Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
CS for SB 1078
By
the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
and Senator Grall
585-02414-26 20261078c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to gubernatorial transition; creating
3 s. 14.059, F.S.; defining terms; requiring the
4 Governor to designate a transition liaison within the
5 Executive Office of the Governor within a specified
6 timeframe; providing duties of the transition liaison;
7 requiring the head of each state agency to designate
8 an agency transition liaison within a specified
9 timeframe; providing duties of the agency transition
10 liaisons; requiring the Department of Management
11 Services and each state agency to provide certain
12 temporary office facilities to certain persons during
13 the transition period; requiring the department, upon
14 request, to provide the Governor-elect and his or her
15 staff with information technology and related
16 resources for such transition period; requiring the
17 Governor-elect to designate in writing the staff to be
18 provided with such resources; requiring specified
19 persons to sign a certain memorandum of understanding;
20 requiring each state agency, upon request, to provide
21 the Governor-elect and his or her staff with access to
22 agency leadership personnel during the transition
23 period; authorizing state agencies to assign limited
24 personnel to assist the Governor-elect and his or her
25 staff; requiring that the Governor-elect and his or
26 her staff be granted access to all state agency
27 records upon request; requiring that the Governor
28 elect and persons designated by the Governor-elect be
29 granted access to confidential and exempt records
30 under certain conditions; providing criminal
31 penalties; amending s. 14.057, F.S.; conforming
32 provisions to changes made by the act; providing an
33 effective date.
34
35 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
36
37 Section 1. Section 14.059, Florida Statutes, is created to
38 read:
39
14.059
Gubernatorial transition; coordination, access, and
40
agency obligations.—
41
(1)
As used in this section, the term:
42
(a)
“State agency” means an executive branch agency the
43
head of which is appointed solely by the Governor.
44
(b)
“Transition period” means the period beginning on the
45
day the Elections Canvassing Commission certifies the results of
46
a general election in a year in which the Governor is elected
47
and ending on the day the Governor-elect is inaugurated as
48
Governor. The term does not include any period following the
49
reelection of an incumbent Governor to a second consecutive
50
term.
51
(2)
No later than the 10th day after the primary election,
52
the Governor shall designate a transition liaison within the
53
Executive Office of the Governor. The transition liaison shall:
54
(a)
Serve as the primary point of contact between the
55
current administration and the Governor-elect and his or her
56
staff.
57
(b)
Oversee and coordinate transition planning and
58
operations with state agencies.
59
(c)
Create a transition directory that summarizes the
60
statutory authority, programs, functions, and organizational
61
structure of each state agency. The transition directory must be
62
delivered to the Governor-elect within 3 days after the
63
beginning of the transition period.
64
(d)
Create and coordinate transition training, orientation,
65
and briefings for the Governor-elect and his or her staff which
66
cover:
67
1.
The organizational structure of the executive branch of
68
state government.
69
2.
Administrative processes of state agencies, including
70
personnel systems.
71
3.
Public records and meeting requirements.
72
4.
Ethics and financial disclosure laws.
73
5.
Rulemaking procedures under the Administrative Procedure
74
Act.
75
6.
State budgeting and financial management processes.
76
7.
Any additional subject identified by the Governor-elect
77
and determined by the transition liaison to be reasonably
78
necessary to support an orderly transition between
79
administrations and the continuity of state agency operations.
80
(e)
Establish instructions and guidance for agency
81
transition liaisons regarding the preparation, content, and
82
delivery of standardized briefing books under paragraph (3)(b).
83
(3)
No later than the 10th day after the primary election,
84
the head of each state agency shall designate an agency
85
transition liaison. The agency transition liaison shall:
86
(a)
Serve as the primary point of contact between the
87
agency and the transition liaison.
88
(b)
Prepare standardized briefing books in accordance with
89
instructions and guidance established by the transition liaison.
90
The briefing books shall be delivered to the Governor-elect
91
within 3 days after the beginning of the transition period and
92
shall:
93
1.
Outline the agency’s organizational structure, mission,
94
programs, budget, major contracts, recently concluded and
95
pending litigation, and rulemaking activity.
96
2.
Identify all agency leadership personnel, including the
97
chief of staff, general counsel, deputy chiefs of staff, deputy
98
secretaries, division directors, and bureau chiefs.
99
3.
Include any information deemed necessary by the
100
transition liaison to support an orderly transition between
101
administrations and the continuity of state agency operations.
102
(4)(a)1.
The Department of Management Services shall
103
provide the Governor-elect, his or her staff, and the
104
inauguration staff with temporary office facilities in the
105
Capitol Center during the transition period.
106
2.
Each state agency shall provide temporary office space
107
within the agency headquarters for use by the Governor-elect and
108
his or her staff during the transition period.
109
(b)1.
Upon request of the Governor-elect, the Department of
110
Management Services shall provide the Governor-elect and his or
111
her staff with information technology and related
resources
112
necessary for transition operations during the transition
113
period. The Governor-elect must designate in writing each person
114
to be provided with information technology and related services.
115
At a minimum, information technology and related services
116
include:
117
a.
Computers and any necessary equipment for their use.
118
b.
Secure e-mail accounts.
119
c.
Cybersecurity training and monitoring.
120
d.
Technical assistance related to the use of the
121
information technology.
122
2.
Before the Governor-elect or a designee of the Governor
123
elect is provided with information technology, he or she must
124
sign a memorandum of understanding acknowledging that he or she
125
will adhere to state cybersecurity practices and will return the
126
information technology to the department upon conclusion of the
127
transition period.
128
(5)(a)
Upon request and in coordination with the transition
129
liaison, each state agency shall provide the Governor-elect and
130
his or her staff with access to agency leadership personnel
131
during the transition period, including the chief of staff,
132
general counsel, deputy chiefs of staff, deputy secretaries,
133
division directors, and bureau chiefs.
134
(b)
Each state agency may assign limited personnel to
135
assist the Governor-elect and his or her staff during the
136
transition period to the extent consistent with the agency’s
137
operational needs.
138
(6)(a)
During the transition period, the Governor-elect and
139
his or her staff shall be granted access to all state agency
140
records upon request.
141
(b)1.
During the transition period, the Governor-elect and
142
persons designated by the Governor-elect
shall
be granted access
143
to records that are confidential or exempt from s. 119.07(1) or
144
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. The Governor-elect
145
must designate in writing each person who must be granted access
146
to such records. No more than one person per temporary office
147
provided pursuant to paragraph (4)(a) may be designated by the
148
Governor-elect under this paragraph.
149
2.
Before accessing any confidential or exempt records, the
150
Governor-elect and his or her designees must sign a memorandum
151
of understanding acknowledging that:
152
a.
Such records will remain confidential or exempt.
153
b.
Disclosure of such records or the information contained
154
therein is prohibited unless specifically authorized by law.
155
c.
All records will be returned to the custodian at the
156
conclusion of the transition period.
157
d.
The Governor-elect and his or her designees
may not
158
disclose or use confidential or exempt information for
their
159
personal gain or benefit or for the personal gain or benefit of
160
any other person or business entity.
161
e.
A violation of sub-subparagraphs a. through d. is a
162
crime punishable as a felony of the third degree.
163
3.
Any person who willfully and knowingly violates
this
164
paragraph commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as
165
provided
in
s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
166 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 14.057, Florida
167 Statutes, is amended to read:
168 14.057 Governor-elect; establishment of operating fund.—
169
(2)
The Department of Management Services shall provide for
170
the Governor-elect, the Governor-elect’s staff, and the
171
inauguration staff temporary office facilities in the capitol
172
center for the period extending from the day of the
173
certification of the Governor-elect’s election by the Elections
174
Canvassing Commission to the day of his or her inauguration.
175 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.