(1) The department and the Department of Health shall jointly develop a state program, and the Department of Health shall adopt rules for the evaluation and certification of all laboratories, other than the principal state laboratory, which perform or make application to perform analyses pursuant to the Florida Safe Drinking Water Act or which conduct a water analysis business. Such joint development shall be funded in part through the use of a portion of the State Public Water Systems Supervision Program grants received by the department from the Federal Government in order to implement the federal act.

(2) The Department of Health may adopt and enforce rules to administer this section, including, but not limited to, definitions of terms, certified laboratory personnel requirements, methodologies for the collection of samples, the handling and analysis of samples, methodology and proficiency testing, the format and frequency of reports, onsite inspections of laboratories, and quality assurance.

(3) The Department of Health shall have the responsibility for the operation and implementation of the state laboratory certification program. The Department of Health shall contract for the evaluation and review of laboratory certification applications and laboratory inspections. Upon completion of the evaluation and review of the laboratory certification application, the evaluation shall be forwarded, along with recommendations, to the department for review and comment, prior to final approval or disapproval by the Department of Health.

(4) The following acts constitute grounds for which the disciplinary actions specified in subsection (5) may be taken:

(a) Making false statements on an application or on any document associated with certification.

(b) Making consistent errors in analyses or erroneous reporting.

(c) Permitting personnel who are not qualified, as required by rules of the Department of Health, to perform analyses.

(d) Falsifying the results of analyses.

(e) Failing to employ approved laboratory methods in performing analyses as outlined in rules of the Department of Health.

(f) Failing to properly maintain facilities and equipment according to the laboratory’s quality assurance plan.

(g) Failing to report analytical test results or maintain required records of test results as outlined in rules of the Department of Health.

(h) Failing to participate successfully in a performance evaluation program approved by the Department of Health.

(i) Violating any provision of this section or of the rules adopted under this section.

(j) Falsely advertising services or credentials.

(k) Failing to pay fees for initial certification or renewal certification or to pay inspection expenses incurred.

(l) Failing to report any change of an item included in the initial or renewal certification application.

(m) Refusing to allow representatives of the department or the Department of Health to inspect a laboratory and its records during normal business hours.

(5) When the Department of Health finds any applicant or certificateholder guilty of any of the grounds set forth in subsection (4), it may enter an order imposing one or more of the following penalties:

(a) Denial of an application for certification.

(b) Revocation or suspension of certification.

(c) Imposition of an administrative fine not to exceed $1,000 for each count or separate offense.

(d) Issuance of a reprimand.

(e) Placement of the certification on probation for a period of time and subject to such conditions as the Department of Health specifies.

(f) Restricting the authorized scope of the certification.

(6) Any federal grant funds received by the department for the operation and implementation of the state laboratory certification program shall be transferred to the Department of Health by interagency agreement between the two departments. Such agreement shall require the Department of Health to provide the department with a quarterly accounting of the funds transferred.

(7) A laboratory that conducts a water analysis business, except the principal state laboratory, may not perform analyses pursuant to the Florida Safe Drinking Water Act without having applied for and received certification under the state certification program to perform such analyses.

(8) For the purposes of this section, the term “principal state laboratory” means the central laboratory of the Department of Health.

(9) For the purposes of this section, the term “certification” means regulatory recognition given to a laboratory that performs analyses pursuant to the Florida Safe Drinking Water Act, that it meets minimum analytical performance standards.

(10) The certification program shall be governed by chapter 120.

History.—s. 14, ch. 77-337; s. 167, ch. 79-400; s. 23, ch. 98-151; s. 90, ch. 2012-184.