Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

       Florida Senate - 2024                                     SB 798



       By Senator Harrell





       31-00694-24                                            2024798__
                      A bill to be entitled                      
       An act relating to health care patient protection;
       amending s. 408.809, F.S.; adding additional
       disqualifying offenses to background screening
       requirements for certain persons in health care
       practice settings; amending s. 429.02, F.S.; defining
       the term âmemory care providerâ; creating s. 429.179,
       F.S.; requiring memory care providers to employ
       specified practices in the provision of memory care
       services; prohibiting certain facilities from
       advertising, representing, or holding themselves out
       as memory care providers unless they meet specified
       criteria; amending s. 435.04, F.S.; adding additional
       disqualifying offenses to level 2 background screening
       standards; providing an effective date.
        
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

       Section 1.âSubsection (4) of section 408.809, Florida
Statutes, is amended to read:
       408.809âBackground screening; prohibited offenses.â
       (4)âIn addition to the offenses listed in s. 435.04, all
persons required to undergo background screening pursuant to
this part or authorizing statutes must not have an arrest
awaiting final disposition for, must not have been found guilty
of, regardless of adjudication, or entered a plea of nolo
contendere or guilty to, and must not have been adjudicated
delinquent and the record not have been sealed or expunged for
any of the following offenses or any similar offense of another
jurisdiction:
       (a)âAny authorizing statutes, if the offense was a felony.
       (b)âThis chapter, if the offense was a felony.
       (c)âSection 409.920, relating to Medicaid provider fraud.
       (d)âSection 409.9201, relating to Medicaid fraud.
       (e)âSection 414.39, relating to fraud, if the offense was a
felony.
       (f)âSection 741.28, relating to domestic violence.
       (g)(f)âSection 777.04, relating to attempts, solicitation,
and conspiracy to commit an offense listed in this subsection.
       (h)(g)âSection 784.03, relating to battery, if the victim
is a vulnerable adult as defined in s. 415.102 or a patient or
resident of a facility licensed under chapter 395, chapter 400,
or chapter 429.
       (i)âSection 815.04, relating to offenses against
intellectual property.
       (j)âSection 815.06, relating to offenses against users of
computers, computer systems, computer networks, and electronic
devices.
       (k)(h)âSection 817.034, relating to fraudulent acts through
mail, wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or
photooptical systems.
       (l)(i)âSection 817.234, relating to false and fraudulent
insurance claims.
       (m)(j)âSection 817.481, relating to obtaining goods by
using a false or expired credit card or other credit device, if
the offense was a felony.
       (n)(k)âSection 817.50, relating to fraudulently obtaining
goods or services from a health care provider.
       (o)(l)âSection 817.505, relating to patient brokering.
       (p)(m)âSection 817.568, relating to criminal use of
personal identification information.
       (q)(n)âSection 817.60, relating to obtaining a credit card
through fraudulent means.
       (r)(o)âSection 817.61, relating to fraudulent use of credit
cards, if the offense was a felony.
       (s)(p)âSection 831.01, relating to forgery.
       (t)(q)âSection 831.02, relating to uttering forged
instruments.
       (u)(r)âSection 831.07, relating to forging bank bills,
checks, drafts, or promissory notes.
       (v)(s)âSection 831.09, relating to uttering forged bank
bills, checks, drafts, or promissory notes.
       (w)âSection 831.29, relating to making or having
instruments and material for counterfeiting driver licenses or
identification cards.
       (x)(t)âSection 831.30, relating to fraud in obtaining
medicinal drugs.
       (y)(u)âSection 831.31, relating to the sale, manufacture,
delivery, or possession with the intent to sell, manufacture, or
deliver any counterfeit controlled substance, if the offense was
a felony.
       (z)âSection 831.311, relating to unlawful sale,
manufacture, alteration, delivery, uttering, or possession of
counterfeit-resistant prescription blanks for controlled
substances.
       (aa)âSection 836.05, relating to threats and extortion.
       (bb)âSection 836.10, relating to written or electronic
threats to kill, do bodily injury, or conduct a mass shooting or
an act of terrorism.
       (cc)âSection 873.01, relating to prohibited purchase or
sale of human organs and tissue.
       (dd)(v)âSection 895.03, relating to racketeering and
collection of unlawful debts.
       (ee)(w)âSection 896.101, relating to the Florida Money
Laundering Act.

If, upon rescreening, a person who is currently employed or
contracted with a licensee and was screened and qualified under
s. 435.04 has a disqualifying offense that was not a
disqualifying offense at the time of the last screening, but is
a current disqualifying offense and was committed before the
last screening, he or she may apply for an exemption from the
appropriate licensing agency and, if agreed to by the employer,
may continue to perform his or her duties until the licensing
agency renders a decision on the application for exemption if
the person is eligible to apply for an exemption and the
exemption request is received by the agency no later than 30
days after receipt of the rescreening results by the person.
       Section 2.âPresent subsections (16) through (28) of section
429.02, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (17)
through (29), respectively, a new subsection (16) is added to
that section, and subsection (12) of that section is amended, to
read:
       429.02âDefinitions.âWhen used in this part, the term:
       (12)ââExtended congregate careâ means acts beyond those
authorized in subsection (19) (18) which may be performed
pursuant to part I of chapter 464 by persons licensed thereunder
while carrying out their professional duties, and other
supportive services that may be specified by rule. The purpose
of such services is to enable residents to age in place in a
residential environment despite mental or physical limitations
that might otherwise disqualify them from residency in a
facility licensed under this part.
       (16)ââMemory care providerâ means either a designated unit
within an assisted living facility or a facility as a whole
which provides care and services specific to the needs of
residents who exhibit symptoms consistent with dementia.
       Section 3.âSection 429.179, Florida Statutes, is created to
read:
       429.179âMemory care providers.â
       (1)âMemory care providers must employ the following
practices in the provision of such care:
       (a)âResidents who upon admission exhibit symptoms
consistent with dementia must be admitted under memory care
protocols that require an assessment by a physician, an advanced
practice registered nurse, a physicianâs assistant, or a
psychologist trained in dementia care.
       (b)âPolicies for memory care service plans must require a
resident assessment to be completed within 10 days after
admission. The assessment must be based on the residentâs past,
including consideration of such factors as family or other
important relationships, religious or spiritual preferences,
communication capabilities, behavioral concerns, and activity
preferences.
       (c)âMinimum staffing requirements must require that at
least one qualified staff member who is trained in both
cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid be in a designated
memory care unit at all times. Staff administering medication or
providing assistance with medication administration may not
count toward this minimum staffing requirement while they are
engaged in such medication administration tasks. Staffing ratios
beyond the minimum of one staff member must consider resident
acuity and may not fall below the ratio of one staff person per
five residents.
       (d)âProviders must maintain a current and accurate log of
residents admitted as memory care residents. Resident contracts
shall outline the memory care services to be provided and any
related costs, should those exceed standard room and board.
       (2)âA facility may not advertise, represent, or hold itself
out as a memory care provider unless it meets the requirements
of this section.
       Section 4.âSubsection (2) of section 435.04, Florida
Statutes, as amended by section 2 of chapter 2023-220, Laws of
Florida, is amended to read:
       435.04âLevel 2 screening standards.â
       (2)âThe security background investigations under this
section must ensure that persons subject to this section have
not been arrested for and are awaiting final disposition of,
have not been found guilty of, regardless of adjudication, or
entered a plea of nolo contendere or guilty to, or have not been
adjudicated delinquent and the record has not been sealed or
expunged for, any offense prohibited under any of the following
provisions of state law or similar law of another jurisdiction:
       (a)âSection 39.205, relating to failure to report child
abuse, abandonment, or neglect.
       (b)âSection 316.193(3)(c)3., relating to DUI manslaughter.
       (c)âSection 393.135, relating to sexual misconduct with
certain developmentally disabled clients and reporting of such
sexual misconduct.
       (d)(b)âSection 394.4593, relating to sexual misconduct with
certain mental health patients and reporting of such sexual
misconduct.
       (e)(c)âSection 415.111, relating to adult abuse, neglect,
or exploitation of aged persons or disabled adults.
       (f)(d)âSection 777.04, relating to attempts, solicitation,
and conspiracy to commit an offense listed in this subsection.
       (g)(e)âSection 782.04, relating to murder.
       (h)(f)âSection 782.07, relating to manslaughter, aggravated
manslaughter of an elderly person or disabled adult, or
aggravated manslaughter of a child.
       (i)(g)âSection 782.071, relating to vehicular homicide.
       (j)(h)âSection 782.09, relating to killing of an unborn
child by injury to the mother.
       (k)(i)âChapter 784, relating to assault, battery, and
culpable negligence, if the offense was a felony.
       (l)(j)âSection 784.011, relating to assault, if the victim
of the offense was a minor.
       (m)(k)âSection 784.021, relating to aggravated assault.
       (n)(l)âSection 784.03, relating to battery, if the victim
of the offense was a minor.
       (o)(m)âSection 784.045, relating to aggravated battery.
       (p)(n)âSection 784.075, relating to battery on staff of a
detention or commitment facility or on a juvenile probation
officer.
       (q)(o)âSection 787.01, relating to kidnapping.
       (r)(p)âSection 787.02, relating to false imprisonment.
       (s)(q)âSection 787.025, relating to luring or enticing a
child.
       (t)(r)âSection 787.04(2), relating to taking, enticing, or
removing a child beyond the state limits with criminal intent
pending custody proceedings.
       (u)(s)âSection 787.04(3), relating to carrying a child
beyond the state lines with criminal intent to avoid producing a
child at a custody hearing or delivering the child to the
designated person.
       (v)âSection 787.06, relating to human trafficking.
       (w)âSection 787.07, relating to human smuggling.
       (x)(t)âSection 790.115(1), relating to exhibiting firearms
or weapons within 1,000 feet of a school.
       (y)(u)âSection 790.115(2)(b), relating to possessing an
electric weapon or device, destructive device, or other weapon
on school property.
       (z)âSection 790.166, relating to weapons of mass
destruction or hoax weapons of mass destruction.
       (aa)(v)âSection 794.011, relating to sexual battery.
       (bb)(w)âFormer s. 794.041, relating to prohibited acts of
persons in familial or custodial authority.
       (cc)(x)âSection 794.05, relating to unlawful sexual
activity with certain minors.
       (dd)(y)âSection 794.08, relating to female genital
mutilation.
       (ee)(z)âChapter 796, relating to prostitution.
       (ff)(aa)âSection 798.02, relating to lewd and lascivious
behavior.
       (gg)(bb)âChapter 800, relating to lewdness and indecent
exposure and offenses against students by authority figures.
       (hh)(cc)âSection 806.01, relating to arson.
       (ii)(dd)âSection 810.02, relating to burglary.
       (jj)(ee)âSection 810.14, relating to voyeurism, if the
offense is a felony.
       (kk)(ff)âSection 810.145, relating to video voyeurism, if
the offense is a felony.
       (ll)(gg)âChapter 812, relating to theft, robbery, and
related crimes, if the offense is a felony.
       (mm)(hh)âSection 817.563, relating to fraudulent sale of
controlled substances, only if the offense was a felony.
       (nn)(ii)âSection 825.102, relating to abuse, aggravated
abuse, or neglect of an elderly person or disabled adult.
       (oo)(jj)âSection 825.1025, relating to lewd or lascivious
offenses committed upon or in the presence of an elderly person
or disabled adult.
       (pp)(kk)âSection 825.103, relating to exploitation of an
elderly person or disabled adult, if the offense was a felony.
       (qq)(ll)âSection 826.04, relating to incest.
       (rr)(mm)âSection 827.03, relating to child abuse,
aggravated child abuse, or neglect of a child.
       (ss)(nn)âSection 827.04, relating to contributing to the
delinquency or dependency of a child.
       (tt)(oo)âFormer s. 827.05, relating to negligent treatment
of children.
       (uu)(pp)âSection 827.071, relating to sexual performance by
a child.
       (vv)âSection 838.015, relating to bribery.
       (ww)(qq)âSection 843.01, relating to resisting arrest with
violence.
       (xx)(rr)âSection 843.025, relating to depriving a law
enforcement, correctional, or correctional probation officer
means of protection or communication.
       (yy)(ss)âSection 843.12, relating to aiding in an escape.
       (zz)(tt)âSection 843.13, relating to aiding in the escape
of juvenile inmates in correctional institutions.
       (aaa)(uu)âChapter 847, relating to obscene literature.
       (bbb)âSection 859.01, relating to poisoning food or water.
       (ccc)âSection 873.01, relating to prohibited purchase or
sale of human organs and tissue.
       (ddd)(vv)âSection 874.05, relating to encouraging or
recruiting another to join a criminal gang.
       (eee)âSection 876.32, relating to treason.
       (fff)(ww)âChapter 893, relating to drug abuse prevention
and control, only if the offense was a felony or if any other
person involved in the offense was a minor.
       (ggg)(xx)âSection 916.1075, relating to sexual misconduct
with certain forensic clients and reporting of such sexual
misconduct.
       (hhh)(yy)âSection 944.35(3), relating to inflicting cruel
or inhuman treatment on an inmate resulting in great bodily
harm.
       (iii)(zz)âSection 944.40, relating to escape.
       (jjj)(aaa)âSection 944.46, relating to harboring,
concealing, or aiding an escaped prisoner.
       (kkk)(bbb)âSection 944.47, relating to introduction of
contraband into a correctional facility.
       (lll)âSection 951.22, relating to county detention
facilities and contraband articles.
       (mmm)(ccc)âSection 985.701, relating to sexual misconduct
in juvenile justice programs.
       (nnn)(ddd)âSection 985.711, relating to contraband
introduced into detention facilities.
       Section 5.âThis act shall take effect July 1, 2024.