Senate Bill sb0100

    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 100

    By Senator Saunders





    37-56-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to continuing education for

  3         health care practitioners; amending s. 456.025,

  4         F.S.; deleting requirements for the Department

  5         of Health to administer an electronic

  6         continuing education tracking system for health

  7         care practitioners; creating s. 456.0251, F.S.;

  8         providing rulemaking authority; continuing

  9         education requirements required for license

10         renewal; authorizing citations and fines to be

11         imposed for failure to comply with required

12         continuing education requirements; amending s.

13         456.072, F.S.; providing for discipline of

14         licensees who fail to meet continuing education

15         requirements as a prerequisite for license

16         renewal three or more times; providing an

17         effective date.

18  

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

20  

21         Section 1.  Subsection (7) of section 456.025, Florida

22  Statutes, is amended to read:

23         456.025  Fees; receipts; disposition.--

24         (7)  Each board, or the department if there is no

25  board, shall establish, by rule, a fee not to exceed $250 for

26  anyone seeking approval to provide continuing education

27  courses or programs and shall establish by rule a biennial

28  renewal fee not to exceed $250 for the renewal of providership

29  of such courses. The fees collected from continuing education

30  providers shall be used for the purposes of reviewing course

31  provider applications, monitoring the integrity of the courses

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 100
    37-56-05




 1  provided, and covering legal expenses incurred as a result of

 2  not granting or renewing a providership, and developing and

 3  maintaining an electronic continuing education tracking

 4  system. The department shall implement an electronic

 5  continuing education tracking system for each new biennial

 6  renewal cycle for which electronic renewals are implemented

 7  after the effective date of this act and shall integrate such

 8  system into the licensure and renewal system. All approved

 9  continuing education providers shall provide information on

10  course attendance to the department necessary to implement the

11  electronic tracking system. The department shall, by rule,

12  specify the form and procedures by which the information is to

13  be submitted.

14         Section 2.  Section 456.0251, Florida Statutes, is

15  created to read:

16         456.0251  Continuing education.--

17         (1)  Unless otherwise provided in a profession's

18  practice act, each board, or the department if there is no

19  board, shall establish by rule procedures for approval of

20  continuing education providers and continuing education

21  courses for renewal of licenses. Except for those continuing

22  education courses whose subjects are prescribed by law, each

23  board, or the department if there is no board, may limit by

24  rule the subject matter for approved continuing education

25  courses to courses addressing the scope of practice of each

26  respective health care profession.

27         (2)  Licensees who have not completed all of the

28  continuing education credits required for licensure during a

29  biennium may obtain an extension of 3 months following the

30  date after the end of the license renewal biennium within

31  which to complete the requisite hours for license renewal.

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 100
    37-56-05




 1  Each board, or the department if there is no board, shall

 2  establish by rule procedures for requesting a 3-month

 3  extension and whether proof of completion of some approved

 4  hours of continuing education are required to be submitted

 5  with the request for extension as a prerequisite for granting

 6  the request.

 7         (3)  Failure to complete the requisite number of hours

 8  of continuing education hours within a license renewal

 9  biennium or within a 3-month period following the date after

10  the end of the license renewal biennium, if requested, shall

11  be grounds for issuance of a citation and a fine, plus a

12  requirement that at least the deficit hours are completed

13  within a time established by rule of each board, or the

14  department if there is no board. Each board, or the department

15  if there is no board, shall establish by rule a fine for each

16  continuing education hour that was not completed within the

17  license renewal biennium or the 3-month period following the

18  last day of the biennium if so requested, not to exceed $500

19  per each hour not completed. The issuance of the citation and

20  fine shall not be considered discipline. A citation and a fine

21  issued under this subsection may only be issued to a licensee

22  a maximum of two times for two separate failures to complete

23  the requisite number of hours for license renewal.

24         (4)  The department shall report to each board no later

25  than 3 months following the last day of the license renewal

26  biennium the percentage of licensees regulated by that board

27  who have not timely complied with the continuing education

28  requirements during the previous license renewal biennium for

29  which auditing of licensees regulated by that board are

30  completed. Each board shall provide the department with the

31  percentage of licensees regulated by that board which are to

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 100
    37-56-05




 1  be audited during the next license renewal biennium. In

 2  addition to the percentage of licensees audited as directed by

 3  the boards, the department shall audit those licensees found

 4  to be deficient during any of the two license renewal

 5  bienniums.

 6         Section 3.  Paragraph (gg) is added to subsection (1)

 7  of section 456.072, Florida Statutes, to read:

 8         456.072  Grounds for discipline; penalties;

 9  enforcement.--

10         (1)  The following acts shall constitute grounds for

11  which the disciplinary actions specified in subsection (2) may

12  be taken:

13         (gg)  Failure for three or more times to complete the

14  requisite number of hours of continuing education hours within

15  a license renewal biennium period or within a 3-month period

16  following the date after the end of the license renewal

17  biennium, if the extension was requested.

18         Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

19  law.

20  

21            *****************************************

22                          SENATE SUMMARY

23    Revises continuing education requirements for health care
      practitioners. Deletes provisions that require the
24    Department of Health to administer an electronic
      continuing education tracking system for practitioners.
25    Provides authority for licensing boards to adopt rules
      relating to the approval of courses and course providers.
26    Provides penalties for the failure to comply with
      continuing education requirements. Provides disciplinary
27    guidelines.

28  

29  

30  

31  

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