Issue #9 April 30, 2010

Final Week Scramble

The headline news items coming out of Tallahassee during the final week of session always relate to major substantive or budget issues. Not this week. The anticipation and ultimate declaration by Governor Crist that his US Senate bid will be as an independent trumped all other Tallahassee news. Election year politics stalled action in the House for hours, as abortion issues took front and center stage. The budget was completed in the wee hours of Monday morning, enabling the printed version to be on legislators’ desks on Tuesday afternoon, meeting the constitutional 72 hour deadline for Friday’s vote, so legislators can sine die today and hit the campaign trail. All 120 House seats and 20 of the 40 Senate seats will be up for election in November. Your 2010 Session Legislative Link Wrap-Up Edition will hit the wires in a few weeks after the dust settles from the frenetic home-stretch pace. It will summarize next year’s budget and substantive legislation that passed – and didn’t pass. Here is the status of some United Way priorities as session is winding down:

Healthy Families Florida – In a devastating blow to Healthy Families Florida and, more importantly, the children and families it serves, legislators cut the program by $9.9 million, 35%. Even given the difficult choices legislators faced in crafting next year’s budget, in a state where a child dies of abuse or neglect every 43 hours, it is unfathomable that this program – which has a documented 98% success rate in preventing abuse and neglect in the highest risk areas of the state – would be cut, much less slashed so deeply. Particularly when they put $1.8 billion into reserves for next year.

Part C/Early Steps – The Legislature provided enough funding – close to $4 million – to continue providing this critically important early intervention program to more than 40,000 children age 0-3. The funds will allow the state to maintain its federal grant of $54 million to provide those services.

Healthy Start – The final budget scuttled a proposal to eliminate the Healthy Start Coalitions, a move that would have “saved” $4 million but put at risk more than $30 million the Coalitions raise in their communities and compromised services. In the end, the Coalitions were spared, but Healthy Start lost $2 million in service dollars.

Children’s Services Councils – An agreement was reached with the bill sponsors to eliminate the most offensive requirements from the bill and to require a more reasonable referendum schedule. The bill was incorporated into CS/CS/CS/SB 2014 and passed on Thursday. Read the bill summary below.

VPK Waivers – Also included in CS/CS/CS/SB 2014 are provisions that will allow VPK providers that don’t meet kindergarten screening thresholds to continue serving children if they serve at least twice the statewide percentage of children with disabilities or children identified as limited English proficient. Those providers will still be required to show measurable achievement and progress of the children they serve. Read the bill summary below

Florida State Employees’ Charitable Campaign – SB 1312 and HB 1603 died. Consequently, state employees will continue to allocate a portion of undesignated funds as they deem appropriate for their fellow workers, rather than having a sterile, formula-driven allocation that would significantly reduce the impact of those contributions.

Protecting Florida’s Nonprofits – The Legislature took aggressive action to protect Florida’s nonprofits from unreasonable assaults on how they work to improve the lives and circumstances for people in our state by passing CS/SB 998. Read the bill summary below.

Medicaid Reform – Both chambers released re-writes of the state’s $19 billion Medicaid program after the half-way mark of session. The differences were major and were not able to be reconciled by sine die. While reform is necessary, failure of the last minute proposals positions the Legislature to spend the time necessary to do the job right by next session.

VPK & School Readiness Funding – Next year’s school readiness funding will be maintained at the same level as this year’s, and the VPK budget – which had been slated to be gutted by tens of millions of dollars will be only 5% less than this year’s, at $404.8 million. Teacher/student ratios will also remain the same.

Road to Independence – The House had proposed cutting in half the monthly stipend that young adults transitioning out of the foster care system receive, reducing it to about $670, and pro-rating their first month’s stipend. These young people, who already having been through so much, need the minimal stipend they currently receive in order to pay utility deposits, first and last month’s rent, food, housing, school supplies and tuition, transportation, etc. Fortunately, it appears these provisions will be stripped from the bill (HB 5305).

Affordable Housing – As this Legislative Link went to press, the affordable housing bill was in the Senate’s hands. CS/CS/CS/SB 665 had passed the Senate with an amendment exempting a Palm Beach development from regular planning requirements. The House stripped the amendment from the bill and sent it back to the Senate, where its fate is unclear at this time. Among others, the bill repeals the $243 million cap that the 2006 Legislature put on state and local affordable housing trust funds. 

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BILLS HEARD THIS WEEK

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HB 11 – Crimes Against Homeless Persons

The House and Senate both passed HB 11, amending the “hate crimes” statute to include offenses evidencing prejudice based on the homeless status of the victim. Currently under the statute, the penalty for any felony or misdemeanor offense is reclassified to include harsher penalties if the offense evidences prejudice based on the race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, mental or physical disability, or advanced age of the victim. Read the bill.

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HJR 37 - Health Care Services

The House and the Senate passed HJR 37, which would put on the November ballot an amendment to the Florida Constitution that would:

• prohibit persons and employers from being compelled to participate in a health care system;
• allow direct payment of health care services;
• prohibit penalizing persons, employers, and health care providers from utilizing a direct payment system; and
• allow for the purchase or sale of health insurance in the private market, subject to certain conditions.

If adopted by the voters at the 2010 general election, the resolution would take effect January 4, 2011. Read the bill.

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HB 91 – Adult Protective Services

The House and Senate passed Committee Substitute for HB 91. Among others, the bill replaces the terms “disabled adults” and “elderly persons” with the term “vulnerable adult”. It requires that the central abuse hotline transfer to the appropriate county sheriff’s office reports of known or suspected abuse of a vulnerable adult involving a person other than a relative, caregiver, or household member. The bill also clarifies that the Department of Children and Families may file a petition to determine incapacity in adult protective proceedings, and has access to Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles records for use in conducting protective investigations. Read the bill.

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SB 194 – Injunctions for Protection/Violations

SB 194 was passed the by Senate on Thursday. The bill creates additional ways a person can violate an injunction for protection against repeat violence, sexual violence, or dating violence by making it identical to the ways a person can violate an injunction for protection against domestic violence. Read the bIll.

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SB 434 – Suicide Prevention Education

CS/SB 434 passed both the House and the Senate. The bill would require that, beginning with the 2010 – 2011 school year, each school district provide access to suicide prevention education for all instructional and administrative personnel using resources approved by the Statewide Office of Suicide Prevention. Read the bill.

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HB 747 - Care of Public School Students with Diabetes

The House and Senate both passed HB 747, which requires the Department of Education in partnership with several other groups, including the Florida Association of School Nurses, to develop guidelines for training school employees in the care of students with diabetes. School districts will also be required to annually provide training that is commensurate with a school employee’s role in working with students with diabetes. Training will include, among others, instruction in:

• Recognizing and treating hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia;
• Understanding the appropriate actions to take when blood glucose levels are outside target ranges;
• Understanding prescriber instructions concerning diabetes medication, drug dosage, frequency, and manner of administration;
• Performing fingerstick blood glucose checks and ketone checks and recording the results;
• Administering insulin and glucagon; and
• Understanding how to perform basic insulin pump functions.
Read the bill.

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SB 998 – Trust Administration

The House and Senate have passed CS/SB 998 which, among others, protects nonprofit organizations from being forced by government to include people on their governing boards or to provide funding to any organization based upon the race, religion, gender, national origin, socioeconomic status, age, ethnicity, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or political party registration. The bill also prohibits government from requiring such organizations to disclose the race, religion, gender, national origin, socioeconomic status, age, ethnicity, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or political party registration of its employees, officer, directors, trustees, members, or owners. Read the bill.

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HB 1003 - Veterans/Nonprofits

The Legislature has passed CS/HB 1003, dealing with veteran and nonprofit organizations.

Currently, charitable organizations that engage in solicitation activities in Florida must register with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and provide certain financial and background information as well as pay initial and annual renewal fees. There are three types of fund raising activities that are exempt from registration reporting requirements: applying for a grant or award from the government; soliciting for the benefit for a named individual; and soliciting by an organization that is limited solely to seeking contributions from its own membership. CS/HB 1003 creates a new, additional exemption for any division, department, post, or chapter of a veteran’s service organization that has been granted a corporate charter by an act of Congress. The bill also deletes the eligibility requirement that service-disabled veterans must have suffered a 10% or greater service-connected disability in order to be eligible to receive any of the benefits provided for under the Florida Service-Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Opportunity Act.  Read the bill.

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SB 1012 – Juvenile Justice Facilities and Programs

CS/SB 1012 is intended to improve the quality and delivery of services in the juvenile justice system. The bill defines “ordinary medical care” (which had not been previously defined) as medical procedures that are administered or performed on a routine basis and include, but are not limited to, inoculations, physical examinations, preventive services, and other medical procedures administered or performed on a routine basis that do not involve hospitalization, surgery, use of general anesthesia, or use of psychotropic medications. The bill requires the Department of Juvenile Justice to adopt rules for ordinary medical care, mental health services, substance abuse treatment services, and developmental disability services and to coordinate its efforts with the Department of Children and Families and the Agency for Persons with Disabilities. The bill was passed by both the House and Senate. Read the bill.

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HB 1061 – Suicide Prevention Education

The House PreK-12 Appropriations Committee passed CS/CS/HB 1061 last Friday. Among others, the bill revises the membership of the Suicide Prevention Coordinating Council and amends district school board duties relating to student discipline and school safety to require each school board, beginning next school year, to provide access to suicide prevention educational resources to all instructional and administrative as part of the school district’s professional development system. School boards must use resources approved by the Statewide Office of Suicide Prevention. Read the bill.

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SB 1072 – Juvenile Justice

The house and Senate have passed CS/SB 1072. The bill makes a number of changes to juvenile justice laws, along with conforming changes to other relevant statutes including the “Children and Families In Need of Services” (CINS/FINS) statute and the “Comprehensive Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Act” in an effort to enhance services for youth in the Juvenile Justice system. Among others, the bill:

• Encourages the diversion of youth nine years of age or younger who are found by a court to pose no danger to the community and are unlikely to recidivate back into supervision;
• Expands the definition of “child in need of services” and “family in need to services” to allow those youth to be served by the CINS/FINS network;
• Promotes the use of restorative justice practices to support victims of juvenile delinquency;
• Adds counties, municipalities, and the Department of Juvenile Justice to the specified entities that are encouraged to create pre-arrest or post-arrest diversion programs for youth nine years of age or younger and youth who are first time misdemeanants;
• Prohibits a youth nine years of age or younger from being placed in secure detention unless the youth has been charged with a capital felony, a life felony, or a felony of the first degree; and
• Requires the DJJ to create the Disproportionate Minority Contact Task Force as a way to address minority over-representation in the Juvenile Justice system.
Read the bill.

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SB 1216 – Children’s Services Councils

CS/CS/SB 1216 was passed by the Senate on Monday, requiring CSCs go back to referendum in the following time frames:

• By 2014 for Martin, St. Lucie, and Okeechobee Counties;
• By 2016 for Broward, Hillsborough, Palm Beach and Pinellas Counties; and
• By 2020 for Miami/Dade County.

CSCs will be able to define terms of future reauthorization in the language of their respective referenda. The language can include reauthorization in perpetuity thus meaning that a CSC would not be required to constantly seek reauthorization over defined time frames. If a CSC does not define the terms for reauthorization in their initial referendum, then they will be required to conform to a statutory requirement of going back to the voters for approval every twelve years. Read the bill.

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SB 1234 – Child Care Facilities/Licensing Standards

CS/SB 1234 creates minimum requirements for licensure of child care facilities relating to window blinds and other window coverings. The bill prohibits use of certain types of window blinds and other window coverings that pose a risk of strangulation to young children. The bill was passed by the Senate on Thursday. Read the bill.

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SB 2014 School Readiness

The Senate and House have passed CS/CS/CS/SB 2014, which originally dealt exclusively with Florida’s School Readiness programs. Among others, the bill requires the Agency for Workforce Innovation (AWI) to adopt support service strategies for implementing program requirements and requires Early Learning Coalitions (ELCs) to incorporate those standards into their School Readiness plans. The bill expands AWI’s rule making authority to administer the program and directs the Governor to designate AWI as the lead agency for administering the Federal Childcare and Development Fund - the primary funding source for the School Readiness program.

In a major victory for programs serving them, the bill was amended to require the State Board of Education to adopt criteria for granting good cause exemptions from meeting kindergarten readiness rates for providers serving at least twice the statewide percentage of children with disabilities or children identified as limited English proficient. Those providers will still be required to show that the children they serve demonstrate acceptable learning gains.

A compromise was reached on the contentious Children’s Services Council legislation (SB 1216) this week, and the compromise was incorporated into CS/CS/SB 2014. The compromise would require CSCs go back to referendum in the following time frames:

• By 2014 for Martin, St. Lucie, and Okeechobee Counties;
• By 2016 for Broward, Hillsborough, Palm Beach and Pinellas Counties; and
• By 2020 for Miami/Dade County.

CSCs will be able to define terms of future reauthorization in the language of their respective referenda. The language can include reauthorization in perpetuity thus meaning that a CSC would not be required to constantly seek reauthorization over defined time frames. If a CSC does not define the terms for reauthorization in their initial referendum, then they will be required to conform to a statutory requirement of going back to the voters for approval every twelve years. Read the bill.

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