This Florida Senior Living Association's Administrative Rule Review reports on recently proposed regulatory changes affecting Florida’s ALFs as a service to FSLA members. You can find more information regarding AHCA's overall rulemaking efforts here.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: On Wednesday June 21, 2023, AHCA published a Notice of Proposed Rule and updated forms for Rules 59A-36.019 and 59A-36.025, F.A.C., relating to emergency management for ALF. In other words, AHCA is preparing to finalize the changes to the Comprehensive Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) and Emergency Environmental Control Plan (EECP) forms.

Please review these rule changes and let FSLA know how they will impact your business! For your convenience, FSLA has created a side-by-side document comparing the applicable statute, current rule, and proposed rule.

FSLA will be taking due care to review not only the practical impact of the proposed changes on ALFs, but also the economic impact of the rule changes as well. Please provide your comments to FSLA by Friday, July 7, 2023.

FSLA's ask - please carefully review the proposed rule changes practical and economic impact and provide comments in the spaces provided on the side-by-side document and e-mail to FSLA's Vice President of Public Policy & Legal Affairs, Jason Hand.

Florida's Administrative Procedures Act allows FSLA to submit to AHCA a good faith written proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative to a proposed rule which substantially accomplishes the objectives of the law being implemented. Your comments on the practical effect of the rule can help FSLA propose lower cost alternatives to AHCA's proposed rule changes - which help the entire senior living industry.

Additionally, if FSLA can prove that these AHCA rule changes impact ALFs by $1,000,000 in a 5-year period, then the rule would not be allowed to take effect until the legislature passed a bill authorizing the rule. See, s. 120.541, F.S. With approximately 3,000 ALFs in Florida, the pro-rated impact per ALF per year is under $70. This is why FSLA needs you to identify the economic impact on your community of AHCA's proposed rule changes - it is just as important as the practical impact of the rule changes.

If needed, here are the current rules and forms for: 59A-36.019, 59A-36.025, and the CEMP.

AHCA has scheduled a rule hearing to finalize the proposed changes on July 25, 2023, from 10:00 AM through 12:00 PM. FSLA will be reviewing the updated CEMP and ECCP forms and providing AHCA with comments.

You will recall that previously, on December 20, 2022, FSLA provided AHCA with our written comments and side-by-side comparison of AHCA's previously draft changes to Rule 59A-36.019, F.A.C., Emergency Management (a/k/a the CEMP rule). FSLA's verbal comments, provided by Jason Hand, Vice President of Public Policy & Legal Affairs, were covered extensively by McKnights Senior Living and Florida Politics.

FSLA has joined a coalition of stakeholders which has been meeting throughout the spring and summer for just this purpose. We look forward to presenting AHCA with improved recommendations. 

Please contact Jason Hand, FSLA's Vice President of Public Policy & Legal Affairs, for more information!