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HB 1435 2026
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to structure and legislative oversight 2
of executive agencies; amending s. 20.04, F.S.; 3
providing that divisions or offices in an executive 4
department may be established only by specific 5
statutory enactment; amending s. 20.165, F.S.; 6
providing that certain appointments made by the 7
Secretary of Business and Professional Regulation are 8
subject to review and approval by the Legislature; 9
amending s. 20.23, F.S.; providing that certain 10
appointments made by the Secretary of Transportation 11
are subject to review and approval by the Legislature; 12
providing that the secretary's restructuring of 13
offices is subject to review and approval by the 14
Legislature; amending ss. 20.315, 20.316, 20.41, and 15
20.60, F.S.; providing that certain appointments made 16
by the heads of departments are subject to review and 17
approval by the Legislature; requiring the Legislature 18
to dissolve certain divisions, offices, bureaus, 19
sections, and subsections by a specified date; 20
amending s. 20.43, F.S.; removing provisions relating 21
to the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity 22
within the Department of Health; amending s. 282.0051, 23
F.S.; providing that the state chief information 24
officer shall have all decisionmaking authority with 25
HB 1435 2026
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
respect to information technology on behalf of all 26
departments and all department divisions, offices, 27
bureaus, sections, and subsections; repealing s. 28
381.735, F.S., relating to the Office of Minority 29
Health and Health Equity; amending ss. 381.814, 30
383.2163, and 409.91235, F.S.; conforming provisions 31
to changes made by the act; providing an effective 32
date. 33
34
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 35
36
Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (7) of section 37
20.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 38
20.04 Structure of executive branch.—The executive branch 39
of state government is structured as follows: 40
(7) 41
(b) Within the limitations of this subsection, the head of 42
the department may recommend the establishment of additional 43
divisions, offices, bureaus, sections, and subsections of the 44
department to promote efficient and effective operation of the 45
department. However, such additional divisions, or offices, 46
bureaus, sections, and subsections in the Department of Children 47
and Families, the Department of Corrections, the Department of 48
Commerce, and the Department of Transportation, may be 49
established only by specific statutory enactment. New bureaus, 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
sections, and subsections of departments may be initiated by a 51
department and established as recommended by the Department of 52
Management Services and approved by the Executive Office of the 53
Governor, or may be established by specific statutory enactment. 54
Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 20.165, Florida 55
Statutes, is amended to read: 56
20.165 Department of Business and Professional 57
Regulation.—There is created a Department of Business and 58
Professional Regulation. 59
(3) The secretary shall appoint a director for each 60
division established within this section. Each division director 61
shall directly administer the division and shall be responsible 62
to the secretary. The secretary may appoint deputy and assistant 63
secretaries, subject to review and approval by the Legislature, 64
as necessary to aid the secretary in fulfilling the secretary's 65
statutory obligations. 66
Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section 67
20.23, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 68
20.23 Department of Transportation.—There is created a 69
Department of Transportation which shall be a decentralized 70
agency. 71
(4) 72
(b) The secretary may appoint positions at the level of 73
deputy assistant secretary or director, subject to review and 74
approval by the Legislature, which the secretary deems necessary 75
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to accomplish the mission and goals of the department, 76
including, but not limited to, the areas of program 77
responsibility provided in this paragraph, each of whom shall be 78
appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the secretary. The 79
secretary may combine, separate, or delete offices, subject to 80
review and approval by the Legislature, as needed in 81
consultation with the Executive Office of the Governor. The 82
department's areas of program responsibility include, but are 83
not limited to, all of the following: 84
1. Administration. 85
2. Planning. 86
3. Supply chain and modal development. 87
4. Design. 88
5. Highway operations. 89
6. Right-of-way. 90
7. Toll operations. 91
8. Transportation technology. 92
9. Information technology. 93
10. Motor carrier weight inspection. 94
11. Work program and budget. 95
12. Comptroller. 96
13. Construction. 97
14. Statewide corridors. 98
15. Maintenance. 99
16. Forecasting and performance. 100
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17. Emergency management. 101
18. Safety. 102
19. Materials. 103
20. Infrastructure and innovation. 104
21. Permitting. 105
22. Traffic operations. 106
23. Operational technology. 107
Section 4. Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section 108
20.315, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 109
20.315 Department of Corrections.—There is created a 110
Department of Corrections. 111
(3) SECRETARY OF CORRECTIONS.—The head of the Department 112
of Corrections is the Secretary of Corrections. The secretary is 113
appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the 114
Senate, and shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The 115
secretary is responsible for planning, coordinating, and 116
managing the corrections system of the state. The secretary 117
shall ensure that the programs and services of the department 118
are administered in accordance with state and federal laws, 119
rules, and regulations, with established program standards, and 120
consistent with legislative intent. The secretary shall identify 121
the need for and recommend funding for the secure and efficient 122
operation of the state correctional system. 123
(c) The secretary may appoint assistant secretaries, 124
directors, or other such persons that he or she deems are 125
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necessary, subject to review and approval by the Legislature, to 126
accomplish the mission and goals of the department, including, 127
but not limited to, the following areas of program 128
responsibility: 129
1. Security and institutional operations, which shall 130
provide inmate work programs, offender programs, security 131
administration, emergency operations response, and operational 132
oversight of the regions. 133
2. Health services, which shall be headed by a physician 134
licensed under chapter 458 or an osteopathic physician licensed 135
under chapter 459, or a professionally trained health care 136
administrator with progressively responsible experience in 137
health care administration. This individual shall be responsible 138
for the delivery of health services to offenders within the 139
system and shall have direct professional authority over such 140
services. 141
3. Community corrections, which shall provide for 142
coordination of community alternatives to incarceration and 143
operational oversight of community corrections regions. 144
4. Administrative services, which shall provide budget and 145
accounting services within the department, including the 146
construction and maintenance of correctional institutions, human 147
resource management, research, planning and evaluation, and 148
technology. 149
5. Program, transition, and postrelease services, which 150
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shall provide for the direct management and supervision of all 151
departmental programs, including the coordination and delivery 152
of education and job training to the offenders in the custody of 153
the department. In addition, this program shall provide for the 154
direct management and supervision of all programs that furnish 155
transition assistance to inmates who are or have recently been 156
in the custody of the department, including the coordination, 157
facilitation, and contract management of prerelease and 158
postrelease transition services provided by governmental and 159
private providers, including faith-based service groups. 160
Section 5. Subsection (2) of section 20.316, Florida 161
Statutes, is amended to read: 162
20.316 Department of Juvenile Justice.—There is created a 163
Department of Juvenile Justice. 164
(2) DEPARTMENT PROGRAMS.—The following programs are 165
established within the Department of Juvenile Justice: 166
(a) Accountability and Program Support. 167
(b) Administration. 168
(c) Intake and Detention. 169
(d) Prevention Services. 170
(e) Probation and Community Corrections. 171
(f) Residential and Correctional Facilities. 172
173
The secretary may establish assistant secretary positions and a 174
chief of staff position, subject to review and approval by the 175
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Legislature, as necessary to administer the requirements of this 176
section. 177
Section 6. Subsection (1) of section 20.41, Florida 178
Statutes, is amended to read: 179
20.41 Department of Elderly Affairs.—There is created a 180
Department of Elderly Affairs. 181
(1) The head of the department is the Secretary of Elderly 182
Affairs. The secretary must be appointed by the Governor, 183
subject to confirmation by the Senate. The secretary serves at 184
the pleasure of the Governor. The secretary shall administer the 185
affairs of the department and may employ assistants, 186
professional staff, and other employees, subject to review and 187
approval by the Legislature, as necessary to discharge the 188
powers and duties of the department. 189
Section 7. Subsection (9) of section 20.43, Florida 190
Statutes, is amended to read: 191
20.43 Department of Health.—There is created a Department 192
of Health. 193
(9) There is established within the Department of Health 194
the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity, which shall be 195
headed by a Senior Health Equity Officer. The Senior Health 196
Equity Officer shall administer the Closing the Gap grant 197
program established under ss. 381.7351-381.7356 in a manner that 198
maximizes the impact of the grants in achieving health equity. 199
The Senior Health Equity Officer shall evaluate the awarded 200
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grants to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the use of 201
funds and to determine best practices. The Senior Health Equity 202
Officer shall disseminate information on best practices to 203
stakeholders and shall ensure that the assessments inform future 204
grant award decisions. 205
Section 8. Subsection (2) of section 20.60, Florida 206
Statutes, is amended to read: 207
20.60 Department of Commerce; creation; powers and 208
duties.— 209
(2) The head of the department is the Secretary of 210
Commerce, who shall be appointed by the Governor, subject to 211
confirmation by the Senate. The secretary shall serve at the 212
pleasure of and report to the Governor and shall serve as the 213
Governor's chief negotiator for business recruitment and 214
expansion and economic development. The secretary may appoint 215
deputy and assistant secretaries, subject to review and approval 216
by the Legislature, as necessary to aid the secretary in 217
fulfilling his or her statutory obligations. 218
Section 9. The Legislature shall, by the adjournment of 219
the 2027 Regular Session, review the purposes and functions of 220
every department division, office, bureau, section, and 221
subsection and dissolve any such division, office, bureau, 222
section, and subsection as it deems necessary. 223
Section 10. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 224
282.0051, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 225
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282.0051 Department of Management Services; Florida 226
Digital Service; powers, duties, and functions.— 227
(2)(a) The Secretary of Management Services shall 228
designate a state chief information officer, who shall 229
administer the Florida Digital Service. The state chief 230
information officer, prior to appointment, must have at least 5 231
years of experience in the development of information system 232
strategic planning and development or information technology 233
policy, and, preferably, have leadership-level experience in the 234
design, development, and deployment of interoperable software 235
and data solutions. The state chief information officer shall 236
have all decisionmaking authority with respect to information 237
technology on behalf of all departments and all department 238
divisions, offices, bureaus, sections, and subsections. 239
Section 11. Section 381.735, Florida Statutes, is 240
repealed. 241
Section 12. Subsections (3) and (4) of section 381.814, 242
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 243
381.814 Sickle Cell Disease Research and Treatment Grant 244
Program.—The Sickle Cell Disease Research and Treatment Grant 245
Program is created within the Department of Health. 246
(3) Funds appropriated to the program shall be awarded by 247
the Department of Health Office of Minority Health and Health 248
Equity, within the department, to community-based sickle cell 249
disease medical treatment and research centers operating in this 250
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state. 251
(4) The Department of Health Office of Minority Health and 252
Health Equity shall award grants under the program to community-253
based sickle cell disease medical treatment and research centers 254
to fund projects specific to sickle cell disease in the 255
following project areas: 256
(a) Sickle cell disease workforce development and 257
education.—Such projects shall include, but need not be limited 258
to, facility-based education programs, continuing education 259
curriculum development, and outreach and education activities 260
with the local health care practitioner community. Workforce 261
development and education projects must be based on current 262
evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for sickle cell 263
disease. 264
(b) Sickle Cell Disease Treatment Centers of Excellence.—265
Such projects shall include, but need not be limited to, 266
operational support for existing centers of excellence, facility 267
enhancement of existing centers of excellence, and the 268
establishment of new centers of excellence. 269
Section 13. Subsection (6) of section 383.2163, Florida 270
Statutes, is amended to read: 271
383.2163 Telehealth Minority Maternity Care Program.—The 272
department shall establish a statewide Telehealth Minority 273
Maternity Care Program that uses telehealth to expand the 274
capacity for positive maternal health outcomes in racial and 275
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ethnic minority populations. The department may enlist county 276
health departments to assist with program implementation. 277
(6) FUNDING.—The department's Division of Community Health 278
Promotion and Office of Minority Health and Health Equity shall 279
work in partnership to apply for federal funds that are 280
available to assist the department in accomplishing the 281
program's purpose and successfully implementing the program. 282
Section 14. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 283
409.91235, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 284
409.91235 Agency review and report on medications, 285
treatments, and services for sickle cell disease.— 286
(1) The Agency for Health Care Administration, in 287
consultation with the Florida Medical Schools Quality Network 288
and a dedicated sickle cell disease medical treatment and 289
research center that maintains a sickle cell patient database 290
and tracks sickle cell disease outcome measures, shall, every 2 291
years: 292
(b)1. Develop a written report that details the review 293
findings. 294
2. Beginning November 1, 2024, and by November 1 of every 295
other year thereafter, post the report on the agency's website. 296
3. Submit a copy of the report to the Governor, the 297
President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of 298
Representatives, the Department of Health Health's Office of 299
Minority Health and Health Equity, and the Rare Disease Advisory 300
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Council. 301
Section 15. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 302