Commission authorizes submission of initial rule‑review summary under chapter 120

The Florida Commission on Ethics voted Dec. 18 to authorize staff to submit the commission’s initial summary of intended agency action under section 120.5435 of the Florida Statutes for fiscal year 2025‑26.

Staff attorney Amelia Naomi told commissioners that recent changes to the Administrative Procedure Act require each agency to review its rules over a five‑year period and to report intended actions by Jan. 1. Naomi said the Commission on Ethics has 188 rules in the Florida Administrative Code; this year staff reviewed chapters 34‑5 and 34‑17, comprising 44 rules (roughly 20% of the total), and recommended mostly technical updates: updating statutory citations, removing duplicative text that repeats ethics statutes, clarifying respondent language, removing a provision authorizing investigator reporting where no statutory authority exists, updating referral options to match current statute and practice, and renumbering subsections as needed.

Naomi said staff would submit the initial summary and a cover memo to the senate president, the speaker of the house, and the joint administrative procedures committee (JPSC/JPSE as referenced in the record). She explained the statute requires only a summary at this stage; JPSE certification is required at the coded‑language step (due April 1) when agencies submit the actual rule language for technical or substantive changes.

After commissioners asked whether recipients would provide feedback on the Jan. 1 submittal, staff said the statute does not guarantee comments on the initial report but that recipients might respond if concerns are raised; commissioners then approved the motion to submit the summary by roll call.

Staff said final, specific rule language will be proposed next year in a separate rulemaking process if commissioners approve it at that time.