2016 NASW-FL LEGISLATIVE REPORT BEHAVIORIAL HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH CS/HB 439 and CS/SB 604 Mental Health Services in the Criminal Justice System: Expanding eligibility for military veterans and service members court programs; authorizing the creation of treatment-based mental health court programs; creating the Forensic Hospital Diversion Pilot Program; authorizing courts to order certain offenders on probation or community control to post adjudicatory mental health court programs. CS/SB 12 and CS/HB 7097 Mental Health and Substance Abuse: Including services provided to treatment-based mental health programs within case management funded from state revenues as an element of the state courts system; specifying certain persons who are prohibited from being appointed as a person’s guardian advocate; authorizing a court to make a determination of involuntary outpatient services. Requires information about child's suitability for residential treatment to be provided to additional recipient; prohibits court from ordering person with traumatic brain injury or dementia who lacks co-occurring mental illness to be involuntarily placed in state treatment facility; directs DCF to create grant review and selection committee; authorizes designated not-for-profit community provider or managing entity to apply for certain grants; requires AHCA and DCF to develop plan to obtain federal approval for increasing availability of federal Medicaid funding for behavioral health care; provides specified elements in, and requires plans for phased enhancement of, coordinated behavioral health system of care; requires DCF to develop, implement, and maintain standards and protocols for collection of utilization data for addictions receiving facility and detoxification services provided through department funding; prohibits court from charging fee for filing of petitions for involuntary assessment and stabilization and involuntary treatment; provides appropriation. To the extent possible, the bill aligns the legal processes, timelines and processes for assessment, evaluation and receipt of available services of the Baker Act and Marchman Act. HB 769 and SB 862 Mental Health Treatment: Provides for continuation of psychotropic medication by forensic and civil facilities for individuals receiving such medication before admission; provides timeframes within which competency and commitment hearings must be held; revises time for dismissal of certain charges for defendants who remain incompetent to proceed to trial; provides exceptions; provides timeframe within which commitment hearings must be held; requires that defendant be transported for such hearing. HB373 and SB 858 Clinical Social Worker, Marriage and Family Therapist, and Mental Health Counselor Interns: Revising clinical social worker, marriage and family therapist, and mental health counselor intern registration limiting internship to 5 years; revising requirements for supervision of registered interns; requiring a licensed mental health professional to be on the premises when a registered intern provides services in clinical social work, marriage and family therapy, or mental health counseling.

JUVENILE JUSTICE HB 293 and SB 700 Public Records/Juvenile Criminal History Records: Specifies that certain confidential information obtained under chapter 985, F.S., relating to juvenile justice, is exempt from public records requirements; revises applicability of public records requirements with respect to arrest records of certain juvenile offenders; authorizes records custodians to choose not to electronically publish specified arrest or booking photos of juveniles; provides for future review and repeal of such applicability provisions; provides exemption from public records requirements for juvenile information compiled by Criminal Justice Information Program from intrastate sources; provides exceptions; provides for future review and repeal of exemption; provides for release by FDLE of criminal history information of juvenile which has been deemed confidential and exempt; reenacts provisions; provides statement of public necessity SB 386 and HB 147 Expunction of Records of Minors: Creating an exception for specified minors who, before attaining 21 years of age, had a criminal history record expunged; authorizing specified minors to apply for expunction of a criminal history record under certain circumstances; deleting a limitation on the period of time within which a minor must submit an application for prearrest or post arrest diversion expunction to the Department of Law Enforcement after successful completion of the diversion program.

CHILD WELFARE SB 590 and HB 673 Adoption: Redefining the terms “abandoned” or “abandonment” and “parent”; revising the circumstances under which an adoption consent is valid, binding, and enforceable; requiring a court to determine, under certain circumstances, whether a change of placement of a child is in the child’s best interests, rather than whether the change of placement is appropriate. HB 241 and SB 500 Children and Youth Cabinet: Revising the membership of the cabinet.

SERVICES FOR VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES HB 799 and SB944 Out-of-State Fee Waivers for Active Duty Service Members: Provides that active duty members of Armed Forces of U.S. residing or stationed outside of this state may receive out-of-state fee waivers; requires tuition and fees charged to such students to be below specified amount and for annual report of all out-of-state fee waivers for such individuals. HB 1219 and SB 1538 Veterans' Employment: Requires state agencies, and authorizes political subdivisions of state, to develop and implement veterans' recruitment plan; requires DMS to collect specified data and include such data in its annual workforce report and on its website; provides applicability.

HB 1157 and SB 1638 Postsecondary Education for Veterans: Directs DOE to award postsecondary course credit for specified training, education, examinations and tests; revises residency requirement for certain tuition waivers for recipients of specified military decorations; provides that specified programs and test scores meet certain educator certification requirements. SB184 and HB 429 Military and Veterans Affairs: Requiring a landlord, a condominium association, a cooperative association, or a homeowners’ association to complete the processing of a rental application submitted by a service member within a specified timeframe; requiring the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to report monthly to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs the names and mailing or e-mail addresses of veterans who request information; directing the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to provide a method by which honorably discharged veterans may apply for construction, electrical or alarm system contracting licensure.

AGING SB 232 and HB 403 Guardianship: Renames Statewide Public Guardianship Office as Office of Public and Professional Guardians; revises duties and responsibilities of executive director for Office of Public and Professional Guardians; provides that guardian has standing to seek judicial review, if his or her registration is denied; requires office to establish disciplinary proceedings, conduct hearings, take administrative action; provides grounds for discipline, penalties, and procedures for determining which disciplinary action is appropriate for professional guardians; provides appropriation.

HEALTH CARE HB 7087 and SB 1686 Telehealth: Establishing certain practice standards for telehealth providers; providing limitations and notification requirements for out-of-state telehealth providers; revising the definition of the term "discount medical plan" to exclude certain products; creating the Telehealth Advisory Council within the Agency for Health Care Administration for specified purposes. HB 1061 and SB 1316 Nurse Licensure Compact: Creates Nurse Licensure Compact; provides for recognition of licenses in party states; provides requirements for obtaining and retaining multistate license; provides effect on current licensees; requires all party states to participate in coordinated licensure information system of all RNs and LPNs; provides for development of system, reporting procedures, and exchange of certain information between party states; establishes Interstate Commission of Nurse Licensure Compact Administrators; authorizes certain disciplinary action under compact for certain prohibited acts; requires Florida Center for Nursing to analyze supply and demand of nurses and make future projections; requires DOH to report significant investigative information on nurse licensee to coordinated licensure information system; requires nurse holding multistate license to report participation in treatment program to department; provides eligibility criteria for multistate license. Note: maybe a path for Social Work Mobility.

HB 1219 and SB 1496 Transparency in Health Care: Requiring a facility licensed under chapter 395, F.S., to provide timely and accurate financial information and quality of service measures to certain individuals; requiring a health care practitioner to provide a patient upon his or her request a written or electronic good faith estimate of anticipated charges within a certain timeframe; requiring a health insurer to make available on its website certain methods that a policyholder can use to make estimates of certain costs and charges; revising a requirement that a health maintenance organization make certain information available to its subscribers. HB 1411 and SB 1722 Termination of Pregnancies: Revising the requirements for disposal of fetal remains; revising the criminal punishment for failure to properly dispose of fetal remains; requiring the Agency for Health Care Administration to develop and enforce rules relating to license inspections and investigations of certain clinics; requiring certain organizations that provide abortion referral services or abortion counseling services to register with the agency, pay a specified fee, and include certain information in advertisements.

OTHER HB 43 and SB 110 Churches or Religious Organizations: Provides that churches or religious organizations, related organizations, or certain individuals may not be required to solemnize any marriage or provide services, accommodations, facilities, goods, or privileges for related purposes if such action would violate sincerely held religious belief; prohibits certain legal actions, penalties, or governmental sanctions against such individuals or entities. HB 307 and SB 460 Medical Use of Cannabis: Revising requirements for physicians ordering low-THC cannabis, medical cannabis, or a cannabis delivery device; revising the information that the Department of Health is required to include in its online compassionate use registry; providing that dispensing organizations may not dispense low-THC cannabis and medical cannabis unless they meet certain testing requirements; requiring the department to authorize certain dispensing organizations or applicants to provide low-THC cannabis, medical cannabis, and cannabis delivery devices to eligible patients. HB 545 and SB 784 Human Trafficking: Includes human trafficking as predicate offense for felony murder; prohibits permanently branding, or directing permanent branding, of victim of human trafficking; requires DOH to suspend license of massage therapist or massage establishment for specified violations in conjunction with establishment; provides that licensed massage therapist may not receive new or renewal license if applicant is convicted of certain prostitution offenses in conjunction with massage establishment; provides that licensed massage establishment may not receive new or renewal license if specified persons connected with establishment are convicted of certain prostitution offenses in conjunction with establishment; provides that minors may not be charged with specified prostitution offenses; requires person convicted of specified racketeering offenses to register as sexual predator or sexual offender; reenacts various provisions.

SB 0668 and HB 668 Family Law: Requiring a court to consider certain alimony factors and make specific written findings of fact under certain circumstances; requiring a court to make specified findings before ruling on a request for alimony; specifying a premise that a minor child should spend approximately equal amounts of time with each parent; revising a finite list of factors that a court must evaluate when establishing or modifying parental responsibility or a parenting plan; prohibiting a court from changing the duration of alimony. HB 229 and SB 268 Bullying and Harassment Policies in Schools: Requiring each school district to review its bullying and harassment policy at specified intervals; requiring each school principal to implement the bullying and harassment policy in a certain manner and integrate it with the school's bullying prevention and intervention program; providing a short title for chapter 2010-217, Laws of Florida, relating to requirements for health education curricula and district school board policies on teen dating violence and abuse.