Florida Law on CD-ROM
Table of Contents
Section 1: General Information
Exploring Florida Law on CD-ROM User Interface
Exploring Table of Contents (TOC) Frame
Exploring Florida Law on CD-ROM User Options
Section 2: Searching Document Collections
Searching Florida Constitution
Section 3: Searching Indexes and Tables
Section 4: Browsing Search Results
Working with Document Navigation Tools
Saving and Managing Search Results
Section 5: Document Collection Information
Florida Statutes Subject Index
General Laws of Florida Subject Index
Special and Local Laws of Florida Index
Florida Constitution Subject Index
Repealed and Transferred Sections Table
Introduction
Florida Law on CD-ROM is a dynamic browser-based application that uses Internet Explorer and Rocket NXT4 Search Engine for full-text search and retrieval. With Florida Law on CD-ROM, you can search for words, phrases, and numbers in legislative documents. You can also browse documents as opposed to searching them.
Florida Law on CD-ROM makes volumes of information easily accessible by providing the following features:
Florida Law on CD-ROM Feature |
Reference Section/Subsection |
Multiple document searches |
Working with Document Collections Search Source |
Hit-to-hit highlighting |
Exploring Table of Contents (TOC) Frame and Exploring Florida Law on CD-ROM User Options |
View Options: · document · results · doc/results |
Exploring Florida Law on CD-ROM User Interface |
Online Help |
Exploring Florida Law on CD-ROM Help |
Additional Search Features: · Stemming (%) · Customized Thesauruses o Synonyms ("$") · Wildcards o Single Characters ("?") o Multiple Characters ("*") · Proximity Searches o Ordered ("/") o Unordered ("@") |
Performing Advanced Searches and Performing Boolean Searches |
Natural language queries · Boolean Operators (And, Or, Not, Xor) |
Performing Boolean Searches |
Field Searches |
Searching Document Collections |
Document navigation · Next/Prev Match · Next/Prev Doc Hits · Next/Prev Doc · Links (Hyperlinks) |
Browsing Search Results |
Florida Law on CD-ROM employs drop-down, page, and button tools to provide easy access to a wealth of legislative documents. The illustration and table below identify and describe the Florida Law on CD-ROM user interface elements.

Florida Law on CD-ROM User Interface
Search Form |
Drop-down list consisting of document search forms. |
Table of Contents (TOC) Frame |
Adjustable frame that displays selected search source. Clicking [+] expands or [-] collapses a folder. |
Search Form Page |
Allows you to enter search criteria. Page appearance is based on Search Form selection. The Advanced Search form displays as initial page or when Clear Search is clicked. |
Document Page |
Displays selected search results document with search criteria highlighted. |
Results Page |
Displays search results table. Hyperlinks allow you to open documents containing hits. |
Doc/Results Page |
Comprised of two frames. Displays document and navigation tools in upper frame. Displays search results in lower frame. Independent scrolling is provided on both frames. |
Reset Domain |
Resets TOC view and clears search criteria. |
Clear Search |
Clears search criteria and results, and redisplays the Advanced Search form. |
Options |
Allows you to customize how the table of contents appears. |
Help |
Provides access to Florida Law on CD-ROM Help Manual. |
Search forms are provided to allow you to initiate a search based on document type or specific parts of a document. Available search forms include Advanced (default), Boolean, Laws of Florida, and Florida Statutes. Search forms will be discussed in more detail in later sections.
: Steps to select a search form
1. Click Search Form down arrow.

2. Select desired search form.
The Florida Law on CD-ROM Table of Contents (TOC) frame identifies the current search source and provides access to select documents.

TOC Frame
Florida Law on CD-ROM provides two commands to assist with managing the TOC: reset domain and clear search.
Clicking reset domain removes TOC selections and resets the search range to include all documents in the selected search source. The last search form used redisplays with all search criteria cleared.
Clicking clear search clears search results displayed on the results and doc/results pages, resets the TOC, and restores the check to the left of selected documents. When a search is initiated using Laws of Florida, or Florida Statutes search forms, you are returned to the Advanced Search form.
: Steps to adjust TOC frame
1. Hover mouse pointer over right border of frame until pointer changes to horizontal double-headed arrow.
2. Click and drag border to desired position.
With Florida Law on CD-ROM, you can browse document collections as opposed to directly searching them. To browse documents, within the TOC frame, you can expand and collapse document folders to reveal sub-documents within a particular document collection. Double-click any sub-document you wish to see and it appears in the document frame (on the right) for your viewing. Once you have a sub-document to view in the document frame, use the Prev Doc and Next Doc buttons on the navigation bar to browse through sub-documents.
: Steps to expand/collapse Document Folders
Click one of the following:
· [+] at left of document collection to expand.
· [-] at left of document collection to collapse.
Florida Law on CD-ROM Options allow you to customize how the Table of Contents appears after performing a search. After clicking Options, you can choose to hide or show (default) the number of hits (term(s) found by a search) displayed in the TOC, hide headings in the TOC that have no hits, and synchronize TOC with the current document. Clicking Restore Defaults restores original Rocket NXT4 defaults.

NXT 4 Options Page
: Steps to show/hide hits in TOC
1. Click options.
2. Do one of the following:
· Check Show hit numbers in the table of contents (after doing a search) to show TOC hits.
· Uncheck Show hit numbers in the table of contents (after doing a search) to hide TOC hits.
3. Click Save.
4. Click search form.
: Steps to hide/show headings with no hits
1. Click options.
2. Do one of the following:
· Check Hide headings that have no hits (after doing a search) to hide headings.
· Uncheck Hide headings that have no hits (after doing a search) to show headings.
3. Click Save.
4. Click search form.
: Steps to turn automatic synchronization on/off
1. Click options.
2. Do one of the following:
· Check Automatically synchronize table of contents (to current document) to turn synchronization on.
· Uncheck Automatically synchronize table of contents (to current document) to turn synchronization off.
3. Click Save.
4. Click search form.
Introduction
The beauty of Florida Law on CD-ROM lies in the collection of documents available for research. There are many ways to refine your search and sift through these collections to find answers.
Spelling plays an important role as to whether you achieve your desired search results. If your results aren't what you expect, check your spelling in your search query.
The Advanced Search form displays on the search form page when Florida Law on CD-ROM opens. From this form you can perform simple and complex searches. In addition to inputting search criteria using different filters, you can also search for alternate word forms (stemming) and synonyms (thesaurus). You can choose to display short, medium, or long excerpt phrases along with your search results.

Advanced Search Form
Searches you perform using the Advanced Search form are not limited to a specific document type. All document collections selected from Search Source can be searched. The table below describes the search action of each query field on the Advanced Search form.
Query Field |
Search Action |
containing all these words |
Searches for a single word or phrase. |
and not containing any of these words |
Eliminates words from the search. Use in conjunction with “containing all these words.” |
and containing one or more of these words |
Searches for multiple words. |
and containing this exact phrase |
Searches for a complete phrase. |
and containing these words near each other |
Searches for words in close proximity to each other in the same document. |
: Steps to search using Advanced Search form
1. Do one of the following:
· Open Florida Law on CD-ROM.
· Click Search Form down arrow and select Advanced.
· Click reset domain.
· Click clear search.
2. Type word(s) or phrase(s) in query field(s).
NOTE: Type an asterisk (*) or question mark (?), if wildcard search is desired.
3. Check Find alternate word forms (stemming), if stemming search is desired.
4. Check Find synonyms (thesaurus), if synonym search is desired.
Stemming
Including any possible suffixes or other verb tenses to the search word is called “stemming.” Stemming is activated by checking Find alternate word forms (stemming) located at the bottom of the Advanced Search form. This is highly recommended when searching for words that can end with s, es, ed, ing, and have past tenses.
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Stemming Option
Synonyms
When searching the document collection in Florida Law on CD-ROM, terminology may be formal, politically correct, gender-neutral, and often not what you think it will be.
Statutory language refers to words and/or phrases used in the Florida Statutes, Laws of Florida, or Florida Constitution. But, you do not have to brainstorm to come up with statutory terminology. Florida Law on CD-ROM provides a customized thesaurus that matches many related words when performing a search function. Keep in mind, however, that many common words and phrases may have distinctly different meanings in the Florida Statutes.
To search for synonyms, check Find synonyms (thesaurus) located at the bottom of the Advanced Search form, or type “$” after the word you want to search.
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Synonyms Option
Wildcards
Wildcards allow you to find words using patterns for a set of words and to find synonyms or various word forms. If stemming does not return a broad enough result, use an asterisk (*) as a wildcard at the end or beginning of a word, or for a portion of a word. For example:
Search Word |
Hit Results |
govern* |
govern, governs, governed, governing, government, governmental, governor |
ra* |
range, rail, radiology, racial, … |
To fill in a missing character, use a question mark as a wildcard at the end, beginning, or anywhere within a portion of a word. This is a replacement wildcard. The number of question marks determines the number of additional characters included in the search. For example:
Search |
Hit Results |
fi?? |
firm, fide, five, file, … |
wom?n |
woman or women |
b??k |
book, back, bank, bark, bulk, … |
The Boolean Search form allows you to focus your search on more specific terms. Boolean operators allow you to specify words, exclude words, look for words in proximity, search for synonyms or similar words (stemming), or add complex combinations of words to be found during a query. Boolean operators may be represented by words or symbols. The Boolean Search form illustrated below contains examples of syntax used for these types of queries.

Boolean Search Form
: Steps to perform Boolean searches
1. Click Search Form down arrow.
2. Select Boolean.
3. Type words(s) and operators under Query terms.
4. Click Search.
Proximity Operators
Proximity operators allow you to specify how close (range) two or more words must be to each other in the same document to return a hit. When adding a range, keep in mind that if you reduce the range dramatically you may receive no matches. Words in proximity searches must be enclosed in quotation marks. Wildcards can be used with proximity searches.
Ordered proximity is used to specify the order in which words must appear within a given range to count as a hit. The ordered proximity operator is the forward slash [ / ].
Unordered proximity is used to specify a set of terms that must appear within a given range in any order. The unordered proximity operator is the “at” [@] symbol.
The Florida Statutes are the permanent, compiled laws of the state. They are organized into Chapters, Parts, and Sections. The section is the basic unit of the statutes. Each statute is identified with a decimal number. Digits at the left of the decimal point indicate the chapter number. Digits at the right of the decimal point indicate the section number.
The statutes are updated annually after each regular (or special, if there are any changes) session of the Legislature. Updates reflect changes made by legislation passed since the release of the previous year’s statutes. Sections created by new legislation are integrated into the statutes. Changed sections appear as amended, repealed sections are deleted, and transferred sections appear in their new locations. All other sections carry forward unchanged from the previous year. In other words, the Florida Statutes contain the latest version of every statute section.
The Florida Statutes reflects the organization of the statutes into Chapters, Parts, and Sections. At the beginning of each chapter or part is a list of section numbers with catchlines (subjects) contained in that chapter or part, with a hyperlink to each section. The chapter and part lists are not searchable. Within section documents, cross-references to other statute sections are linked to those sections. Each superscript numeral within a section is linked to an editorial note at the end of the section to which it refers.
Florida Statutes Field Search Form
The Florida Statutes Field Search form allows you to query specific parts of a Statutes document. Word Wheels are also available to assist with selecting specific numeric values and words for your query.

Florida Statutes Field Search Form
A Florida Statutes document has four searchable fields:
Document Field |
Section Searched |
Catchline |
Section number and bolded text after section number |
Section Body |
Section’s main body text |
History |
Section history |
Notes |
Editorial notes following the section |
Word Wheel
A Word Wheel contains a list of every word in a field. The list is in alphabetical order, with numbers appearing first. For example, when you search the Catchline field of the Florida Statutes, the Word Wheel provides a list of section numbers in numerical order.

Word Wheel
: Steps to search by Florida Statutes field
1. Click Search Form down arrow.
2. Select Florida Statutes.
3. Do one of the following:
· Type portion of or complete number or word in a field (Catchline, Section Body, History, or Notes).
· Type portion of number or word in a field and select desired number or word from Word Wheel.
· Scroll through field Word Wheel and double-click desired number or word.
4. Click Search Now.
NOTE: Advanced Search search form is displayed when clear search is clicked after displaying search results initiated from this form.
The Laws of Florida are a compilation of all Chapter Laws, Resolutions, and Memorials passed during a legislative session. The Laws of Florida are divided into two broad categories—General Laws and Special and Local Laws.
The Laws of Florida are published after each session of the Florida Legislature and contain all laws passed during the regular session and at any special session since the previous year’s publication.
Laws of Florida Field Search Form
The Laws of Florida Field Search form allows you to query specific parts of a Law document. Word Wheels assist with selecting specific numeric values and words for your query.

Laws of Florida Field Search Form
A Laws of Florida document has five searchable fields:
Document Field |
Section Searched |
Law Title |
Title and Whereas clauses |
Bill Number |
House or Senate bill number that became law |
Law Body |
Body of the law below the enacting clause |
Additions |
Added text (represented by underlines) |
Deletions |
Deleted text (represented by overstrikes) |
NOTE: The enacting clause of each law is not searchable.
: Steps to search by Laws of Florida field
1. Click Search Form down arrow.
2. Select Laws of Florida.
3. Do one of the following:
· Type beginning portion of number or word in a field (Law Title, Bill Number, Law Body, Additions, or Deletions).
· Type portion of number or word in a field and select desired number or word from Word Wheel.
· Scroll through Word Wheel. Double-click desired number or word.
4. Click Search Now.
NOTE: Advanced Search search form is displayed when clear search is clicked after displaying search results initiated from this form.
The Constitution of the State of Florida defines the basic powers and structure of state government. The Florida Constitution is divided into articles and sections.
The advanced search form, as well as Boolean searches, may be used for the Florida Constitution. Field searches however, are not possible.
Introduction
In addition to the full text of the Florida Statutes, Laws of Florida, and Florida Constitution, indexes to these collections are available. Subjects are linked to sections in the Florida Statutes, chapter laws in the Laws of Florida and articles and sections in the Florida Constitution, and terms and phrases defined in the Florida Statutes.
To assist with research, three tables are provided. The first is the Tracing Table, which maps the provisions of the Laws of Florida into the Florida Statutes.
The second table is the Table of Section Changes. This table lists the sections of the Florida Statutes changed during the publication year, the nature of the change, and law causing the change.
The last table is the Repealed and Transferred Sections Table. This table lists all section numbers that have been removed from the Florida Statutes through the current Regular Session either by repeal or by transfer to another location and indicates the law responsible for the change.
Each index is divided into letters and main headings. References to statutes are linked to statute sections in the Florida Statutes. References to laws are linked to those chapter laws in the Laws of Florida document collection. References to articles and sections are linked to the Florida Constitution document collection. Internal cross-references are linked to main headings within the index.
The Florida Statutes Index and the Florida Constitution Index use the same searchable fields as the Laws of Florida Index.
: Steps to search Florida Statutes Index
1. Do one of the following:
· Check Statutes Index to select all indexes.
· Click [+] at left of Statutes Index and select desired index.
2. Do one of the following:
· Click [+] at left of desired index and click desired title hyperlink.
· Verify Advanced Search form is displayed, type search term in desired query field, and click Search.
: Steps to search Laws of Florida Index
1. Do one of the following:
· Check Laws Index to select all indexes.
· Click [+] at left of Laws Index and select desired index.
2. Do one of the following:
· Click [+] at left of desired index and click desired title hyperlink.
· Verify Advanced Search form is displayed, type search term in desired query field, and click Search.
: Steps to search Florida Constitution Index
1. Do one of the following:
· Check Florida Constitution Index to select all indexes.
· Click [+] at left of Florida Constitution Index and select desired index.
2. Do one of the following:
· Click [+] at left of desired index and click desired title hyperlink.
· Verify Advanced Search form is displayed, type search term in desired query field, and click Search.
: Steps to search Definitions Index
1. Do one of the following:
· Check Definitions Index to select all indexes.
· Click [+] at left of Definitions Index and select desired index.
2. Do one of the following:
· Click [+] at left of desired index and click desired title hyperlink.
· Verify Advanced Search form is displayed, type search term in desired query field, and click Search.
Florida Statutes Tracing Table
The Tracing Table traces provisions of the Laws of Florida into the Florida Statutes. This table lists each law, each section within the law, and the section or sections of the Florida Statutes that the law affected. Statute section numbers are linked to those sections in the Florida Statutes document collection. If a section number is not linked, that section no longer appears in the statutes. Law numbers are linked to those laws in the Laws of Florida document collection.

Florida Statutes Tracing Table
: Steps to search Florida Statutes Tracing Table
1. Click [+] at left of Tracing Table, if necessary.
2. Do one of the following:
· Check Tracing Table to select all chapters.
· Click [+] at left of Tracing Table and check desired chapter.
3. Verify Advanced Search form is displayed.
4. Type search term in desired query field.
5. Do one of the following:
· Click Search.
· Press [Enter].
: Steps to access Florida Statutes Tracing Table chapters
1. Click [+] at left of Tracing Table.
2. Click desired Tracing Table chapter law hyperlink.
Florida Statutes Table of Section Changes
The Florida Statutes Table of Section Changes shows which sections of the Florida Statutes have changed, the nature of the change, and which law made the change. Statutes section numbers are linked to those sections in the Florida Statutes document collection. If a section number is not linked, that section no longer appears in the statutes. Law numbers are linked to those laws in the Laws of Florida document collection.

Florida Statutes Table of Section Changes
: Steps to search Florida Statutes Table of Section Changes
1. Do one of the following:
· Check Table of Section Changes to select all chapters.
· Click [+] at left of Table of Section Changes and check desired chapter.
2. Verify Advanced Search form is displayed.
3. Type search term in desired query field.
4. Do one of the following:
· Click Search.
· Press [Enter].
: Steps to access Florida Statutes Table of Section Changes chapters
1. Click [+] at left of Table of Section Changes.
2. Click desired Table of Section Changes Chapters hyperlink.
Repealed and Transferred Sections Table
This table is valuable to anyone unable to find a particular section number in the current statutes. The table indicates whether the section was repealed or transferred to another section. With a few exceptions from the distant past, a section number, once removed, is not used again.

Florida Statutes Repealed and Transferred Section Table
: Steps to search Florida Statutes Repealed and Transferred Sections Table
1. Do one of the following:
· Check Repealed and Transferred Sections Table to select all chapters.
· Click [+] at left of Repealed and Transferred Sections Table and check desired chapter.
2. Verify Advanced Search form is displayed.
3. Type search term in desired query field.
4. Do one of the following:
· Click Search.
· Press [Enter].
:Steps to search Florida Statutes Repealed and Transferred Sections chapters
1. Click [+] at left of Repealed and Transferred Sections Table.
2. Click desired chapter
Cross-references hyperlink.
Introduction
With Florida Law on CD-ROM, you can browse document collections and search results, as opposed to directly searching individual documents.
Search results display in table format on the results page. Hyperlinks in the Title column allow you to open the returned document for browsing. The Location and Catchline columns identify each returned document. Document Excerpts allow you to show or hide document excerpts. This option displays 5 (Short), 10 (Medium), or 25 (Long) words before and after your query term.

RESULTS Page
The document page displays document content resulting from your search. Similarly, the doc/results page displays both document content and the search results frame.

Document Page

Doc/results Page
Located above the document content is the Document toolbar. This toolbar consists of icons that allow you to browse documents and document collections, synchronize document content with the TOC, clear highlighted hits, display current document references, and print a document. The Document toolbar is found only on the document and doc/results pages.
Document navigation tools allow you to easily browse document content.
· Prev Match and Next Match allow you to navigate back and forth through hits within the document you are currently browsing.
· Prev Hit Doc and Next Hit Doc allow you to navigate back and forth through search source documents that contain hits.
· Prev Doc and Next Doc allow you to navigate through all search source documents within the TOC, even if they do not contain a hit.

Document Toolbar
Located at the top of the document frame is the Reference panel. Reference identifies the current document returned from Prev Hit Doc or Next Hit Doc.
Because reference information in the Reference panel only displays references of documents with hits, Florida Law on CD-ROM provides another method to determine reference information. By clicking Reference on the Document toolbar, you can easily identify the document you are currently browsing. When clicked, the Reference information window appears.
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Reference Icon

Reference Window
This feature is especially useful when browsing documents that do not contain hits or when browsing beyond the first page of a document.
: Steps to display Reference window
1. Verify document or doc/results page is open.
2. Click Reference on Document toolbar.
3. Click Close button to close window.
Printing may be done from the Document toolbar. Because Florida Law on CD-ROM utilizes Internet Explorer’s print facility, you can print all or individual frame contents. Simply click the Print icon on the Document toolbar, and the Print dialog box appears. If you are unsure about what will print, preview it before printing.
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Document Toolbar Print Icon

Print Dialog Box
: Steps to print an entire Statutes Chapter
1. Expand the TOC to the Statutes Chapter Level.

2. Check the box for the Statutes Chapter Number to be printed.
3. Click on the Statutes Chapter title so that the chapter title page is displayed to the right of the TOC.
4. Click in the area to the right of the TOC near the chapter title.

5. Open print dialogue box by either right clicking and selecting “Print” or clicking File -> Print from your browser toolbar.
6. Select desired printer from Select Printer list, if necessary.
7. Select Options tab.
8. Verify Only the selected frame is selected under Print frames.
9. Check "Print all linked documents" checkbox.

10. Click Print.
: Steps to print selected frame
1. Click in document or frame to print.
2. Do one of the following:
· Click Print on Document toolbar.
· Select File, Print from Internet Explorer menu.
· Rt-click document frame and select Print.
· Press [Ctrl+P].
3. Select desired printer from Select Printer list, if necessary.
4. Select Options tab.
5. Verify Only the selected frame is selected under Print frames.

6. Click Print.
: Steps to print screen as seen
1. Click in document to print.
2. Do one of the following:
· Click Print on Document toolbar.
· Select File, Print from Internet Explorer menu.
· Rt-click document frame and select Print.
· Press [Ctrl+P].
3. Select desired printer from Select Printer list, if necessary.
4. Select Options tab.
5. Select As laid out on screen under Print frames.

6. Click Print.
: Steps to print all frames individually
1. Do one of the following:
· Click Print on Document toolbar.
· Select File, Print from Internet Explorer menu.
· Rt-click document frame and select Print.
· Press [Ctrl+P].
2. Select desired printer from Select Printer list, if necessary.
3. Select Options tab.
4. Select All frames individually under Print frames.

5. Click Print.
: Steps to preview search results
1. Select File, Print Preview from Internet Explorer menu.
2. Click Select Content down arrow and select a different option, if desired.
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3. Click Print or Close.
To clear hit highlights within the document frame, simply click the Clear Highlights icon on the Document toolbar. This feature is useful when you desire to print a document without highlights.
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Clear Highlights Icon
Synchronizing the TOC allows you to quickly identify the current hit document within the document collection. You can set this feature to execute automatically or you can initiate it by clicking Sync Contents on the Document toolbar.

Options Window
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Synchronize Contents Icon
: Steps to synchronize contents for current search
1. Verify document or doc/results page contains document content.
2. Click Sync Contents on Document toolbar.
Saving your search query results allows you to reuse common search syntax. If a specific search locates the information you need, saving the search makes it easier to find the same content the next time you need to search for the information. You can save as many search results as you want. Florida Law on CD-ROM stores saved search results as part of your user preferences. NOTE: Saved search results are saved as cookies; if you clear cookies, your saved searches results will be cleared as well.
: Steps to save search results
1. Scroll to end of search results on the results page or doc/results page.
2. Type desired name for search results in Save search as text box.
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3. Click save.
Managing Search Results
Clicking the Manage Saved Searches link, located at the bottom of the Results page, opens the Manage Saved Searches window providing access to your saved searches. Buttons provided on this window allow you to rename a saved search, or delete one or all saved searches.

Manage Saved Searches Window
: Steps to rename or delete one saved search results
1. Do one of the following:
· Click Saved Search down arrow and select desired saved search.
· Select results or doc/results page.
2. Scroll to end of page.
3. Click Manage Saved Searches.
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4. Select desired saved search.
5. Do one of the following:
· Click Delete.
· Type another name for search and click Rename.
6. Click Exit.
: Steps to delete all saved search results
1. Do one of the following:
· Click Saved Search down arrow and select desired saved search.
· Select results or doc/results page.
2. Scroll to end of page.
3. Click Manage Saved Searches.
4. Click Delete All.
5. Click Exit.
The Florida Statutes 2011 contains the text of the Florida Statutes including legislation passed at the 2010 Special Session A and the 2011 Regular Session of the Florida Legislature. Sections created or amended at these sessions appear as printed in the Florida Statutes 2011. Sections repealed in 2010 are deleted. Transferred sections appear in their new locations. All other sections are carried forward unchanged from the Florida Statutes 2010. In other words, the Florida Statutes 2011 contain the latest version of every statute section.
The Florida Statutes are divided into chapters, parts, and individual sections. At the beginning of each chapter or part is an index of section numbers and catchlines contained in the chapter or part, with a hyperlink to each section referenced in the index. Within sections, cross-references to other statutes sections are linked to those sections. Each superscript numeral within a section is linked to the editorial note to which it refers.
Queries are applied to section text only and not to chapter titles, part titles, or catchline indexes. Query results are reported on the section level, i.e., as the number of sections that contain hits. There are three query templates. The template Go to Section allows the user to enter a section number and go directly to that section. Go to Chapter allows the user to enter a chapter number and go directly to the first section in the chapter. Search Same Paragraph applies a query containing Boolean operators to a single paragraph rather than an entire section. For example, the query "eminent & domain" entered in this template returns the number of sections in which the words "eminent" and "domain" both appear in the same paragraph. The same query, entered in the query dialog box, would return the number of sections that contain both terms anywhere in the section.
Each section is divided into four fields. A query limited to one of these fields will return the number of sections that contain hits in a particular part of the section. The "catch" field consists of the section number and catchline; the "law" field the section body; the "history" field the legislative history of the section; and the "note" field any editorial notes that follow the section.
The Florida Statutes 2011 Subject Index contains the alphabetic subject index to the Florida Statutes 2011. It is divided into letters and main headings. Citations to Florida Statutes and Florida Constitution sections are linked to those sections in the Florida Statutes 2011 and Florida Constitution respectively. Internal cross-references are linked to main headings within the index.
The Laws of Florida 2011 contains the Laws of Florida passed at the 2010 Special Session A and the 2011 Regular Session of the Florida Legislature.
The Laws of Florida 2011 contains subdivisions for General Laws and Special and Local Laws passed at each session and for Joint Resolutions. Individual laws are divided into title and sections. Query results are reported on the law level, i.e., as the number of laws that contain hits. There is one query template, Go to Law, that allows a user to enter a law number and go directly to that law.
Each law is divided into three fields. The "number" field includes the chapter and bill numbers at the beginning of each law; the "title" field contains the law's title and enacting clause; and the "law" field contains the body of the law below the enacting clause.
The General Laws of Florida Subject Index contains the alphabetic subject index to the General Laws of Florida. It is divided into letters and main headings. Citations to laws are linked to laws in the General Laws portion of the Laws of Florida 2011. Internal cross-references are linked to main headings within the index.
The Special and Local Laws of Florida Index contains references to laws in the Special and Local Laws portion of the Laws of Florida 2011. It is organized by local government entities.
The Florida Constitution contains the text of the Florida Constitution, as amended. Amendments passed at the 2010 General Election are included. The Constitution is divided into articles and sections within articles. Query results are reported on the section level, i.e., as the number of sections that contain hits.
The Florida Constitution Subject Index contains the alphabetic subject index to the Florida Constitution. It is divided into letters and main headings. Citations to articles and sections are linked to the Florida Constitution. Internal cross-references are linked to main headings within the index.
The Definitions Index lists all terms and phrases that are defined in the Florida Statutes 2011 and the Florida Constitution. Entries include all terms and phrases specifically stated to be definitions, as well as those considered to function as definitions in the context of a particular statute or constitution section. Citations are linked to the Florida Statutes 2011 and Florida Constitution.
The Section Changes Table 2011 contains a table that lists each Florida Statutes section affected by legislation passed at the 2010 Special Session A and the 2011 Regular Session of the Florida Legislature; the type of transaction (creation, amendment, repeal, transfer, etc.); and the law or laws that affected the section. The Table is divided into sections, and query results are reported on the section level. Statutes section numbers are linked to those sections in the Florida Statutes 2011. If a section number is not linked, that section no longer appears in the statutes. Law numbers are linked to those laws in the Laws of Florida 2011. There is one query template, Go to Section, that allows the user to enter a section number and go directly to the entry for that section.
The Tracing Table 2011 contains a table that lists a law, each section within the law, and the section or sections of the Florida Statutes 2011 into which language from the law section was incorporated. An "omitted" entry indicates that language from a law or law section was not incorporated in the statutes either because of the transaction type (e.g. a repeal or transfer) or because the provision was not of a general and permanent nature and therefore not subject to codification in the statutes. The Table is divided into laws, and query results are reported on the law level. Statute section numbers are linked to those sections in the Florida Statutes 2011. If a section number is not linked, that section no longer appears in the statutes. Law numbers are linked to those laws in the Laws of Florida 2011. There is one query template, Go to Law, that allows the user to enter a law number and go directly to the entry for that law.
The Repealed and Transferred Sections Table contains a table that lists all former Florida Statutes sections that are no longer part of the statutes. If a user is searching for a particular statute section, and that section is not in the Florida Statutes 2011, the user can look here to find whether the section was repealed, and if so by what law; or if transferred, by what law and to what new location in the statutes.