Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

       Florida Senate - 2024                                     SB 680
       
       
        
       By Senator Gruters
       
       
       
       
       
       22-00113-24                                            2024680__
                      A bill to be entitled                      
       An act relating to protection of medical freedom;
       amending s. 381.003, F.S.; prohibiting the Department
       of Health from requiring enrollment in the state’s
       immunization registry or otherwise requiring persons
       to submit to immunization tracking; prohibiting the
       department from including a person’s immunization
       records in any interstate or federal immunization
       tracking system or otherwise giving an entity access
       to a person’s immunization records without first
       obtaining written informed consent from the person or
       person’s parent or guardian, as applicable; making
       technical changes; amending s. 381.00316, F.S.;
       revising and deleting definitions; prohibiting
       business entities from requiring individuals to
       provide proof of vaccination or postinfection recovery
       from any communicable disease to gain access to, entry
       upon, or service from such entities; prohibiting a
       business entity from requiring individuals currently
       employed or seeking employment with that business to
       provide proof of vaccination or postinfection recovery
       from any communicable disease; prohibiting health care
       providers from discriminating in providing health care
       to a patient based solely on his or her vaccination
       status; prohibiting governmental entities from
       requiring that individuals show proof of vaccination
       or postinfection recovery from any communicable
       disease or requiring a certain test in order to gain
       access to, entry upon, or service from that
       governmental entity’s operations, or for employment,
       continued employment, or contracting with the
       governmental entity; reordering and amending s.
       381.00319, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made
       by the act; amending s. 420.9075, F.S.; adding a
       person’s vaccination and immunity status to the
       prohibited forms of discrimination by local housing
       assistance plans; creating s. 448.077, F.S.; defining
       terms; prohibiting employers from refusing employment
       to, or discharging, disciplining, demoting, or
       otherwise discriminating against, an individual solely
       on the basis of vaccination or immunity status;
       creating a right of action for aggrieved individuals;
       providing for relief; creating ss. 626.9708, 627.6441,
       627.6614, and 641.31078, F.S.; defining the term
       “vaccination or immunity status”; specifying
       prohibited discriminatory practices in the provision
       of life and disability insurance policies, health
       insurance policies, group health insurance policies,
       and health maintenance contracts, respectively;
       providing construction; amending s. 760.01, F.S.;
       revising the purposes of the Florida Civil Rights Act
       of 1992 to include discrimination protection for
       vaccination or immunity status; reordering and
       amending s. 760.02, F.S.; defining the term
       “vaccination or immunity status”; amending s. 760.05,
       F.S.; revising the functions of the Florida Commission
       on Human Relations to conform to changes made by the
       act; amending s. 760.07, F.S.; revising provisions
       regarding remedies for unlawful discrimination to
       conform to changes made by the act; amending s.
       760.08, F.S.; prohibiting places of public
       accommodation from discriminating on the basis of
       vaccination or immunity status; amending s. 760.10,
       F.S.; prohibiting employers from engaging in specified
       discriminatory employment practices on the basis of a
       person’s vaccination or immunity status; providing an
       exception; amending s. 760.22, F.S.; defining the term
       “vaccination or immunity status”; amending ss. 760.23,
       760.24, 760.25, and 760.26, F.S.; prohibiting
       discrimination on the basis of a person’s vaccination
       or immunity status in the sale or rental of housing,
       the provision of brokerage services, the financing of
       housing or residential real estate transactions, and
       land use decisions or permitting of development,
       respectively; amending s. 760.29, F.S.; revising an
       exemption from the Fair Housing Act regarding the
       appraisal of real property to conform to changes made
       by the act; amending s. 760.60, F.S.; prohibiting
       certain clubs from engaging in specified
       discriminatory practices on the basis of a person’s
       vaccination or immunity status; amending s. 1002.20,
       F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the
       act; amending s. 1003.22, F.S.; prohibiting the
       Department of Health from requiring, as a school-entry
       requirement, that children receive immunizations
       approved only for emergency use; reenacting s.
       381.00318(1), F.S., relating to complaints alleging
       violations, to incorporate the amendments made to s.
       381.00316, F.S., in a reference thereto; reenacting s.
       760.11(1), F.S., relating to administrative and civil
       remedies, to incorporate the amendments made to ss.
       760.01 and 760.02, F.S., in references thereto;
       reenacting s. 760.11(15), F.S., relating to discharge
       of a person employed by the state or any governmental
       entity or agency, to incorporate the amendments made
       to s. 760.10, F.S., in a reference thereto; reenacting
       ss. 760.20, 760.30, 760.31(4) and (5), 760.34(1), (3),
       (4), and (7), 760.35(1) and (5)(a), and 760.37, F.S.,
       relating to a short title, authority of the Florida
       Commission of Human Relations, powers and duties of
       the commission, enforcement of penalties for housing
       discrimination violations, commencement of a civil
       action for persons alleging discriminatory housing
       practices, and penalties for interfering with a
       person’s rights, respectively, to incorporate the
       amendments made to ss. 760.25 and 760.26, F.S., in
       references thereto; reenacting s. 1002.42(6)(a), F.S.,
       relating to immunization requirements for private
       school governing authorities, to incorporate the
       amendment made to s. 1003.22, F.S. in a reference
       thereto; providing an effective date.
        
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

       Section 1. Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of section
381.003, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
       381.003 Communicable disease and AIDS prevention and
control.—
       (1) The department shall conduct a communicable disease
prevention and control program as part of fulfilling its public
health mission. A communicable disease is any disease caused by
transmission of a specific infectious agent, or its toxic
products, from an infected person, an infected animal, or the
environment to a susceptible host, either directly or
indirectly. The communicable disease program must include, but
need not be limited to:
       (e) Programs for the prevention and control of vaccine
preventable diseases, including programs to immunize school
children as required by s. 1003.22(3)-(11) and the development
of an automated, electronic, and centralized database and
registry of immunizations. The department may not require
enrollment in the immunization registry or otherwise require
persons to submit to any form of immunization tracking. The
department shall ensure that all children in this state are
immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases. The immunization
registry must allow the department to enhance current
immunization activities for the purpose of improving the
immunization of all children in this state.
       1. Except as provided in subparagraph 2., the department
shall include all children born in this state in the
immunization registry by using the birth records from the Office
of Vital Statistics. The department shall add other children to
the registry as immunization services are provided.
       2. The parent or guardian of a child may refuse to have the
child included in the immunization registry by signing a form
obtained from the department, or from the health care
practitioner or entity that provides the immunization, which
indicates that the parent or guardian does not wish to have the
child included in the immunization registry. Each consent to
treatment form provided by a health care practitioner or by an
entity that administers vaccinations or causes vaccinations to
be administered to children from birth through 17 years of age
must contain a notice stating that the parent or guardian of a
child may refuse to have his or her child included in the
immunization registry. The parent or guardian may either submit
the opt-out form directly to the department or must provide it
such opt-out form to the health care practitioner or entity upon
administration of the vaccination. Such health care practitioner
or entity shall submit the form to the department. If a parent
or guardian has refused to have his or her child included in the
immunization registry, A parent or guardian may submit the opt
out form directly to the department. any records or identifying
information pertaining to the child must shall be removed from
the registry, if the parent or guardian has refused to have his
or her child included in the immunization registry.
       3. A college or university student, from 18 years of age to
23 years of age, who obtains an immunization a vaccination from
a college or university student health center or clinic in this
the state may refuse to be included in the immunization registry
by signing a form obtained from the department, health center,
or clinic which indicates that the student does not wish to be
included in the immunization registry. The student may either
submit the opt-out form directly to the department or must
provide it such opt-out form to the health center or clinic upon
administration of the immunization vaccination. Such health
center or clinic shall submit the form to the department. If the
student has refused to be included in the immunization registry,
A student may submit the opt-out form directly to the
department. any records or identifying information pertaining to
the student must shall be removed from the registry if the
student has refused to be included in the immunization registry.
       4. The immunization registry shall allow for immunization
records to be electronically available to entities that are
required by law to have such records, including, but not limited
to, schools and licensed child care facilities. However, the
department may not include a person’s immunization records in
any interstate or federal immunization tracking system or
otherwise allow an entity not required by law to have such
records without first obtaining written informed consent from
the person or the person’s parent or guardian, if the person is
a minor, to release the immunization records for such purpose.
       5. A health care practitioner licensed under chapter 458,
chapter 459, or chapter 464 in this state who administers
vaccinations or causes vaccinations to be administered to
children from birth through 17 years of age is required to
report vaccination data to the immunization registry, unless a
parent or guardian of a child has refused to have the child
included in the immunization registry by meeting the
requirements of subparagraph 2. A health care practitioner
licensed under chapter 458, chapter 459, or chapter 464 in this
state who administers vaccinations or causes vaccinations to be
administered to college or university students from 18 years of
age to 23 years of age at a college or university student health
center or clinic is required to report vaccination data to the
immunization registry, unless the student has refused to be
included in the immunization registry by meeting the
requirements of subparagraph 3. Vaccination data for students in
other age ranges may be submitted to the immunization registry
only if the student consents to inclusion in the immunization
registry. The upload of data from existing automated systems is
an acceptable method for updating immunization information in
the immunization registry. The information in the immunization
registry must include the child’s name, date of birth, address,
and any other unique identifier necessary to correctly identify
the child; the immunization record, including the date, type of
administered vaccine, and vaccine lot number; and the presence
or absence of any adverse reaction or contraindication related
to the immunization. Information received by the department for
the immunization registry retains its status as confidential
medical information and the department must maintain the
confidentiality of that information as otherwise required by
law. A health care practitioner or other agency that obtains
information from the immunization registry must maintain the
confidentiality of any medical records in accordance with s.
456.057 or as otherwise required by law.
       Section 2. Present paragraphs (c) and (d) through (g) of
subsection (2) of section 381.00316, Florida Statutes, are
redesignated as paragraphs (f) and (b) through (e),
respectively, and present paragraphs (b) and (c) of that
subsection and subsections (3) and (4) of that section are
amended, to read:
       381.00316 Discrimination by governmental and business
entities based on health care choices; prohibition.—
       (2) As used in this section, the term:
       (b) “COVID-19” means the novel coronavirus identified as
SARS-CoV-2; any disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, its viral
fragments, or a virus mutating therefrom; and all conditions
associated with the disease which are caused by SARS-CoV-2, its
viral fragments, or a virus mutating therefrom.
       (f)(c) “COVID-19 Vaccine” means a preparation designed to
stimulate the human body’s immune response against a
communicable disease COVID-19.
       (3)(a) A business entity may not require any person to
provide any documentation certifying vaccination with any
vaccine defined under subsection (2) or postinfection recovery
from any communicable disease COVID-19, or require a presumptive
or confirmatory COVID-19 test showing proof of recovery from any
communicable disease, to gain access to, entry upon, or service
from the business operations in this state or as a condition of
contracting, hiring, promotion, or continued employment with the
business entity.
       (b) A business entity may not discharge or refuse to hire a
person; deprive or attempt to deprive a person of employment
opportunities; adversely affect a person’s status as an employee
or as an applicant for employment; or otherwise discriminate
against a person based on knowledge or belief of the person’s
status relating to vaccination with any vaccine defined under
subsection (2) or COVID-19 postinfection recovery from a
communicable disease, or a person’s failure to take a
presumptive or confirmatory COVID-19 test showing proof of
recovery from any communicable disease.
       (c) For matters relating to vaccines other than those
defined under subsection (2), a business entity shall provide
for exemptions and reasonable accommodations for religious and
medical reasons in accordance with federal law.
       (d) A licensed facility as defined in s. 395.002 may not
discriminate in providing health care to a patient based solely
on that patient’s vaccination status with a COVID-19 vaccine.
       (4)(a) A governmental entity may not require any person to
provide any documentation certifying vaccination with any
vaccine defined under subsection (2) or postinfection recovery
from a communicable disease COVID-19, or require a presumptive
or confirmatory COVID-19 test for any communicable disease, to
gain access to, entry upon, or service from the governmental
entity’s operations in this state or as a condition of
contrac