| 1 | The Health Care General Committee recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to vaccine production facilities; |
| 7 | requiring Enterprise Florida, Inc., to conduct an outreach |
| 8 | campaign to encourage vaccine production facilities to |
| 9 | produce certain vaccines in this state; exempting certain |
| 10 | business entities from liability under certain |
| 11 | circumstances; providing an effective date. |
| 12 |
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| 13 | WHEREAS, the adequacy of our country's supply of vaccines |
| 14 | has been called into question because of the growing demand for |
| 15 | the influenza vaccine and other vaccines in response to the |
| 16 | exhortations of public health officials, and |
| 17 | WHEREAS, this growing demand for vaccines has increased the |
| 18 | pressure on the nation's domestic suppliers and created the |
| 19 | potential for a major public health crisis, and |
| 20 | WHEREAS, the issue of the inadequacy of vaccine supplies to |
| 21 | meet the needs of our citizens, and particularly to protect the |
| 22 | public against influenza, which kills some 36,000 Americans each |
| 23 | year, has now advanced to the forefront of the public health |
| 24 | agenda, and |
| 25 | WHEREAS, urgent action is needed to augment the limited |
| 26 | domestic vaccine supply, especially the supply of influenza |
| 27 | vaccine, in order to protect the health of the American public, |
| 28 | not only those individuals who are most at risk from vaccine- |
| 29 | preventable diseases but also the rest of the population as |
| 30 | well, and |
| 31 | WHEREAS, given the impediment to the increased production |
| 32 | of vaccines created by the regulatory requirements imposed by |
| 33 | the United States Food and Drug Administration, the state should |
| 34 | offer financial incentives to pharmaceutical manufacturers to |
| 35 | increase the production of vaccines and thereby ensure their |
| 36 | availability in quantities that are adequate to protect the most |
| 37 | vulnerable individuals in the state and to permit the rest of |
| 38 | the citizens of the state who wish to be vaccinated to receive |
| 39 | this protection as well, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 40 |
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| 41 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 42 |
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| 43 | Section 1. Vaccine production facilities; outreach |
| 44 | campaign for vaccine production; liability.-- |
| 45 | (1) Enterprise Florida, Inc., as the principal economic |
| 46 | development organization for the state under s. 288.9015, |
| 47 | Florida Statutes, shall conduct an outreach campaign to |
| 48 | encourage pharmaceutical companies located in this state to |
| 49 | produce vaccines for the prevention of communicable diseases and |
| 50 | to encourage pharmaceutical companies located outside of this |
| 51 | state to establish facilities in this state to produce vaccines |
| 52 | for the prevention of communicable diseases. |
| 53 | (2) A business, corporation, sole proprietorship, |
| 54 | partnership, subchapter S corporation, limited liability |
| 55 | corporation, nonprofit corporation, consortium, or other |
| 56 | business entity located in this state that in good faith |
| 57 | develops or produces vaccines for the prevention of communicable |
| 58 | diseases shall not be held liable for civil damages for any act |
| 59 | or omission, except for knowing and willful acts or omissions, |
| 60 | in the development or production of vaccines for the prevention |
| 61 | of communicable diseases that are approved for market |
| 62 | distribution by the United States Food and Drug Administration. |
| 63 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |