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APRIL 7 - APRIL 13, 2023 | OCALA GAZETTE
FLORIDA NEWS SERVICE BRIEFS
LAWMAKERS TACKLE CATALYTIC CONVERTER THEFTS
SENATE SIGNS OFF ON ‘MEDICATION AIDES’
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he Florida Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill that would allow trained certified nursing assistants to provide medications to nursing-home residents. The bill (SB 558), sponsored by Health Policy Chairwoman Colleen Burton,
R-Lakeland, would allow certified nursing assistants to become trained as “qualified medication aides.” They could then administer what Burton and other supporters have described as “routine” medications to nursing-home residents, freeing up registered
nurses to provide other needed care. Also, qualified medication aides could perform tasks such as checking residents’ blood glucose levels. A House version of the bill (HB 351) has cleared committees and is positioned to go to the full House.
YEAR-ROUND SCHOOLS BACKED IN SENATE
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ith catalytic converters including valuable metals, the Florida Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill aimed at curbing thefts of the pollution-control devices from cars and trucks. “This is happening to cars in driveways, it’s happening to fleet vehicles in fenced yards, and even, even the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile fell prey to this a month or so ago,” Senate bill sponsor Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, said. “That was just a little bit too far.” Catalytic converters include precious metals such as palladium and platinum.
Supporters of the Senate bill (SB 306) and an identical House bill (HB 185) say thieves quickly cut catalytic converters off vehicles and sell the devices because of the metals. The bills include creating third-degree felony charges for “knowingly” purchasing, possessing or selling stolen catalytic converters. Also, they would create an “inference” that people with two or more detached catalytic converters knew or should have known they were stolen or fraudulently obtained. The issue also is positioned to go to the full House.
proposal began moving forward Tuesday in the Florida Senate that would create a year-round school pilot program at a limited number of elementary schools. The Senate Education Pre-K-12 Committee unanimously approved the measure (SB 1564). The pilot program would launch next school year and would be authorized to run for
four years. The state education commissioner would choose five school districts to participate. “To the extent possible, the commissioner shall select school districts that represent a variety of demographics, including, but not limited to, urban, suburban and rural school districts,” the bill says. At least one elementary school in the participating districts
would take part in the yearround program. The state Department of Education also would be required to study the “issues, benefits, and schedule options for instituting year-round school programs for all students.” A similar House bill (HB 891) has cleared committees and can be considered by the full House.
STUDENT DATA BILL HEADED TO FULL SENATE
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proposal dubbed the “Student Online Personal Information Protection Act” is poised for consideration by the full Senate after getting a green light Wednesday from the Rules Committee. The bill (SB 662) seeks to restrict the way that operators of websites and online applications used in schools can collect and use students’ data. For example, operators would be barred from using “targeted
advertising” on students and would be prohibited from using personal information to “amass a profile” of a student. The measure also would require website and application operators to collect “no more covered information than is reasonably necessary to operate” the services. Bill sponsor Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated “the pivot” to
online learning. “There’s an ever-increasing number of third-party educational applications being used in the classroom. And while innovative, these educational technologies are able to collect and maintain a large amount of data on our children,” Bradley said. An identical House bill (HB 699) needs approval from the Education & Employment Committee before it could be considered by the full House.
Senate targets treatments for trans minors By Jim Saunders Florida News Service
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he Florida Senate on Tuesday passed a plan that would bar doctors and other healthcare providers from offering treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy to transgender minors. The bill (SB 254) would largely put into law rules approved by state medical boards, but it also could lead to felony charges for doctors who provide the treatments to minors. Bill sponsor Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, said the treatments, which also could involve surgery, are “experimental” when provided to children. “I believe we need to let kids be kids,” Yarborough said. “And our laws need to set appropriate boundaries that respect the rights and responsibilities of parents while protecting children from the very serious health and safety concerns associated with these treatments.” But Democratic lawmakers said major national medical associations support
gender-affirming care for transgender minors and that the bill is part of broader efforts in legislatures across the country to target LGBTQ youths. Rep. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, called the bill “persecution, plain and simple.” “I will not co-sign on vilifying young people who are trying just to be who they are, vilifying parents when they want to seek gender-affirming care, vilifying physicians who provide this care,” Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Windermere, said. The Republican-controlled Senate voted 27-12 along almost-straight party lines to pass the bill. Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, joined Democrats in opposing the bill. The bill now will go to the House, where it is expected to pass. “I don’t think that young people should have their bodies mutilated until they have a chance to make a decision,” House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, told reporters earlier Tuesday. “And when they’re adults, if that’s what they choose to do, then we support them in that decision. … And I think everybody in this room, everybody listening, knows that when you
are a child developmentally, you are not ready to make those determinations.” Also, Gov. Ron DeSantis has made the issue a priority, frequently calling genderaffirming care “child mutilation.” But Sen. Lori Berman, D-Boca Raton, alluded Tuesday to DeSantis and GOP lawmakers often touting the “free” state of Florida. “Free states don’t ban health care,” Berman said. “This state should not be stepping in to override parents’ decisions about health care for their children. The bill strips Florida parents of the right to follow the evidence-based advice of healthcare providers to provide the best care for their transgender child.” The issue centers, in part, on treatment for gender dysphoria, which the federal government defines clinically as “significant distress that a person may feel when sex or gender assigned at birth is not the same as their identity,” The legislation came after the Florida Board of Medicine and the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine, at the urging of the DeSantis administration, adopted
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rules that prevent doctors from providing the treatments to minors. Those rules went into effect last month. The bill includes an exemption for children currently receiving puberty blockers or hormone therapy to treat gender dysphoria. But it also would require the medical boards to create rules to establish standards of care for transgender children currently receiving the treatments. While adults would be able to receive the treatments, the bill includes additional restrictions. For example, adults would have to sign consent forms that would be developed by the medical boards. Also, the bill would prevent the use of telehealth in providing treatments. Republican lawmakers and the DeSantis administration have made a series of controversial decisions in recent years about LGBTQ-related issues. As an example, the DeSantis administration last year stopped Medicaid reimbursements for gender-affirming treatment for minors and adults, a move that has been challenged in federal court.