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CS/CS/HB 1299 — Department of Health
by Health & Human Services Committee; Health Professions & Programs Subcommittee; and Rep. Yarkosky and others (CS/CS/CS/SB 1270 by Rules Committee; Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services; Health Policy Committee; and Senator Collins)
This summary is provided for information only and does not represent the opinion of any Senator, Senate Officer, or Senate Office.
Prepared by: Health Policy Committee (HP)
The bill postpones until June 1, 2027, the scheduled repeal of the statutory definition of “messenger ribonucleic acid vaccine” (mRNA vaccine) to maintain statutory prohibitions against discrimination based on knowledge or belief of a person’s status relating to vaccination with any mRNA vaccine, including by governmental entities, business establishments, and educational institutions.
The bill defines “owner,” “manager,” and “employee” for purposes of background screening requirements applicable to medical marijuana treatment centers (MMTCs) and certified marijuana testing laboratories. The bill requires MMTCs to report any actual or attempted theft, diversion, or loss of marijuana to local law enforcement and to notify the Department of Health (DOH) by email.
The bill revises the Mobile Opportunity by Interstate Licensure Endorsement (MOBILE) Act by reducing the required duration of active practice for licensure-by-endorsement applicants from three years to two. It also establishes that reported conduct in the National Practitioner Data Bank does not disqualify an applicant from licensure under the MOBILE Act if the reported conduct would not constitute a violation of Florida law or rule. In such cases, the bill authorizes the applicable regulatory board, or the DOH if there is no board, to approve the application, approve it with restrictions or conditions, or deny it.
The bill updates the term “American Association of Physician Specialists” with the name of its official certifying body “American Board of Physician Specialties” in several different statutes relating to controlled substance prescribing, pain management clinics, and anesthesiologist assistants.
The bill modifies active practice requirements for the licensure of allopathic physicians by endorsement to provide that out-of-state applicants who would have satisfied the active practice requirements before the MOBILE Act’s adoption can continue to become licensed in Florida as M.D.s.
The bill revises the list of institutions at which the DOH is authorized to issue a medical faculty certificate to an individual who has been offered and has accepted a full-time faculty appointment to include Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine, Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine in Orange Park, Florida, and Loma Linda University School of Medicine - AdventHealth in Orlando, Florida.
The bill revises criteria for the issuance of temporary certificates for practice in areas of critical need by allopathic and osteopathic physician assistants. Under the bill, such temporary certificates are limited to physician assistants who are licensed in a U.S. state or the District of Columbia, thereby excluding those licensed only in U.S. territories.
The bill corrects one material deviation and conforms provisions of the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact to the model language by defining the term “party state.”
If approved by the Governor, or allowed to become law without the Governor’s signature, these provisions take effect July 1, 2025, except for the provisions relating to mRNA vaccine which take effect upon the act becoming a law.
Vote: Senate 37-0; House 113-0