Bill > S1582

Introduced Session

An act relating to the Department of Health; amending s. 381.0101, F.S.; defining the term “environmental health technician”; exempting environmental health technicians from certain certification requirements under certain circumstances; requiring the department, in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Protection, to adopt rules that establish certain standards for environmental health technician certification; requiring the Department of Health to adopt by rule certain standards for environmental health technician certification; revising provisions related to exemptions and fees to conform to changes made by the act; creating s. 381.991, F.S.; creating the Andrew John Anderson Pediatric Rare Disease Grant Program within the department for a specified purpose; subject to an appropriation by the Legislature, requiring the program to award grants for certain scientific and clinical research; specifying entities eligible to apply for the grants; specifying the types of applications that may be considered for grant funding; providing for a competitive, peer-reviewed application and selection process; providing that the remaining balance of appropriations for the program as of a specified date may be carried forward for a specified timeframe under certain circumstances; amending s. 383.14, F.S.; providing that any health care practitioner present at a birth or responsible for primary care during the neonatal period has the primary responsibility of administering certain screenings; defining the term “health care practitioner”; deleting identification and screening requirements for newborns and their families for certain environmental and health risk factors; deleting certain related duties of the department; revising the definition of the term “health care practitioner” to include licensed genetic counselors; requiring that blood specimens for screenings of newborns be collected before a specified age; requiring that newborns have a blood specimen collected for newborn screenings, rather than only a test for phenylketonuria, before a specified age; deleting certain rulemaking authority of the department; deleting a requirement that the department furnish certain forms to specified entities; deleting the requirement that such entities report the results of certain screenings to the department; making technical and conforming changes; deleting a requirement that the department submit certain certifications as part of its legislative budget request; requiring certain health care practitioners to prepare and send all newborn screening specimen cards to the State Public Health Laboratory; defining the term “health care practitioner”; amending s. 383.145, F.S.; defining the term “toddler”; revising hearing loss screening requirements to include infants and toddlers; revising hearing loss screening requirements for licensed birth centers; requiring licensed birth centers to complete newborn hearing loss screenings before discharge, with an exception; amending s. 383.147, F.S.; revising sickle cell disease and sickle cell trait screening requirements; requiring screening providers to notify a newborn’s parent or guardian, rather than the newborn’s primary care physician, of certain information; authorizing the parents or guardians of a newborn to opt out of the newborn’s inclusion in the sickle cell registry; specifying the manner in which a parent or guardian may opt out; authorizing certain persons other than newborns who have been identified as having sickle cell disease or carrying a sickle cell trait to choose to be included in the registry; creating s. 383.148, F.S.; requiring the department to promote the screening of pregnant women and infants for specified environmental risk factors; requiring the department to develop a multilevel screening process for prenatal and postnatal risk screenings; specifying requirements for such screening processes; providing construction; requiring persons who object to a screening to give a written statement of such objection to the physician or other person required to administer and report the screening; amending s. 1004.435, F.S.; revising the membership of the Florida Cancer Control and Research Advisory Council; revising quorum requirements for council actions; amending ss. 383.318, 395.1053, and 456.0496, F.S.; conforming cross-references; requiring the department to grant certain applicants 90 days to cure deficiencies with their medical marijuana treatment center license applications pursuant to a specified errors and omissions process; requiring the department to grant such applicants a marijuana treatment center license if they cure the deficiencies within the specified timeframe; providing construction; providing that the death of an applicant during the cure process may not be a reason to deny the application or any resulting legal challenge; requiring the department to issue the license to the estate of a deceased applicant in the event of a successful cure or legal challenge; providing effective dates.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Ana Maria Rodriguez (R)*, 

Other Sponsors (3)

Chapter No. 2024-246, companion bill(s) passed, see HB 7085 (Ch. 2024-225), CS/SB 7072 (Ch. 2024-247) (on 06/19/2024)

Official Document