Signed into law by the Governor as Chapter No 2021-01 Laws of Florida.

Also moving is SB 2006 & HB 7047 that amends the State Emergency Management Act to better address the threat posed by a pandemic or other public health emergency.  Requires the Department of Health to create a state public health emergency management plan, and requires the Division of Emergency Management to incorporate that plan into the comprehensive emergency management plan.  Requires the division to acquire and maintain an inventory of state-owned personal protective equipment. Requires medical examiners to certify deaths and to assist the State Health Officer in identifying and reporting deaths when requested. 

Also moving, Consumer Protection legislation, SB 1608 & HB 9, relating to fraud committed relating to PPE & Covid Vaccines.

SB 894 has cleared its first committee stop and will be heard this week in Senate HHS Appropriations.

HB 431 will be heard in its last committee stop this week as well.

Though the bills were amended to remove PA independent practice, it currently would allow a physician to supervise an unlimited number of PAs, a provision in which the FMA and others are working to limit to a reasonable number. The current cap is 4, and via negotiations with the PAs, PAs are requesting as a compromise an increase to 10.

SB 700 will be heard in its 2nd committee stop this week. The bill allows for the prescribing of schedule III, IV, & V's via telehealth but does not allow for schedule I & IIs. The SB also allows telehealth as a mean for a physician to supervise mid-levels such as ARNPs & PAs.

HB 247 was substantially amended in its first committee stop, and only has one committee stop left. It would codify the Governor's emergency order and allow the prescribing of schedule IIs in limited scenarios (inpatient, nursing home, hospice, & psych).

HB 1157 will be heard in its last committee stop this week. SB 1976 bill be heard in its 2nd committee stop in Senate as well (with one remaining). The bill requires greater transparency between urgent care & ERs, and requires posting of cost information, including any facility fee the ER charges. Insurers & AHCA would also be required to post on their website price comparison data between urgent care facilities and hospital emergency departments.

SB 54 has passed all its committees of reference and will be debated on the Senate floor this week. Pending is an amendment that would require insured drivers to "opt-out in writing" if they choose not to purchase medical payments coverage to replace the no-fault PIP coverage that will no longer exist.

HB 719 has been heard in its first committee of reference, but has 2 committees remaining.

Both bills include the "physician set-aside" within the med-pay component of the bill, which is an important existing payment coverage inclusively for emergency care an auto-injury patient receives.

For the first time, Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier expressed concern with the legislation, saying it would increase the price of auto insurance for those drivers who right now only purchase the minimums, and the price increase would be unevenly applied to drivers that fall into the lower socio-economic class.

The bills repeal the non-fault health insurance coverage of $10,000 currently in statue and replaces it with mandatory Bodily Injury coverage which requires fault to be determined in court before health care providers are reimbursed, absent a driver purchasing med pay coverage in the bill. We have advocated requiring any driver absent health insurance be required to purchase med-pay.

SB 1442 & HB 1091 requires DOH, in coordination with the Board of Pharmacy (BOP), to establish and administer the At-home Drug Deactivation and Disposal System Program (Program) for the purpose of identifying and distributing a suitable at-home drug deactivation and disposal system which pharmacies must co-dispense with each opioid prescription. The DOH, in coordination with the BOP, must develop relevant educational materials for the program and adopt rules to implement the program. The bill amends ss. 456.44 and 465.0276, F.S., to require the concurrent prescription of the at-home deactivation and disposal system with the prescription of an opioid drug listed as a schedule II controlled substance.

Both bills have been heard in their first committees of reference. 

Fixing the glitches that were part of the written consent bill passed in 2020, SB 716 has cleared 2 Senate committees, and only has the Rules Committee remaining. The SB is a more comprehensive bill that fixes all the concerns.

HB 361 was amended in the first committee stop to focus on clarifying the emergency care exemption to include the exam as well as the emergency care, and has one committee stop left.

SB 766 & HB 397, both heard in their first committees of reference, requires DOH to annually send a list of providers of adult cardiovascular services to the medical director of each licensed EMS provider. It further requires DOH to develop a sample heart attack triage assessment tool to be posted on its website and distributed to each licensed EMS provider. In addition, the bill requires EMS providers to use a substantially similar assessment tool and requires EMS medical directors to develop and implement assessment, treatment, and transport protocols to ensure heart attack patients are transported to the most appropriate hospital. The bill also requires a 911 PST to receive two hours of biennial telecommunicator CPR training in order to have their certification renewed. Further, the bill requires DOH to establish a procedure to monitor compliance with the training requirements and authorizes DOH to adjust state revenue funds to a public safety agency based on its employees’ compliance with the requirements.

SB 582 will be heard in its last committee stop this week, It would require written parental consent prior to a physician providing health care services. We were successful in amendmending the SB to exclude acute side-line care provide by volunteer team physicians. Current law already excludes emergency care.

HB 241 has passed the House floor, but does not include the volunteer team physician fix.

SB 1080 & HB 987 codifies the federal legislation moving the age to purchase and use tobacco & vaping products from 18 to 21. The SB has cleared all but its last committee of reference and the HB will be heard this week in its 2nd committee of reference.

SB 96 & HB 7039 requires, among other things, an immediate onsite investigation to be conducted by a critical incident rapid response team (CIRRT) for all reports to the hotline containing allegations of sexual abuse of a child under certain circumstances. The bill also requires abuse reports by emergency room physicians must trigger an investigation by DCF. The SB was debated on the Senate floor and received successful passage. The HB is in its last committee.

SB 1314 & HB 949 adds an “infectious disease” to the list that, if suffered by an emergency rescue or public safety worker, is presumed to have been suffered in-the-line-of-duty. The bill defines “infectious disease” to mean any condition or impairment of health caused by a disease that has been declared a public health emergency by the State Health Officer. The HB has been heard in two committees and has 2 more stops to go, and the SB has 2 stops remaining after being heard in its first.

Legislative Almanac 

So far, SB 72 is the only bill that has passed both chambers and been signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis.