HB 1535 2024
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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 public health mandates and 2
policies; amending s. 381.003, F.S.; prohibiting the 3
Department of Health from requiring enrollment in the 4
state's immunization registry or otherwise requiring 5
persons to submit to immunization tracking; 6
prohibiting the department from including a person's 7
immunization records in any interstate or federal 8
immunization tracking system or otherwise giving an 9
entity access to a person's immunization records 10
without first obtaining written informed consent from 11
the person or person's parent or guardian, as 12
applicable; prohibiting the department from requiring 13
a person be vaccinated without first obtaining a 14
written informed consent from the person or person's 15
parent or guardian, as applicable; amending s. 16
381.00322, F.S.; prohibiting a government entity or an 17
educational entity from adopting, implementing, or 18
enforcing specified international public health 19
policies or guidelines unless specifically approved by 20
the Legislature; amending s. 1003.22, F.S.; 21
prohibiting the department from requiring, as a 22
school-entry requirement, that children receive 23
immunizations approved only for emergency use unless 24
specifically approved by the Legislature; providing an 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
effective date. 26
27
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 28
29
Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 381.003, Florida 30
Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (3), paragraph (e) of 31
subsection (1) is amended, and a new subsection (2) is added to 32
that section, to read: 33
381.003 Communicable disease and AI DS prevention and 34
control.— 35
(1) The department shall conduct a communicable disease 36
prevention and control program as part of fulfilling its public 37
health mission. A communicable disease is any disease caused by 38
transmission of a specific infectious agen t, or its toxic 39
products, from an infected person, an infected animal, or the 40
environment to a susceptible host, either directly or 41
indirectly. The communicable disease program must include, but 42
need not be limited to: 43
(e) Programs for the prevention and control of vaccine-44
preventable diseases, including programs to immunize school 45
children as required by s. 1003.22(3) -(11) and the development 46
of an automated, electronic, and centralized database and 47
registry of immunizations. The department may not requi re 48
enrollment in the immunization registry or otherwise require 49
persons to submit to any form of immunization tracking. The 50
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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
department shall ensure that all children in this state are 51
immunized against vaccine -preventable diseases. The immunization 52
registry must allow the department to enhance current 53
immunization activities for the purpose of improving the 54
immunization of all children in this state. 55
1. Except as provided in subparagraph 2., the department 56
shall include all children born in this state in the 57
immunization registry by using the birth records from the Office 58
of Vital Statistics. The department shall add other children to 59
the registry as immunization services are provided. 60
2. The parent or guardian of a child may refuse to have 61
the child included in the immunization registry by signing a 62
form obtained from the department, or from the health care 63
practitioner or entity that provides the immunization, which 64
indicates that the parent or guardian does not wish to have the 65
child included in the im munization registry. Each consent to 66
treatment form provided by a health care practitioner or by an 67
entity that administers vaccinations or causes vaccinations to 68
be administered to children from birth through 17 years of age 69
must contain a notice stating that the parent or guardian of a 70
child may refuse to have his or her child included in the 71
immunization registry. The parent or guardian may either submit 72
the opt-out form directly to the department or must provide such 73
form such opt-out form to the health care practitioner or entity 74
upon administration of the vaccination. Such health care 75
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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
practitioner or entity shall submit the form to the department. 76
If a parent or guardian has refused to have his or her child 77
included in the immunization registry, A parent or guardian may 78
submit the opt-out form directly to the department. any records 79
or identifying information pertaining to the child must shall be 80
removed from the registry , if the parent or guardian has refused 81
to have his or her child included in the im munization registry. 82
3. A college or university student, from 18 years of age 83
to 23 years of age, who obtains an immunization a vaccination 84
from a college or university student health center or clinic in 85
this the state may refuse to be included in the im munization 86
registry by signing a form obtained from the department, health 87
center, or clinic which indicates that the student does not wish 88
to be included in the immunization registry. The student may 89
either submit the opt -out form directly to the departme nt or 90
must provide such form such opt-out form to the health center or 91
clinic upon administration of the immunization vaccination. Such 92
health center or clinic shall submit the form to the department. 93
If the student has refused to be included in the immuni zation 94
registry, A student may submit the opt -out form directly to the 95
department. any records or identifying information pertaining to 96
the student must shall be removed from the registry if the 97
student has refused to be included in the immunization regist ry. 98
4. The immunization registry shall allow for immunization 99
records to be electronically available to entities that are 100
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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
required by law to have such records, including, but not limited 101
to, schools and licensed child care facilities. However, the 102
department may not include a person's immunization records in 103
any interstate or federal immunization tracking system or 104
otherwise allow an entity not required by law to have such 105
records without first obtaining written informed consent from 106
the person or the per son's parent or guardian, if the person is 107
a minor, to release the immunization records for such purpose. 108
5. A health care practitioner licensed under chapter 458, 109
chapter 459, or chapter 464 in this state who administers 110
vaccinations or causes vaccinati ons to be administered to 111
children from birth through 17 years of age is required to 112
report vaccination data to the immunization registry, unless a 113
parent or guardian of a child has refused to have the child 114
included in the immunization registry by meeting the 115
requirements of subparagraph 2. A health care practitioner 116
licensed under chapter 458, chapter 459, or chapter 464 in this 117
state who administers vaccinations or causes vaccinations to be 118
administered to college or university students from 18 years of 119
age to 23 years of age at a college or university student health 120
center or clinic is required to report vaccination data to the 121
immunization registry, unless the student has refused to be 122
included in the immunization registry by meeting the 123
requirements of subparagraph 3. Vaccination data for students in 124
other age ranges may be submitted to the immunization registry 125
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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
only if the student consents to inclusion in the immunization 126
registry. The upload of data from existing automated systems is 127
an acceptable method for updating immunization information in 128
the immunization registry. The information in the immunization 129
registry must include the child's name, date of birth, address, 130
and any other unique identifier necessary to correctly identify 131
the child; the immun ization record, including the date, type of 132
administered vaccine, and vaccine lot number; and the presence 133
or absence of any adverse reaction or contraindication related 134
to the immunization. Information received by the department for 135
the immunization regis try retains its status as confidential 136
medical information and the department must maintain the 137
confidentiality of that information as otherwise required by 138
law. A health care practitioner or other agency that obtains 139
information from the immunization regi stry must maintain the 140
confidentiality of any medical records in accordance with s. 141
456.057 or as otherwise required by law. 142
(2)(a) The department may not require a person to be 143
vaccinated without a written informed consent form from the 144
person or the person's parent or guardian, if the person is a 145
minor. 146
(b) The written informed consent from may be obtained from 147
the department. 148
Section 2. Section 381.00322, Florida Statutes, is amended 149
to read: 150
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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
381.00322 International health organization policies.—A 151
governmental entity as defined in s. 381.00316 or an educational 152
institution as defined in s. 381.00319 may not adopt, implement, 153
or enforce an international health organization's : 154
(1) Public health policies or guidelines unless 155
specifically approved by the Legislature authorized to do so 156
under state law, rule, or executive order issued by the Governor 157
under s. 252.36. 158
(2) Mandatory digital health identifications verifying 159
vaccination status unless specifically approved by the 160
Legislature. 161
Section 3. Subsection (3) of section 1003.22, Florida 162
Statutes, is amended to read: 163
1003.22 School-entry health examinations; immunization 164
against communicable diseases; exemptions; duties of Department 165
of Health.— 166
(3) The Department of Health may a dopt rules necessary to 167
administer and enforce this section. The Department of Health, 168
after consultation with the Department of Education, shall adopt 169
rules governing the immunization of children against, the 170
testing for, and the control of preventable co mmunicable 171
diseases. The rules must include procedures for exempting a 172
child from immunization requirements. Immunizations must shall 173
be required for poliomyelitis, diphtheria, rubeola, rubella, 174
pertussis, mumps, tetanus, and other communicable diseases as 175
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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
determined by rules of the Department of Health ; however, any 176
immunization approved by the United States Food and Drug 177
Administration only for emergency use or any new vaccine 178
recommendation may not be required unless specifically approved 179
by the Legislature. The manner and frequency of administration 180
of the immunization or testing must shall conform to recognized 181
standards of medical practice. The Department of Health shall 182
supervise and secure the enforcement of the required 183
immunization. Immunizations r equired by this section shall be 184
available at no cost from the county health departments. 185
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 186