Florida Senate - 2010 SB 1300
By Senator Hill
1-00733A-10 20101300__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to prostate cancer; amending s.
3 381.911, F.S.; revising the purpose of the Prostate
4 Cancer Awareness Program within the Department of
5 Health; authorizing the Department of Health and the
6 University of Florida Prostate Disease Center to
7 coordinate with other organizations and institutions
8 to create a systemic focus on increasing community
9 education and awareness of prostate cancer; requiring
10 the State Surgeon General, in consultation with the
11 Comprehensive Cancer Control Program within the
12 department and the Florida Cancer Control and Research
13 Advisory Council, to appoint members to the Prostate
14 Cancer Advisory Council, formerly designated as a
15 “committee”; providing for terms of office; providing
16 for the appointment of members to fill vacant
17 positions; providing for the removal and replacement
18 of members; providing the duties of the prostate
19 cancer advisory council; requiring the department to
20 provide staff and administrative support to the
21 council; providing for a quorum of the council;
22 providing the mission, intent, and duties of the
23 University of Florida Prostate Disease Center
24 regarding the awareness of prostate cancer, research
25 efforts, and public access to cancer treatment
26 options, including an annual prostate cancer symposium
27 and submission of an annual report to the Governor,
28 the State Surgeon General, and the Legislature;
29 requiring the prostate cancer awareness program to
30 coordinate its efforts with the University of Florida
31 Prostate Disease Center instead of the Florida Public
32 Health Institute, Inc.; providing an effective date.
33
34 WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that prostate cancer is
35 a major public health problem and that promoting awareness of
36 this disease is in the public interest of this state, and
37 WHEREAS, according to the Department of Health’s Florida
38 Cancer Plan 2003-2006, prostate cancer was the most commonly
39 diagnosed cancer in Florida, accounting for one in every four
40 cancer diagnoses, and
41 WHEREAS, the costs for screening, staging, and treating
42 prostate cancer patients in both dollars and morbidity continue
43 to rise, which threatens the foundation of this state’s health
44 system, and
45 WHEREAS, because African-American men are 2.8 times more
46 likely to succumb to prostate cancer than their White
47 counterparts, a call for action is mandatory, and
48 WHEREAS, there are currently no organized mechanisms in
49 Florida to mitigate the incidence of prostate cancer, the racial
50 and ethnic disparities with regard to the disease, and the lack
51 of community education and awareness, and
52 WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that it is a public
53 necessity to establish the Prostate Cancer Advisory Council and
54 to make changes to the Prostate Cancer Awareness Program in
55 order to increase community education and revive public
56 awareness of prostate cancer, NOW, THEREFORE,
57
58 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
59
60 Section 1. Section 381.911, Florida Statutes, is amended to
61 read:
62 381.911 Prostate Cancer Awareness Program.—
63 (1) To the extent that funds are specifically made
64 available for this purpose, the Prostate Cancer Awareness
65 Program is established within the Department of Health. The
66 purpose of this program is to implement the recommendations of
67 January 2000 of the Florida Prostate Cancer Task Force to
68 provide for statewide outreach, public education, awareness of
69 prostate cancer, notification of clinical trials, and health
70 education activities to ensure that men are aware of and
71 appropriately seek medical counseling for prostate cancer as an
72 early detection early-detection health care measure.
73 (2) For purposes of implementing the program, the
74 Department of Health and the University of Florida Prostate
75 Disease Center may coordinate and work with other organizations
76 and institutions, including the Florida Public Health Institute,
77 Inc., to create a systemic focus on increasing community
78 education and awareness about prostate cancer by may:
79 (a) Conducting Conduct activities directly or enter into a
80 contract with a qualified nonprofit community education entity.
81 (b) Seeking Seek any available gifts, grants, or funds from
82 the state, the Federal Government, philanthropic foundations,
83 and industry or business groups.
84 (3) The A Prostate Cancer Advisory Council committee is
85 created to advise and assist the Department of Health and the
86 University of Florida Prostate Disease Center Florida Public
87 Health Institute, Inc., in implementing the program and to
88 recommend strategies for educating residents of this state
89 regarding the health benefits of awareness, early detection, and
90 treatment of prostate cancer.
91 (a) The State Surgeon General, in consultation with the
92 Comprehensive Cancer Control Program within the Department of
93 Health and the Florida Cancer Control and Research Advisory
94 Council, shall appoint geographically and institutionally
95 diverse council the advisory committee members, who shall
96 consist of:
97 1. Three persons from prostate cancer survivor groups or
98 cancer-related advocacy groups.
99 2. Three persons who are scientists or clinicians from
100 public universities or research organizations.
101 3. Three persons who are engaged in the practice of a
102 cancer-related medical specialty from health organizations
103 committed to cancer research and control.
104 (b) Members shall serve without compensation but are
105 entitled to reimbursement, pursuant to s. 112.061, for per diem
106 and travel expenses incurred in the performance of their
107 official duties.
108 (c) Each member of the advisory council shall be appointed
109 to a 4-year term; however, for the purpose of providing
110 staggered terms, of the initial appointments, four members shall
111 be appointed to 2-year terms and five members shall be appointed
112 to 4-year terms. A member of the council may be removed at any
113 time by the State Surgeon General who shall fill the vacancy on
114 the council.
115 (d) At the first meeting of the advisory council each year,
116 the members shall elect a chair and a vice chair. A vacancy in
117 the office of chair or vice chair shall be filled by vote of the
118 remaining members. The council shall meet quarterly and at other
119 times at the call of the chair or as determined by a majority of
120 council members.
121 (e) The Prostate Cancer Advisory Council shall:
122 1. Present recommendations to the Department of Health on
123 policy and health priorities concerning prostate cancer
124 incidence and disparities.
125 2. Verify the accuracy of prostate cancer information
126 disseminated to the public.
127 3. Plan, develop, and implement activities designed to
128 heighten awareness and educate residents of this state regarding
129 the importance of early detection, clinical trials, and
130 effective treatment options for prostate cancer.
131 4. Develop effective communication channels to various
132 stakeholders within and across the state.
133 (f) The Department of Health shall provide staff and
134 administrative support to the council.
135 (g) Five of the members of the council constitute a quorum,
136 and an affirmative vote of a majority of the members present is
137 required for final action.
138 (4)(a) The mission and fundamental intent of the University
139 of Florida Prostate Disease Center with regard to the Prostate
140 Cancer Awareness Program is to foster the collaboration required
141 to improve community education and awareness; to enhance
142 research efforts for patients who have urologic cancers which
143 will, ultimately, provide residents of this state with rapid
144 access to new and more effective cancer treatment options; and
145 to deliver the clinical expertise, academic leadership,
146 operational capabilities, and business acumen required to reduce
147 the incidence of prostate cancer and eliminate the racial and
148 ethnic disparities locally and nationally.
149 (b) The University of Florida Prostate Disease Center
150 shall:
151 1. Provide community education about prostate cancer by
152 fostering collaborative relationships between diverse
153 communities at the direction of the Prostate Cancer Advisory
154 Council.
155 2. Conduct an annual prostate cancer symposium that brings
156 physicians, researchers, community leaders, prostate cancer
157 survivors, and prostate cancer advocates together to highlight
158 recent advances in prostate cancer research, clinical trials,
159 and best practices in the prevention of the disease, and to
160 promote strategies for successful rural and urban outreach,
161 community education, and increased awareness.
162 3. Submit and present an annual report to the Governor, the
163 President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
164 Representatives, and the State Surgeon General by January 15,
165 2011, and by January 15 each following year, which contains
166 recommendations for legislative changes necessary to decrease
167 the incidence of prostate cancer, decrease the racial and ethnic
168 disparities, and promote increased community education and
169 awareness.
170 (5)(4) The program shall coordinate its efforts with those
171 of the University of Florida Prostate Disease Center Florida
172 Public Health Institute, Inc.
173 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.