House Bill 4123

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.







    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 4123

        By the Committee on Elder Affairs & Long Term Care and
    Representatives Brooks, Jacobs, Argenziano, Carlton, Wiles,
    Reddick and Barreiro




  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; providing an

  3         exemption from public records requirements for

  4         information obtained by the Agency for Health

  5         Care Administration or a nursing facility in

  6         connection with background screening of

  7         employees and prospective employees of the

  8         facility; providing for future review and

  9         repeal; providing a finding of public

10         necessity; providing a contingent effective

11         date.

12

13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

14

15         Section 1.  Except as provided in ss. 400.215(2)(c) and

16  435.10, Florida Statutes, criminal records, juvenile records,

17  or abuse registry information that is obtained by the Agency

18  for Health Care Administration in connection with background

19  screening requirements that apply to an employee or a

20  prospective employee of a nursing facility is confidential and

21  exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes,

22  and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This section

23  is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act of 1995 in

24  accordance with s. 119.15, Florida Statutes, and shall stand

25  repealed on October 2, 2003, unless reviewed and saved from

26  repeal through enactment by the Legislature.

27         Section 2.  The Legislature finds that exempting

28  criminal records, juvenile records, and abuse registry

29  background screening information related to employees and

30  prospective employees of nursing facilities from public

31  disclosure is a public necessity, in that the health and

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 4123

    173-949-98






  1  safety of the public necessitates having available applicants

  2  for positions as nursing facility personnel.  Allowing such

  3  information concerning employees or applicants to be

  4  disseminated would have a chilling effect upon the willingness

  5  to apply for such positions on the part of any person about

  6  whom there is information of past misbehavior contained in

  7  juvenile records or criminal records or in the central abuse

  8  registry, even if the person were fully rehabilitated and

  9  would be a suitable employee.  Juvenile records and central

10  abuse registry information are otherwise already exempt.

11         Section 3.  This act shall take effect on the same date

12  that Committee Substitute for House Bills 3089 and 171 or

13  similar legislation creating the Nursing Home Facility

14  Personnel Screening Act takes effect, if such legislation is

15  adopted in the same legislative session or an extension

16  thereof.

17

18            *****************************************

19                          HOUSE SUMMARY

20
      Provides an exemption from public records requirements
21    for information obtained by the Agency for Health Care
      Administration or a nursing facility in connection with
22    background screening of employees and prospective
      employees of the facility. Provides for future review and
23    repeal.

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