Florida Senate - 2022                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1184
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì646934@Î646934                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  01/26/2022           .                                
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       The Committee on Health Policy (Broxson) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 456.61, Florida Statutes, is created to
    6  read:
    7         456.61 Use of free speech by a health care practitioner;
    8  prohibition.—
    9         (1) A board, or the department if there is no board, may
   10  not reprimand, sanction, or revoke or threaten to revoke a
   11  license, certificate, or registration of a health care
   12  practitioner for exercising his or her constitutional right of
   13  free speech, including, but not limited to, speech through the
   14  use of a social media platform as defined in s. 501.2041(1)(g).
   15         (2) To reprimand, sanction, or revoke or threaten to revoke
   16  a license, certificate, or registration of a health care
   17  practitioner for his or her speech, the board, or the department
   18  if there is no board, must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that
   19  the health care practitioner’s speech led to the direct physical
   20  harm of a person with whom the health care practitioner had a
   21  practitioner-patient relationship within the 3 years immediately
   22  preceding the incident of physical harm. If the board or the
   23  department, as applicable, reprimands, sanctions, revokes, or
   24  threatens to revoke a license, certificate, or registration of a
   25  health care practitioner for his or her speech, and proof beyond
   26  a reasonable doubt has not been established under this
   27  subsection, the board or the department is liable for a sum of
   28  up to $1.5 million per occurrence for any direct or indirect
   29  damages to a health care practitioner.
   30         (3) The board, or the department if there is no board, must
   31  provide a health care practitioner with any complaints it has
   32  received which may result in the revocation of the health care
   33  practitioner’s license, certification, or registration, within 7
   34  days after receipt of the complaint. The board, or the
   35  department if there is no board, must pay the health care
   36  practitioner an administrative penalty of $500 for each day the
   37  complaint is not provided to the health care practitioner after
   38  the specified 7 days.
   39         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.
   40  
   41  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   42  And the title is amended as follows:
   43         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   44  and insert:
   45                        A bill to be entitled                      
   46         An act relating to free speech of health care
   47         practitioners; creating s. 456.61, F.S.; prohibiting
   48         certain regulatory boards and the Department of Health
   49         from reprimanding, sanctioning, or revoking or
   50         threatening to revoke a license, certificate, or
   51         registration of a health care practitioner for
   52         specified use of his or her right of free speech
   53         without specified proof; providing for liability;
   54         requiring the board or department, as applicable, to
   55         provide to a health care practitioner certain
   56         complaints within a specified timeframe; providing a
   57         penalty; providing an effective date.