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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 emergencies; amending s. 252.36, 2
F.S.; requiring legislative approval before the 3
Governor is authorized to renew certain emergency 4
provisions; requiring the Governor to review and 5
redraft such provisions after a certain time period of 6
time; requiring the Office of Program Policy Analysis 7
and Government Accountability to prepare a report in 8
certain circumstances; requiring such report to 9
accompany the Governor's redraft of such provisions; 10
providing authorized and prohibited actions of the 11
Governor; providing that specified property is 12
considered commandeered and compensation is required 13
in certain circumstances; providing requirements for 14
certain emergency provisions for a specified purpose; 15
providing legislative intent; amending s. 381.00315, 16
F.S.; revising the definition of the term "public 17
health advisory"; revising required and authorized 18
actions of the State Health Officer; providing 19
legislative intent; providing an effective date. 20
21
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 22
23
Section 1. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (1) and 24
subsection (2) of section 252.36, Florida Statutes, are amended, 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
and subsection (13) is add ed to that section, to read: 26
252.36 Emergency management powers of the Governor. — 27
(1) 28
(b) Pursuant to the authority vested in her or him under 29
paragraph (a), the Governor may issue executive orders, 30
proclamations, and rules and may amend or rescind th em. Such 31
executive orders, proclamations, and rules shall have the force 32
and effect of law. An executive order, a proclamation, or a rule 33
must be limited to a duration of not more than 60 days and may 34
be renewed as necessary during the duration of the emer gency. If 35
renewed, the order, proclamation, or rule must specifically 36
state which provisions are being renewed . An executive order, a 37
proclamation, or a rule, if not revoked sooner, shall cease to 38
have effect at the expiration of 60 days, unless such execu tive 39
order, proclamation, or rule is approved by a resolution passed 40
by a majority of the House of Representatives and the Senate. 41
Such a resolution may extend such executive order, proclamation, 42
or rule for an additional 30 days. Such an extension, if not 43
revoked sooner, shall cease to have effect at the expiration of 44
the additional 30 days, unless such executive order, 45
proclamation, or rule is approved by a resolution passed by a 46
two-thirds majority of the House of Representatives and the 47
Senate. Such a resolution may extend such executive order, 48
proclamation, or rule for an additional 30 days. Each subsequent 49
resolution, if not revoked sooner, shall cease to have effect at 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
the expiration of the additional 30 days unless such executive 51
order, proclamation, or rule is approved by a resolution passed 52
by a two-thirds majority of the House of Representatives and the 53
Senate. Such executive order, proclamation, or rule may not be 54
extended for longer than 6 months without a full review and a 55
redraft of such execut ive order, proclamation, or rule by the 56
Governor. Such redraft must include a report by the Office of 57
Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability that 58
reviews the measures in such executive order, proclamation, or 59
rule. The Governor may revoke an y executive order, proclamation, 60
or rule that has been approved by the Legislature under this 61
paragraph before it would otherwise expire, provided that the 62
Governor may not modify the effect of any measure that has been 63
so approved without the concurrence of the Legislature. Upon the 64
expiration of an executive order, proclamation, or rule, the 65
Governor may not issue a substantially similar executive order, 66
proclamation, or rule without the concurrence of the 67
Legislature. 68
(c) The Legislature intends that, during an extended 69
public health emergency, such as the COVID -19 pandemic, there 70
should be a presumption that K -12 public schools, to the 71
greatest extent possible, should remain open so long as the 72
health and safety of students and school personnel can be 73
maintained by specific public health mitigation strategies 74
recommended by federal or state health agencies for educational 75
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settings. The Legislature also intends that during such an 76
event, there be a presumption that businesses should remain open 77
to the greatest extent possible so long as the health and safety 78
of employees and customers can be reasonably protected by 79
specific public health mitigation strategies recommended by 80
federal or state health agencies, including, but not limited, to 81
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 82
1. If the Governor declares by executive order or 83
proclamation that the emergency requires closure of or 84
restricted in-person attendance at K -12 public schools, the 85
executive order or proclamation must contain specific r easons 86
for those determinations, and he or she must review and reassess 87
the situation at least every 30 days and certify in writing any 88
need for such continued closure or restriction regularly. 89
2. If the Governor declares by executive order or 90
proclamation that the emergency requires businesses to restrict 91
their operations or close, the executive order or proclamation 92
must contain specific reasons for those determinations, and he 93
or she must review and reassess the situation at least every 30 94
days and certify in writing any need for such continued closure 95
or restriction regularly. However, if such restrictions are 96
imposed by the Governor on private businesses and continue for 97
more than 14 days, any affected business is considered 98
commandeered pursuant to p aragraph (4)(d) and compensation must 99
be paid pursuant to s. 252.43. 100
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3. Any executive order, proclamation, or rule that limits 101
the rights or liberties of individuals or businesses must be 102
narrowly tailored to serve a compelling public health or safety 103
purpose. Any such measure must be limited in duration, 104
applicability, and scope to reduce any infringement on 105
individual rights or liberties to the greatest extent possible. 106
(2) A state of emergency must be declared by executive 107
order or proclamation of th e Governor if she or he finds an 108
emergency has occurred or that the occurrence or the threat 109
thereof is imminent. The state of emergency must continue until 110
the Governor finds that the threat or danger has been dealt with 111
to the extent that the emergency c onditions no longer exist and 112
she or he terminates the state of emergency by executive order 113
or proclamation, but no state of emergency may continue for 114
longer than 60 days unless renewed by the Legislature under 115
paragraph (1)(b) by the Governor. All executive orders or 116
proclamations issued under this section must indicate the nature 117
of the emergency, the area or areas threatened, and the 118
conditions which brought the emergency about or which make 119
possible its termination. An executive order or proclamation 120
must be promptly disseminated by means calculated to bring its 121
contents to the attention of the general public; and, unless the 122
circumstances attendant upon the emergency prevent or impede 123
such filing, the order or proclamation must be filed promptly 124
with the Department of State, the President of the Senate and 125
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the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the offices of 126
the county commissioners in the counties to which the order or 127
proclamation applies. 128
(13) It is the intent of the Legislature that th e powers 129
granted in this section may not be used in any way that 130
infringes upon or limits any rights provided in Art. I of the 131
State Constitution. 132
Section 2. Paragraphs (b) through (g) of subsection (5) of 133
section 381.00315, Florida Statutes, are redes ignated as 134
paragraphs (a) through (f), respectively, paragraph (b) of 135
subsection (1), paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (2), and 136
present paragraph (a) of subsection (5) are amended, and 137
subsection (7) is added to that section, to read: 138
381.00315 Public health advisories; public health 139
emergencies; isolation and quarantines. —The State Health Officer 140
is responsible for declaring public health emergencies, issuing 141
public health advisories, and ordering isolation or quarantines. 142
(1) As used in this section, the term: 143
(b) "Public health advisory" means any warning or report 144
giving information to the public about a potential public health 145
threat. Before issuing any public health advisory, the State 146
Health Officer must consult with any state or local agency 147
regarding areas of responsibility which may be affected by such 148
advisory. Upon determining that issuing a public health advisory 149
is necessary to protect the public health and safety, and prior 150
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to issuing the advisory, the State Health Officer must n otify 151
each county health department within the area which is affected 152
by the advisory of the State Health Officer's intent to issue 153
the advisory. The State Health Officer is authorized to take any 154
action appropriate to enforce any public health advisory. 155
(2) 156
(c) The State Health Officer, upon declaration of a public 157
health emergency, shall establish by order the method and 158
procedure for identifying and reporting cases and deaths 159
involving the infectious disease or other occurrence identified 160
as the basis for the declared public health emergency. The 161
method and procedure must be consistent with any standards 162
developed by the Federal Government specific to the declared 163
emergency or, if federal standards do not exist, must be 164
consistent with public health be st practices as identified by 165
the State Health Officer. During the pendency of a public health 166
emergency, the department is the sole entity responsible for the 167
collection and official reporting and publication of cases and 168
deaths. The State Health Officer, by order or emergency rule, 169
may ensure necessary assistance from licensed health care 170
providers in carrying out this function and may request the 171
assistance of district medical examiners in performing this 172
function. 173
(d) The State Health Officer, upon de claration of a public 174
health emergency, may take actions that are necessary to protect 175
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the public health. Such actions include, but are not limited to: 176
1. Directing manufacturers of prescription drugs or over -177
the-counter drugs who are permitted under cha pter 499 and 178
wholesalers of prescription drugs located in this state who are 179
permitted under chapter 499 to give priority to the shipping of 180
specified drugs to pharmacies and health care providers within 181
geographic areas identified by the State Health Offi cer. The 182
State Health Officer must identify the drugs to be shipped. 183
Manufacturers and wholesalers located in the state must respond 184
to the State Health Officer's priority shipping directive before 185
shipping the specified drugs. 186
2. Notwithstanding chapter s 465 and 499 and rules adopted 187
thereunder, directing pharmacists employed by the department to 188
compound bulk prescription drugs and provide these bulk 189
prescription drugs to physicians and nurses of county health 190
departments or any qualified person authori zed by the State 191
Health Officer for administration to persons as part of a 192
prophylactic or treatment regimen. 193
3. Notwithstanding s. 456.036, temporarily reactivating 194
the inactive license of the following health care practitioners, 195
when such practitioners are needed to respond to the public 196
health emergency: physicians licensed under chapter 458 or 197
chapter 459; physician assistants licensed under chapter 458 or 198
chapter 459; licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, and 199
advanced practice registered nurs es licensed under part I of 200
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chapter 464; respiratory therapists licensed under part V of 201
chapter 468; and emergency medical technicians and paramedics 202
certified under part III of chapter 401. Only those health care 203
practitioners specified in this paragraph who possess an 204
unencumbered inactive license and who request that such license 205
be reactivated are eligible for reactivation. An inactive 206
license that is reactivated under this paragraph shall return to 207
inactive status when the public health emergency ends or before 208
the end of the public health emergency if the State Health 209
Officer determines that the health care practitioner is no 210
longer needed to provide services during the public health 211
emergency. Such licenses may only be reactivated for a period 212
not to exceed 90 days without meeting the requirements of s. 213
456.036 or chapter 401, as applicable. 214
4. Ordering an individual to be examined, tested, treated, 215
isolated, or quarantined for communicable diseases that have 216
significant morbidity or mortality and p resent a severe danger 217
to public health. Individuals who are unable or unwilling to be 218
examined, tested, or treated for reasons of health, religion, or 219
conscience may not be may be subjected to isolation or 220
quarantine without a due process hearing . 221
a. Examination, testing, or treatment may be performed by 222
any qualified person authorized by the State Health Officer. 223
b. If the individual poses a danger to the public health, 224
the State Health Officer may subject the individual to isolation 225
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or quarantine. If there is no practical method to isolate or 226
quarantine the individual, the State Health Officer may use any 227
means necessary to treat the individual. 228
c. Any order of the State Health Officer given to 229
effectuate this paragraph is immediately enforceable by a law 230
enforcement officer under s. 381.0012. 231
(5) The department shall adopt rules to specify the 232
conditions and procedures for imposing and releasing an 233
isolation or a quarantine. The rules must include provisions 234
related to: 235
(a) The closure of premis es. 236
(7) It is the intent of the Legislature that the powers 237
granted in this section may not be used in any way that 238
infringes or limits any rights provided in Art. I of the State 239
Constitution. 240
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 241