The Florida Senate

400.962  License required; license application.--

(1)  It is unlawful to operate an intermediate care facility for the developmentally disabled without a license.

(2)  Separate licenses are required for facilities maintained on separate premises even if operated under the same management. However, a separate license is not required for separate buildings on the same grounds.

(3)  The basic license fee collected shall be deposited in the Health Care Trust Fund, established for carrying out the purposes of this chapter.

(4)  The license must be conspicuously displayed inside the facility.

(5)  A license is valid only in the hands of the individual, firm, partnership, association, or corporation to whom it is issued. A license is not valid for any premises other than those for which it was originally issued and may not be sold, assigned, or otherwise transferred, voluntarily or involuntarily.

(6)  An application for a license shall be made to the agency on forms furnished by it and must be accompanied by the appropriate license fee.

(7)  The application must be under oath and must contain the following:

(a)  The name, address, and social security number of the applicant if an individual; if the applicant is a firm, partnership, or association, its name, address, and employer identification number (EIN), and the name and address of every member; if the applicant is a corporation, its name, address, and employer identification number (EIN), and the name and address of its director and officers and of each person having at least a 5 percent interest in the corporation; and the name by which the facility is to be known.

(b)  The name of any person whose name is required on the application under paragraph (a) and who owns at least a 10 percent interest in any professional service, firm, association, partnership, or corporation providing goods, leases, or services to the facility for which the application is made, and the name and address of the professional service, firm, association, partnership, or corporation in which such interest is held.

(c)  The location of the facility for which a license is sought and an indication that such location conforms to the local zoning ordinances.

(d)  The name of the persons under whose management or supervision the facility will be operated.

(e)  The total number of beds.

(8)  The applicant must demonstrate that sufficient numbers of staff, qualified by training or experience, will be employed to properly care for the type and number of residents who will reside in the facility.

(9)  The applicant must submit evidence that establishes the good moral character of the applicant, manager, supervisor, and administrator. An applicant who is an individual or a member of a board of directors or officer of an applicant that is a firm, partnership, association, or corporation must not have been convicted, or found guilty, regardless of adjudication, of a crime in any jurisdiction which affects or may potentially affect residents in the facility.

(10)(a)  Upon receipt of a completed, signed, and dated application, the agency shall require background screening of the applicant, in accordance with the level 2 standards for screening set forth in chapter 435. As used in this subsection, the term "applicant" means the facility administrator, or similarly titled individual who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the licensed facility, and the facility financial officer, or similarly titled individual who is responsible for the financial operation of the licensed facility.

(b)  The agency may require background screening for a member of the board of directors of the licensee or an officer or an individual owning 5 percent or more of the licensee if the agency has probable cause to believe that such individual has been convicted of an offense prohibited under the level 2 standards for screening set forth in chapter 435.

(c)  Proof of compliance with the level 2 background screening requirements of chapter 435 which has been submitted within the previous 5 years in compliance with any other licensure requirements under this chapter satisfies the requirements of paragraph (a). Proof of compliance with background screening which has been submitted within the previous 5 years to fulfill the requirements of the Financial Services Commission and the Office of Insurance Regulation under chapter 651 as part of an application for a certificate of authority to operate a continuing care retirement community satisfies the requirements for the Department of Law Enforcement and Federal Bureau of Investigation background checks.

(d)  A provisional license may be granted to an applicant when each individual required by this section to undergo background screening has met the standards for the Department of Law Enforcement background check, but the agency has not yet received background screening results from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or a request for a disqualification exemption has been submitted to the agency as set forth in chapter 435, but a response has not yet been issued. A license may be granted to the applicant upon the agency's receipt of a report of the results of the Federal Bureau of Investigation background screening for each individual required by this section to undergo background screening which confirms that all standards have been met, or upon the granting of a disqualification exemption by the agency as set forth in chapter 435. Any other person who is required to undergo level 2 background screening may serve in his or her capacity pending the agency's receipt of the report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; however, the person may not continue to serve if the report indicates any violation of background screening standards and a disqualification exemption has not been granted by the agency as set forth in chapter 435.

(e)  Each applicant must submit to the agency, with its application, a description and explanation of any exclusions, permanent suspensions, or terminations of the applicant from the Medicare or Medicaid programs. Proof of compliance with disclosure of ownership and control interest requirements of the Medicaid or Medicare programs shall be accepted in lieu of this submission.

(f)  Each applicant must submit to the agency a description and explanation of any conviction of an offense prohibited under the level 2 standards of chapter 435 by a member of the board of directors of the applicant, its officers, or any individual owning 5 percent or more of the applicant. This requirement does not apply to a director of a not-for-profit corporation or organization if the director serves solely in a voluntary capacity for the corporation or organization, does not regularly take part in the day-to-day operational decisions of the corporation or organization, receives no remuneration for his or her services on the corporation's or organization's board of directors, and has no financial interest and has no family members with a financial interest in the corporation or organization, provided that the director and the not-for-profit corporation or organization include in the application a statement affirming that the director's relationship to the corporation satisfies the requirements of this paragraph.

(g)  An application for license renewal must contain the information required under paragraphs (e) and (f).

(11)  The applicant must furnish satisfactory proof of financial ability to operate and conduct the facility in accordance with the requirements of this part and all rules adopted under this part, and the agency shall establish standards for this purpose.

History.--s. 9, ch. 99-144; s. 92, ch. 2000-349; s. 8, ch. 2000-350; s. 59, ch. 2001-45; s. 421, ch. 2003-261.