Pursuant to a petition to initiate rulemaking, the proposed rules are written to comply with the requirement in section 440.45(4) that the Office of Judges of Compensation Claims adopt rules setting forth uniform criteria for measuring the ...

 

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT SERVICES

Division of Administrative Hearings

RULE NO.:RULE TITLE:

60Q-6.129Statewide Judicial Nominating Commission Procedures

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: Pursuant to a petition to initiate rulemaking, the proposed rules are written to comply with the requirement in section 440.45(4), F.S. that the Office of Judges of Compensation Claims adopt rules setting forth uniform criteria for measuring the performance of the office, including, but not limited to, the number of cases assigned and resolved, the age of pending and resolved cases, timeliness of decisions, extraordinary fee awards, and other data necessary for the judicial nominating commission to review the performance of judges as required in paragraph (2)(c).

SUMMARY: The proposed rule provides notice to applicants for the position of judge of compensation claims and for current judges seeking reappointment of the information that will be provided to the statewide nominating commission for consideration of applications for appointment and reappointment. Some of the provisions of the rule apply only to current JCCs seeking reappointment, while other provisions may apply to both current JCCs seeking reappointment and applicants to fill vacancies.

SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS AND LEGISLATIVE RATIFICATION:

The Agency has determined that this will not have an adverse impact on small business or likely increase directly or indirectly regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in the aggregate within one year after the implementation of the rule. A SERC has not been prepared by the Agency.

The Agency has determined that the proposed rule is not expected to require legislative ratification based on the statement of estimated regulatory costs or if no SERC is required, the information expressly relied upon and described herein: The language complies with the explicit requirements of section 440.45(4), F.S. relating to the adoption of rules concerning the appointment and reappointment process for JCCs. Moreover, the proposed changes include substantial portions of suggestions made by interested parties prior to or at the public hearing held on September 15, 2017, pursuant to the Notice of Rule Development published on August 25, 2017.

Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY: 440.45(4), FS.

LAW IMPLEMENTED: 440.25(1), (4)(a)-(e), 440.34(2), 440.442, 440.45(1)(a), (4), FS.

IF REQUESTED WITHIN 21 DAYS OF THE DATE OF THIS NOTICE, A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE,TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW(IF NOT REQUESTED, THIS HEARING WILL NOT BE HELD):

DATE AND TIME: Friday, April 13, 2018; 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 Eastern Time.

PLACE: Division of Administrative Hearings, Hearing Room 4, 1230 Apalachee Parkway, The DeSoto Building, Tallahassee, Florida. (To participate by telephone, participants must dial 1(888)670-3525 and follow the voice prompts, then enter the participant passcode 2492172867, followed by #.) In lieu of speaking at the hearing, interested parties may submit written comments/suggestions to the contact person for the proposed rule within the 21-day time frame.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, any person requiring special accommodations to participate in this workshop/meeting is asked to advise the agency at least 10 days before the workshop/meeting by contacting: Lisa Mustain, Director of Administrative Services, at [phone]. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the agency using the Florida Relay Service, 1(800)955-8771 (TDD) or 1(800)955-8770 (Voice).

THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Robert S. Cohen, Director and Chief Judge; Division of Administrative Hearings, 1230 Apalachee Parkway, The DeSoto Building, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060; [phone].

 

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

 

60Q-6.129 Statewide Judicial Nominating Commission Procedures.

(1) The Guidelines of Operation of the Statewide Nominating Commission, which set forth the methods by which the Statewide Nominating Commission shall conduct its investigation and review of candidates for appointment and reappointment of judges of compensation claims, are incorporated by reference herein and available at https://www.jcc.state.fl.us/JCC/sjnc/AR/SJNC_Guidelines.pdf.

(2) In fulfilling its statutory responsibility to determine whether a judge of compensation claims (JCC) who seeks reappointment has performed “satisfactorily,” the Statewide Nominating Commission shall consider the following data provided by the Office of Judges of Compensation Claims:

(a) Volume of petitions for benefits assigned to the JCC and the statewide average for all JCCs;

(b) Volume of new cases assigned to the JCC and the statewide average for all JCCs;

(c) Volume of petitions for benefits closed by the JCC and the statewide average for all JCCs;

(d) Inventory of pending petitions for benefits assigned to the JCC and the statewide average for all JCCs;

(e) Average days between petition for benefits filing and first medication and the statewide average for all JCCs;

(f) Total volume of trial orders uploaded by the JCC and the statewide average for all JCCs;

(g) Average days between petitions for benefits filing and trial commencing and the statewide average for all JCCs;

(h) Average days between trial commencing and entry of the trial order by the JCC and the statewide average for all JCCs;

(i) Volume of settlement orders entered by the JCC and the statewide average for all JCCs;

(j) Average number of days between filing of a settlement motion and entry of a settlement order by the JCC and the statewide average for all JCCs;

(k) Volume of stipulation orders entered by the JCC and the statewide average for all JCCs;

(l) Volume of other (not settlement or stipulation) orders entered by the JCC and the statewide average for all JCCs; and

(m) Volume of other (not trials) hearings recorded as “held” by the JCC and the statewide average for all JCCs.

(3) The Office of Judges of Compensation Claims shall provide the following other data necessary for the Statewide Nominating Commission to review the performance of JCCs subject to reappointment:

(a) The Annual Report of the Office of Judges of Compensation Claims due on December 1 each year and any updates;

(b) The Florida Bar Survey Results concerning JCCs and state mediators conducted in the spring each year;

(c) Any complaints filed against a JCC by a member of the public or initiated by the Office of Judges of Compensation Claims once the report, if any, resulting from the investigation has been made public; and

(d) Any violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct that have been committed by a JCC and investigated by the director of the Division of Administrative Hearings once a report, if any, has been made public.

(4) Upon review of the data and materials set forth above, a majority affirmative vote by the Statewide Nominating Committee’s members to recommend an applicant for reappointment shall be a determination by them that the JCC’s performance is “satisfactory.”

Rulemaking Authority 440.45(4) FS. Law Implemented 440.25 (1) and (4) (a)-(e); 440.34(2); 440.442; and 440.45(1)(a) and (4) FS. History–New ____________.

 

NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Robert S. Cohen, Director and Chief Judge.

NAME OF AGENCY HEAD WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Robert S. Cohen, Director and Chief Judge.

DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: 3/09/2018

DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAR: August 25, 2017.