Amendment
Bill No. 0388
Amendment No. 689995
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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1Representative(s) Benson offered the following:
2
3     Amendment (with title amendment)
4     On page 2, between line(s) 16 and 17, insert:
5     Section 1.  Subsection (1) and paragraph (b) of subsection
6(2) of section 402.164, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
7     402.164  Legislative intent; definitions.--
8     (1)(a)  It is the intent of the Legislature to use citizen
9volunteers as members of the Florida Statewide Advocacy Council
10and the Florida local advocacy councils, and to have volunteers
11operate a network of councils that shall, without interference
12by an executive agency, undertake to discover, monitor,
13investigate, and determine the presence of conditions or
14individuals that constitute a threat to the rights, health,
15safety, or welfare of persons who receive services from state
16agencies.
17     (b)  It is the further intent of the Legislature that the
18monitoring and investigation shall safeguard the health, safety,
19and welfare of consumers of services provided by these state
20agencies.
21     (c)  It is the further intent of the Legislature that state
22agencies cooperate with the councils in forming interagency
23agreements to provide the councils with authorized client
24records so that the councils may monitor services and
25investigate claims.
26     (2)  As used in ss. 402.164-402.167, the term:
27     (b)  "Client" means a client of the Agency for Persons with
28Disabilities, the Agency for Health Care Administration, the
29Department of Children and Family Services, or the Department of
30Elderly Affairs, as defined in s. 393.063, s. 394.67, s.
31397.311, or s. 400.960, a forensic client or client as defined
32in s. 916.106, a child or youth as defined in s. 39.01, a child
33as defined in s. 827.01, a family as defined in s. 414.0252, a
34participant as defined in s. 400.551, a resident as defined in
35s. 400.402, a Medicaid recipient or recipient as defined in s.
36409.901, a child receiving child care as defined in s. 402.302,
37a disabled adult as defined in s. 410.032 or s. 410.603, or a
38victim as defined in s. 39.01 or s. 415.102 as each definition
39applies within its respective chapter.
40     Section 2.  Subsections (2), (5), and (7) and paragraph (a)
41of subsection (8) of section 402.165, Florida Statutes, are
42amended to read:
43     402.165  Florida Statewide Advocacy Council; confidential
44records and meetings.--
45     (2)  Members of the statewide council shall be appointed to
46serve terms of 4 years, subject to termination at the pleasure
47of the Governor prior to expiration of such period. A member may
48not serve more than two full consecutive terms.
49     (5)(a)  Members of the statewide council shall receive no
50compensation, but are entitled to be reimbursed for per diem and
51travel expenses in accordance with s. 112.061.
52     (b)  The Governor shall select an executive director who
53shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor and shall perform
54the duties delegated to him or her by the council. The
55compensation of the executive director and staff shall be
56established in accordance with the rules of the Selected Exempt
57Service. The Governor shall give priority consideration in the
58selection of an executive director to an individual with
59professional expertise in research design, statistical analysis,
60or agency evaluation and analysis.
61     (c)  The council may apply for, receive, and accept grants,
62gifts, donations, bequests, and other payments including money
63or property, real or personal, tangible or intangible, and
64service from any governmental or other public or private entity
65or person and make arrangements as to the use of same.
66     (d)  The statewide council shall annually prepare a budget
67request that, after it is approved by the council, shall be
68submitted to the Governor. The budget shall include a request
69for funds to carry out the activities of the statewide council
70and the local councils.
71     (7)  The responsibilities of the statewide council include,
72but are not limited to:
73     (a)  Serving as an independent third-party mechanism for
74protecting the constitutional and human rights of clients within
75programs or facilities operated, funded, or contracted by any
76state agency that provides client services.
77     (b)  Monitoring, by site visit and through access to
78records, the delivery and use of services, programs, or
79facilities operated, funded, or contracted by any state agency
80that provides client services, for the purpose of preventing
81abuse or deprivation of the constitutional and human rights of
82clients. The statewide council may conduct an unannounced site
83visit or monitoring visit that involves the inspection of
84records if the visit is conditioned upon a complaint. A
85complaint may be generated by the council itself, after
86consulting with the Governor's office, if information from any
87state agency that provides client services or from other sources
88indicates a situation at the program or facility that indicates
89possible abuse or neglect or deprivation of the constitutional
90and human rights of clients. The statewide council shall
91establish and follow uniform criteria for the review of
92information and generation of complaints. The statewide council
93shall develop a written protocol for all complaints it generates
94to provide the Governor's office with information including the
95nature of the abuse or neglect, the agencies involved, the
96populations or numbers of individuals affected, the types of
97records necessary to complete the investigation, and a strategy
98for approaching the problem. Routine program monitoring and
99reviews that do not require an examination of records may be
100made unannounced.
101     (c)  Receiving, investigating, and resolving reports of
102abuse or deprivation of constitutional and human rights referred
103to the statewide council by a local council. If a matter
104constitutes a threat to the life, safety, or health of clients
105or is multiservice-area in scope, the statewide council may
106exercise its powers without the necessity of a referral from a
107local council.
108     (d)  Reviewing existing programs or services and new or
109revised programs of the state agencies that provide client
110services and making recommendations as to how the rights of
111clients are affected.
112     (e)  Submitting an annual report to the Legislature, no
113later than December 30 of each calendar year, concerning
114activities, recommendations, and complaints reviewed or
115developed by the council during the year.
116     (f)  Conducting meetings at least once six times a year at
117the call of the chair and at other times at the call of the
118Governor or by written request of eight six members of the
119council, including the executive director.
120     (g)  Developing and adopting uniform procedures to be used
121to carry out the purpose and responsibilities of the statewide
122council and the local councils.
123     (h)  Supervising the operations of the local councils and
124monitoring the performance and activities of all local councils
125and providing technical assistance to members of local councils.
126     (i)  Providing for the development and presentation of a
127standardized training program for members of local councils.
128     (j)  Developing and maintaining interagency agreements
129between the council and the state agencies providing client
130services. The interagency agreements shall address the
131coordination of efforts and identify the roles and
132responsibilities of the statewide and local councils and each
133agency in fulfillment of their responsibilities, including
134access to records. The interagency agreements shall explicitly
135define a process that the statewide and local councils shall use
136to request records from the agency and shall define a process
137for appeal when disputes about access to records arise between
138agency staff and council members. Interagency agreements shall
139be renewed annually and shall be completed and reported to the
140Governor no later than February 1.
141     (8)(a)  In the performance of its duties, the statewide
142council shall have:
143     1.  Authority to receive, investigate, seek to conciliate,
144hold hearings on, and act on complaints that allege any abuse or
145deprivation of constitutional or human rights of persons who
146receive client services from any state agency.
147     2.  Access to all client records, files, and reports from
148any program, service, or facility that is operated, funded, or
149contracted by any state agency that provides client services and
150any records that are material to its investigation and are in
151the custody of any other agency or department of government. The
152council's investigation or monitoring shall not impede or
153obstruct matters under investigation by law enforcement agencies
154or judicial authorities. Access shall not be granted if a
155specific procedure or prohibition for reviewing records is
156required by federal law and regulation that supersedes state
157law. Access shall not be granted to the records of a private
158licensed practitioner who is providing services outside the
159state agency, or outside a state facility, and whose client is
160competent and refuses disclosure.
161     3.  Standing to petition the circuit court for access to
162client records that are confidential as specified by law. The
163petition shall be filed with notice and opportunity to be heard
164by the state agency and shall state the specific reasons for
165which the council is seeking access and the intended use of such
166information. The circuit court may authorize council access to
167the records upon a finding that access is directly related to an
168investigation regarding the possible deprivation of
169constitutional or human rights or the abuse of a client.
170Original client files, agency records, and reports may not be
171removed from a state agency, but copies must be provided to the
172council and the local councils at the agency's expense. Under no
173circumstance shall the council have access to confidential
174adoption records once the adoption is finalized by a court in
175accordance with ss. 39.0132, 63.022, and 63.162. Upon completion
176of a general investigation of practices and procedures of a
177state agency, the statewide council shall report its findings to
178that agency.
179
180========= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T =========
181     On page 1, line(s) 2,
182remove:  all of said line
183and insert:
184An act relating to health and human services; amending s.
185402.164, F.S.; establishing legislative intent for the statewide
186and local advocacy councils; revising a definition; amending s.
187402.165, F.S.; providing for termination of members of the
188statewide council; providing guidelines for selection of the
189executive director of the Florida Statewide Advocacy Council;
190establishing a process for investigating reports of abuse;
191revising council meeting requirements; providing requirements
192for interagency agreements; requiring interagency agreements to
193be renewed annually and submitted to the Governor by a specified
194date; providing additional requirements for the statewide
195council to petition the circuit court for access to certain
196records;


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