Fla. Stat. § 120.55 — Florida Code / Title X / Chapter 120 / Section 120.55
120.55 Publication.
Status: in_force

(1) The Department of State shall: (a)1. Through a continuous revision and publication system, compile and publish electronically, on a website managed by the department, the “Florida Administrative Code.” The Florida Administrative Code must contain all rules adopted by each agency, citing the grant of rulemaking authority and the specific law implemented pursuant to which each rule was adopted, all history notes as authorized in ss. 120.5435 and 120.545(7), complete indexes to all rules and any material incorporated by reference contained in the code, and any other material required or authorized by law or deemed useful by the department. The electronic code must display each rule chapter currently in effect in browse mode and allow full text search of the code and each rule chapter. The department may contract with a publishing firm for a printed publication; however, the department retains responsibility for the code as provided in this section. The electronic publication is the official compilation of the administrative rules of this state. The Department of State retains the copyright over the Florida Administrative Code. 2. Rules general in form but applicable to only one school district, community college district, or county, or a part thereof, or state university rules relating to internal personnel or business and finance may not be published in the Florida Administrative Code. Exclusion from publication in the Florida Administrative Code does not affect the validity or effectiveness of such rules. 3. At the beginning of the section of the code dealing with an agency that files copies of its rules with the department, the department shall publish the address and telephone number of the executive offices of each agency, the manner by which the agency indexes its rules, a listing of all rules of that agency excluded from publication in the code, a listing of all forms and material incorporated by reference adopted by rule which are used by the agency, and a statement as to where those rules may be inspected. 4. Forms may not be published in the Florida Administrative Code; but any form which an agency uses in its dealings with the public, along with any accompanying instructions, must be filed with the committee before it is used. Any form or instruction which meets the definition of the term “rule” provided in s. 120.52 must be incorporated by reference into the appropriate rule. The reference must specifically state that the form is being incorporated by reference and include the number, title, and effective date of the form and an explanation of how the form may be obtained. Each form created by an agency which is incorporated by reference in a rule notice of which is given under s. 120.54(3)(a) after December 31, 2007, must clearly display the number, title, and effective date of the form and the number of the rule in which the form is incorporated. 5. After December 31, 2025, the department shall require any material incorporated by reference in adopted rules to be filed in the manner prescribed by s. 120.54(1)(i)3.a. or b. When a proposed rule is filed for adoption with incorporated material in electronic form, the department’s publication of the Florida Administrative Code on its website must contain a hyperlink from the incorporating reference in the rule directly to that material. The department may not allow hyperlinks from rules in the Florida Administrative Code to any material other than that filed with and maintained by the department, but may allow hyperlinks to incorporated material maintained by the department from the adopting agency’s website or other sites. 6. The department shall include the date of any technical changes in the history note of the rule in the Florida Administrative Code. A technical change does not affect the effective date of the rule. A technical change made after the adoption of a rule must be published as a notice of correction. (b) Electronically publish on a website managed by the department a continuous revision and publication entitled the “Florida Administrative Register,” which serves as the official publication and must contain: 1. All notices required by s. 120.54(2) and (3)(a), showing the text of all rules proposed for consideration. 2. All notices of public meetings, hearings, and workshops conducted in accordance with s. 120.525, including a statement of the manner in which a copy of the agenda may be obtained. 3. A notice of each request for authorization to amend or repeal an existing uniform rule or for the adoption of new uniform rules. 4. Notice of petitions for declaratory statements or administrative determinations. 5. A list of all rules that were not timely reviewed by their respective agency, pursuant to s. 120.5435, updated at least annually. 6. A summary of each objection to any rule filed by the Administrative Procedures Committee. 7. A list of rules filed for adoption in the previous 7 days. 8. A list of all rules filed for adoption pending legislative ratification under s. 120.541(3). A rule shall be removed from the list once notice of ratification or withdrawal of the rule is received. 9. The full text of each emergency rule in effect on the date of publication. 10. Any other material required or authorized by law or deemed useful by the department. The department may contract with a publishing firm for a printed publication of the Florida Administrative Register and make copies available on an annual subscription basis. (c) Prescribe by rule the style and form required for rules, notices, and other materials submitted for filing, including any rule requiring that documents created by an agency which are proposed to be incorporated by reference in notices published pursuant to s. 120.54(3)(a) and (d) be coded as required in s. 120.54(1)(i)7. (d) Charge each agency using the Florida Administrative Register a space rate to cover the costs related to the Florida Administrative Register and the Florida Administrative Code. (e) Maintain a permanent record of all notices published in the Florida Administrative Register.

(2) The Florida Administrative Register website must allow users to: (a) Search for notices by type, publication date, rule number, word, subject, and agency. (b) Search a database that makes available all notices published on the website for a period of at least 5 years. (c) Subscribe to an automated e-mail notification of selected notices to be sent out before or concurrently with publication of the electronic Florida Administrative Register. Such notification must include in the text of the e-mail a summary of the content of each notice. (d) View agency forms and other materials submitted to the department in electronic form and incorporated by reference in proposed rules. (e) Comment on proposed rules.

(3) Publication of material required by paragraph (1)(b) on the Florida Administrative Register website does not preclude publication of such material on an agency’s website or by other means.

(4) Each agency shall provide copies of its rules upon request, with citations to the grant of rulemaking authority and the specific law implemented for each rule.

(5) Each agency that provides an e-mail notification service to inform licensees or other registered recipients of notices shall use that service to notify recipients of each notice required under s. 120.54(2) and (3) and provide Internet links to the appropriate rule page on the Secretary of State’s website or Internet links to an agency website that contains the proposed rule or final rule.

(6) Any publication of a proposed rule promulgated by an agency, whether published in the Florida Administrative Register or elsewhere, shall include, along with the rule, the name of the person or persons originating such rule, the name of the agency head who approved the rule, and the date upon which the rule was approved.

(7) Access to the Florida Administrative Register website and its contents, including the e-mail notification service, shall be free for the public.

(8)(a) All fees and moneys collected by the Department of State under this chapter shall be deposited in the Records Management Trust Fund for the purpose of paying for costs incurred by the department in carrying out this chapter. (b) The unencumbered balance in the Records Management Trust Fund for fees collected pursuant to this chapter may not exceed $300,000 at the beginning of each fiscal year, and any excess shall be transferred to the General Revenue Fund.

(9) The failure to comply with this section may not be raised in a proceeding challenging the validity of a rule pursuant to s. 120.52(8)(a).

History: s. 1, ch. 74-310; s. 1, ch. 75-107; s. 4, ch. 75-191; s. 5, ch. 76-131; s. 1, ch. 77-174; s. 4, ch. 77-453; s. 3, ch. 78-425; s. 4, ch. 79-299; s. 7, ch. 80-391; s. 4, ch. 81-309; s. 1, ch. 82-19; s. 1, ch. 82-47; s. 3, ch. 83-351; s. 3, ch. 84-203; s. 17, ch. 87-224; s. 1, ch. 87-322; s. 20, ch. 91-45; s. 15, ch. 96-159; s. 896, ch. 2002-387; s. 5, ch. 2004-235; s. 14, ch. 2004-335; s. 4, ch. 2006-82; ss. 8, 9, ch. 2008-104; ss. 11, 12, ch. 2010-5; s. 2, ch. 2012-63; s. 2, ch. 2016-116; s. 7, ch. 2025-189.