Florida Senate - 2019 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 366
Ì783258FÎ783258
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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The Committee on Health Policy (Braynon) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Infectious Disease
6 Elimination Act (IDEA).”
7 Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 381.0038, Florida
8 Statutes, is amended to read:
9 381.0038 Education; sterile needle and syringe exchange
10 programs pilot program.—The Department of Health shall establish
11 a program to educate the public about the threat of acquired
12 immune deficiency syndrome.
13 (4) A county commission The University of Miami and its
14 affiliates may authorize establish a single sterile needle and
15 syringe exchange pilot program to operate within its county
16 boundaries in Miami-Dade County. The pilot program may operate
17 at one or more fixed locations a fixed location or through a
18 mobile health units unit. The pilot program shall offer the free
19 exchange of clean, unused needles and hypodermic syringes for
20 used needles and hypodermic syringes as a means to prevent the
21 transmission of HIV, AIDS, viral hepatitis, or other blood-borne
22 diseases among intravenous drug users and their sexual partners
23 and offspring. Prevention of disease transmission must be the
24 goal of the program. For the purposes of this subsection, the
25 term “exchange program” means a sterile needle and syringe
26 exchange program established by a county commission under this
27 subsection. A sterile needle and syringe exchange program may
28 not operate unless it is authorized and approved by a county
29 commission in accordance with this subsection.
30 (a) Before an exchange program may be established, a county
31 commission must:
32 1. Authorize the program under the provisions of a county
33 ordinance;
34 2. Enter into a letter of agreement with the department in
35 which the county commission agrees that any exchange program
36 authorized by the county commission will operate in accordance
37 with this subsection;
38 3. Enlist the local county health department to provide
39 ongoing advice, consultation, and recommendations for the
40 operation of the program;
41 4. Contract with one of the following entities to operate
42 the program:
43 a. A hospital licensed under chapter 395.
44 b. A health care clinic licensed under part X of chapter
45 400.
46 c. An accredited medical school associated with a
47 university in this state.
48 d. A licensed addictions receiving facility as defined in
49 s. 397.311.
50 e. A 501(c)(3) HIV/AIDS service organization.
51 (b)(a) An exchange The pilot program must:
52 1. Develop an oversight and accountability system to ensure
53 the program’s compliance with statutory and contractual
54 requirements. The system must include measurable objectives for
55 meeting the goal of the program and must track the progress in
56 achieving those objectives. The system must require the program
57 operator to routinely report its progress in achieving the
58 objectives and the goal of the program. The system must also
59 incorporate mechanisms to track the program operator’s
60 compliance or noncompliance with contractual obligations and to
61 apply consequences for noncompliance. The program must receive
62 the county commission’s approval of the oversight and
63 accountability system before commencing operations.
64 2.1. Provide for maximum security of exchange sites where
65 needles and syringes are exchanged and of any equipment used
66 under the program, including, at a minimum, an accounting of the
67 number of needles and syringes in use, the number of needles and
68 syringes in storage, safe disposal of returned needles, and any
69 other measure that may be required to control the use and
70 dispersal of sterile needles and syringes.
71 32. Operate a one-to-one exchange, whereby a the
72 participant shall receive one sterile needle and syringe unit in
73 exchange for each used one. The county commission is authorized
74 to grant a waiver of this requirement under its contract with
75 the program operator if the terms of such a waiver require the
76 operator to maintain the one-to-one ratio except for exigent
77 circumstances delineated in the waiver.
78 43. Make available educational materials and referrals to
79 education regarding the transmission of HIV, viral hepatitis,
80 and other blood-borne diseases. The program operator must offer
81 such materials to program participants whenever needles or
82 syringes are exchanged; provide referrals for drug abuse
83 prevention and treatment; and provide or refer for HIV and viral
84 hepatitis screening.
85 5. Provide onsite counseling or referrals for drug abuse
86 prevention, education, and treatment, and provide onsite HIV and
87 viral hepatitis screening or referrals for such screening. If
88 such services are offered solely by referral, they must be made
89 available to participants within 72 hours. The county commission
90 in a rural county may, under its contract with the program
91 operator, adjust the 72-hour requirement if the commission finds
92 that the availability of providers warrants an extended
93 timeframe.
94 6. Provide kits containing an emergency opioid antagonist,
95 as defined in s. 381.887, or provide referrals to a program that
96 can provide such kits.
97 7. Collect data for annual reporting purposes. The data
98 must include the number of participants served; the number of
99 used needles and syringes received and the number of clean,
100 unused needles and syringes distributed through exchange with
101 participants; the demographic profiles of the participants
102 served; the number of participants entering drug counseling or
103 treatment; the number of participants receiving testing for HIV,
104 AIDS, viral hepatitis, or other blood-borne diseases; and other
105 data that may be required under department rule. However, a
106 participant’s personal identifying information may not be
107 collected for any purpose. Each exchange program must submit a
108 report to its county commission and to the department by August
109 1 annually. The department must submit a compilation report
110 encompassing data from all exchange programs annually by October
111 1 to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker
112 of the House of Representatives. The department may adopt rules
113 to implement this subparagraph.
114 (c)(b) The possession, distribution, or exchange of needles
115 or syringes as part of an exchange the pilot program established
116 under this subsection is not a violation of any part of chapter
117 893 or any other law.
118 (d)(c) An exchange A pilot program staff member, volunteer,
119 or participant is not immune from criminal prosecution for:
120 1. The possession of needles or syringes that are not a
121 part of the exchange pilot program; or
122 2. The redistribution of needles or syringes in any form,
123 if acting outside the exchange pilot program.
124 (d) The pilot program must collect data for quarterly,
125 annual, and final reporting purposes. The annual report must
126 include information on the number of participants served, the
127 number of needles and syringes exchanged and distributed, the
128 demographic profiles of the participants served, the number of
129 participants entering drug counseling and treatment; the number
130 of participants receiving testing for HIV, AIDS, viral
131 hepatitis, or other blood-borne diseases; and other data
132 necessary for the pilot program. However, personal identifying
133 information may not be collected from a participant for any
134 purpose. Quarterly reports must be submitted to the Department
135 of Health in Miami-Dade County by October 15, January 15, April
136 15, and July 15 of each year. An annual report must be submitted
137 to the Department of Health by August 1 every year until the
138 program expires. A final report is due on August 1, 2021, to the
139 Department of Health and must describe the performance and
140 outcomes of the pilot program and include a summary of the
141 information in the annual reports for all pilot program years.
142 (e) A law enforcement officer acting in good faith who
143 arrests or charges a person who is thereafter determined to be
144 immune from prosecution under this section shall be immune from
145 civil liability that might otherwise be incurred or imposed by
146 reason of the officer’s actions.
147 (f)(e) State, county, or municipal funds may not be used to
148 operate an exchange the pilot program. Exchange programs may The
149 pilot program shall be funded fully or partially through county
150 commission expenditures or through grants and donations from
151 private resources and funds.
152 (f) The pilot program shall expire July 1, 2021.
153 Section 3. Notwithstanding s. 381.0038(4), Florida
154 Statutes, as amended by this act, the pilot program established
155 in Miami-Dade County under chapter 2016-68, Laws of Florida, may
156 continue to operate under that chapter until the Miami-Dade
157 County Board of County Commissioners establishes an exchange
158 program as defined under this act or until July 1, 2021,
159 whichever occurs first.
160 Section 4. If any provision of this act or its application
161 to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity
162 does not affect other provisions or applications of the act
163 which can be given effect without the invalid provision or
164 application, and to this end the provisions of this act are
165 severable.
166 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.
167
168 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
169 And the title is amended as follows:
170 Delete everything before the enacting clause
171 and insert:
172 A bill to be entitled
173 An act relating to infectious disease elimination
174 programs; providing a short title; amending s.
175 381.0038, F.S.; providing that a county commission may
176 authorize a sterile needle and syringe exchange
177 program; defining the term “exchange program”;
178 prohibiting the establishment of an exchange program
179 under certain conditions; providing requirements for
180 establishing an exchange program; specifying entities
181 that may operate an exchange program; requiring the
182 development of an oversight and accountability system
183 for certain purposes; specifying requirements for
184 exchange programs; requiring the collection of data
185 and submission of reports; authorizing the Department
186 of Health to adopt certain rules; providing for
187 immunity from civil liability under certain
188 circumstances; authorizing sources of funding for
189 exchange programs; authorizing the continuation of a
190 specified pilot project under certain circumstances;
191 providing severability; providing an effective date.