Since 2010, 16 children and 17 senior citizens have died from vehicular heat stroke in Florida after being left unattended in motor vehicles.  Nationally, Florida ranks second only behind Texas for the number of child vehicular heat stroke fatalities in the United States.

 

A "good samaritan" that enters a motor vehicle in such emergency situations for the purpose of removing a vulnerable person or domestic animal is immune from civil liability for damages arising out of any care or treatment rendered.  However, under current law, the good samaritan may be civilly liable for entering or damaging the motor vehicle.

 

CS/CS/HB 131 provides immunity from civil liability for entering or damaging a motor vehicle to remove a vulnerable person or domestic animal under certain circumstances. The bill defines a "vulnerable person" as a minor or vulnerable adult.

 

LAST ACTION:  2/2/16 Enrolled.

 

CS/CS/HB 153 establishes the Healthy Food Financing Initiative Pilot Program to provide financial assistance for development or expansion of grocery retail outlets that operate in underserved communities or low income or moderate income communities.  The bill requires a poverty rate of 25 percent as one of the criteria for participation.

 

LAST ACTION: 2/10/16 Favorable with CS by Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee.

The Department of Children and Families (DCF) implements child welfare services aimed at preventing abandonment, abuse, and neglect of children through community organizations known as lead agencies. DCF is required to administer a system of care that prevents the separation of children from their families and provides interventions to allow children to remain safely in their own homes. However, when it is determined that in-home services are not enough to allow a child to safely remain in his or her home, the child is removed from his or her home and placed with a safe and appropriate temporary out-of-home placement.

CS/HB 599 is a comprehensive 40-page bill that, among others:

Current law establishes minimum time requirements for physical education instruction in public schools.  However, there are no similar provisions related to school recess, which some organizations consider to be an integral component of a child's physical, social, and academic development.

 

HB 833 requires each district school board to provide 100 minutes of supervised, safe, and unstructured free-play recess each week for students in kindergarten through grade 5 and for students in grade 6 who are enrolled in a school that contains one or more elementary grades.  The recess must be provided for at least 20 consecutive minutes each day and may not be withheld for academic or punitive reasons.

 

LAST ACTION:  2/9/16  HOUSE  Favorable by Education Committee.

The rate of 3rd grade students performing below grade level in reading has consistently exceeded 40 percent over the past several years. SB 1068 attempts to address this situation, but on Thursday the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education temporarily postponed it. The bill expands public school reading requirements relating to interventions and instructional supports, teacher certification and training, and school improvement and accountability.  Among others, the bill:

Clear, accurate information about the cost and quality of health care is necessary for consumers to select value-based health care.  CS/HB 1175 is intended to ensure greater consumer access to health care price and quality information by requiring certain heath care providers, insurers and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) to provide that information to patients.  Among many others, the bill:

 

In a Pay for Success model, government contracts with an intermediary to obtain social services.  The intermediary then obtains a financial backer and service provider(s).  If a service does not meet predetermined outcomes set by the state, the government pays nothing, and an ineffective program is discontinued.  If the service does achieve its outcomes, the financial backer receives its investment back plus interest (usually at about 10 percent), and the state has a proven program for which it can then provide funding.

 

Fourteen states have introduced and/or passed Pay for Success legislation: California, Colorado, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Washington.

 

LAST ACTION:  2/11/16  SENATE  Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government.

More than 200,000 children birth to age 5 from low income families receive subsidized child care through Florida's School Readiness program.  The majority of funds - more than $273 million - used to pay for the program come from the federal government through the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG).  The CCDBG was reauthorized last year and in order to keep receiving the funds, Florida law must be revised to reflect changes required by the new CCDBG.

 

CS/HB 7053 implements the required changes.  Among others, it:

Elopement, which means leaving an area without supervision or caregiver permission, is prevalent among persons with certain special needs and may expose them to dangerous situations.  Individuals with Alzheimer's disease or autism are two populations at higher risk to elope.

 

CS/CS/CS/HB 11 creates two "Project Leo" pilot projects, one in Alachua, Baker, Columbia, Hamilton, and Suwannee Counties and one in Broward and Palm Beach Counties.  Each pilot project must provide personal devices to aid in search-and-rescue efforts for persons with special needs in cases of elopement.

The first project will be developed and administered by the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities at the University of Florida (CARD UF) and the second project will be developed and administered by CARD at the Florida Atlantic University (CARD FAU)

 

The bill directs CARD UF and CARD FAU to select participants on a first-come, first-serve basis to receive a personal device to aid in search-and-rescue efforts.  Participants will be selected based on criteria developed by CARD UF or CARD FAU.  Each center's criteria must, at a minimum, consider the individual's risk of elopement.  The number of participants shall be determined based on available funding within the each center's existing resources.  The respective county sheriff's office will distribute the devices to the project participants.

 

LAST ACTION:  2/10/16  HOUSE Favorable with CS by Judiciary Committee.

To address mental health issues in the criminal justice system, Florida has multiple programs, some of which operate on a statewide basis, such as state-administered forensic and civil mental health programs.  Others are only available in certain counties or circuits, such as mental health courts and veterans' courts. CS/CS/CS/HB 439 amends statutes governing these programs by, among others:

SB 268 requires periodic revision of a school district's anti-bullying and harassment policy, modifies the information that must be contained in the policy, and requires schools to implement the policy. Among others, the bill adds the requirements that each:

CS/SB 784 addresses human trafficking and offenses that are often associated with human trafficking by, among others:

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has chronicled efforts, beginning as early as the 1970s, to deal with workforce issues regarding mental and substance use disorders, but notes that most have not been sustained long enough or been comprehensive enough to remedy the problems.  Shortages of qualified workers, recruitment and retention of staff, and an aging workforce have long been cited as problems.

 

CS/SB 1250 expands the behavioral health workforce, recognizes that the need for additional psychiatrists is of critical state concern, integrates primary care and psychiatry, and allows persons with disqualifying offenses that occurred five or more years ago to work under the supervision of certain qualified personnel until a final determination regarding the request for an exemption from disqualification is made.

 

LAST ACTION: 2/10/16  SENATE  Favorable with CS by Children, Families, and Elder Affairs.

On any given night in America, 10,000 children are held in adult jails and prisons.  These children do not receive educational and rehabilitative services that are necessary for their stage in development, are in extreme danger when in the facilities, and are often placed in isolation which can produce harmful consequences, including death.  Florida has one of the nation's highest rates of children being incarcerated in adult jails and prisons.

 

To address these issues, SB 314 substantially amends two of Florida's current methods for transferring a juvenile to adult court for criminal prosecution.  These transfer methods are indictment and direct file.  It also amends current provisions requiring the court to impose juvenile and adult sanctions upon juveniles transferred to adult court.

 

The bill amends the indictment process by limiting the state attorney's authority to convene a grand jury in cases in which the juvenile is 14 years of age or older (currently available for juveniles of any age who are charged with an offense punishable by death or life imprisonment).

 

The bill also amends the direct file transfer statute by eliminating the mandatory direct file system and modifying the discretionary direct file system to a two-tiered system based on the juvenile's age and enumerated offense.

 

In the first tier, the state attorney may direct file a juvenile who is16 years of age or older and less than 18 years at the time of the alleged offense if he or she committed a serious enumerated offense.

 

In the second tier, the state attorney may direct file a juvenile who is 14 or 15 years of age at the time of the offense if he or she committed murder, manslaughter, or sexual battery.  The bill prohibits a juvenile from being transferred to adult court by indictment or direct file if the juvenile: