CS/HB 1121 — Aging and Disability Services
by Human Services Subcommittee and Reps. Rizo, Basabe, and others (CS/SB 1630 by Children, Families, and Elder Affairs Committee and Senator Grall)
This summary is provided for information only and does not represent the opinion of any Senator, Senate Officer, or Senate Office.
Prepared by: Children, Families, and Elder Affairs Committee (CF)
The bill revises multiple statutes related to Florida’s aging and disability services under the Department of Elderly Affairs (DOEA) to modernize terminology, remove obsolete provisions, clarify service access pathways, and expand dementia-related infrastructure for elderly Floridians and adults with disabilities. Specifically, the bill amends Chs. 409 and 430, F.S. to:
- Establish a pre-enrollment list process for long-term care managed care services and authorize Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) personnel to conduct screenings, manage placement, and administer rescreening.
- Require the Comprehensive Assessment and Review for Long-Term Care Services (CARES) program to review and perform the initial Long Term Care level-of-care assessment.
- Clarify that failure to efficiently manage program budgets may trigger corrective action by the DOEA.
- Create procurement and expenditure requirements for Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) and a salary cap for an AAA chief executive officer or executive director at 150 percent of the DOEA Secretary’s salary when paid with state or federal funds.
- Revise Community Care for the Elderly program to allow an AAA to provide core services when the designated lead agency cannot perform its duties and require priority consideration for high-risk vulnerable adults referred through protective investigations.
- Update statutory references by redesignating “aging resource centers” as “aging and disability resource centers” and authorize ADRCs to manage placement on the pre-enrollment list and coordinate service referrals.
- Expand allowable Home Care for the Elderly subsidy payments to include food and nutritional supplements.
The bill also strengthens oversight of professional and public guardians. Specifically, the bill amends ch. 744, F.S., to:
- Require Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia training as part of continuing education for public and professional guardians.
- Authorize the Office of Public and Professional Guardians (OPPG) to impose fines and issue subpoenas during investigations.
- Expand confidentiality disclosure authority to allow clerks to provide certain confidential guardianship information to DOEA.
- Require DOEA to submit specified OPPG complaint records to legislative leadership by August 1, 2026.
If approved by the Governor, or allowed to become law without the Governor's signature, these provisions take effect on July 1, 2026.
Vote: Senate 35-0; House 113-2