Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

       Florida Senate - 2024                                    SB 1094



       By Senator Martin





       33-01169-24                                           20241094__
                      A bill to be entitled                      
       An act relating to immunization requirements; amending
       s. 381.003, F.S.; beginning on a specified date,
       requiring the Department of Health to obtain approval
       of the Legislature to add any new immunizations to
       those required for school attendance; making technical
       changes; creating s. 381.00301, F.S.; defining terms;
       authorizing persons to claim an exemption from any
       immunization requirement if a vaccine fully approved
       by the Food and Drug Administration is not available
       to fulfill the requirement; authorizing a person to
       claim the exemption on one’s own behalf or on behalf
       of one’s child or dependent; prohibiting employers,
       school districts, the department, and certain public
       entities from requiring a person to meet any other
       conditions to claim the exemption; requiring any
       person or entity requiring or administering a vaccine
       to ensure the person receiving the vaccine is informed
       of specified information and given an opportunity to
       ask questions; prohibiting the department and certain
       other public entities from imposing certain mandatory
       vaccination policies during a declared public health
       emergency without approval of the Legislature;
       prohibiting the department and certain other public
       entities from participating in or employing certain
       digital health identification registries or similar
       health data tracking mechanisms without approval of
       the Legislature; amending s. 1003.22, F.S.; revising
       exemptions from school attendance immunization
       requirements to conform to changes made by the act;
       making technical changes; providing an effective date.

       WHEREAS, informed consent to medical risk taking is a legal
and moral right recognized by the state, and no resident of this
state may be required to use vaccines or other pharmaceutical
products that carry a risk of injury or death without the
voluntary, informed consent of the adult or the parents or legal
guardian of a minor child, and
       WHEREAS, new vaccine requirements for school attendance,
employment, or any other societal access should require a vote
of the Legislature to enact and should not be delegated to the
Department of Health under its rulemaking authority, and
       WHEREAS, the state should not comply with mandatory
vaccination policies or laws enacted by the World Health
Organization or the United States Department of Health and Human
Services or other federal agencies or organizations during a
declared public health emergency without a vote of the
Legislature, and
       WHEREAS, the state should not impose mandatory digital
health identification and data tracking requirements adopted by
the World Health Organization or the United States Department of
Health and Human Services or other federal agencies or
organizations on residents of this state without a vote of the
Legislature, NOW, THEREFORE,

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 shall ensure that all
children in this state are immunized against vaccine-preventable
diseases. Beginning July 1, 2024, the department must obtain
approval of the Legislature to add any new immunizations to
those required for school attendance. 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 must provide 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. 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 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 must provide such opt-out
form to the health center or clinic upon administration of the
vaccination. Such health center or clinic shall submit the form
to the department. 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 must 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.
       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 shall must maintain
the confidentiality of any medical records in accordance with s.
456.057 or as otherwise required by law.
       Section 2. Section 381.00301, Florida Statutes, is created
to read:
       381.00301 Required immunizations; exemption; informed
consent; public health emergencies; health data tracking.—
       (1) As used in this section, the term:
       (a) “Department” means the Department of Health.
       (b) “FDA” means the United States Food and Drug
Administration.
       (c) “FDA-approved vaccine” means a vaccine that has been
fully approved by the FDA after undergoing the agency’s standard
approval process. The term does not include vaccines that the
FDA has authorized for emergency use only, pending full
approval.
       (d) “Licensure” means any license, certification, or
registration required by law to practice a profession in this
state.
       (2) Notwithstanding any other law, a person who is required
to receive an immunization for any purpose, including as a
condition of employment, school attendance, or licensure, may
claim an exemption from the immunization requirement if there is
no FDA-approved vaccine that can fulfill the immunization
requirement. A person may claim the exemption on his or her own
behalf or on behalf of his or her child or dependent. An
employer, a school district, the department, or any other state
agency, board, or commission may not require a person to meet
any other condition to claim the exemption.
       (3) Any entity requiring or administering a vaccine must
ensure that the person receiving the vaccine has been fully
informed of, and had an opportunity to ask questions regarding,
all of the following:
       (a) Whether the vaccine has been fully approved by the FDA.
       (b) Any injuries or diseases caused by the vaccine and the
rate at which each injury or disease occurs as a result of the
vaccine.
       (c) The risk of permanent disability or death from the
vaccine and whether such risk has been proven to be less than
that caused by the infection it is intended to prevent.
       (d) Whether the vaccine’s manufacturer assumes liability,
including for design defect claims, for any death or injury
caused by the vaccine.
       (4) If a federal agency imposes, or a national or
international health organization recommends, any mandatory
vaccination policies during a national declaration of a public
health emergency, the department or any other state agency,
local government, or political subdivision thereof may not adopt
or impose such policies in this state without approval of the
Legislature.
       (5) The department or any other state agency, local
government, or political subdivision thereof may not participate
in or employ any digital health identification registry or
similar mechanism of tracking health data of residents of this
state without approval of the Legislature, regardless of whether
such registry or mechanism is recommended or required by the
Federal Government or any national or international health
organization.
       Section 3. Subsection (5) of section 1003.22, Florida
Statutes, is amended to read:
       1003.22 School-entry health examinations; immunization
against communicable diseases; exemptions; duties of Department
of Health.—
       (5) The provisions of This section does shall not apply in
the following circumstances if:
       (a) The parent of the child objects in writing that the
administration of immunizing agents conflicts with his or her
religious tenets or practices.;
       (b) A physician licensed under the provisions of chapter
458 or chapter 459 certifies in writing, on a form approved and
provided by the Department of Health, that the child should be
permanently exempt from the required immunization for medical
reasons stated in writing, based upon valid clinical reasoning
or evidence, demonstrating the need for the permanent
exemption.;
       (c) A physician licensed under the provisions of chapter
458, chapter 459, or chapter 460 certifies in writing, on a form
approved and provided by the Department of Health, that the
child has received as many immunizations as are medically
indicated at the time and is in the process of completing
necessary immunizations.;
       (d) The Department of Health determines that, according to
recognized standards of medical practice, any required
immunization is unnecessary or hazardous.; or
       (e) The parent of the child claims an exemption under s.
381.0029(2) for an immunization required under this section. The
exemption from the requirements of this section applies only to
the immunization for which the exemption is claimed.
       (f) An authorized school official issues a temporary
exemption, for up to 30 school days, to permit a student who
transfers into a new county to attend class until his or her
records can be obtained. Children and youths who are
experiencing homelessness and children who are known to the
department, as defined in s. 39.0016, shall be given a temporary
exemption for 30 school days. The public school health nurse or
authorized private school official is responsible for the
follow-up followup of each such student until proper
documentation or immunizations are obtained. An exemption for 30
days may be issued for a student who enters a juvenile justice
program to permit the student to attend class until his or her
records can be obtained or until the immunizations can be
obtained. An authorized juvenile justice official is responsible
for the follow-up followup of each student who enters a juvenile
justice program until proper documentation or immunizations are
obtained.
       Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
Statutes affected: 
S 1094 Filed: 381.003, 1003.22