HB 7087 2024
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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to cancer funding; amending s. 2
381.915, F.S.; revising the purpose of the Casey 3
DeSantis Cancer Research Program; revising duties of 4
the Department of Health under the program; creating 5
the Cancer Connect Collaborative within the department 6
for a specified purpose; authorizing the collaborative 7
to make certain recommendations on state policy 8
relating to cancer research or treatment; providing 9
for membership and meetings of the collaborative; 10
requiring the collaborative to develop a long -range 11
comprehensive plan for the program; requiring the 12
collaborative to solicit input from certain 13
stakeholders in the development of the plan; requiring 14
the collaborative to submit the plan to the Governor 15
and the Legislature by a specified date; specifying 16
required components of the plan; requiring the 17
department to provide administrative support and staff 18
to the collaborative; requiring the collaborative to 19
administer the Cancer Innovation Fund; requiring the 20
collaborative to review grant applications and m ake 21
recommendations to the department for awarding grants 22
upon the appropriation of funds to the fund; requiring 23
the department to make the final grant allocation 24
award; requiring the collaborative to prioritize 25
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certain applications for grant funding; revi sing the 26
frequency with which the department, in conjunction 27
with participating cancer centers, must submit a 28
specified report to the Cancer Control and Research 29
Advisory Council and the collaborative; requiring the 30
department to submit the report, and any equivalent 31
independent reports, to the Governor and the 32
Legislature by a specified date each year; revising 33
requirements of such reports; beginning on a specified 34
date, requiring that each allocation agreement issued 35
by the department relating to certain cancer center 36
payments include specified elements; providing an 37
effective date. 38
39
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 40
41
Section 1. Subsections (8), (9), and (10) of section 42
381.915, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsection s (10), 43
(12), and (13), respectively, subsection (2) and present 44
subsection (8) are amended, and new subsections (8) and (9) and 45
subsection (11) are added to that section, to read: 46
381.915 Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program. — 47
(2) The Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program is 48
established to enhance the quality and competitiveness of cancer 49
care in this state, further a statewide biomedical research 50
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strategy directly responsive to the health needs of Florida's 51
citizens, and capitalize on the potential educational 52
opportunities available to its students , and promote the 53
provision of high-quality, innovative health care for persons 54
undergoing cancer treatment in this state . The department shall : 55
(a) Make payments to cancer centers recognized by the 56
National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of 57
Health as NCI-designated cancer centers or NCI -designated 58
comprehensive cancer centers, and cancer centers working toward 59
achieving NCI designation. The department shall distribute funds 60
to participating cancer centers on a quarterly basis during each 61
fiscal year for which an appropriation is made. 62
(b) Make cancer innovation grant funding available through 63
the Cancer Innovation Fund administered by the Cancer Connect 64
Collaborative under subsection (9) to health care providers and 65
facilities that demonstrate excellence in patient -centered 66
cancer treatment or research. 67
(8) The Cancer Connect Collaborative, a council as defined 68
in s. 20.03, is created within the department to advise the 69
department and the Legislature on developing a holistic approach 70
to the state's efforts to fund cancer research, cancer 71
facilities, and treatments for cancer patients. The 72
collaborative may make recommendations on proposed legislation, 73
proposed rules, best practices, data collection and reporting, 74
issuance of grant funds, and other proposals for state policy 75
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relating to cancer research or treatment. 76
(a) The Surgeon General shall serve as an ex officio, 77
nonvoting member and shall serve as the chair. 78
(b) The collaborative shall be composed of the following 79
voting members, to be appointed by September 1, 2024: 80
1. Two members appointed by the Governor, one member 81
appointed by the President of the Senate, and one member 82
appointed by the Speaker of the House of Represen tatives, based 83
on the criteria of this subparagraph. The appointing officers 84
shall make their appointments prioritizing members who have 85
experience or expertise in the following: 86
a. The practice of a health care profession specializing 87
in oncology clinical care or research; 88
b. The development of preventive and therapeutic 89
treatments to control cancer; 90
c. The development of innovative research into the causes 91
of cancer, the development of effective treatments for persons 92
with cancer, or cures for cance r; or 93
d. Management-level experience with a cancer center 94
licensed under chapter 395. 95
2. One member who is a resident of this state who can 96
represent the interests of cancer patients in this state, 97
appointed by the Governor. 98
(c) The terms of appointees under paragraph (b) shall be 99
for 2 years unless otherwise specified. However, to achieve 100
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staggered terms, the initial appointees under that paragraph 101
shall serve 3 years for their first term. These appointees may 102
be reappointed for no more than four consecutive terms. 103
(d) Any vacancy occurring on the collaborative must be 104
filled in the same manner as the original appointment. Any 105
member who is appointed to fill a vacancy occurring because of 106
death, resignation, or ineligibilit y for membership shall serve 107
only for the unexpired term of the member's predecessor. 108
(e) Members whose terms have expired may continue to serve 109
until replaced or reappointed, but for no more than 6 months 110
after the expiration of their terms. 111
(f) Members shall serve without compensation but are 112
entitled to reimbursement for per diem and travel expenses 113
pursuant to s. 112.061. 114
(g) The collaborative shall meet as necessary, but at 115
least quarterly, at the call of the chair. A majority of the 116
members of the collaborative constitutes a quorum, and a meeting 117
may not be held with less than a quorum present. In order to 118
establish a quorum, the collaborative may conduct its meetings 119
through teleconference or other electronic means. The 120
affirmative vote of a maj ority of the members of the 121
collaborative present is necessary for any official action by 122
the collaborative. 123
(h) The collaborative shall develop a long -range 124
comprehensive plan for the Casey DeSantis Cancer Research 125
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Program. In the development of the pla n, the collaborative must 126
solicit input from cancer centers, research institutions, 127
biomedical education institutions, hospitals, and medical 128
providers. The collaborative shall submit the plan to the 129
Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker o f the 130
House of Representatives no later than December 1, 2024. The 131
plan must include, but need not be limited to, all of the 132
following components: 133
1. Expansion of grant fund opportunities to include a 134
broader pool of Florida -based cancer centers, researc h 135
institutions, biomedical education institutions, hospitals, and 136
medical providers to receive funding through the Cancer 137
Innovation Fund. 138
2. An evaluation to determine metrics that focus on 139
patient outcomes, quality of care, and efficacy of treatment. 140
3. A compilation of best practices relating to cancer 141
research or treatment. 142
(i) The department shall provide reasonable and necessary 143
support staff and materials to assist the collaborative in the 144
performance of its duties. 145
(9) The collaborative shal l administer the Cancer 146
Innovation Fund. During any fiscal year for which funds are 147
appropriated to the fund, the collaborative shall review all 148
submitted grant applications and make recommendations to the 149
department for awarding grants to support innovati ve cancer 150
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research and treatment models, including emerging research and 151
treatment trends and promising treatments that may serve as 152
catalysts for further research and treatments. The department 153
shall make the final grant allocation awards. The collaborati ve 154
shall give priority to applications seeking to expand the reach 155
of innovative cancer treatment models into underserved areas of 156
this state. 157
(10)(8) Beginning July 1, 2025 2017, and each year every 3 158
years thereafter, the department, in conjunction wit h 159
participating cancer centers, shall submit a report to the 160
Cancer Control and Research Advisory Council and the 161
collaborative on specific metrics relating to cancer mortality 162
and external funding for cancer -related research in this the 163
state. If a cancer center does not endorse this report or 164
produce an equivalent independent report, the cancer center is 165
ineligible to receive shall be suspended from the program 166
funding for 1 year. The department must submit this annual 167
report, and any equivalent independe nt reports, to the Governor, 168
the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of 169
Representatives no later than September 15 of each year the 170
report or reports are submitted by the department. The report 171
must include: 172
(a) An analysis of trending age-adjusted cancer mortality 173
rates in the state, which must include, at a minimum, overall 174
age-adjusted mortality rates for cancer statewide and age -175
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adjusted mortality rates by age group, geographic region, and 176
type of cancer, which must include, at a min imum: 177
1. Lung cancer. 178
2. Pancreatic cancer. 179
3. Sarcoma. 180
4. Melanoma. 181
5. Leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes. 182
6. Brain cancer. 183
7. Breast cancer. 184
(b) Identification of trends in overall federal funding, 185
broken down by institutional source, for cancer-related research 186
in the state. 187
(c) A list and narrative description of collaborative 188
grants and interinstitutional collaboration among participating 189
cancer centers, which may include grants received by 190
participating cancer centers in collabor ation, a comparison of 191
such collaborative grants in proportion to the grant totals for 192
each cancer center, a catalog of retreats and progress seed 193
grants using state funds, and targets for collaboration in the 194
future and reports on progress regarding such targets where 195
appropriate. 196
(11) Beginning July 1, 2024, each allocation agreement 197
issued by the department relating to cancer center payments 198
under subsection (2) must include all of the following: 199
(a) A line-item budget narrative documenting the annual 200
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allocation of funds to a cancer center. 201
(b) A cap on the annual award of 15 percent for 202
administrative expenses. 203
(c) A requirement for the cancer center to submit 204
quarterly reports of all expenditures made by the cancer center 205
with funds received through the Casey DeSantis Cancer Research 206
Program. 207
(d) A provision to allow the department and other state 208
auditing bodies to audit all financial records, supporting 209
documents, statistical records, and any other documents 210
pertinent to the allocation agreement. 211
(e) A provision requiring the annual reporting of outcome 212
data and protocols used in achieving those outcomes. 213
(12)(9) This section is subject to annual appropriation by 214
the Legislature. 215
(13)(10) The department may adopt rules to administer this 216
section. 217
Section 2. This act sha ll take effect July 1, 2024. 218