• Tuesday the Senate Appropriations Committee discussed the rationale underlying its Florida Health Insurance Affordability Plan (CS/SB 7044), which addresses heath care expansion and the Low Income Pool (LIP) funding, and asked all Senators interested in participating to join the discussion and ask questions.
• During the meeting, Amy Baker, the Legislature's chief economic expert, testified that the Senate's expansion plan would result in $1.2 billion in savings over the next five years.
• At the same time the Senate Appropriations Committee was meeting, House Republicans met behind closed doors - guarded by a House aide to keep press and public out - to discuss healthcare expansion and LIP funding.
• Former Senate President Don Gaetz pointed out that although officials knew a year ago of the need to submit it, Governor Scott's health care officials only submitted an application for LIP funding on Monday (April 20). Because Florida is required to hold a 30-day public comment period and the federal government must wait another 45 days before taking action, he noted that, "Even if everything goes well, the fact that nothing has happened puts us into the next fiscal year...Is that not the consequence of a year of malpractice?"
• That same day, Governor Rick Scott released a statement requesting the Legislature pass a budget by next Friday's scheduled session end, or he will "call a Special Session to pass a continuation budget for critical services."
• Governor Scott's statement noted that, "While we are pushing the federal healthcare department to continue the LIP program for low income Floridians, it is clear that the federal government is not planning to move quickly enough to help develop the FY 15-16 budget by May 1st." Senator Gaetz's statement (above) reflected that it had taken the feds more than six months to approve the last LIP program proposal.
• Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a statement Monday backing Governor Scott's lawsuit against the feds, reported in last week's Legislative Link. He said, "Texas will support Florida in its litigation against the federal government...Medicaid expansion is wrong for Texas. Florida's approach should be determined by Floridians, not coerced by federal bureaucrats."
• Governor Scott's Agency for Health Care Administration has scheduled three, two-hour meetings in Orlando, Miami, and Tallahassee April 29, April 30, and May 1, respectively, to take public testimony on the LIP proposal.
• On Wednesday, Governor Scott called several Senate Republicans to his office and reportedly threatened their priority issues with veto if they do not support his tax cuts, and provided a list of hospitals and their profit margins.
• Senator Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, was quoted as saying, "That doesn't help any more than a lawsuit does in negotiations with CMS," referring to Scott's decision last week to threaten suit against the federal government.
• CMS also reported this week that, as it has already warned Florida and Texas, it notified Tennessee and Kansas that failing to expand Medicaid could jeopardize special funding to pay hospitals and doctors for treating the poor.

• require licensure or, if the provider is a license-exempt faith-based provider or nonpublic school, a certificate of substantial compliance with specified child care licensing standards and submission to inspections by the Department of Children and Families (DCF);
• require providers of child care and VPK to notify parents of disciplinary action and conspicuously post Class I violation citations and inspection reports that result in disciplinary action, on the premises; and
• phase-in requirements that School Readiness and VPK personnel generally must be at least 18 years of age; hold a high school diploma or equivalent credential; and be trained in first aid, CPR, and age-appropriate practices.

The Senate bill was amended to remove provisions that would have allowed school districts and charter school governing boards to permit certain four-year-old children to attend kindergarten, and to remove DCF monitoring and inspection funding so the bill can pass without a fiscal impact. It is expected the $1.2 million for DCF will be addressed when the Legislature completes next year's budget.

• requires the Statewide Medical Director for Child Protection be a physician who is board certified in pediatrics with a subspecialty certification in child abuse from the American Board of Pediatrics;
• requires each medical director to be a physician either board certified in pediatrics with a subspecialty certification in child abuse from the American Board of Pediatrics or credentialed by a third-party entity within four years from the date of employment or, if currently employed, within four years of July 1, 2015;
• requires medical personnel participating on a child protection team to successfully complete the required CPT training curriculum; and
• provides that the critical incident rapid response team must include a child protection team medical director.

The bill is on its way to the Governor's desk for his signature.

Another key child protection bill refining last year's legislation is poised to be heard by the full Senate. Read about CS/SB 7078 in Bills Heard This Week, below. 

• school districts revise anti-bullying and harassment policies every three years;
• schools implement school district anti-bullying and harassment policies; and
• school district anti-bullying and harassment policies:
• make reporting of bullying or harassment mandatory; and
• include a list of bullying prevention and intervention programs authorized by the school district to provide instruction to students, parents, teachers, school administrators, counseling staff, and school volunteers on identifying, preventing, and responding to bullying or harassment.

• clarifies the roles of state and local review committees in the CADR process and imposes specific reporting requirements to address the increased volume of cases reviewed through the CADR process and better align it with the newly-created CIRRT process;
• permits the Secretary of Department of Children and Families (DCF) to deploy CIRRTs in response to other child deaths in addition to those with verified abuse and neglect in the last 12 months;
• requires more frequent reviews and reports by the CIRRT advisory committee;
• requires a multi-agency staffing be convened for cases of alleged medical neglect, clarifying that the staffing shall be convened only if medical neglect is substantiated by the child protection team;
• permits specialty plans to continue to serve children in custody of DCF under certain conditions; and 
• implements FICW interim report recommendations by clarifying legislative intent to prioritize evidence-based and trauma-informed services.

• consult with the Florida Alliance of Information and Referral Services instead of the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) to develop the Program;
• contract with the managing entities to enter into agreements with the Florida 211 Network participants to provide services under the Program; and
• provide a report on the Program's implementation to the Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives by December 15, 2016, using data provided to DCF by the Florida 211 Network participants.

• limits program services to combat veterans and their families; and
• provides a $2,000,155 recurring General Revenue appropriation to DCF to implement the program.

• set up a payment plan if the child and the parents or guardians are unable to pay the restitution in one lump-sum payment;
• absolve the parent or guardian of any liability for restitution if, after a hearing, the court finds that the current offense is the child's first referral and the parent or guardian has made diligent and good faith efforts to prevent the child from engaging in delinquent acts, or the victim entitled to restitution is the child's parent or guardian; and
• make both of the child's parents or guardians responsible for restitution, regardless of whether one parent or guardian has sole parental responsibility.

• requires the Attorney General to develop specifications for the form and content of human trafficking public awareness signs;
• directs the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to display the signs in every rest area and welcome center in the state; and
• requires businesses such as strip clubs, airports, bus stations, truck stops and emergency rooms to display the signs near the public entrance of the establishment or in another conspicuous location clearly visible to both the public and employees of the establishment.

• requires an annual review of the continued necessity of a guardianship for young adults in extended foster care who already have a guardian advocate or guardian;
• requires development of an updated case plan for any child who may require the assistance of a guardian advocate, limited guardian, or plenary guardian;
• provides that upon a judge's finding that no less restrictive decision-making assistance will meet the child's needs;
• requires the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to complete a report and identify individuals who are willing to serve as a guardian advocate or as a plenary or limited guardian;
• provides that proceedings for appointment of a guardian advocate, plenary guardian, or limited guardian may be initiated in a separate proceeding in guardianship court within 180 days of the child's 17th birthday;
• provides that a minor who is 17 and one-half years of age and is subject to guardianship proceedings must receive all the due process rights of an adult; and
• provides that a child's parents are considered to be the child's natural guardians, unless the dependency or guardianship court determines it is not in the child's best interest or the parents' rights have been terminated.