SESSION WATCH
Died SENATE · SESSION 2026

No. SB 1486

Structure and Legislative Oversight of Executive Agencies
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SPONSOR
Garcia
FILED BY
Ileana Garcia — District 36, Republican [search donations]
EFFECTIVE
7/1/2026
DIED IN
Governmental Oversight and Accountability

Filed under Healthcare.

PROVIDED SUMMARY

Structure and Legislative Oversight of Executive Agencies; Providing that divisions, offices, bureaus, sections, and subsections in an executive department may be established only by specific statutory enactment; providing that certain appointments made by the Secretary of Business and Professional Regulation are subject to review and approval by the Legislature; providing that certain appointments made by the Secretary of Transportation are subject to review and approval by the Legislature; providing that certain appointments made by the heads of departments are subject to review and approval by the Legislature, etc.

Full bill text →

Plain English Summary

AI-GENERATED
Gives the Legislature veto power over agency structure and appointments.

Creating any new division, office, bureau, section, or subsection in an executive department now requires a specific act of the Legislature; the prior option of Department of Management Services review plus Governor approval is gone.

Secretaries at six agencies -- Business and Professional Regulation, Transportation, Corrections, Juvenile Justice, Elderly Affairs, and Commerce -- now need legislative review and approval before appointing their own deputy secretaries, assistant secretaries, or directors.

The Department of Health's Office of Minority Health and Health Equity is eliminated outright, along with its Senior Health Equity Officer role and its statutory basis, and the Department now directly runs the sickle cell disease grant program that office administered.

The Legislature commits to reviewing every department's divisions, offices, bureaus, sections, and subsections by the end of 2027 and dissolving any it decides are unnecessary, while a single state information officer gains sole authority over agency technology decisions.

KEY PROVISIONS
§ 1 Requires a specific statute to create any new division or office majors. 20.04

AINo executive department may create an additional division, office, bureau, section, or subsection except through a specific act of the Legislature. The prior alternative path, where new units could be created on Department of Management Services recommendation and Governor approval, is removed entirely.

“such divisions, offices, bureaus, sections, and subsections may be established only by specific statutory enactment”
§ 2 Six agency secretaries need legislative sign-off to appoint their own deputies majors. 20.165

AIThe secretaries of Business and Professional Regulation, Transportation, Corrections, Juvenile Justice, Elderly Affairs, and Commerce can no longer appoint deputy secretaries, assistant secretaries, or directors on their own authority; each such appointment now needs legislative review and approval first.

“The secretary may appoint deputy and assistant secretaries, subject to review and approval by the Legislature”
§ 3 Eliminates the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity majors. 20.43

AIRepeals the statute establishing the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity and its Senior Health Equity Officer position within the Department of Health, along with that officer's duties to administer and evaluate the Closing the Gap grant program.

“There is established within the Department of Health the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity” bill text, line 195 →
§ 4 Legislature commits to a 2027 review of every agency's organizational units majors. uncodified, Section 9

AIAn uncodified section directs the Legislature, by the end of its 2027 Regular Session, to review the purpose and function of every division, office, bureau, section, and subsection in every executive department and dissolve any it decides are unnecessary.

“review the purposes and functions of every department division, office, bureau, section, and subsection and dissolve any such division” bill text, line 220 →
§ 5 DOT's power to reorganize its own offices now needs legislative approval moderates. 20.23

AIBeyond appointments, the Secretary of Transportation's authority to combine, separate, or delete offices within the department is also made subject to legislative review and approval, on top of the existing requirement to consult the Executive Office of the Governor.

“The secretary may combine, separate, or delete offices, subject to review and approval by the Legislature”
§ 6 Department of Health takes over the sickle cell grant program directly moderates. 381.814

AIWith the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity eliminated, the Department of Health itself now awards and administers grants under the Sickle Cell Disease Research and Treatment Grant Program to community-based treatment and research centers.

“Funds appropriated to the program shall be awarded by the Department of Health to community-based sickle cell disease medical treatment and research centers” bill text, line 246 →
§ 7 Centralizes executive-branch IT decisions in the state chief information officer moderates. 282.0051

AIGives the state chief information officer sole decisionmaking authority over information technology matters for every executive department and every division, office, bureau, section, and subsection within them, rather than leaving such decisions to individual agencies.

“The state chief information officer shall have all decisionmaking authority with respect to information technology on behalf of all departments” bill text, line 25 →
TIMELINE
3/13/2026
Died in Governmental Oversight and Accountability
1/22/2026
Introduced
1/16/2026
Referred to Governmental Oversight and Accountability;...
1/8/2026
Filed
STATUTES IT CHANGES
s. 20.04
+7 / −62
s. 20.165
+9 / −2
s. 20.23
+18 / −5
s. 20.315
+9 / −0
s. 20.316
+9 / −2
s. 20.41
+9 / −2