Florida Senate - 2010 SB 1166
By Senator Altman
24-00226B-10 20101166__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to community residential homes;
3 amending s. 393.501, F.S.; prohibiting certain rules
4 adopted by the Agency for Persons with Disabilities
5 from restricting the number of facilities designated
6 as community residential homes located within a
7 planned residential community; amending s. 419.001,
8 F.S.; defining the term “planned residential
9 community”; providing that community residential homes
10 located within a planned residential community may be
11 contiguous to one another; providing an effective
12 date.
13
14 WHEREAS, individuals who have development disabilities have
15 the same rights and freedoms as every other citizen in the
16 United States, and
17 WHEREAS, the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill
18 of Rights Act of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106-402, found that
19 individuals who have developmental disabilities and their
20 families are the primary decisionmakers regarding the services
21 and supports such individuals and their families receive,
22 including choosing where the individuals live, and play
23 decisionmaking roles in policies and programs that affect the
24 lives of such individuals and their families, and
25 WHEREAS, individuals who have developmental disabilities
26 should be able to select a home with the same freedom of choice
27 as other United States citizens, and
28 WHEREAS, such selection should have no bearing on
29 eligibility for services or supports that an individual may
30 otherwise be entitled to receive, NOW, THEREFORE,
31
32 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
33
34 Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 393.501, Florida
35 Statutes, is amended to read:
36 393.501 Rulemaking.—
37 (2) Such rules must shall address the number of facilities
38 on a single lot or on adjacent lots, except that there is no
39 restriction on the number of facilities designated as community
40 residential homes located within a planned residential community
41 as those terms are defined in s. 419.001(1). In adopting rules,
42 an alternative living center and an independent living education
43 center, as described in s. 393.18, are shall be subject to the
44 provisions of s. 419.001, except that such centers are shall be
45 exempt from the 1,000-foot-radius requirement of s. 419.001(2)
46 if:
47 (a) The centers are located on a site zoned in a manner
48 that permits all the components of a comprehensive transitional
49 education center to be located on the site; or
50 (b) There are no more than three such centers within a
51 radius of 1,000 feet.
52 Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 419.001, Florida
53 Statutes, is amended, present subsections (4) through (11) of
54 that section are redesignated as subsections (5) through (12),
55 respectively, and a new subsection (4) is added to that section,
56 to read:
57 419.001 Site selection of community residential homes.—
58 (1) For the purposes of this section, the term following
59 definitions shall apply:
60 (a) “Community residential home” means a dwelling unit
61 licensed to serve residents, as defined in paragraph (d), who
62 are clients of the Department of Elderly Affairs, the Agency for
63 Persons with Disabilities, the Department of Juvenile Justice,
64 or the Department of Children and Family Services or a dwelling
65 unit licensed by the Agency for Health Care Administration which
66 provides a living environment for 7 to 14 unrelated residents
67 who operate as the functional equivalent of a family, including
68 such supervision and care by supportive staff as may be
69 necessary to meet the physical, emotional, and social needs of
70 the residents.
71 (b) “Licensing entity” or “licensing entities” means the
72 Department of Elderly Affairs, the Agency for Persons with
73 Disabilities, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department
74 of Children and Family Services, or the Agency for Health Care
75 Administration, all of which are authorized to license a
76 community residential home to serve residents, as defined in
77 paragraph (d).
78 (c) “Local government” means a county as set forth in
79 chapter 7 or a municipality incorporated under the provisions of
80 chapter 165.
81 (d) “Planned residential community” means a local
82 government-approved, planned unit development that is planned
83 and developed as a whole, is designed to serve the unique needs
84 of residents who have developmental disabilities, and may
85 include two or more community residential homes. For the
86 purposes of this paragraph, local government approval must be
87 based on criteria that includes, but is not limited to,
88 compliance with appropriate land use, zoning, and building
89 codes, but does not include proximity limitations based on the
90 type of residents anticipated to be living in the community.
91 (e)(d) “Resident” means any of the following: a frail elder
92 as defined in s. 429.65; a person who has a handicap physically
93 disabled or handicapped person as defined in s. 760.22(7)(a); a
94 developmentally disabled person who has a developmental
95 disability as defined in s. 393.063; a nondangerous mentally ill
96 person who has a mental illness as defined in s. 394.455 as
97 defined in s. 394.455(18); or a child who is found to be
98 dependent as defined in s. 39.01 or s. 984.03, or a child in
99 need of services as defined in s. 984.03 or s. 985.03.
100 (f)(e) “Sponsoring agency” means an agency or unit of
101 government, a profit or nonprofit agency, or any other person or
102 organization which intends to establish or operate a community
103 residential home.
104 (4) Community residential homes, including homes of six or
105 fewer residents which would otherwise meet the definition of a
106 community residential home, which are located within a planned
107 residential community are not subject to the proximity
108 requirements of this section and may be contiguous to each
109 other.
110 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.