Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...In doing so, the state has carefully set forth the limits and extent of the Commission's power. 7 The Florida Commission falls within the state's definition of an agency, see Fla. Stat. 120.51, and thus, its rule making authority is subject to Florida's APA, see Fla. Stat. 120.536 and 120.54. In addition, in 1999, the Florida legislature amended 548.003(2) to state explicitly that "[t]he commission has authority to adopt rules pursuant to 120.536(1) and 120.54 [of the Administrative Procedure Act]...." 8 Once appointed, the members of the Commission serve a term of four years....

...Statutory language granting rulemaking authority or generally describing the powers and functions of an agency shall be construed to extend no further than the particular powers and duties conferred by the same statute. *78 These standards are restated in section 120.536(1), Florida Statutes (Supp.1996), which contains additional provisions not at issue here....

...2d DCA 1998) (applying the 1996 amendments in invalidating rules defining poker because the enabling statute did not specifically authorize them). III. In apparent response to the decision in Consolidated-Tomoka, the Legislature again amended sections 120.52(8) and 120.536(1) in 1999, stating its intent "to clarify the limited authority of agencies to adopt rules in accordance with chapter 96-159, Laws of Florida, and ......

...Save the Manatee Club, Inc., 773 So.2d 594, 599 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000). Implementing this legislative intent to cabin agency rulemaking authority, the *700 1999 Legislature amended the "flush left" paragraph of section 120.52(8) and parallel language in section 120.536(1), by replacing the phrase "particular powers and duties" with the phrase "specific powers and duties," and by expressly rejecting the judicial "class of powers and duties" gloss: A grant of rulemaking authority is necessary but not...

...y shall be construed to extend no further than implementing or interpreting the specific the particular powers and duties conferred by the same statute. Ch. 99-379, § 2, at 3790, § 3, at 3791, Laws of Fla. (codified respectively at §§ 120.52(8), 120.536(1), Fla....

...ehensive plan of development concerning the acquisition, management, and disposition of state-owned lands so as to ensure maximum benefit and use. The Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund has authority to adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the provisions of this act....

...The Trustees were also required to include in their notice of proposed rule "a reference to the section or subsection of the Florida Statutes or the Laws of Florida being implemented, interpreted, or made specific." § 120.54, (3)(a)1., Fla. Stat. (1999). The first sentence of 120.536(1) states that "[a] grant of rulemaking authority is necessary but not sufficient to allow an agency to adopt a rule; a specific law to be implemented is also required." This language is apparently intended to stress that under Florida's APA,...

...nterest. Almost all agencies have a general grant—usually found in the first part of their enabling statute—which basically states that the agency "may adopt rules necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter." *703 The first sentence [of section 120.536] emphasizes that such a general grant is sufficient to allow an agency to adopt a rule only when relied upon in conjunction with a specific provision of law to be implemented.......

...Trustees' specific regulatory power under section 253.03(7)(b). NOTES [1] This language appears not only in an unnumbered paragraph following subparagraph 120.52(8)(g), Florida Statutes (Supp.1996), (known as the "flush left" paragraph), but also at section 120.536(1), Florida Statutes (Supp.1996)....

...The Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering created a definition of poker and set it forth in the challenged rule, rule 61D-11.026. We agree with the Kennel Club's contention that the promulgation of this rule was an invalid exercise of delegated legislative authority. In section 120.536, Florida Statutes (Supp....

...ive branch. Rulemaking is a derivative of lawmaking. An agency is empowered to adopt rules if two requirements are satisfied. First, there must be a statutory grant of rulemaking authority, and second, there must be a specific law to be implemented. § 120.536(1), Fla....

...ve branch “to permit administration of legislative policy by an agency with the expertise and flexibility needed to deal with complex and fluid conditions.” 8 Microtel, Inc. v. Fla. Pub. Serv. Comm’n., 464 So.2d 1189, 1191 (Fla.1985); see also § 120.536(1), Fla....

...State, 754 So.2d 657, 668 (Fla.2000) ("Generally, the Legislature may not delegate the power to enact a law or the right to exercise unrestricted discretion in applying the law.”). In this case, however, the extent of any rulemaking delegation is not at issue. . Section 120.536 provides in pertinent part as follows: (1) A grant of rulemaking authority is necessary but not sufficient to allow an agency to adopt a rule; a specific law to be implemented is also required....

...Statutory language granting rulemaking authority or generally describing the powers and functions of an agency shall be construed to extend no further than implementing or interpreting the specific powers and duties conferred by the enabling statute. § 120.536(1), Fla....

...This principle gives effect to the fundamental proposition that the Florida Legislature alone makes statutory law, and confers on state agencies only limited authority to make rules that “implement or interpret the specific powers and duties granted by the enabling statute.” § 120.536(1), Fla....

as authorized by the Florida Legislature. See § 120.536, Fla. Stat. (2011). An agency has no legislative

...The order held the proposed rules invalid exercises of delegated legislative authority. We affirm, *101 because the rule at issue in this appeal was not authorized by section 550.0251, Florida Statutes, under the 1996 amendments to sections 120.52(8) and 120.536(1), Florida Statutes....

...long as they were reasonably related to the purposes of the enabling legislation and were not arbitrary and capricious. The ALJ concluded, however, that this principle had been repealed by the 1996 amendments to section 120.52(8) and the creation of section 120.536(1), Florida Statutes....

...Moreover, the ALJ concluded that because there was no grant of specific legislative authority, the rule was an invalid exercise of delegated legislative authority. Appellant first argues that the ALJ erred in her interpretation of sections 120.52(8) and 120.536(1), Florida Statutes (Supp.1996), by requiring a specific grant of authority, as opposed to a specific law to be implemented....

...to Florida's Administrative Procedure Act. As we explained in St. Johns River Water Management District v. Consolidated-Tomoka Land Co., 717 So.2d 72 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998), the 1996 legislature intended, through its enactment of sections 120.52(8) and 120.536(1), Florida Statutes (Supp.1996), to overrule earlier Florida decisions to the extent that they had held a rule was a valid exercise of delegated legislative authority if it was reasonably related to the enabling statute and not arbitrary or capricious....

...Although the result we reach in the instant case—approval of the ALJ's order invalidating the rule—is not the same as that decided in St. Johns, we adopt the reasoning employed therein. We reiterate that the term "particular powers and duties granted by the enabling statute," as used in amended sections 120.52(8) and 120.536(1), [2] requires a determination of whether the rule "falls within the range of powers the Legislature has granted to the agency for the purpose of enforcing or implementing the statutes within its jurisdiction." Id....

...nt to section 120.52(8). A specific law to be implemented was also required, and nothing in this subsection identifies the power that the rule attempts to implement, i.e., to search. If the rule is to pass the test demanded by sections 120.52(8) and 120.536(1), it must do so through the powers delegated generally to the Division under section 550.0251....

...ded its grant of rulemaking authority," applies to the adequacy of the grant of rulemaking authority. St. Johns, No. 97-2996, 717 So.2d at 81. This provision should be read in pari materia with that in the closing paragraph of sections 120.52(8) and 120.536(1), empowering an agency to "adopt only rules that implement, interpret, or make specific the particular powers and duties granted by the enabling statute," and stating specifically that "[s]tatutory language ......

...legislative intent or policy. Statutory language granting rulemaking authority or generally describing the powers and functions of an agency shall be construed to extend no further than the particular powers and duties conferred by the same statute. Section 120.536(1) contains identical language....

...FDLE has no inherent rulemaking authority: "A grant of rulemaking authority is necessary but not sufficient to allow an agency to adopt a rule; a specific law to be implemented is also required. An agency may adopt only rules that implement or interpret the specific powers and *616 duties granted by the enabling statute." § 120.536(1), Fla....

1996)). The identical language was included in section 120.536(1), Florida Statutes (Supp. 1996). See Ch.

...nguage of the “absolute choice” provision in section 440.13(3)(j). We start in Florida’s Administrative Procedure Act. Agency rulemaking begins with two key ingredients: (1) rulemaking authority, and (2) a specific law to be implemented. § 120.536(1), Fla....

...In assessing whether a rule exceeds the boundaries of its implementing statute, “[i]t is not enough that the . . . rule is ‘reasonably related’ to the Legislature’s purpose or statutory provisions.” G.B. v. Ag. for Pers. with Disab., 143 So. 3d 454, 457 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014) (quoting § 120.536(1), Fla....

...his program.” Fla. Admin. R. 69J-166.031(4)(a)(l). It is there the Department exceeded its charge. An administrative agency is empowered to adopt rules when a statute grants rule-making authority and when there is a specific law to be implemented. § 120.536(1), Fla....

...Statutory language granting rulemaking authority or generally describing the powers and functions of an agency shall be construed to extend no further than implementing or interpreting the specific powers and duties conferred by the enabling statute. Accord § 120.536(1), Fla....

...In doing so, the state has carefully set forth the limits and extent of the Commission’s power. 7 The Florida Commission falls within the state’s definition of an agency, see Fla. Stat. § 120.51, and thus, its rule making authority is subject to Florida’s APA, see Fla. Stat. §§ 120.536 and 120.54. In addition, in 1999, the Florida legislature amended § 548.003(2) to state explicitly that “[t]he commission has authority to adopt rules pursuant to § 120.536(1) and 120.54 [of the Administrative Procedure Act] ....

...In doing so, the state has carefully set forth the limits and extent of the Commission's power. 7 The Florida Commission falls within the state's definition of an agency, see Fla. Stat. § 120.51, and thus, its rule making authority is subject to Florida's APA, see Fla. Stat. §§ 120.536 and 120.54. In addition, in 1999, the Florida legislature amended § 548.003(2) to state explicitly that "[t]he commission has authority to adopt rules pursuant to § 120.536(1) and 120.54 [of the Administrative Procedure Act]...." 8 Once appointed, the members of the Commission serve a term of four years....

...The statute authorizes the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to adopt rules that “regulate the operation of cardrooms.” Id. § 849.086(4). But Florida construes grants of rulemaking authority much more narrowly than most jurisdictions. See Fla. Stat. § 120.536 ; see also Dep’t of Bus....

...rpretation conflicts with the plain and ordinary meaning of the statute.’ ”) (citations omitted). Finally, it bears noting that section 481.2055, Florida Statutes (2013), expressly provides that the Board may, consistent with the requirements of section 120.536, Florida Statutes (2013), promulgate admin *666 istrative rules to implement the relevant provisions of chapter 481....

...r contravenes the specific provisions of . . . the language of the enabling statute.” § 120.52(8)(c), (9), Fla. Stat. It is not enough that the Agency’s rule is “reasonably related” to the Legislature’s purpose or statutory provisions. § 120.536(1), Fla. Stat. The Agency’s rule and interpretation must comport with the specific authorizing statute. § 120.536(1), Fla....

...2d 1012, 1014 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988) (noting that “any rulemaking authority which the legislature may validly delegate to the administrative agency is limited by the statute conferring the power . . . .”). At the very least, an enabling statute is required. See § 120.536(1), Fla....

...(providing that municipalities “may exercise any power for municipal purposes except as otherwise provided by law”). 4  But, as stated above, state agencies possess more limited powers to adopt rules and regulations. See § 120.536, Fla....

...If, as the trial court found, section 790.33(1) limits an agency’s rulemaking authority to the Constitution, the APA, and an agency’s enabling statute, then the state-agency provision of section 790.33(1) proscribes nothing that the APA does not already proscribe. See, e.g., § 120.536(1), Fla....

...Under the trial court’s interpretation, the 2011 amendments to section 790.33(1) took nothing back from administrative agencies. 5 The enabling statute relied upon here is section 943.03(4), Florida Statutes, which empowers FDLE to “adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the provisions of law conferring powers or duties upon it.” 11 Indeed, under the trial court’s interpretation, it is hard to see what impact the 2011 amendments had on sta...

...of rulemaking authority.” A grant of rulemaking authority is the “statutory language that explicitly authorizes or requires an agency to adopt [a rule].” § 120.52(17), Fla. Stat. The scope of an agency’s rulemaking authority is constrained by section 120.536(1) and the so-called “flush-left paragraph” in section 120.52(8), which provide that an agency may only adopt rules to “implement or interpret the specific powers and duties granted by the [agency’s]...

...that “[s]tatutory language granting rulemaking authority or generally describing the powers and functions of an agency shall be construed to extend no further than implementing or interpreting the specific powers and duties conferred by the enabling statute.” Section 120.536(1) and the flush-left paragraph in section 120.52(8) require a close examination of the statutes cited by the agency as authority for the rule at issue to determine whether those statutes explicitly grant the agency authority to adopt the rule....

...to implement the provisions of law conferring duties upon it for the improvement of the state system of K-20 public education except for the State University System,” is a general grant of rulemaking authority that is insufficient by itself to provide the requisite authority for the challenged rule. See §§ 120.52(8), 120.536(1), Fla....

...s. The corporation is considered an agency of the state for purposes of sovereign immunity. 1 Subsection (3) of the section directs the board to: "(a) Adopt a plan of operation and articles, bylaws, and operating rules pursuant to the provisions of ss. 120.536 and 120.54 to administer the provisions of this section and ss....

...(b) Establish procedures under which applicants for payments from the corporation may have grievances reviewed by an impartial body and reported to the board of directors." 2 (e.s.) Rules of statutory construction would appear to preclude applying the qualifying phrase "pursuant to the provisions of ss. 120.536 and 120.54 " to anything other than the "operating rules." 3 To interpret the legislation otherwise would require formal rulemaking procedures for the corporation's plan of operation, articles of incorporation, as well as bylaws....

...The Legislature is presumed to know the meaning of words and rules of grammar and, thus, the Legislature's intent may be ascertained by giving the generally accepted construction not only to the phraseology of an act, but also to the manner in which it is punctuated. 4 Section 120.536 , Florida Statutes, requires that there be a specific law to be implemented along with a grant of rulemaking authority before an agency may adopt a rule on a particular matter....

the term in section 120.536, when discussing rules of “uncertain enforceability.” § 120.536(2)(c), Fla