House Bill 1433

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







    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1433

        By Representative Casey






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; exempting

  3         records made or received by the Department of

  4         Health or emergency medical services licensees

  5         with respect to allegations of impairment by

  6         emergency medical technicians or paramedics,

  7         identifying information about students in

  8         emergency medical technician or paramedic

  9         education programs, emergency medical services

10         licensees against which complaints have been

11         filed, and patients transported or treated by

12         emergency medical services licensees from

13         public records requirements; providing for

14         future review and repeal; providing findings of

15         public necessity; providing a contingent

16         effective date.

17

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

19

20         Section 1.  All information received by the Department

21  of Health under section 401.2701, Florida Statutes, with

22  respect to an impaired or allegedly impaired certificateholder

23  against whom no other complaint exists or with respect to

24  whose participation in, progress through, and completion of a

25  treatment program a licensee has informed the department is

26  confidential and exempt from the provisions of section

27  119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and section 24(a), Article I of

28  the State Constitution.

29         Section 2.  The names of students and other

30  student-identifying information contained in reports provided

31  to the Department of Health under section 401.49(9), Florida

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






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1433

    529-182-99






  1  Statutes, are confidential and exempt from the provisions of

  2  section 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and section 24(a),

  3  Article I of the State Constitution.

  4         Section 3.  A complaint and all information obtained in

  5  an investigation by the Department of Health under section

  6  401.51, Florida Statutes, are confidential and exempt from the

  7  provisions of section 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and section

  8  24(a), Article I of the State Constitution until 10 days after

  9  probable cause has been found by the department to exist or

10  until the licensee or education program licensee that is the

11  subject of the investigation waives confidentiality, whichever

12  occurs first. This section does not prohibit the department

13  from providing such information to any law enforcement agency

14  or any other regulatory agency.

15         Section 4.  Records obtained by an emergency medical

16  services licensee under section 395.3025(4)(k), Florida

17  Statutes, are confidential and exempt from the provisions of

18  section 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and section 24(a),

19  Article I of the State Constitution.

20         Section 5.  The exemptions provided in sections 1, 2,

21  3, and 4 are subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act

22  in accordance with section 119.15, Florida Statutes, and are

23  repealed October 2, 2004, unless reviewed and saved from

24  repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.

25         Section 6.  The Legislature finds that exempting

26  information relating to impaired or allegedly impaired

27  emergency medical technicians and paramedics, to students in

28  emergency medical technician and paramedic education programs,

29  to emergency medical services licensees, and to hospital

30  patients who have been transported or treated, or both, by

31  emergency medical services licensees is a public necessity.

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






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1433

    529-182-99






  1  With respect to hospital patients, the Legislature recognizes

  2  that their records currently are confidential, and it finds

  3  that a limited disclosure to emergency medical services

  4  licensees serves a public purpose in that it allows licensees

  5  to maintain and improve the quality of their services, but

  6  that that benefit does not outweigh the established public

  7  interest in maintaining these patients' privacy. With respect

  8  to individual certificateholders, the Legislature finds that

  9  unnecessary disclosure of education records or allegations of

10  impairment against an individual who has not been the subject

11  of any other complaint could substantially affect these

12  persons' current and future employment. With respect to

13  licensees, the Legislature finds that the limited exemption of

14  10 days or less will allow it to more expeditiously conduct

15  investigations of alleged infractions.

16         Section 7.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1999,

17  except that it shall not take effect unless Senate Bill     

18  or similar legislation regulating licensure of emergency

19  medical services licensees, emergency medical technicians, and

20  paramedics becomes law.

21

22            *****************************************

23                          SENATE SUMMARY

24  Exempts the following information from disclosure as public
    records:
25         1.  Information alleging impairment on the part of an
    emergency medical technician or paramedic against whom no
26  other complaint has been filed.
           2.  Information concerning an emergency medical
27  technician's or paramedic's enrollment in, progress through,
    and completion of an impairment treatment program.
28         3.  Information identifying students in emergency
    medical technician or paramedic education courses.
29         4.  A complaint against an emergency medical services
    licensee, for a period of up to 10 days.
30         5.  Information released to an emergency medical
    services licensee by a hospital about a hospital patient who
31  was transported or treated, or both, by the licensee.

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