Florida Senate - 2013                              CS for SB 808
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Health Policy; and Senator Margolis
       
       
       
       
       588-03986-13                                           2013808c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to a needle and syringe exchange pilot
    3         program; amending s. 381.0038, F.S.; requiring the
    4         Department of Health to establish a needle and syringe
    5         exchange pilot program in Miami-Dade County; providing
    6         for administration of the pilot program by the
    7         department or a designee; establishing pilot program
    8         criteria; providing that the distribution of needles
    9         and syringes under the pilot program is not a
   10         violation of the Florida Comprehensive Drug Abuse
   11         Prevention and Control Act or any other law; providing
   12         conditions under which a pilot program staff member or
   13         participant may be prosecuted; prohibiting the
   14         collection of participant identifying information;
   15         providing for the pilot program to be funded through
   16         private grants and donations; providing for expiration
   17         of the pilot program; requiring a report to the
   18         Legislature; providing rulemaking authority; providing
   19         for severability; providing an effective date.
   20  
   21  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   22  
   23         Section 1. Subsection (4) is added to section 381.0038,
   24  Florida Statutes, to read:
   25         381.0038 Education; needle and syringe exchange pilot
   26  program.—The Department of Health shall establish a pilot
   27  program to educate the public about the threat of acquired
   28  immune deficiency syndrome.
   29         (4) The department shall establish a sterile needle and
   30  syringe exchange pilot program in Miami-Dade County. The pilot
   31  program shall be administered by the department or the
   32  department’s designee. The department is authorized to designate
   33  one of the following entities to operate the pilot program at a
   34  fixed location or through a mobile health unit: a hospital
   35  licensed under chapter 395, a health care clinic licensed under
   36  part X of chapter 400, a substance abuse treatment program, an
   37  HIV or AIDS service organization, or another nonprofit entity
   38  designated by the department. The pilot program shall offer the
   39  free exchange of clean unused needles and hypodermic syringes
   40  for used needles and hypodermic syringes as a means to prevent
   41  the transmission of HIV, AIDS, viral hepatitis, or other blood
   42  borne diseases among intravenous drug users and their sexual
   43  partners and offspring.
   44         (a) The pilot program shall:
   45         1. Provide for maximum security of exchange sites and
   46  equipment, including an accounting of the number of needles and
   47  syringes in use, the number of needles and syringes in storage,
   48  safe disposal of returned needles, and any other measure that
   49  may be required to control the use and dispersal of sterile
   50  needles and syringes.
   51         2. Strive for a one-to-one exchange, whereby the
   52  participant shall receive one sterile needle and syringe unit in
   53  exchange for each used one.
   54         3. Make available educational materials; HIV counseling and
   55  testing; referral services to provide education regarding HIV,
   56  AIDS, and viral hepatitis transmission; and drug use prevention
   57  and treatment.
   58         (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
   59  possession, distribution, or exchange of needles or syringes as
   60  part of a needle and syringe exchange pilot program established
   61  by the department or the department’s designee is not a
   62  violation of any part of chapter 893 or any other law.
   63         (c) A needle and syringe exchange pilot program staff
   64  member, volunteer, or participant is not immune from criminal
   65  prosecution for:
   66         1. The possession of needles or syringes that are not a
   67  part of the exchange pilot program; or
   68         2. Redistribution of needles or syringes in any form, if
   69  acting outside the pilot program.
   70         (d) The pilot program shall collect data for annual and
   71  final reporting purposes, which shall include information on the
   72  number of participants served, the number of needles and
   73  syringes exchanged and distributed, the demographic profiles of
   74  the participants served, the number of participants entering
   75  drug counseling and treatment, the number of participants
   76  receiving HIV, AIDS, or viral hepatitis testing, and other data
   77  deemed necessary for the pilot program. However, no personal
   78  identifying information may be collected from a participant for
   79  any purpose.
   80         (e) State funds may not be used to operate the pilot
   81  program. The pilot program shall be funded through grants and
   82  donations from private resources and funds.
   83         (f) The pilot program shall expire July 1, 2018. Six months
   84  before the pilot program expires, the Office of Program Policy
   85  Analysis and Government Accountability shall submit a report to
   86  the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
   87  Representatives that includes the data collection requirements
   88  established in this subsection; the rates of HIV, AIDS, viral
   89  hepatitis, or other blood-borne diseases before the pilot
   90  program began and every subsequent year thereafter; and a
   91  recommendation on whether to continue the pilot program.
   92         (g) The department has the authority to adopt and develop
   93  rules to implement the provisions of this subsection.
   94         Section 2. If any provision of this act or its application
   95  to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity
   96  does not affect other provisions or applications of the act that
   97  can be given effect without the invalid provision or
   98  application, and to this end the provisions of this act are
   99  severable.
  100         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.