Florida 2019 Regular Session Status: In Committee

HB 583 — Elder Protection

Last action — Died in State Affairs Committee

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2019 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

181 added · 271 removed

181 line(s) added, 271 removed.

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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S HB 583 2019 A bill to be entitled An act relating to elder protection;
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S CS/HB 583 2019 A bill to be entitled An act relating to elder protection;
amending s.
415.101, F.S.;
revising legislative intent;
amending s.
415.107, F.S.;
requiring that elder abuse fatality review teams be granted access to certain records;
requiring that certain identifying information be redacted in documents received by a review team;
allowing review teams access to and use of certain information and records;
authorizing review teams access to and use of certain information and records under certain circumstances;
requiring each review team to submit an annual report by a certain date to the Department of Elderly Affairs containing specified information;
authorizing a member of a deceased elder's family or any person to provide information or records to a review team subject to certain notification;
requiring the department to prepare annually a summary report on the review teams' information and submit the Page 1 of 10 CODING:
requiring each review team to submit an annual summary report by a specified date to the department;
requiring the Page 1 of 7 CODING:
hb0583-00 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S HB 583 2019 summary to the Governor, the Legislature, and the Department of Children and Families;
hb0583-01-c1 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S CS/HB 583 2019 department to prepare annually a summary report on the review teams' information and submit the report to the Governor, the Legislature, and the Department of Children and Families;
exempting certain information and records from discovery;
providing an exception;
restricting the testimony of certain persons about information or records presented during meetings or activities of the review teams;
prohibiting review teams and review team members from disclosing confidential information;
Section 415.101, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
415.101 Adult Protective Services Act;
legislative intent.— (1) Sections 415.101-415.113 may be cited as the "Adult Protective Services Act." (2) The Legislature recognizes that there are many persons in this state who, because of age or disability, are in need of protective services.
Such services should allow such an individual the same rights as other citizens and, at the same time, protect the individual from abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
It is the intent of the Legislature to provide for Page 2 of 10 CODING:
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hb0583-00 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S HB 583 2019 the detection and correction of abuse, neglect, and exploitation through social services and criminal investigations and to establish a program of protective services for all vulnerable adults in need of them.
It is intended that the mandatory reporting of such cases will cause the protective services of the state to be brought to bear in an effort to prevent further abuse, neglect, and exploitation of vulnerable adults.
In taking this action, the Legislature intends to place the fewest possible restrictions on personal liberty and the exercise of constitutional rights, consistent with due process and protection from abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
Further, the Legislature intends to encourage the constructive involvement of families in the care and protection of vulnerable adults or elderly persons.
The Legislature further intends that each protective investigator, as defined in s.
415.102, earn and maintain a valid certification as a protective investigator through a third-party credentialing entity approved under s.
402.40(3).
Section 2.
Paragraph (m) is added to subsection (3) of section 415.107, Florida Statutes, to read:
415.107 Confidentiality of reports and records.— (3) Access to all records, excluding the name of the reporter which shall be released only as provided in subsection (6), shall be granted only to the following persons, officials, and agencies:
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hb0583-00 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S HB 583 2019 (m) An elder abuse fatality review team established under s.
415.1103(1) which is reviewing the death of an elderly person.
Section 3.
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415.1103 Elder abuse fatality review teams.— (1)(a) An elder abuse fatality review team may be established in each judicial circuit to review deaths of elderly persons alleged or found to have been caused by, or related to, abuse or neglect.
415.1103 Elder abuse fatality review teams.— (1)(a) An elder abuse fatality review team may be established in each judicial circuit to review deaths of elderly persons found to have been caused by, or related to, abuse or neglect.
6.
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hb0583-01-c1 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S CS/HB 583 2019 6.
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11.
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hb0583-00 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S HB 583 2019 11.
(c) A state attorney, or his or her designee, may initiate the establishment of a review team in his or her judicial circuit and may call the first organizational meeting of the team.
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At the initial meeting, members of the review team shall choose two members to serve as co-chairs.
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hb0583-00 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S HB 583 2019 (d) Participation in a review team is voluntary.
hb0583-01-c1 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S CS/HB 583 2019 (c) A state attorney, or his or her designee, may initiate the establishment of a review team in his or her judicial circuit and may call the first organizational meeting of the team.
At the initial meeting, members of the review team shall choose two members to serve as co-chairs and shall establish a schedule for future meetings.
(d) Participation in a review team is voluntary.
(f) A review team shall determine the local operations of the team, including, but not limited to, the process for case selection, which must be limited to closed cases in which an elderly person's death is verified to have been caused by abuse or neglect, and the review team meeting schedule, which must include at least one meeting in each fiscal year.
(f) A review team shall determine the local operations of the team, including, but not limited to, the process for case selection.
Reviews must be limited to closed cases in which an elderly person's death is verified by the state attorney to have been caused by abuse or neglect.
All identifying information concerning the elderly person must be redacted in documents received for review.
The review team shall meet at least once each fiscal year.
(2) An elder abuse fatality review team in existence on July 1, 2019, may continue to exist and shall comply with the requirements created in this section.
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(3) An elder abuse fatality review team shall do all of the following:
(a) Review deaths of elderly persons in its judicial circuit alleged or found to have been caused by, or related to, abuse or neglect.
(b) Consider the events leading up to a fatal incident, available community resources, current law and policies, and the Page 6 of 10 CODING:
hb0583-00 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S HB 583 2019 actions taken by systems and individuals related to the fatal incident.
hb0583-01-c1 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S CS/HB 583 2019 (2) An elder abuse fatality review team in existence on July 1, 2019, may continue to exist and shall comply with the requirements created in this section.
(c) Identify gaps, deficiencies, or problems in the delivery of services to elderly persons by public and private agencies which may be related to deaths reviewed by the review team.
(3) An elder abuse fatality review team shall do all of the following:
(a) Review deaths of elderly persons in its judicial circuit found to have been caused by, or related to, abuse or neglect.
(b) Consider the events leading up to a fatal incident, available community resources, current law and policies, and the actions taken by systems or individuals related to the fatal incident.
(c) Identify potential gaps, deficiencies, or problems in the delivery of services to elderly persons by public and private agencies which may be related to deaths reviewed by the review team.
(e) Develop practice standards and recommend changes in law, rules, and policies to support the care of elderly persons and to prevent elder abuse deaths.
(e) Develop recommendations and potential changes in law, rules, and policies to support the care of elderly persons and to prevent elder abuse deaths.
(4)(a) Upon a written request from a co-chair of an elder abuse fatality review team, the following information or records pertaining to an elderly person whose death is being reviewed by the team must be disclosed to the team:
(4)(a) Review teams in this state may share with each other any relevant information that pertains to the review of the death of an elderly person.
1.
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Information and records held by a criminal justice agency, as defined in s.
119.011(4), not including active criminal intelligence information or criminal investigative information, as defined in s.
119.011(3).
2.
Information and records from Adult Protective Services, pursuant to s.
415.107(3)(m).
3.
An autopsy report from the medical examiner's office, but not including materials protected under s.
406.135.
(b) Review teams may share with each other any relevant Page 7 of 10 CODING:
hb0583-00 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S HB 583 2019 information that pertains to the review of the death of an elderly person.
hb0583-01-c1 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S CS/HB 583 2019 (b) A review team member may not contact, interview, or obtain information by request directly from a member of the deceased elder's family as part of the review unless a team member is authorized to do so in the course of his or her employment duties.
(c) A review team member may not contact, interview, or obtain information by request directly from a member of the deceased elder's family as part of the review unless a team member is authorized to do so in the course of his or her employment duties.
A member of the deceased elder's family or any person may voluntarily provide information or records to a review team, but must be informed that such information or records are subject to public disclosure unless a public records exemption applies.
A member of the deceased elder's family may voluntarily provide information or records to a review team.
(5)(a) Annually by September 1, each elder abuse fatality review team shall submit a summary report to the Department of Elderly Affairs which includes, but is not limited to:
(5)(a) Annually by September 1, each elder abuse fatality review team shall submit a report to the Department of Elderly Affairs which includes, but is not limited to:
Descriptive statistics regarding cases reviewed by the review team, including demographic information on victims and caregivers and the causes and nature of deaths;
Descriptive statistics regarding cases reviewed by the review team, including demographic information on victims and the causes and nature of deaths;
3.
and 3.
Any other recommendations to prevent deaths from elder abuse or neglect, based on an analysis of the data and information presented in the report;
Any other recommendations to prevent deaths from elder abuse or neglect, based on an analysis of the data and information presented in the report.
and 4.
(b) Annually by November 1, the Department of Elderly Affairs shall prepare a summary report of the review team Page 6 of 7 CODING:
Any steps taken by the review team and public and private agencies to implement necessary changes and to improve the coordination of services and review of cases.
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hb0583-00 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S HB 583 2019 (b) Annually by November 1, the Department of Elderly Affairs shall prepare a summary report of the review team information required under paragraph (a).
hb0583-01-c1 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S CS/HB 583 2019 information required under paragraph (a).
(6) Information and records acquired by an elder abuse fatality review team are not subject to discovery or introduction into evidence in any civil or criminal action or administrative or disciplinary proceeding by any state or local government department or agency if the information or records arose out of the matters that are the subject of review by a review team, unless the information and records are not discoverable from any other source.
(6) There is no monetary liability on the part of, and a cause of action for damages may not arise against, any member of an elder abuse fatality review team due to the performance of his or her duties as a review team member in regard to any discussions by, or deliberations or recommendations of, the team or the member, unless such member acted in bad faith, with wanton and willful disregard of human rights, safety, or property.
Information and records that are available from other sources are not immune from discovery or introduction into evidence solely because the information, documents, or records were presented to or reviewed by a review team.
Section 2.
(7) A person who has attended a meeting of an elder abuse fatality review team or who has otherwise participated in the activities authorized by this section may not be allowed or required to testify in any civil, criminal, administrative, or disciplinary proceeding as to any information or records produced or presented to the review team during a meeting or other activity authorized by this section, unless such testimony Page 9 of 10 CODING:
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hb0583-00 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S HB 583 2019 is necessary to determine the information or records that were available to the review team.
However, this paragraph does not prevent any person who testifies before the team or who is a member of the team from testifying as to matters otherwise within his or her knowledge.
(8) There is no monetary liability on the part of, and a cause of action for damages may not arise against, any member of an elder abuse fatality review team due to the performance of his or her duties as a review team member in regard to any discussions by, or deliberations or recommendations of, the team or the member, unless such member acted in bad faith, with wanton and willful disregard of human rights, safety, or property.
(9) Elder abuse fatality review teams and their members may not disclose any information that is confidential pursuant to law.
Section 4.
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hb0583-00
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Action History

  1. Died in State Affairs Committee

  2. Indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration

  3. Now in State Affairs Committee

  4. CS referred to State Affairs Committee; Health and Human Services Committee

  5. Original reference(s) removed: Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee

  6. CS by Children, Families and Seniors Subcommittee read 1st time

  7. Pending review of CS under Rule 7.18(c)

  8. CS by Children, Families and Seniors Subcommittee; YEAS 15 NAYS 0

  9. On Committee agenda-- Children, Families and Seniors Subcommittee, 03/25/19, 4:00 pm, 12 HOB

  10. Introduced

  11. Referred to Children, Families and Seniors Subcommittee; Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee; Health and Human Services Committee

  12. Filed

Sponsors

  • Watson · Primary

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 163 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

  • Watson

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (163)

163 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 163 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Favorable With Committee Substitute (Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee)

Passed 15 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 11000
Republican 3000
Democrat 1000
Total 15000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (15)
Member Party Vote
Ausley — Yea
Newton — Yea
Ponder — Yea
Roth — Yea
Stevenson — Yea
Clemons — Yea
Cortes, J. — Yea
Fernandez-Barquin — Yea
Fetterhoff — Yea
Polo — Yea
Roach — Yea
Polsky, Tina Scott Democrat Yea
Brannan III, Robert Charles "Chuck" Republican Yea
Duggan, Wyman Republican Yea
Smith, David Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights veterans
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors HB 583?
HB 583 is sponsored by Watson.
What is the current status of HB 583?
This bill died with 2019 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track HB 583?
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