Florida Senate - 2016 CS for CS for SB 242
By the Committees on Fiscal Policy; and Health Policy; and
Senators Braynon and Flores
594-01809-16 2016242c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to an infectious disease elimination
3 pilot program; creating the “Miami-Dade Infectious
4 Disease Elimination Act (IDEA)”; amending s. 381.0038,
5 F.S.; authorizing the University of Miami and its
6 affiliates to establish a sterile needle and syringe
7 exchange pilot program in Miami-Dade County;
8 establishing the pilot program criteria; providing
9 that the possession, distribution, or exchange of
10 needles and syringes under the pilot program is not a
11 violation of the Florida Comprehensive Drug Abuse
12 Prevention and Control Act or any other law; providing
13 conditions under which a pilot program staff member,
14 volunteer, or participant may be prosecuted; requiring
15 the pilot program to collect certain data for
16 reporting purposes; prohibiting the collection of
17 personal identifying information from program
18 participants; requiring the university and its
19 affiliates to submit annual reports to the Department
20 of Health; requiring the university and its affiliates
21 to submit a final report containing certain
22 information and summaries to the department;
23 prohibiting state, county, or municipal funds from
24 being used to operate the pilot program; requiring the
25 pilot program to be funded through private grants and
26 donations; providing for expiration of the pilot
27 program; providing for severability; providing an
28 effective date.
29
30 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
31
32 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Miami-Dade
33 Infectious Disease Elimination Act (IDEA).”
34 Section 2. Section 381.0038, Florida Statutes, is amended
35 to read:
36 381.0038 Education; sterile needle and syringe exchange
37 pilot program.—The Department of Health shall establish a
38 program to educate the public about the threat of acquired
39 immune deficiency syndrome.
40 (1) The acquired immune deficiency syndrome education
41 program shall:
42 (a) Be designed to reach all segments of Florida’s
43 population;
44 (b) Contain special components designed to reach non
45 English-speaking and other minority groups within the state;
46 (c) Impart knowledge to the public about methods of
47 transmission of acquired immune deficiency syndrome and methods
48 of prevention;
49 (d) Educate the public about transmission risks in social,
50 employment, and educational situations;
51 (e) Educate health care workers and health facility
52 employees about methods of transmission and prevention in their
53 unique workplace environments;
54 (f) Contain special components designed to reach persons
55 who may frequently engage in behaviors placing them at a high
56 risk for acquiring acquired immune deficiency syndrome;
57 (g) Provide information and consultation to state agencies
58 to educate all state employees; and
59 (h) Provide information and consultation to state and local
60 agencies to educate law enforcement and correctional personnel
61 and inmates;.
62 (i) Provide information and consultation to local
63 governments to educate local government employees;.
64 (j) Make information available to private employers and
65 encourage them to distribute this information to their
66 employees;.
67 (k) Contain special components which emphasize appropriate
68 behavior and attitude change; and.
69 (l) Contain components that include information about
70 domestic violence and the risk factors associated with domestic
71 violence and AIDS.
72 (2) The education program designed by the Department of
73 Health shall use utilize all forms of the media and shall place
74 emphasis on the design of educational materials that can be used
75 by businesses, schools, and health care providers in the regular
76 course of their business.
77 (3) The department may contract with other persons in the
78 design, development, and distribution of the components of the
79 education program.
80 (4) The University of Miami and its affiliates may
81 establish a single sterile needle and syringe exchange pilot
82 program in Miami-Dade County. The pilot program may operate at a
83 fixed location or through a mobile health unit. The pilot
84 program shall offer the free exchange of clean, unused needles
85 and hypodermic syringes for used needles and hypodermic syringes
86 as a means to prevent the transmission of HIV, AIDS, viral
87 hepatitis, or other blood-borne diseases among intravenous drug
88 users and their sexual partners and offspring.
89 (a) The pilot program must:
90 1. Provide for maximum security of exchange sites and
91 equipment, including an accounting of the number of needles and
92 syringes in use, the number of needles and syringes in storage,
93 safe disposal of returned needles, and any other measure that
94 may be required to control the use and dispersal of sterile
95 needles and syringes.
96 2. Operate a one-to-one exchange, whereby the participant
97 shall receive one sterile needle and syringe unit in exchange
98 for each used one.
99 3. Make available educational materials; HIV, AIDS, and
100 viral hepatitis counseling and testing; referral services to
101 provide education regarding the transmission of HIV, AIDS, viral
102 hepatitis, and other blood-borne diseases; and drug abuse
103 prevention and treatment counseling and referral services.
104 (b) The possession, distribution, or exchange of needles or
105 syringes as part of the pilot program established under this
106 subsection is not a violation of any part of chapter 893 or any
107 other law.
108 (c) A pilot program staff member, volunteer, or participant
109 is not immune from criminal prosecution for:
110 1. The possession of needles or syringes that are not a
111 part of the pilot program; or
112 2. The redistribution of needles or syringes in any form,
113 if acting outside the pilot program.
114 (d) The pilot program must collect data for annual and
115 final reporting purposes. The annual report must include
116 information on the number of participants served, the number of
117 needles and syringes exchanged and distributed, the demographic
118 profiles of the participants served, the number of participants
119 entering drug counseling and treatment, the number of
120 participants receiving testing for HIV, AIDS, viral hepatitis,
121 or other blood-borne diseases, and other data necessary for the
122 pilot program. However, personal identifying information may not
123 be collected from a participant for any purpose. An annual
124 report must be submitted to the Department of Health by July 1
125 every year until the program expires. A final report is due on
126 August 1, 2021, to the Department of Health and must describe
127 the performance and outcomes of the pilot program and include a
128 summary of the information in the annual reports for all pilot
129 program years.
130 (e) State, county, or municipal funds may not be used to
131 operate the pilot program. The pilot program shall be funded
132 through grants and donations from private resources and funds.
133 (f) The pilot program shall expire July 1, 2021.
134 Section 3. If any provision of this act or its application
135 to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity
136 does not affect other provisions or applications of the act
137 which can be given effect without the invalid provision or
138 application, and to this end the provisions of this act are
139 severable.
140 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.