Florida Statutes Section 456.009 - Legal And Investigative Services. (Fla. Stat. § 456.009)

456.009 Legal and investigative services.—

(1) The department shall provide board counsel for boards within the department by contracting with the Department of Legal Affairs, by retaining private counsel pursuant to s. 287.059, or by providing department staff counsel. The primary responsibility of board counsel shall be to represent the interests of the citizens of the state. A board shall provide for the periodic review and evaluation of the services provided by its board counsel. Fees and costs of such counsel shall be paid from a trust fund used by the department to implement this chapter, subject to the provisions of s. 456.025. All contracts for independent counsel shall provide for periodic review and evaluation by the board and the department of services provided.

(2) The department may employ or use the legal services of outside counsel and the investigative services of outside personnel. However, no attorney employed or utilized by the department shall prosecute a matter and provide legal services to the board with respect to the same matter.

(3) Any person retained by the department under contract to review materials, make site visits, or provide expert testimony regarding any complaint or application filed with the department relating to a profession under the jurisdiction of the department shall be considered an agent of the department in determining the state insurance coverage and sovereign immunity protection applicability of ss. 284.31 and 768.28.

History.—s. 60, ch. 97-261; s. 154, ch. 99-251; s. 42, ch. 2000-160.

Note.—Former s. 455.594.

Section: Previous  456.002  456.003  456.004  456.005  456.006  456.007  456.008  456.009  456.011  456.012  456.013  456.0135  456.014  456.015  456.016  Next

Last modified: September 23, 2016