LEGISLATIVE UPDATES ARCHIVE - 2007 APRIL MAY SUMMER May 2007 Legislative Updates End of Session May, 2007 On Friday, May 4th, after months of interim and regular legislative committee meetings, budget negotiations and political posturing, the 2007 Florida Legislature concluded its work in Tallahassee and adjourned Sine Die. A few days later, legislative leaders announced that they will be back in Tallahassee for a Special Session beginning June 12th thru June 22 to reduce property taxes and provide meaningful and responsible relief for Florida home owners. Each regular legislative session, thousands of bills are introduced for consideration but only a small percentage of those actually make their way to the Governor’s desk for final approval. This year is no exception; of the 2538 bills introduced, only 345 passed both chambers of the Florida Legislature and have been ordered enrolled. Most of the bills have not yet been presented to Governor Crist for his final approval. Once presented to him after the legislative session has concluded, the Governor has 15 days in which to sign the enrolled bill into law, veto the bill or let it become law without his signature. Among those issues approved is the creation of the state’s first Surgeon General. Dr. Ana Viamonte Ross, Secretary, Florida Department of Health, is the first woman to head that agency and now, as Florida’s first Surgeon General, will also serve as the state’s advocate for wellness and disease prevention. Last week, Governor Crist signed into law the $71.5 billion General Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2007-2008 while simultaneously withholding his approval on portions of the budget, vetoing $459 million worth of projects contained therein. In justifying his actions, the Governor stated that while most of those projects are worthwhile, many are more appropriately funded by private organizations and charities or are the responsibility of local governments and not the state. Florida is expected to face a tight budget year and Governor Crist has called on Floridians and the Florida Legislature to "live within our means". The following issues that passed this Session may be of interest to you. A more comprehensive list of healthcare legislation is included as an attachment which we will update once the Governor takes final action on all of the enrolled bills. In the meantime, if you have any questions or need further information on any of these issues, please do not hesitate to let us know. • CS/SB 1126 – Statewide Tobacco Education and Prevention program – the bill implements the provisions the 2006 voter-approved Tobacco Constitutional Amendment. A total of $54 million has been allocated to fund the tobacco education and prevention program, the details of which are set forth in this legislation. • CS/CS/HB 455 – Organ and Tissue Donation – the bill transfers the responsibility for maintaining the organ and tissue donor registry from the Agency for Health Care Administration to the Florida Coalition on Donation, Inc. • CS/CS/SB 2260 – State Surgeon General – the bill designates the head of the Department of Health as the State Surgeon General who is required to focus on advocating healthful lifestyles, developing public health policy, and building collaborative partnerships to promote health literacy and optimum quality of life for all. • HB 1155 – Drugs – the bill creates a third-degree felony offense for any person who, with the intent to injure or defraud any person or to facilitate any violation of specified prohibited acts under Florida Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control act, sells, manufactures, alters, delivers or possesses any counterfeit resistant prescription blanks for controlled substances. Additionally, the bill amends existing law relating to the dispensing of controlled substances by a pharmacist. Further, the bill requires the Agency for Health Care Administration to develop an electronic prescribing clearinghouse. • CS/CS/SB 248 – Clinical Nursing Specialists – the bill defines clinical nursing specialist practice and specifies procedures certification. • CS/HB 1007 – Physicians Assistants – the bill allows supervisory physicians to delegate the authority to dispense drugs to a physician assistant. • CS/SB 1508 – Informed Consent – the bill adds Florida-certified advanced registered nurse practitioners and Florida-licensed physician assistants to the list of health care providers who are granted immunity under certain circumstances for treating a patient without his or her informed consent. • CS/HB 543 – Immunization Services – the bill authorizes a Florida-licensed pharmacist to administer flu vaccines to adults under certain circumstances. • CS/SB 1758 – Hospitals/Off-premises Emergency Departments – the bill provides that additional hospital off-premise emergency departments may not be authorized by the Agency for Health Care Administration until January 1, 2009. However, the bill makes exceptions for those hospitals who filed certain documents prior to a specific time. • HB 7165 – Hospitals – the bill revises the definition of specialty hospitals that may not be licensed or re-licensed by the Agency for Health Care Administration. The bill also changes the terms cardiology and interventional cardiology services to cardiovascular services. Further, it deletes the inclusion in rules of a standard data set for measuring outcomes of hospital adult cardiovascular services under certain circumstances and requires Level I and Level II hospitals to participate in specific clinical outcome-reporting systems. • CS/SB 246 – Certificates of Need/Level I Cardiology Services – the bill allows for the holder of a certificate of need for a newly licensed hospital to apply for and be granted certification for Level I adult interventional cardiology services regardless of other circumstances.