112.31424(5). 89
(3)(a) A local government must notify the Florida Agency 90
for Fiscal Oversight within 5 days after authorizing a 91
referendum to levy a tax, increase a current tax, or increase 92
the millage rate. The Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight shall 93
conduct an audit of any such local government. The Florida 94
Agency for Fiscal Oversight may request any information it deems 95
necessary to conduct such audit. If a local government is 96
noncompliant, and at the discretion of the Chief Financial 97
Officer: 98
1. At least 15 days after the initial request: 99
a. The Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight may impose 100

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administrative fines on local governments of no more than $1,000 101
each day; however, such fines may not be retroactive to the date 102
the request was first made. 103
b. The Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight must provide 104
the local government with written notice that if such local 105
government remains noncompliant, the Florida Agency for Fiscal 106
Oversight may initiate the process of withholding certain funds 107
payable to a local government beginning 45 days after the 108
initial request. 109
2. At least 45 days after the initial request, the Florida 110
Agency for Fiscal Oversight may withhold state funds until the 111
local government is no longer noncompliant or the final order 112
requires the release of such funds. 113
(b) Fines collected under sub-subparagraph (a)1.a. must be 114
deposited into the Insurance Regulatory Trust Fund. The Florida 115
Agency for Fiscal Oversight may, for good cause or upon 116
demonstration of extenuating circumstances, waive any such fines 117
upon the request of the local government. 118
(c) The decision to withhold funds under subparagraph 119
(a)2. constitutes an agency action under chapter 120 and is 120
subject to review as provided in that chapter. 121
(4) The Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight may report any 122
evidence suggesting ethical violations, misconduct, or 123
malfeasance by a local government official to the Governor and 124
the Florida Commission on Ethics. The Florida Commission on 125

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Ethics may recommend appropriate actions, including, but not 126
limited to, the removal of local government officials from 127
office. 128
(5) The department may create a Local Government Spending 129
Analysis to evaluate each local government based on the 130
information obtained under this section or from the report 131
required under s. 112.31424(5). If the department produces a 132
Local Government Spending Analysis, it must make such analysis 133
available on its website, and the local government that is the 134
subject of the analysis must include a link to the analysis in a 135
clear and conspicuous place on the local government website. 136
(6) The department may adopt rules to implement this 137
section, including procedures for training, reporting, 138
investigations, and establishing financial thresholds, risk 139
indicators, or other criteria that, when met, may trigger an 140
audit, operational review, or investigation of a local 141
government by the Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight. 142
Section 2. Subsections (1), (2), and (3) of section 143
17.325, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 144
17.325 Governmental efficiency hotline; duties of Chief 145
Financial Officer.— 146
(1) The Chief Financial Officer shall establish and 147
operate a statewide toll-free telephone hotline to receive 148
information or suggestions from the residents of this state on 149
how to improve the operation of state and local government, 150

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increase state and local governmental efficiency, and eliminate 151
waste in state and local government. 152
(2) The Chief Financial Officer shall operate the hotline 153
24 hours a day. The Chief Financial Officer may advertise the 154
availability of the hotline in newspapers of general circulation 155
in this state and shall provide for the posting of notices in 156
conspicuous places in state agency offices, city halls, county 157
courthouses, and places in which there is exposure to 158
significant numbers of the general public, including, but not 159
limited to, local convenience stores, shopping malls, shopping 160
centers, gasoline stations, or restaurants. The Chief Financial 161
Officer shall use the slogan "Tell us where we can 'Get Lean'" 162
for the hotline and in advertisements for the hotline. 163
(3) Each telephone call on the hotline shall be received 164
by the office of the Chief Financial Officer, and the office of 165
the Chief Financial Officer shall conduct an evaluation to 166
determine if it is appropriate for the telephone call to be 167
processed as a government efficiency hotline "Get Lean" 168
telephone call. If it is determined that the telephone call 169
should be processed as a government efficiency hotline "Get 170
Lean" telephone call, a record of each suggestion or item of 171
information received shall be entered into a log kept by the 172
Chief Financial Officer. A caller on the hotline may remain 173
anonymous, and, if the caller provides his or her name, the name 174
shall be confidential. If a caller discloses that he or she is a 175

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state employee, the Chief Financial Officer, in addition to 176
maintaining a record as required by this section, may refer any 177
information or suggestion from the caller to an existing state 178
awards program administered by the affected agency. The affected 179
agency shall conduct a preliminary evaluation of the efficacy of 180
any suggestion or item of information received through the 181
hotline and shall provide the Chief Financial Officer with a 182
preliminary determination of the amount of revenues the state 183
might save by implementing the suggestion or making use of the 184
information. 185
Section 3. Section 112.31424, Florida Statutes, is created 186
to read: 187
112.31424 Financial ethics of governments.— 188
(1) As used in this section, the term: 189
(a) "Agency" has the same meaning as in s. 112.3187(3). 190
(b) "Employee" has the same meaning as in s. 112.3187(3). 191
(c) "Local government" has the same meaning as in s. 192
106.113(1). 193
(2) All agency employees, elected officials, and 194
volunteers must complete the training on financial ethics 195
created pursuant to s. 17.324(2)(a) annually. The first training 196
must be completed within 30 days after: 197
(a) For a person employed by an agency, the first day of 198
employment. 199
(b) For an elected official within an agency, the day the 200

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elected official takes office. 201
(c) For a volunteer of an agency, the first day the 202
volunteer begins volunteering. 203
(3) Notwithstanding any other law, an employee who reports 204
information to the Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight shall be 205
afforded the same protection as a whistle-blower under chapter 206
112. Such employee is not required to report the information 207
directly to his or her supervisory officials, his or her Chief 208
Executive Officer as defined in s. 447.203(9), or any other 209
appropriate local official. 210
(4) An agency may not execute any contract, agreement, or 211
other document that: 212
(a) Prohibits an agency or a vendor, as defined in s. 213
287.1351(1), from participating with the Florida Agency for 214
Fiscal Oversight. 215
(b) Requires an agency or a vendor, as defined in s. 216
287.1351(1), to execute a nondisclosure agreement as a condition 217
for performing any duties or functions with the Florida Agency 218
for Fiscal Oversight. 219
220
Any such contract, agreement, or document shall be void. 221
(5) Each local government shall submit an annual Local 222
Government Efficiency Report to the Department of Financial 223
Services by October 30 of each year. The Department of Financial 224
Services shall adopt rules prescribing the format of such 225

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reports and the information that must be included. The 226
department shall submit recommendations and findings from the 227
report to the Legislature and Office of Policy and Budget by 228
January 1 of each year. 229
Section 4. Subsection (14) of section 215.985, Florida 230
Statutes, is amended to read: 231
215.985 Transparency in government spending.— 232
(14) The Chief Financial Officer shall establish and 233
maintain a secure contract tracking system available for viewing 234
and downloading by the public through a secure website. The 235
Chief Financial Officer shall use appropriate Internet security 236
measures to ensure that no person has the ability to alter or 237
modify records available on the website. 238
(a) Within 30 calendar days after executing a contract, 239
each state entity shall post the following information relating 240
to the contract on the contract tracking system: 241
1. The names of the contracting entities. 242
2. The procurement method. 243
3. The contract beginning and ending dates. 244
4. The nature or type of the commodities or services 245
purchased. 246
5. Applicable contract unit prices and deliverables. 247
6. Total compensation to be paid or received under the 248
contract. 249
7. All payments made to the contractor to date. 250

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8. Applicable contract performance measures. 251
9. If a competitive solicitation was not used to procure 252
the goods or services, the justification of such action, 253
including citation to a statutory exemption or exception from 254
competitive solicitation, if any. 255
10. Electronic copies of the contract and procurement 256
documents that have been redacted to exclude confidential or 257
exempt information. 258
(b) Within 30 calendar days after executing a contract, 259
each county shall post the following information relating to the 260
contract on the contract tracking system or an alternate 261
contract tracking system authorized by the department: 262
1. The names of the contracting entities. 263
2. The procurement method. 264
3. The contract beginning and ending dates. 265
4. The nature or type of the commodities or services 266
purchased. 267
5. Applicable contract unit prices and deliverables. 268
6. Total compensation to be paid or received under the 269
contract. 270
7. Applicable contract performance measures. 271
8. If a competitive solicitation was not used to procure 272
the goods or services, the justification of such action, 273
including citation to a statutory exemption or an exception from 274
competitive solicitation, if any. 275

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9. Electronic copies of the contract and procurement 276
documents that have been redacted as required by paragraph (e). 277
(c)(b) Within 30 calendar days after an amendment to an 278
existing contract, the state entity or county that is a party to 279
the contract must update the information described in paragraph 280
(a) or paragraph (b), respectively, in the contract tracking 281
system. An amendment to a contract includes, but is not limited 282
to, a renewal, termination, or extension of the contract or a 283
modification of the terms of the contract. 284
(d)(c) For each contract for which a state entity makes a 285
payment pursuant to a contract executed, amended, or extended on 286
or after July 1, 2023, the state entity shall post any documents 287
submitted pursuant to s. 216.1366 which indicate the use of 288
state funds as remuneration under the contract or a specified 289
payment associated with the contract on the contract tracking 290
system. 291
(e)(d)1. Records made available on the contract tracking 292
system may not reveal information made confidential or exempt by 293
law. 294
2. Each state entity or county that is a party to a 295
contract must redact confidential or exempt information from the 296
contract and procurement documents before posting an electronic 297
copy on the contract tracking system. If a state entity or 298
county that is a party to the contract becomes aware that an 299
electronic copy of a contract or a procurement document has been 300

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posted but has not been properly redacted, the state entity or 301
county must immediately notify the Chief Financial Officer and 302
must immediately remove the contract or procurement document 303
from the contract tracking system. Within 7 business days, the 304
state entity must post a properly redacted copy of the contract 305
or procurement document on the contract tracking system. 306
3.a. If a party to a contract, or an authorized 307
representative of a party to a contract, discovers that an 308
electronic copy of a contract or procurement document has been 309
posted to the contract tracking system but has not been properly 310
redacted, the party or representative may request the state 311
entity or county that is a party to the contract to redact the 312
confidential or exempt information. Upon receipt of the request, 313
the state entity or county shall redact the confidential or 314
exempt information. 315
b. A request to redact confidential or exempt information 316
must be made in writing and delivered by mail, facsimile, 317
electronic transmission, or in person to the state entity or 318
county that is a party to the contract. The request must 319
identify the specific document, the page numbers that include 320
the confidential or exempt information, the information that is 321
confidential or exempt, and the applicable statutory exemption. 322
A fee may not be charged for a redaction made pursuant to the 323
request. 324
c. A party to a contract may petition the circuit court 325

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for an order directing compliance with this paragraph. 326
4. The contract tracking system shall display a notice of 327
the right of an affected party to request redaction of 328
confidential or exempt information contained on the system. 329
5.a. The Chief Financial Officer, the Department of 330
Financial Services, or an officer, employee, or contractor 331
thereof, is not responsible for redacting confidential or exempt 332
information from an electronic copy of a contract or procurement 333
document posted by another state entity or county on the system. 334
b. The Chief Financial Officer, the Department of 335
Financial Services, or an officer, employee, or contractor 336
thereof, is not liable for the failure of a state entity or 337
county to redact the confidential or exempt information. 338
(e)1. The posting of information on the contract tracking 339
system or the provision of contract information on a website for 340
public viewing and downloading does not supersede the duty of a 341
state entity or county to respond to a public records request or 342
subpoena for the information. 343
2. A request for a copy of a contract or procurement 344
document or certified copy of a contract or procurement document 345
shall be made to the state entity or county that is party to the 346
contract. The request may not be made to the Chief Financial 347
Officer, the Department of Financial Services, or an officer, 348
employee, or contractor thereof, unless the Chief Financial 349
Officer or the department is a party to the contract. 350

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3. A subpoena for a copy of a contract or procurement 351
document or certified copy of a contract or procurement document 352
must be served on the state entity or county that is a party to 353
the contract and that maintains the original documents. The 354
Chief Financial Officer, the Department of Financial Services, 355
or an officer, employee, or contractor thereof, may not be 356
served a subpoena for those records unless the Chief Financial 357
Officer or the department is a party to the contract. 358
(g)(f) The Chief Financial Officer may regulate and 359
prohibit the posting of records that could facilitate identity 360
theft or fraud, such as signatures; compromise or reveal an 361
agency investigation; reveal the identity of undercover 362
personnel; reveal proprietary business information or trade 363
secrets; reveal an individual's medical information; or reveal 364
another record or information that the Chief Financial Officer 365
believes may jeopardize the health, safety, or welfare of the 366
public. However, such action by the Chief Financial Officer does 367
not supersede the duty of a state entity or county to provide a 368
copy of a public record upon request. 369
(h)(g) The Chief Financial Officer may adopt rules to 370
administer this subsection. 371
(i)(h) For purposes of this subsection, the term: 372
1. "Procurement document" means any document or material 373
provided to the public or any vendor as part of a formal 374
competitive solicitation of goods or services undertaken by a 375

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state entity or county, and a document or material submitted in 376
response to a formal competitive solicitation by any vendor who 377
is awarded the resulting contract. 378
2. "State entity" means an official, officer, commission, 379
board, authority, council, committee, or department of the 380
executive branch of state government; a state attorney, public 381
defender, criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, capital 382
collateral regional counsel, and the Justice Administrative 383
Commission; the Public Service Commission; and any part of the 384
judicial branch of state government. 385
(i) In lieu of posting in the contract tracking system 386
administered by the Chief Financial Officer, the Department of 387
Legal Affairs and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer 388
Services may post the information described in paragraphs (a) 389
through (d) (c) to its own agency-managed website. The data 390
posted on the agency-managed website must be downloadable in a 391
format that allows offline analysis. 392
(j) The requirement under paragraphs (a) through (d) (c) 393
that each agency or county post information and documentation 394
relating to contracts on the tracking system does not apply to 395
any record that could reveal attorney work product or strategy. 396
Section 5. The amendments made by this act to s. 397
215.985(14), Florida Statutes, may not be enforced until the 398
secure contract tracking system is able to accept reports. The 399
Chief Financial Officer shall make any changes necessary to the 400

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secure contract tracking system to allow counties to make the 401
reports required by the amendments to s. 215.985(14)(b), Florida 402
Statutes, before July 1, 2027. 403
Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 404