(1) This section may be cited as the “Florida Engineers Management Corporation Act.”

(2) The purpose of this section is to create a public-private partnership by providing that a single nonprofit corporation be established to provide administrative, investigative, and prosecutorial services to the board and that no additional nonprofit corporation be created for these purposes.

(3) The Florida Engineers Management Corporation is created to provide administrative, investigative, and prosecutorial services to the board in accordance with the provisions of chapter 455 and this chapter. The management corporation may hire staff as necessary to carry out its functions. Such staff are not public employees for the purposes of chapter 110 or chapter 112, except that the board of directors and the staff are subject to the provisions of s. 112.061. The provisions of s. 768.28 apply to the management corporation, which is deemed to be a corporation primarily acting as an instrumentality of the state, but which is not an agency within the meaning of s. 20.03(11). The management corporation shall:

(a) Be a Florida corporation not for profit, incorporated under the provisions of chapter 617.

(b) Provide administrative, investigative, and prosecutorial services to the board in accordance with the provisions of chapter 455, this chapter, and the contract required by this section.

(c) Receive, hold, and administer property and make only prudent expenditures directly related to the responsibilities of the board, and in accordance with the contract required by this section.

(d) Be approved by the board, and the department, to operate for the benefit of the board and in the best interest of the state.

(e) Operate under a fiscal year that begins on July 1 of each year and ends on June 30 of the following year.

(f) Have a seven-member board of directors, five of whom are to be appointed by the board and must be registrants regulated by the board and two of whom are to be appointed by the secretary and must be laypersons not regulated by the board. All appointments shall be for 4-year terms. No member shall serve more than two consecutive terms. Failure to attend three consecutive meetings shall be deemed a resignation from the board, and the vacancy shall be filled by a new appointment.

(g) Select its officers in accordance with its bylaws. The members of the board of directors who were appointed by the board may be removed by the board.

(h) Select the president of the management corporation, who shall also serve as executive director to the board, subject to approval of the board.

(i) Use a portion of the interest derived from the management corporation account to offset the costs associated with the use of credit cards for payment of fees by applicants or licensees.

(j) Operate under a written contract with the department which is approved by the board. The contract must provide for, but is not limited to:

1. Submission by the management corporation of an annual budget that complies with board rules for approval by the board and the department.

2. Annual certification by the board and the department that the management corporation is complying with the terms of the contract in a manner consistent with the goals and purposes of the board and in the best interest of the state. This certification must be reported in the board’s minutes. The contract must also provide for methods and mechanisms to resolve any situation in which the certification process determines noncompliance.

3. Funding of the management corporation through appropriations allocated to the regulation of professional engineers from the Professional Regulation Trust Fund.

4. The reversion to the board, or the state if the board ceases to exist, of moneys, records, data, and property held in trust by the management corporation for the benefit of the board, if the management corporation is no longer approved to operate for the board or the board ceases to exist. All records and data in a computerized database shall be returned to the department in a form that is compatible with the computerized database of the department.

5. The securing and maintaining by the management corporation, during the term of the contract and for all acts performed during the term of the contract, of all liability insurance coverages in an amount to be approved by the board to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the management corporation and its officers and employees, the department and its employees, and the state against all claims arising from state and federal laws. Such insurance coverage must be with insurers qualified and doing business in the state. The management corporation must provide proof of insurance to the department. The department and its employees and the state are exempt from and are not liable for any sum of money which represents a deductible, which sums shall be the sole responsibility of the management corporation. Violation of this subparagraph shall be grounds for terminating the contract.

6. Payment by the management corporation, out of its allocated budget, to the department of all costs of representation by the board counsel, including salary and benefits, travel, and any other compensation traditionally paid by the department to other board counsel.

7. Payment by the management corporation, out of its allocated budget, to the department of all costs incurred by the management corporation or the board for the Division of Administrative Hearings of the Department of Management Services and any other cost for utilization of these state services.

8. Payment by the management corporation, out of its allocated budget, to the department of reasonable costs associated with the contract monitor.

(k) Provide for an annual financial audit of its financial accounts and records by an independent certified public accountant. The annual audit report shall include a management letter in accordance with s. 11.45 and a detailed supplemental schedule of expenditures for each expenditure category. The annual audit report must be submitted to the board, the department, and the Auditor General for review.

(l) Provide for persons not employed by the corporation who are charged with the responsibility of receiving and depositing fee and fine revenues to have a faithful performance bond in such an amount and according to such terms as shall be determined in the contract.

(m) Submit to the secretary, the board, and the Legislature, on or before October 1 of each year, a report on the status of the corporation which includes, but is not limited to, information concerning the programs and funds that have been transferred to the corporation. The report must include: the number of license applications received; the number approved and denied and the number of licenses issued; the number of examinations administered and the number of applicants who passed or failed the examination; the number of complaints received; the number determined to be legally sufficient; the number dismissed; the number determined to have probable cause; the number of administrative complaints issued and the status of the complaints; and the number and nature of disciplinary actions taken by the board.

(n) Develop and submit to the department, performance standards and measurable outcomes for the board to adopt by rule in order to facilitate efficient and cost-effective regulation.

(4) The management corporation may not exercise any authority specifically assigned to the board under chapter 455 or this chapter, including determining probable cause to pursue disciplinary action against a licensee, taking final action on license applications or in disciplinary cases, or adopting administrative rules under chapter 120.

(5) Notwithstanding ss. 455.228 and 455.2281, the duties and authority of the department to receive complaints and to investigate and deter the unlicensed practice of engineering are delegated to the board. The board may use funds of the Board of Professional Engineers in the unlicensed activity account established under s. 455.2281 to perform the duties relating to unlicensed activity.

(6) The department shall retain the independent authority to open or investigate any cases or complaints, as necessary to protect the public health, safety, or welfare. In addition, the department may request that the management corporation prosecute such cases and shall retain sole authority to issue emergency suspension or restriction orders pursuant to s. 120.60.

(7) Management corporation records are public records subject to the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution; however, public records exemptions set forth in ss. 455.217 and 455.229 for records created or maintained by the department shall apply to records created or maintained by the management corporation. In addition, all meetings of the board of directors are open to the public in accordance with s. 286.011 and s. 24(b), Art. I of the State Constitution. The exemptions set forth in s. 455.225, relating to complaints and information obtained pursuant to an investigation by the department, shall apply to such records created or obtained by the management corporation only until an investigation ceases to be active. For the purposes of this subsection, an investigation is considered active so long as the management corporation or any law enforcement or administrative agency is proceeding with reasonable dispatch and has a reasonable, good faith belief that it may lead to the filing of administrative, civil, or criminal proceedings. An investigation ceases to be active when the case is dismissed prior to a finding of probable cause and the board has not exercised its option to pursue the case or 10 days after the board makes a determination regarding probable cause. All information, records, and transcriptions regarding a complaint that has been determined to be legally sufficient to state a claim within the jurisdiction of the board become available to the public when the investigation ceases to be active, except information that is otherwise confidential or exempt from s. 119.07(1). However, in response to an inquiry about the licensure status of an individual, the management corporation shall disclose the existence of an active investigation if the nature of the violation under investigation involves the potential for substantial physical or financial harm to the public. The board shall designate by rule those violations that involve the potential for substantial physical or financial harm. The department and the board shall have access to all records of the management corporation, as necessary to exercise their authority to approve and supervise the contract.

(8) The management corporation is the sole source and depository for the records of the board, including all historical information and records. The management corporation shall maintain those records in accordance with the guidelines of the Department of State and shall not destroy any records prior to the limits imposed by the Department of State.

(9) The board shall provide by rule for the procedures the management corporation must follow to ensure that all licensure examinations are secure while under the responsibility of the management corporation and that there is an appropriate level of monitoring during the licensure examinations.

History.—ss. 2, 5, ch. 97-312; s. 112, ch. 98-166; s. 173, ch. 2000-160; ss. 1, 2, ch. 2000-372; s. 121, ch. 2001-266; s. 5, ch. 2003-293.