F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
HB 561 2024
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to end-of-life options; creating ch.
3 764, F.S., relating to personal autonomy; creating s.
4 764.101, F.S.; providing a short title; creating s.
5 764.102, F.S.; defining terms; creating s. 764.103,
6 F.S.; providing legislative findings and intent;
7 creating s. 764.104, F.S.; providing criteria for
8 qualified patients; providing factors to demonstrate
9 residency; requiring qualified patients to make oral
10 and written requests to obtain medication to end their
11 lives in a peaceful manner; requiring waiting periods
12 before such requests may be made and such medication
13 may be prescribed; providing exceptions; providing a
14 form for written requests; specifying requirements for
15 the valid execution of such form; authorizing a
16 qualified patient to rescind a request at any time and
17 in any manner; creating s. 764.105, F.S.; specifying
18 responsibilities for attending physicians and
19 consulting physicians; providing that a qualified
20 patient's health care providers under the act may not
21 be related to the qualified patient or entitled to any
22 portion of the qualified patient's estate; specifying
23 recordkeeping requirements; requiring certain health
24 care providers to report specified information to the
25 Department of Health; requiring the department to
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26 adopt rules; requiring the department annually publish
27 a specified report on its website; providing
28 requirements for the report; creating s. 764.106,
29 F.S.; requiring persons who have custody or control of
30 any unused medication prescribed under the act to
31 dispose of it in a specified manner; creating s.
32 764.107, F.S.; specifying requirements for the death
33 certificate of qualified patients who die by self-
34 administration of medication prescribed in accordance
35 with the act; creating s. 764.108, F.S.; making
36 certain provisions of legal instruments void and
37 unenforceable under certain circumstances; prohibiting
38 health insurers from denying or discriminating in
39 their provision of health benefits based on the
40 availability of medication prescribed under the act or
41 from attempting to influence a policyholder's decision
42 to make or rescind a request for such medication;
43 prohibiting an individual's participation under the
44 act from affecting the sale, procurement, or issuance
45 of certain insurance policies or the rates charged for
46 such policies; creating s. 764.109, F.S.; providing
47 criminal penalties and immunities; defining the terms
48 "notify" and "participation in this chapter";
49 authorizing health care providers and health care
50 facilities to prohibit health care providers from
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51 participating under the act while on the premises of
52 facilities that they own or operate if they provided
53 prior notice of their policy; requiring such health
54 care providers and health care facilities to clearly
55 articulate this policy on websites they maintain and
56 in materials they provide to patients; requiring such
57 health care providers and health care facilities to
58 provide the policy in an easily accessible location on
59 their websites and in certain materials provided to
60 patients; authorizing health care providers and healt h
61 care facilities to impose sanctions against health
62 care providers who violate such policies; providing
63 that health care providers and health care facilities
64 may not prohibit their employees from participating
65 under the act off the premises or outside the course
66 and scope of their employment or impose sanctions
67 against them for doing so; requiring sanctioning
68 health care providers and health care facilities to
69 not be arbitrary or capricious in their sanctions and
70 to follow due process procedures when imposing such
71 sanctions; providing that such sanctions may not be
72 considered a violation of the standard of care or as
73 unprofessional conduct for purposes of disciplinary
74 action against a health care provider's license;
75 creating s. 764.11, F.S.; authorizing claims for costs
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76 and attorney fees for governmental entities under
77 certain circumstances; creating s. 764.111, F.S.;
78 providing construction and severability; amending s.
79 782.08, F.S.; exempting persons acting in accordance
80 with the act from certain criminal penalties;
81 providing an effective date.
82
83 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
84
85 Section 1. Chapter 764, Florida Statutes, consisting of
86 sections 764.101-764.111, Florida Statutes, is created and
87 entitled "Personal Autonomy."
88 Section 2. Section 764.101, Florida Statutes, is created
89 to read:
90 764.101 Short title.—Sections 764.101-764.111 may be cited
91 as the "Florida End-of-Life Options Act."
92 Section 3. Section 764.102, Florida Statutes, is created
93 to read:
94 764.102 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term:
95 (1) "Adult" means a resident of this state who is 18 years
96 of age or older.
97 (2) "Attending physician" means the physician who has
98 primary responsibility for the care of the patient and treatment
99 of the patient's terminal condition.
100 (3) "Consulting physician" means a physician who is
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101 qualified by specialty or experience to make a professional
102 diagnosis and prognosis regarding the patient's medical
103 condition.
104 (4) "Counseling" means one or more consultations as
105 necessary between a mental health professional and a patient for
106 the purpose of determining whether the patient has mental
107 capacity and whether the patient is suffering from a mental
108 health disorder or intellectual disability causing impaired
109 judgment that impacts his or her ability to make informed end-
110 of-life decisions.
111 (5) "Department" means the Department of Health.
112 (6) "Health care facility" means a health care facility as
113 defined in s. 408.07 or another entity, other than a health care
114 provider, licensed or certified to provide health care services
115 in this state.
116 (7) "Health care provider" means a health care
117 practitioner as defined in s. 456.001 or another individual
118 licensed or certified to provide health services in this state.
119 (8) "Informed decision" means a decision voluntarily made
120 by a qualified patient to request and obtain a prescription to
121 end his or her life after a sufficient explanation and
122 disclosure of the subject matter is given to enable the
123 qualified patient to understand and consider the relevant facts,
124 including the qualified patient's medical diagnosis and
125 prognosis, the potential risks associated with taking the
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126 medication to be prescribed, the probable results of taking the
127 medication, and the feasible alternatives to taking the
128 medication, and to make an informed health care decision without
129 coercion or undue influence.
130 (9) "Medically confirmed" means the medical opinion of the
131 attending physician has been confirmed by a consulting physician
132 who has examined the patient and the patient's relevant medical
133 records.
134 (10) "Medication" means a drug as defined in s. 499.003
135 which an attending physician prescribes to a qualified patient
136 under this chapter to end his or her life in a peaceful manner.
137 (11) "Mental capacity" means that a patient's attending
138 physician, consulting physician, or treating mental health
139 professional has determined that, in accordance with the
140 relevant professional standards of care, the patient has the
141 ability to understand and appreciate health care options
142 available to him or her, including the significant benefits and
143 risks of such options, and to make and communicate health care
144 decisions to health care providers, including communication
145 through individuals familiar with the patient's manner of
146 communicating if those individuals are available.
147 (12) "Mental health professional" means a psychiatrist
148 licensed under chapter 458 or 459, a psychiatric nurse licensed
149 under part I of chapter 464, a psychologist licensed under
150 chapter 490, or a mental health counselor or clinical social
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151 worker licensed under chapter 491.
152 (13) "Physician" means a person licensed to practice
153 medicine under chapter 458 or osteopathic medicine under chapter
154 459.
155 (14) "Public place" means any street, alley, park, or
156 public building; any place of business or assembly open to or
157 frequented by the public; and any other place open to the public
158 view or to which the public has access. The term does not
159 include a health care facility.
160 (15) "Qualified patient" means an individual who has
161 satisfied the requirements of this chapter to obtain a
162 prescription for medication to end his or her life in a peaceful
163 manner.
164 (16) "Self-administer" means to take an affirmative,
165 conscious, and voluntary action to ingest medicatio n.
166 (17) "Telehealth" has the same meaning as provided in s.
167 456.47(1).
168 (18) "Terminal condition" means a medically confirmed
169 condition caused by an injury, an illness, or a disease which is
170 incurable and irreversible and which will, within reasonable
171 medical judgment, cause the patient's death within 6 months.
172 Section 4. Section 764.103, Florida Statutes, is created
173 to read:
174 764.103 Legislative findings and intent.—The Legislature
175 finds that every adult with mental capacity has the fundamental
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176 right of self-determination regarding decisions pertaining to
177 his or her own health, and recognizes that for some faced with a
178 terminal condition, prolonging life may result in intolerable
179 pain and suffering. It is the intent of the Legislature to
180 establish a procedure to allow an individual with mental
181 capacity who has a terminal condition, and who makes a fully
182 informed decision that he or she no longer wants to live, to
183 obtain medication to end his or her life in a peaceful manner.
184 Section 5. Section 764.104, Florida Statutes, is created
185 to read:
186 764.104 Qualified patients; residency requirements;
187 written and oral requests for medication; waiting periods; form
188 requirements; right to rescind requests.—
189 (1)(a) An individual may request medication autho rized
190 under this chapter for the purpose of ending his or her life if
191 the individual:
192 1. Is 18 years of age or older;
193 2. Is a resident of Florida;
194 3. Has been clinically diagnosed with a terminal condition
195 by his or her attending physician which has been medically
196 confirmed by a consulting physician;
197 4. Has mental capacity;
198 5. Is making an informed decision;
199 6. Has voluntarily expressed his or her wish to die; and
200 7. Is able to self-administer the medication.
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201 (b) An individual may not qualify for medication under
202 this chapter solely because of age or disability.
203 (2) Factors demonstrating Florida residency include, but
204 are not limited to:
205 (a) Possession of a Florida driver license;
206 (b) Registration to vote in Florida;
207 (c) Evidence that the individual owns or leases property
208 in Florida; or
209 (d) Filing of a federal tax return from the most recent
210 tax year which asserts that the individual's permanent residence
211 is in Florida.
212 (3) To obtain medication under this chapter to end his or
213 her life, a qualified patient must first make two oral requests,
214 and then one written request, for the medication to his or her
215 attending physician.
216