Both chambers have passed their proposed 2016-2017 state budgets. The $79.9 billion House plan is $989 million less than the $80.9 billion Senate plan, and both are larger than the $79.3 billion plan proposed in November by Governor Scott.

CS/CS/CS/CS/HB 11 creates three "Project Leo" pilot projects, with the first serving Alachua, Baker, Columbia, Hamilton, and Suwanee Counties, the second serving Palm Beach County, and the third serving Hillsborough County. 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), the second project will be developed and administered by CARD at the Florida Atlantic University (CARD FAU), and the third project will be developed and administered by CARD at the University of South Florida (CARD USF).

 

The bill directs CARD UF, CARD FAU, and CARD USF 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, CARD FAU, or CARD USF. Each center's criteria must, at a minimum, consider the individual's risk of elopement.

 

LAST ACTION:  2/17/16  HOUSE  Favorable with CS by Appropriations Committee.

CS/SB 12 is a comprehensive bill that was substantially amended this week.  Among many others, the bill provides for mental health services for children, parents, and others seeking custody of children involved in dependency court proceedings.  It also creates a coordinated system of care to be provided either by a community or a region for those suffering from mental illness or substance use disorder through a "No Wrong Door" system of single access points.

 

LAST ACTION: 2/18/16  SENATE   Favorable with CS by Appropriations.

SB 110 provides that clergy, churches and religious organizations, and their employees may not be required to solemnize a marriage or provide certain services or accommodations for a marriage if the action would cause them to violate a sincerely held religious belief.

 

LAST ACTION: 2/17/16 SENATE Favorable by Rules.

Direct primary care is a primary care medical practice model that eliminates third party payers from the primary care provider-patient relationship.  Through a contractual agreement, a patient pays a monthly fee, usually between $50 and $100 per individual, to the primary care provider for defined primary care services, which may include:

CS/CS/HB 139 requires the Department of Health (DOH) to develop and implement a dental care access account initiative to benefit dentists employed by a public health program or committed to opening a private practice capable of serving at least 1,200 patients in a "dental health professional shortage area" or medically underserved area.

The bill requires DOH to implement an electronic benefits transfer system enabling selected dentists to spend awarded funds on:

 

LAST ACTION: 2/17/16  HOUSE  Favorable by Health and Human Services Committee.

Access to quality retail grocers in Florida is strongly linked to a variety of diet-related health outcomes. Individuals living in places more than a half-mile from the nearest full-service grocer and who lack access to a vehicle are more likely to die prematurely from diabetes, diet-related cancers, stroke, and liver disease than individuals living where grocers are closer and vehicles are more available. The American Heart Association reports that low income areas have more convenience stores than supermarkets, thus limiting healthy options in those areas, and that 2.5 million Floridians live in areas where fresh food is not readily available.

CS/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 under-served 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: 2/18/16  HOUSE  Favorable with CS by State Affairs Committee.

SB 356 removes prejudice based on mental or physical disability as a factor for reclassifying a criminal offense or having a civil cause of action under Florida's hate crimes statute.  The bill reclassifies the felony or misdemeanor degree of an offense if the commission of the offense evidences prejudice based on any of 10 specified characteristics of the victim, including mental or physical disability.  It also provides that a person or organization that is coerced, intimidated, or threatened in violation of the statute has a civil cause of action.

 

The bill also creates "Carl's Law," establishing a separate hate crime statute specifically for crimes evidencing prejudice based on mental or physical disability.

 

According to the Florida Attorney General's Office, in 2014 (the latest year for which data is reported), there were two reported hate crimes in Florida motivated by the victim's mental disability (2.7% of reported hate crimes).  No hate crimes were reported under the physical disability category.

 

LAST ACTION: 2/17/16  SENATE  Favorable by Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice.

 

The bill also provides that the civil citation law, s. 985.12, F.S., does not modify the authority of a law enforcement officer to issue only a simple warning to the juvenile or to notice the juvenile's guardian or parent of the alleged offense.

 

LAST ACTION:  2/16/16 SENATE  Favorable with CS by Criminal Justice.

SB 556 establishes the Florida Commission on Poverty (Commission), assigned to the Department of Economic Opportunity, to serve as an advisory board to the Governor and Cabinet, the Legislature, and appropriate state agencies and entities on matters relating to poverty.  The Commission must conduct a study and develop strategies to address the causes of poverty in Florida, and may procure information and assistance, contract for necessary goods and services, and apply for and accept funds, grants, gifts, and services.

 

The bill provides for appointment of five voting members and any number of non-voting members to the commission, requires the voting members to be confirmed by the Senate, and provides that members serve 4-year terms. Commission members serve without compensation, but voting members are entitled to reimbursement for per diem and travel expenses.

 

The Commission must submit an annual report to the Governor, President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.  The report must contain an accounting of the Commission's activities, and any recommendations by the Commission for legislative, administrative, or regulatory reforms for the purpose of mitigating poverty in Florida.

 

LAST ACTION: 2/16/16  SENATE  Favorable by Commerce and Tourism.

The scope of services that dental hygienists can perform without supervision of a dentist was expanded in 2011.   However, the legislation did not specifically permit health care facilities for which the hygienists work to bill Medicaid for those expanded services unless they are performed under the general supervision of a dentist.

 

CS/SB 580 authorizes the Agency for Health Care Administration to reimburse health care facilities under the Medicaid program for remedial dental services (remedial tasks) delivered by a dental hygienist when provided to a Medicaid recipient younger than 21 years of age.  Remedial tasks are defined as intra-oral tasks that do not create unalterable changes in the mouth or contiguous structures, are reversible, and do not expose the patient to increased risks.

 

LAST ACTION: 2/18/16  SENATE  Favorable by Appropriations.

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

CS/SB 670 extends sovereign immunity protections to any physician licensed in this state, who is a medical director for, or a member of, a child protection team, when carrying out duties as a team member.  This is accomplished by adding those physicians to the definition of who is an "officer, employee, or agent" in the sovereign immunity statute.

 

A child protection team is a group of professionals who receive referrals, primarily from child protective investigators and law enforcement officers, alleging child abuse, abandonment, or neglect.  The medically directed team evaluates the allegations and also provides recommendations for child safety and support services.

 

LAST ACTION: 2/16/16  SENATE  Favorable by Judiciary.

Currently, undocumented immigrants are not legally eligible to receive TANF benefits and a family's cash-assistance stipend is pro-rated, so it does not cover the undocumented member.

 

CS/SB 750 would require income of undocumented immigrant family members to be included in the calculation of Temporary Cash Assistance Program benefits.  This would allow the department to consider the total family income regardless of whether one parent is a non-citizen.

 

Including the income from undocumented family members would reduce benefits for more than 700 families - and save taxpayers - about $240,000.

 

LAST ACTION:  2/17/16 SENATE  Favorable with CS by Children, Families, and Elder Affairs.

CS/SB 700 addresses inconsistencies between two sections of statute relating to confidential information of juveniles and dissemination of criminal history information by, among others:

CS/SB 784 addresses human trafficking and offenses that are often associated with human trafficking by, 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: 2/18/16 HOUSE  Passed.

The John M. McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program (McKay Scholarship Program) provides scholarships for eligible students with disabilities to attend an eligible public or private school of their choice. Currently, a McKay Scholarship student must have direct contact with his or her private school teacher at the school's physical location in order to maintain eligibility.

 

CS/HB 837 authorizes a private school to establish a transition-to-work program for students participating in the McKay Scholarship Program, which will allow students to earn credits while working off-site.

 

A student enrolled in a transition-to-work program must receive 15 hours of academic instruction and work skills training at a private school. The student must also participate in 10 hours of work at the student's work experience program.  Consequently, the student does not need to have regular and direct contact with the teacher at the private school's physical location.

 

To participate in a transition-to work-program, a business must maintain and provide accurate records of the student's performance and hours worked and comply with all state and federal child labor laws.

 

LAST ACTION: 2/17/16 HOUSE  Passed.

SB 994 removes dental services as a required benefit from the Medicaid Managed Assistance (MMA) component of the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care (SMMC) program, effective March 1, 2019. The bill requires the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) to provide the Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives by December 1, 2016, a comprehensive report that examines how effective managed care plans within MMA have been in improving access, satisfaction, delivery, and value in dental services.  The report must also examine historical trends in costs, utilization, and rates by plan and in the aggregate.

 

The Legislature may use the report to determine the scope of dental benefits in the Medicaid program in future managed care procurements and whether to provide dental benefits separate from medical benefits.  If the Legislature takes no action before July 1, 2017, AHCA is directed to implement a statewide competitive procurement for a separate dental program for children and adults with a choice of at least two vendors.  Such dental care contracts must be for five years, be non-renewable, and include a medical loss ratio provision consistent with the requirement for health plans in the SMMC program.

 

LAST ACTION:  2/18/16  SENATE  Favorable by Appropriations.

According to the 2015 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, Florida has the third highest number of persons who are homeless in the United States and a high percentage of unsheltered homelessness, meaning individuals who are homeless who stay in places not meant for human habitation.

 

There are a number of government programs and public-private partnerships that seek to provide affordable housing and reduce homelessness. The State Office on Homelessness (SOH) within the Department of Children and Families serves as the central point of contact within state government for homelessness.

 

CS/CS/HB 1235 provides greater flexibility and increases accountability for programs receiving public funds to address homelessness.  Among others, the bill: