HB 427 2023
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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
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to health care authority and consent; 2
amending s. 744.441, F.S.; authorizing certain persons 3
to act on behalf of a ward before a guardian is 4
appointed; amending s. 817.5655, F.S.; prohibiting the 5
sale or transfer of the DNA of another person for 6
purposes of DNA analysis; revising exemptions from 7
prosecution of certain crimes related to the unlawful 8
use of DNA samples, DNA analyses, or the resul ts of 9
DNA analyses; revising applicability; amending s. 10
1014.06, F.S.; authorizing health care practitioners 11
and providers to obtain verbal parental consent for 12
the provision of health care services, medical 13
procedures, and the prescription of medicinal dr ugs to 14
a minor child under certain circumstances; requiring 15
health care practitioners and providers to document 16
certain information when written parental consent is 17
not obtained; providing an effective date. 18
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the Sta te of Florida: 20
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Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 744.441, Florida 22
Statutes, is amended to read: 23
744.441 Powers of guardian upon court approval. —After 24
obtaining approval of the court pursuant to a petition for 25
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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
authorization to act: 26
(2) A plenary guardian or a limited guardian of a ward may 27
sign an order not to resuscitate as provided in s. 401.45(3). 28
When a plenary guardian or a limited guardian of a ward seeks to 29
obtain approval of the court to sign an order not to 30
resuscitate, if required by ex igent circumstances, the court 31
must hold a preliminary hearing within 72 hours after the 32
petition is filed, and: 33
(a) Rule on the relief requested immediately after the 34
preliminary hearing; or 35
(b) Conduct an evidentiary hearing not later than 4 days 36
after the preliminary hearing and rule on the relief requested 37
immediately after the evidentiary hearing. 38
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This subsection does not prevent a person with authority under 40
s. 765.401, to act on behalf of the ward before a guardian is 41
appointed. 42
Section 2. Subsections (5), (7), and (8) of section 43
817.5655, Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (1) of 44
that section is republished, to read: 45
817.5655 Unlawful use of DNA; penalties; exceptions. — 46
(1) As used in this section, the terms "DNA analysis," 47
"DNA sample," and "express consent" have the same meanings as in 48
s. 760.40(1)(a), (b), and (d), respectively. 49
(5) It is unlawful for a person to willfully, and without 50
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express consent, sell or otherwise transfer another person's DNA 51
sample for purposes of DNA analysis or the results of another 52
person's DNA analysis to a third party, regardless of whether 53
the DNA sample was originally collected, retained, or analyzed 54
with express consent. A person who violates this subsection 55
commits a felony of the second d egree, punishable as provided in 56
s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 57
(7) This section and s. 760.40 do not apply to a DNA 58
sample, a DNA analysis, or the results of a DNA analysis used 59
for the purposes of: 60
(a) Criminal investigation or prosecution; 61
(b) Complying with a subpoena, summons, or other lawful 62
court order; 63
(c) Complying with federal law; 64
(d) Treatment, payment, or health care operations as those 65
terms are defined in 45 C.F.R. s. 164.501 Medical diagnosis, 66
conducting quality assessments , improvement activities, and 67
treatment of a patient when: 68
1. Express consent for clinical laboratory analysis of the 69
DNA sample was obtained by the health care practitioner who 70
collected the DNA sample ; or 71
2. Performed by a clinical laboratory certifi ed by the 72
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; 73
(e) The newborn screening program established in s. 74
383.14; 75
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(f) Determining paternity under s. 409.256 or s. 76
742.12(1); 77
(g) Performing any activity authorized under s. 943.325; 78
or 79
(h) Conducting research, and designing and preparing such 80
research, subject to the requirements of, and in compliance 81
with, 45 C.F.R. part 46, 21 C.F.R. parts 50 and 56, or 45 C.F.R. 82
parts 160 and 164; or utilizing information that is deidentified 83
consistent with 45 C.F .R. parts 160 and 164 and that is 84
originally collected and maintained for research subject to the 85
requirements of, and in compliance with, 45 C.F.R. part 46, 21 86
C.F.R. parts 50 and 56, or 45 C.F.R. parts 160 and 164. 87
(8) The provisions of This section and s. 760.40 apply 88
only to the collection, use, analysis, submission, maintenance, 89
or disclosure of a DNA sample collected from a person in this 90
state Florida, and to use, retention, maintenance, and 91
disclosure of such person's DNA sample or the results of a DNA 92
analysis after the effective date of this act. 93
Section 3. Subsections (3), (4), and (5) of section 94
1014.06, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (4), 95
(5), and (6), respectively, subsections (1) and (2) of that 96
section are amended, and a new subsection (3) is added to that 97
section to read: 98
1014.06 Parental consent for health care services. — 99
(1) Except as otherwise provided by law, a health care 100
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practitioner, as defined in s. 456.001, or an individual 101
employed by such health care prac titioner may not provide or 102
solicit or arrange to provide health care services or prescribe 103
medicinal drugs to a minor child without first obtaining written 104
parental consent or, if the parent is not able to provide 105
written consent, verbal parental consent that is documented by 106
the health care practitioner and witnessed by another health 107
care practitioner at a hospital or surgical center licensed 108
under chapter 395 or a clinical facility exempt from licensure 109
under s. 400.9905(4)(e) and (h) . 110
(2) Except as otherwise provided by law or a court order, 111
a provider, as defined in s. 408.803, may not allow a medical 112
procedure to be performed on a minor child in its facility 113
without first obtaining written parental consent or, if the 114
parent is not able to provide wr itten consent, verbal parental 115
consent that is documented by the provider and witnessed by 116
another provider at a hospital or surgical center licensed under 117
chapter 395 or a clinical facility exempt from licensure under 118
s. 400.9905(4)(e) and (h) . 119
(3) When written parental consent is not obtained and 120
verbal parental consent is obtained as provided under 121
subsections (1) and (2), the health care practitioner or 122
provider must also document the reason why the parent was unable 123
to provide written parental consen t. 124
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 125