Florida Senate - 2025                              CS for SB 614
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and
       Senator Polsky
       
       
       
       
       586-03173A-25                                          2025614c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public education of background
    3         screening requirements; amending s. 435.12, F.S.;
    4         requiring the Agency for Health Care Administration
    5         and the Department of Law Enforcement, in consultation
    6         with certain agencies, to develop and maintain a care
    7         provider background screening education and awareness
    8         webpage; providing requirements for resources provided
    9         on the webpage; requiring that specified agencies
   10         provide a link to the webpage on their respective
   11         websites and promote the inclusion of the link in
   12         certain media; requiring that the webpage be active by
   13         a specified date and updated annually; providing an
   14         effective date.
   15          
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Subsection (4) is added to section 435.12,
   19  Florida Statutes, to read:
   20         435.12 Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse.—
   21         (4)(a) As part of the Care Provider Background Screening
   22  Clearinghouse, the Agency for Health Care Administration, in
   23  consultation with all specified agencies that are required by
   24  law to use the clearinghouse for employment screening, must
   25  develop and maintain a publicly available webpage which provides
   26  a central source for care provider background screening
   27  education and awareness. This webpage may be part of the current
   28  web-based clearinghouse system. The resources available on the
   29  webpage must be written in nontechnical and accessible language,
   30  tailored to qualified entities as defined in s. 943.0542(1)(b)
   31  and include, but need not be limited to:
   32         1. Information and education related to employment
   33  screening requirements of qualified entities, to include:
   34         a. The Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse.
   35         b. Level 2 screening standards under chapter 435.
   36         c. Live-scan fingerprinting, or other third-party systems,
   37  including information on process, vendors, locations, and
   38  potential costs.
   39         2. A searchable catalog, by specified agency, of qualified
   40  entity employment classes and positions required by law to
   41  undergo employment screening through the clearinghouse, to
   42  include:
   43         a. Disqualifying offenses.
   44         b. Exemption requirements and process.
   45         3. A downloadable checklist detailing the process,
   46  timelines, and contact information for employment screening
   47  process support, tailored to qualified entities.
   48         (b) Specified agencies must include a clear and conspicuous
   49  link to the webpage on their respective websites and promote the
   50  inclusion of the link in all job vacancy advertisements and
   51  posts by qualified entities.
   52         (c) The webpage must be active by January 1, 2026, and
   53  reviewed and updated by October 1, 2026, and each subsequent
   54  year to incorporate any changes to law, the clearinghouse, or
   55  the employment screening process.
   56         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.