Senate Bill sb1302

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1302

    By Senator Bullard





    39-443-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to fish consumption and health;

  3         creating s. 402.44, F.S.; providing

  4         definitions; requiring the Department of

  5         Health, in consultation with the Department of

  6         Environmental Protection and the Fish and

  7         Wildlife Conservation Commission, to create and

  8         distribute information concerning fish

  9         consumption and health to women of childbearing

10         age; requiring that the Department of Health

11         develop a brochure for each county in the state

12         and a poster; requiring that the brochures and

13         poster be periodically updated; required that

14         the department develop, implement, and update

15         an outreach plan to inform women of

16         childbearing age about fish consumption and

17         health; specifying activities to be included in

18         the outreach plan; creating s. 402.442, F.S.;

19         providing definitions; requiring the Department

20         of Health, in consultation with the Department

21         of Environmental Protection and the Fish and

22         Wildlife Conservation Commission, to identify

23         sensitive populations and inform them about

24         fish consumption and health; requiring that the

25         Department of Health develop, implement, and

26         update a plan for providing such information;

27         specifying activities to be included in the

28         plan; providing an effective date.

29  

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

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1302
    39-443-06




 1         Section 1.  Section 402.44, Florida Statutes, is

 2  created to read:

 3         402.44  Notice concerning fish consumption to women of

 4  childbearing age.--

 5         (1)  As used in this section, the term:

 6         (a)  "Department" means the Department of Health.

 7         (b)  "Women of childbearing age" means women who are

 8  pregnant, nursing, or who may become pregnant.

 9         (2)  The department, in consultation with the

10  Department of Environmental Protection and the Fish and

11  Wildlife Conservation Commission, shall create and update

12  brochures containing county-specific data which are designed

13  to inform women of childbearing age about fish consumption and

14  health. The department shall create a separate brochure for

15  each county in the state which must contain information

16  concerning fish caught in the waterbodies of that county and

17  fish purchased commercially. The first set of brochures must

18  be created on or before February 1, 2007. Updated sets of

19  brochures must be created on or before February 1, 2009, and

20  thereafter on February 1 of each odd-numbered year. The

21  brochures must:

22         (a)  Be printed in English, Spanish, and Creole.

23         (b)  Use text and format that is easily read and be,

24  when unfolded, no larger than 8 and one-half inches by 15

25  inches.

26         (c)  Include, at a minimum, as regards to women of

27  childbearing age and children, information concerning:

28         1.  The health benefits of fish consumption.

29         2.  The health risks of fish consumption.

30         3.  The type and amounts of fish which may be consumed

31  safely in order to prevent harm to the health of such women or

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1302
    39-443-06




 1  to the growth and development of a fetus, baby, or child from

 2  consumption of fish that are bought or caught in that county.

 3         4.  How to contact the department or other reliable

 4  sources for additional information concerning fish

 5  consumption.

 6         (3)  The department, in consultation with the

 7  Department of Environmental Protection and the Fish and

 8  Wildlife Conservation Commission, shall create and regularly

 9  update a poster containing statewide data which is designed to

10  inform women of childbearing age about fish consumption and

11  health. The poster must contain information concerning fish

12  caught in the waterbodies of this state and fish purchased

13  commercially. The first poster must be created on or before

14  February 1, 2007. An updated poster must be created on or

15  before February 1, 2009, and thereafter on or before February

16  1 of each odd-numbered year. The poster must:

17         (a)  Be printed in English, Spanish, and Creole.

18         (b)  Use text of a conspicuous size in a format that is

19  easily read and be 16 square inches or larger in size.

20         (c)  Include, at a minimum, as regards to women of

21  childbearing age and children, information concerning:

22         1.  The health benefits of fish consumption.

23         2.  The health risks of fish consumption.

24         3.  The type and amounts of fish which may be consumed

25  safely in order to prevent harm to the health of such women or

26  to the growth and development of a fetus, baby, or child from

27  consumption of fish that are bought or caught in this state.

28         4.  How to contact the department or other reliable

29  sources for additional information concerning fish

30  consumption.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1302
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 1         (4)  The department, in consultation with the

 2  Department of Environmental Protection and the Fish and

 3  Wildlife Conservation Commission, shall develop, implement,

 4  and update a written outreach plan to inform women of

 5  childbearing age about fish consumption and health. The plan

 6  must include, but need not be limited to:

 7         (a)  Postings on the websites of the department, the

 8  Department of Environmental Protection, and the Fish and

 9  Wildlife Conservation Commission and postings that create

10  electronic links to such websites from websites of other

11  entities.

12         (b)  Identification of the persons to whom the efforts

13  in distributing information shall be directed, including, but

14  not limited to, persons who catch, sell, purchase, or consume

15  fish and persons who provide medical care to women of

16  childbearing age or children.

17         (c)  Activities to distribute the brochure and poster

18  created pursuant to subsections (2) and (3) to the persons

19  identified under paragraph (b), which activities include, but

20  need not be limited to, mailing copies of the current version

21  of the brochure for each respective county and the statewide

22  poster on or before March 1 of each year, along with a letter,

23  to:

24         1.  The health department of each county.

25         2.  Primary health care providers for women of

26  childbearing age in each county, including, but not limited

27  to, obstetricians, pediatricians, and Medicaid or Medicare

28  providers.

29         3.  Administrators of the Woman and Infant Children

30  (WIC) program for each county.

31         4.  Businesses where fish are sold in each county.

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1302
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 1         5.  Businesses where fish bait and tackle are sold in

 2  each county.

 3  

 4  The letter must request the recipient to display the poster

 5  and distribute the brochure to women of childbearing age and

 6  must explain how the recipient may obtain additional posters

 7  or brochures.

 8         (d)  Followup surveys to evaluate the effectiveness of

 9  the outreach plan in reaching persons identified under

10  paragraph (b).

11         Section 2.  Section 402.442, Florida Statutes, is

12  created to read:

13         402.442  Notice to sensitive populations concerning

14  fish consumption.--

15         (1)  As used in this section, the term:

16         (a)  "Department" means the Department of Health.

17         (b)  "Sensitive population" means a group of persons

18  who consume fish in this state and are, because of physical,

19  biological, or behavioral characteristics, more susceptible

20  than the general population to the adverse health effects from

21  exposure to mercury in fish. The term includes, but is not

22  limited to, children who are 15 years old or younger,

23  subsistence fishers and their families, and commercial fishers

24  and their families. The term does not include the women of

25  childbearing age as defined in s. 407.44(1).

26         (2)  The department, in consultation with the

27  Department of Environmental Protection and the Fish and

28  Wildlife Conservation Commission, shall identify each

29  sensitive population and, for each sensitive population

30  identified, develop and implement a written plan to inform

31  that population concerning:

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1302
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 1         (a)  The health benefits of fish consumption.

 2         (b)  The health risks of fish consumption.

 3         (c)  The type and amounts of fish which may be consumed

 4  safely in order to prevent harm to the health of such

 5  population from consumption of fish that are bought or caught

 6  in this state.

 7         (d)  How to contact the department or other reliable

 8  sources for additional information concerning fish

 9  consumption.

10         (3)  The first plan must be created on or before

11  February 1, 2008.  An updated plan must be created on or

12  before February 1, 2010, and thereafter on or before February

13  1 of each even-numbered year. Each plan must provide for:

14         (a)  Creation of educational information, including,

15  but not limited to, brochures, posters, or other documents in

16  the language used by the sensitive population to whom the

17  educational information is directed.

18         (b)  Distribution of educational information through

19  the Internet and by mailings to persons identified under

20  paragraph (c).

21         (c)  Identification of the persons to whom the efforts

22  in distributing educational information shall be directed,

23  including, but not limited to, the sensitive population and

24  persons who provide goods or services to the sensitive

25  population.

26         (d)  Followup surveys to evaluate the effectiveness of

27  the plan in reaching persons identified under paragraph (c).

28         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1302
    39-443-06




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 2                          SENATE SUMMARY

 3    Provides for the creation and distribution of information
      concerning fish consumption and health to women of
 4    childbearing age by the Department of Health, the
      Department of Environmental Protection, and the Fish and
 5    Wildlife Conservation Commission. Directs those agencies
      to identify sensitive populations and inform them about
 6    fish consumption and health.

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