Declaración de la Organización y la Operación de la Agencia
Organización del Departamento de Servicios Financieros
En 1998, los votantes aprobaron una enmienda constitucional para combinar las oficinas elegidas del Gabinete de tesorero del estado y interventor del estado en el puesto del Oficial Principal de Finanzas, durante un período de cuatro años como uno de los tres miembros del Gabinete. En la enmienda, el Artículo IV, sección 4(c) de la Constitución de la Florida define los deberes del Oficial Principal de Finanzas de la siguiente manera:
| The chief financial officer shall serve as the chief fiscal officer of the state, and shall settle and approve accounts against the state, and shall keep all state funds and securities. |
In 2002, The Florida Legislature merged the state Departments of Insurance, Treasury and State Fire Marshal with the Department of Banking and Finance to create a new Department of Financial Services. The Chief Financial Officer is the statutory head of the Department of Financial Services, which includes the following divisions and offices: Accounting and Auditing; Consumer Services; Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services; Insurance Agent and Agency Services; Investigative and Forensic Services; Public Assistance Fraud; Rehabilitation and Liquidation; Risk Management; State Fire Marshal; Treasury; Unclaimed Property; Workers’ Compensation; Administration; General Counsel; Information Technology; Insurance Consumer Advocate; Inspector General and the CFO's Executive Offices.
Las responsabilidades legales del Departamento de Servicios Financieros incluyen:
- Carrying out the state’s accounting and auditing functions, including preparing the state’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report; monitoring state contracts; and making payment for state expenditures.
- Implementar medidas estatales de prevención y control de incendios, incluyendo la investigación de incendios intencionales y otros incendios sospechosos; entrenamiento y certificación de candidatos a bomberos y regulación de almacenamiento y uso de explosivos
- Operating the state’s risk management program and securing insurance and reinsurance for covered state liabilities
- Administrar el Tesoro Público del estado y dirigir el cuidado y la inversión de todos los fondos del estado
- Administrar los programas de compensación diferida para empleados del estado
- Investigar fraude, incluyendo fraude de seguros, fraude en la asistencia pública y reclamaciones falsas contra el estado
- Regular los cementerios y las casas funerarias
- Otorgar licencias y supervisar a los agentes y agencias de seguros
- Ensuring that Florida employers provide workers’ compensation coverage for their employees in a cost effective manner
- Asistir a los consumidores en la resolución de problemas relacionados con seguros y servicios fúnebres
- Recolectar y devolver propiedad no reclamada a los residentes de Florida
Información General
The Department's headquarters are located in the Larson Building, 200 East Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399. Business hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except for legal holidays. The Department's telephone number is (850) 413-3100. Please view the locations and contact information for all other regional office, if needed.
Descripción General y Funciones del Departamento de Servicios Financieros
Division of Accounting and Auditing - Accounting and Auditing carries out the Chief Financial Officer's constitutional duty to "settle and approve accounts against the state" by monitoring the expenditure of all appropriated public funds. The Division pays all the state’s bills, manages state payroll, processes payments for goods and services used by state agencies, promotes financial accountability throughout state government by providing information about its fiscal soundness, and investigates allegations of waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayers’ money.
Division of Consumer Services - Consumer Services offers a variety of information and resources to educate consumers regarding numerous insurance and financial topics. Our mission is to proactively educate and assist Florida’s insurance and financial consumers through responsive, professional and innovative service.
Division of Funeral, Cemetery & Consumer Services - Funeral, Cemetery and Consumer Services protects death care industry consumers purchasing preneed burial rights as well as those purchasing funeral and burial merchandise or services. It also oversees licensed establishments, facilities, and cemetery grounds by conducting annual inspections.
Division of Insurance Agent & Agency Services – Agent & Agency Services helps protect the insurance-buying public by licensing competent and trustworthy individuals and entities, and by promptly investigating alleged violations of the Florida Insurance Code and Administrative Rules by licensees or those who operate without a license.
Division of Investigative and Forensic Services - Investigative and Forensic Services encompasses all law enforcement and forensic components residing within the Department of Financial Services. With this broad responsibility, the division investigates a wide range of fraudulent and criminal acts including Insurance Fraud Investigations; Workers' Compensation Fraud Investigations; Fire, Arson and Explosives Investigations; and Fire and Explosives Sample Analysis.
Division of Public Assistance Fraud - The Division of Public Assistance Fraud safeguards the public and businesses in Florida against acts of public assistance fraud and the resulting impact those crimes have by enforcing federal and state criminal laws in relation to eligibility for public assistance.
Division of Rehabilitation and Liquidation - When appointed as a Receiver for impaired or insolvent insurance companies, Rehabilitation’s mission is to manage insurance receiverships to maximize value to claimants and the public. In Liquidation, the company’s net value is ascertained and all viable assets are recovered and distributed to claimants.
Division of Risk Management - Risk Management ensures that participating state agencies receive quality workers’ compensation, general liability, federal civil rights, employment discrimination, auto liability, and property insurance coverage at reasonable rates by providing self-insurance, purchase of insurance, claims handling, and technical assistance in managing risk.
Division of State Fire Marshal - The State Fire Marshal works to reduce the loss of life and property to fire and other disasters statewide through internal and external leadership, standards and training, and prevention and education.
Division of Treasury – The Treasury pays all state warrants (checks), keeps detailed records of all transactions involving the state’s money, and produces substantial revenue for the state through short- and intermediate-term investments. The Treasury performs cash management and custodial services for assets of the state and administers the deferred compensation program for state employees.
Division of Unclaimed Property - Florida's Unclaimed Property program holds more than $1 billion in unclaimed property - mostly from dormant accounts in financial institutions, insurance and utility companies, safe deposit boxes, and trusts. Unclaimed money goes into the State School Fund for public education. Attempts are made to locate missing property owners, and rightful owners and heirs can claim property at any time at no cost.
Division of Workers' Compensation - Workers’ Compensation ensures prompt, accurate benefit payments and appropriate and timely services to injured workers to facilitate their gainful re-employment at an equitable cost distribution to employers, in support of a viable workers’ compensation marketplace. The Division enforces workers’ compensation laws, collects, evaluates, and disseminates data, informs all parties of their rights and responsibilities, and assists in resolving claims.
Division of Administration - Administration supervises the bureaus of Personnel Management, General Services, and Financial & Support Services, thus coordinating administrative support to the Department of Financial Services.
Office of General Counsel - The Office of the General Counsel provides legal counsel and all manner of representation to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and to the regulatory, administrative, and support offices of the Department of Financial Services under the auspices of the CFO. Additionally, the Service of Process Section, which is the centralized depository for receiving and routing all Legal Process (summons & complaints or subpoenas), is an administrative unit within the Office of the General Counsel.
Office of Information Technology - Information Technology plans, develops, manages and operates the information technology resources for the Department of Financial Services, Office of Insurance Regulation and Office of Financial Regulation.
Insurance Consumer Advocate - The Insurance Consumer Advocate is committed to finding solutions to insurance issues facing Floridians, calling attention to questionable insurance practices, promoting a viable insurance market responsive to the needs of Florida’s diverse population, and assuring that rates are fair and justified.
Office of Inspector General – The Office of Inspector General is established in each state agency by statute to provide a central point for activities that promote accountability, integrity, and efficiency in government. Investigations are designed to detect, deter, prevent, and eradicate fraud, mismanagement, misconduct and other abuses in state government. Major responsibilities include investigations, audits, reviews, consulting, and technical assistance activities.
CFO's Executive Offices – Executive Offices include the Chief of Staff, Deputy CFOs, Cabinet Affairs, Communications, External Affairs and Open Government, Finance and Budget, Internal Affairs & Appointments, Legislative Affairs, and Policy and Strategic Initiatives.
Solicitud de Registros Públicos
las copias de las publicaciones, documentos, formularios y otros registros públicos del Departamento de Servicios Financieros están disponibles para su inspección, conforme a lo dispuesto por el Capítulo 119 de los Estatutos de la Florida. No se cobra por la inspección de los registros públicos en el lugar. Los consumidores pueden obtener copias de los registros solicitados en forma impresa, electrónica o en discos compactos. La obtención de copias de los documentos tendrá un costo, que será facturado y deberá pagarse antes de que se entreguen las copias. usted puede solicitar los registros públicos de varias maneras:
Website: Public Records Request Portal By Email to: OpenGovernment@myfloridacfo.com By Telephone: 850-413-3149 By Facsimile: 850-488-3429 | By Regular Mail to: |
La solicitud de registros públicos no tiene que presentarse por escrito y puede ser anónima.
Obtención de Otros Documentos
Las solicitudes para licencias, permisos y otras certificaciones o derechos similares otorgados por la agencia pueden obtenerse en la División, Departamento u Oficina que regula las licencias, permisos o certificaciones particulares. Los documentos que requieran archivarse en una División, Departamento u Oficina específica deben enviarse a dicha División, Departamento u Oficina según las reglas y estatutos administrativos correspondientes, y no al Empleado de la Agencia.
Descripción General de las Funciones del Empleado de la Agencia DFS
The DFS Agency Clerk is Diane Wint. The Clerk's address is 200 East Gaines Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0390; telephone number (850)413-3100; email: DFSAgencyClerk@myfloridacfo.com. El Empleado de la Agencia DFS recibe y acumula todas las solicitudes de audiencias administrativas y notificaciones de apelación de las sentencias definitivas de la agencia presentadas al Empleado de la Oficina; y reúne, certifica y transmite registros de apelación para apelar en tribunales la revisión de los casos que tienen solicitudes finales.
El Empleado de la Agencia DFS también es la persona de contacto para la presentación de cualquier pedido de variación o exención de normas de la agencia de conformidad con la sección 120.542 de los Estatutos de la Florida. Una petición de variación o exención de una norma del DFS debe presentarse ante el empleado, con copia al Comité de Conjunto de Procedimientos Administrativos, Room 680, Pepper Building, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1400. La petición debe incluir la siguiente información:
(a) La leyenda debe decir:
Petición para (Variación de) o (Exención de) Norma (Citación)
(b) The name, address, any e-mail address, telephone number, and any facsimile number of the petitioner, if the party is not represented by an attorney or a qualified representative;
(c) The name, address, e-mail address, telephone number, and any facsimile number of the attorney or qualified representative of the petitioner, if any;
(d) The applicable rule or portion of the rule;
(e) The citation to the statute the rule is implementing;
(f) The type of action requested;
(g) The specific facts that demonstrate a substantial hardship or a violation of principles of fairness that would justify a waiver or variance for the petitioner;
(h) The reason why the variance or the waiver requested would serve the purposes of the underlying statute; and
(i) A statement whether the variance or waiver is permanent or temporary. If the variance or waiver is temporary, the petition shall include the dates indicating the duration of the requested variance or waiver.
Presentación Electrónica de Documentos para el Representante
Las solicitudes de audiencias administrativas pueden presentarse de forma electrónica al enviar un email al Representante del DFS a DFSAgencyClerk@myfloridacfo.com. La parte que decide presentar un documento de esta manera es responsable por cualquier demora, alteración o interrupción de las señales electrónicas y acepta el riesgo de que el documento pueda no presentarse de manera adecuada. La fecha para presentar un documento por correo electrónico debe ser la fecha en la que la agencia recibe el documento completo. Los horarios de atención de la agencia, durante los cuales se aceptarán las presentaciones son de 8:00 a.m. a 5:00 p.m., de lunes a viernes. Cualquier documento recibido por el Representante después de las 5:00 p.m. se considerará presentado a las 8:00 a.m. del próximo día hábil regular. Las presentaciones realizadas durante el fin de semana, feriados en los que la agencia está cerrada o cualquier otro día en el que la agencia esté cerrada, se considerarán como realizadas el próximo día hábil.
Presentación de Documentos para el Representante por Fax
Las solicitudes de audiencias administrativas también se pueden presentar mediante transmisiones por fax. El número del Representante del DFS para realizar presentaciones por fax es (850) 488-0697. La parte que presente un documento por fax representa que el documento original firmado será retenido por ella mientras dure el procedimiento y cualquier apelación o procedimiento posterior en ese caso, y será presentado a solicitud de otras partes. La parte que presente un documento por fax es responsable de cualquier retraso, trastorno o interrupción de las señales electrónicas y acepta el riesgo de que el documento, por consiguiente, pueda no presentarse de forma correcta. La fecha de presentación de un documento presentado por fax será la fecha en que el Representante del DFS reciba el documento completo.
Acerca de la Asistencia Legal por parte del Representante
The Agency Clerk is not permitted to provide legal advice, or respond to general questions of the law. Those representing themselves on appeal should review the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure and may find it helpful to consult the Pro Se (Unrepresented) Appellate Handbook published by The Florida Bar.
Agency Final Orders & Index
Las Sentencias Definitivas de la Agencia pueden buscarse en la base de datos indexada de la Agencia en el siguiente sitio: https://finalorders.fldfs.com/ExternalWebAccess.aspx. This system only contains Final Orders issued in 2003 up to July 1, 2015. If you would like to inspect or copy a Final Order issued before 2003, please contact the Department of Financial Services’ Public Records Unit via email at OpenGovernment@myfloridacfo.com or via telephone at 850-413-3149. If you would like to view a copy of a Final Order issued on or after July 1, 2015, please follow this link to the Division of Administrative Hearings’ website, which has been statutorily designated as the official compilation of administrative final orders for all agencies as of July 1, 2015: https://www.doah.state.fl.us/FLAIO/.
El Índice de Sentencias Definitivas de la Agencia mantenido por el Departamento incluye todas las sentencias emitidas de 1975 a 1979 inclusive, y a partir de 1988. Las sentencias emitidas desde 1980 hasta 1987 inclusive, están archivadas por el Taquígrafo de Derecho Administrativo de la Florida (FALR), que era el taquígrafo oficial designado del Departamento para indexar las sentencias durante esos años, de acuerdo con las normas previas adoptadas por el Departamento. Al revisar las sentencias indexadas por FALR, deben revisarse las sentencias que fueron impresas en texto completo para los índices anuales y acumulativos. Las sentencias indexadas por FALR que no fueron reimpresas en texto completo se pueden encontrar en las siguientes referencias de volumen y página en FALR: 6:377, 6:778; 6:2332, 6:3814, 6:5205, 6:6543, 6:6837, 6:6993, 7:336,7:516,7:985,7:1424,7:1685,7:2495,7:3145, 7:4581,7:5140,8:246,8:1749, 8:1990,8:2126,8:2747,8:4714,8:5754,9:991,9:4295, and 9:4569. Pueden obtenerse las copias de estas sentencias en el Departamento, con el número de caso apropiado como se muestra en el índice de FALR.
Disposiciones Estatutarias y Normas
The following constitutional provisions, rule chapters, and statutes directly affect and govern proceedings before the Department: Section 8 Article II, Section 4 Article IV and Section 15 Article V of the State Constitution; Rule Chapters 69A - 69L, Florida Administrative Code; and the following Florida Statutes: 11.065, Ch. 17,20.121,29.008, 45.034,48.151(7)' 68.081, .083, .084 & .09, Ch. 77, 110.1127, 110.116, 110.1315, Ch. 112, 112.061, 112.3187 - .31895, 112.311- .326, 112.3215, Ch. 119, 120.54, 120.57, Ch. 121, Ch. 215, Ch. 216, 216.102, Ch. 252, 253.02, 253.025, Ch. 280, Ch. 284, 284.33, 284.385, Ch. 287, Ch. 380, Ch. 403, 408.7056, 409.25658, Ch. 414, 429.298, Ch. 440, 456.076(8)(b), Ch. 497, Ch. 553, Ch. 554, Ch. 624, 624.15, 624.422 & .423, Ch. 625, Ch. 626,626.9541,626.9543, Ch.627, Ch.628, Ch.630, Ch.631, Ch.6 32, Ch. 633, Ch. 634, Ch. 641, Ch. 642, Ch. 648, Ch. 651, Ch. 716, Ch. 717, Ch. 760, 768.28(7), 775.0844, 777.04,806.01, Ch. 812, 817.034, 932.701.