Florida Senate - 2024 SB 7072
By the Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services
603-03533-24 20247072__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to cancer funding; amending s.
3 381.915, F.S.; revising the purpose of the Casey
4 DeSantis Cancer Research Program; revising duties of
5 the Department of Health under the program; creating
6 the Cancer Connect Collaborative, a council, within
7 the department for a specified purpose; authorizing
8 the collaborative to make certain recommendations on
9 state policy relating to cancer research or treatment;
10 providing for membership and meetings of the
11 collaborative; requiring the collaborative to develop
12 a long-range comprehensive plan for the program;
13 requiring the collaborative to solicit input from
14 certain stakeholders in the development of the plan;
15 requiring the collaborative to submit the plan to the
16 Governor and the Legislature by a specified date;
17 specifying required components of the plan; requiring
18 the department to provide administrative support and
19 staff to the collaborative; requiring the
20 collaborative to administer the Cancer Innovation
21 Fund; requiring the collaborative to review grant
22 applications and make recommendations to the
23 department for awarding grants upon the appropriation
24 of funds to the fund; requiring the department to make
25 the final grant allocation award; requiring the
26 collaborative to prioritize certain applications for
27 grant funding; revising the frequency with which the
28 department, in conjunction with participating cancer
29 centers, must submit a specified report to the Cancer
30 Control and Research Advisory Council and the
31 collaborative; requiring the department to submit the
32 report, and any equivalent independent reports, to the
33 Governor and the Legislature by a specified date each
34 year; revising requirements of such reports; beginning
35 on a specified date, requiring that each allocation
36 agreement issued by the department relating to certain
37 cancer center payments include specified elements;
38 providing an effective date.
39
40 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
41
42 Section 1. Present subsections (8), (9), and (10) of
43 section 381.915, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
44 subsections (10), (12), and (13), new subsections (8) and (9)
45 and subsection (11) are added to that section, and subsection
46 (2) of that section is amended, to read:
47 381.915 Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program.—
48 (2) The Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program is
49 established to enhance the quality and competitiveness of cancer
50 care in this state, further a statewide biomedical research
51 strategy directly responsive to the health needs of Florida’s
52 citizens, and capitalize on the potential educational
53 opportunities available to its students, and promote the
54 provision of high-quality, innovative health care for persons
55 undergoing cancer treatment in this state. The department shall:
56 (a) Make payments to cancer centers recognized by the
57 National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of
58 Health as NCI-designated cancer centers or NCI-designated
59 comprehensive cancer centers, and cancer centers working toward
60 achieving NCI designation. The department shall distribute funds
61 to participating cancer centers on a quarterly basis during each
62 fiscal year for which an appropriation is made.
63 (b) Make cancer innovation grant funding available through
64 the Cancer Innovation Fund administered by the Cancer Connect
65 Collaborative under subsection (9) to health care providers and
66 facilities that demonstrate excellence in patient-centered
67 cancer treatment or research.
68 (8) The Cancer Connect Collaborative, a council as defined
69 in s. 20.03, is created within the department to advise the
70 department and the Legislature on developing a holistic approach
71 to the state’s efforts to fund cancer research, cancer
72 facilities, and treatments for cancer patients. The
73 collaborative may make recommendations on proposed legislation,
74 proposed rules, best practices, data collection and reporting,
75 issuance of grant funds, and other proposals for state policy
76 relating to cancer research or treatment.
77 (a) The Surgeon General shall serve as an ex officio,
78 nonvoting member and shall serve as the chair.
79 (b) The collaborative shall be composed of the following
80 voting members, to be appointed by September 1, 2024:
81 1. Two members appointed by the Governor, one member
82 appointed by the President of the Senate, and one member
83 appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, based
84 on the criteria of this subparagraph. The appointing officers
85 shall make their appointments prioritizing members who have the
86 following experience or expertise:
87 a. The practice of a health care profession specializing in
88 oncology clinical care or research;
89 b. The development of preventive and therapeutic treatments
90 to control cancer;
91 c. The development of innovative research into the causes
92 of cancer, the development of effective treatments for persons
93 with cancer, or cures for cancer; or
94 d. Management-level experience with a cancer center
95 licensed under chapter 395.
96 2. One member who is a resident of this state who can
97 represent the interests of cancer patients in this state,
98 appointed by the Governor.
99 (c) The terms of appointees under paragraph (b) shall be
100 for 2 years unless otherwise specified. However, to achieve
101 staggered terms, the initial appointees under that paragraph
102 shall serve 3 years for their first term. These appointees may
103 be reappointed for no more than four consecutive terms.
104 (d) Any vacancy occurring on the collaborative must be
105 filled in the same manner as the original appointment. Any
106 member who is appointed to fill a vacancy occurring because of
107 death, resignation, or ineligibility for membership shall serve
108 only for the unexpired term of the member’s predecessor.
109 (e) Members whose terms have expired may continue to serve
110 until replaced or reappointed, but for no more than 6 months
111 after the expiration of their terms.
112 (f) Members shall serve without compensation but are
113 entitled to reimbursement for per diem and travel expenses
114 pursuant to s. 112.061.
115 (g) The collaborative shall meet as necessary, but at least
116 quarterly, at the call of the chair. A majority of the members
117 of the collaborative constitutes a quorum, and a meeting may not
118 be held with less than a quorum present. In order to establish a
119 quorum, the collaborative may conduct its meetings through
120 teleconference or other electronic means. The affirmative vote
121 of a majority of the members of the collaborative present is
122 necessary for any official action by the collaborative.
123 (h) The collaborative shall develop a long-range
124 comprehensive plan for the Casey DeSantis Cancer Research
125 Program. In the development of the plan, the collaborative must
126 solicit input from cancer centers, research institutions,
127 biomedical education institutions, hospitals, and medical
128 providers. The collaborative shall submit the plan to the
129 Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
130 House of Representatives no later than December 1, 2024. The
131 plan must include, but need not be limited to, all of the
132 following components:
133 1. Expansion of grant fund opportunities to include a
134 broader pool of Florida-based cancer centers, research
135 institutions, biomedical education institutions, hospitals, and
136 medical providers to receive funding through the Cancer
137 Innovation Fund.
138 2. An evaluation to determine metrics that focus on patient
139 outcomes, quality of care, and efficacy of treatment.
140 3. A compilation of best practices relating to cancer
141 research or treatment.
142 (i) The department shall provide reasonable and necessary
143 support staff and materials to assist the collaborative in the
144 performance of its duties.
145 (9) The collaborative shall administer the Cancer
146 Innovation Fund. During any fiscal year for which funds are
147 appropriated to the fund, the collaborative shall review all
148 submitted grant applications and make recommendations to the
149 department for awarding grants to support innovative cancer
150 research and treatment models, including emerging research and
151 treatment trends and promising treatments that may serve as
152 catalysts for further research and treatments. The department
153 shall make the final grant allocation awards. The collaborative
154 shall give priority to applications seeking to expand the reach
155 of innovative cancer treatment models into underserved areas of
156 this state.
157 (10) Beginning July 1, 2025 2017, and each year every 3
158 years thereafter, the department, in conjunction with
159 participating cancer centers, shall submit a report to the
160 Cancer Control and Research Advisory Council and the
161 collaborative on specific metrics relating to cancer mortality
162 and external funding for cancer-related research in this the
163 state. If a cancer center does not endorse this report or
164 produce an equivalent independent report, the cancer center is
165 ineligible to receive shall be suspended from the program
166 funding for 1 year. The department must submit this annual
167 report, and any equivalent independent reports, to the Governor,
168 the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
169 Representatives no later than September 15 of each year the
170 report or reports are submitted by the department. The report
171 must include:
172 (a) An analysis of trending age-adjusted cancer mortality
173 rates in the state, which must include, at a minimum, overall
174 age-adjusted mortality rates for cancer statewide and age
175 adjusted mortality rates by age group, geographic region, and
176 type of cancer, which must include, at a minimum:
177 1. Lung cancer.
178 2. Pancreatic cancer.
179 3. Sarcoma.
180 4. Melanoma.
181 5. Leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes.
182 6. Brain cancer.
183 7. Breast cancer.
184 (b) Identification of trends in overall federal funding,
185 broken down by institutional source, for cancer-related research
186 in the state.
187 (c) A list and narrative description of collaborative
188 grants and interinstitutional collaboration among participating
189 cancer centers, which may include grants received by
190 participating cancer centers in collaboration, a comparison of
191 such collaborative grants in proportion to the grant totals for
192 each cancer center, a catalog of retreats and progress seed
193 grants using state funds, and targets for collaboration in the
194 future and reports on progress regarding such targets where
195 appropriate.
196 (11) Beginning July 1, 2024, each allocation agreement
197 issued by the department relating to cancer center payments
198 under subsection (2) must include all of the following:
199 (a) A line-item budget narrative documenting the annual
200 allocation of funds to a cancer center.
201 (b) A cap on the annual award of 15 percent for
202 administrative expenses.
203 (c) A requirement for the cancer center to submit quarterly
204 reports of all expenditures made by the cancer center with funds
205 received through the Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program.
206 (d) A provision to allow the department and other state
207 auditing bodies to audit all financial records, supporting
208 documents, statistical records, and any other documents
209 pertinent to the allocation agreement.
210 (e) A provision requiring the annual reporting of outcome
211 data and protocols used in achieving those outcomes.
212 (12)(9) This section is subject to annual appropriation by
213 the Legislature.
214 (13)(10) The department may adopt rules to administer this
215 section.
216 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.