Florida Senate - 2024 SB 7072 By the Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services 603-03533-24 20247072__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to cancer funding; amending s. 3 381.915, F.S.; revising the purpose of the Casey 4 DeSantis Cancer Research Program; revising duties of 5 the Department of Health under the program; creating 6 the Cancer Connect Collaborative, a council, within 7 the department for a specified purpose; authorizing 8 the collaborative to make certain recommendations on 9 state policy relating to cancer research or treatment; 10 providing for membership and meetings of the 11 collaborative; requiring the collaborative to develop 12 a long-range comprehensive plan for the program; 13 requiring the collaborative to solicit input from 14 certain stakeholders in the development of the plan; 15 requiring the collaborative to submit the plan to the 16 Governor and the Legislature by a specified date; 17 specifying required components of the plan; requiring 18 the department to provide administrative support and 19 staff to the collaborative; requiring the 20 collaborative to administer the Cancer Innovation 21 Fund; requiring the collaborative to review grant 22 applications and make recommendations to the 23 department for awarding grants upon the appropriation 24 of funds to the fund; requiring the department to make 25 the final grant allocation award; requiring the 26 collaborative to prioritize certain applications for 27 grant funding; revising the frequency with which the 28 department, in conjunction with participating cancer 29 centers, must submit a specified report to the Cancer 30 Control and Research Advisory Council and the 31 collaborative; requiring the department to submit the 32 report, and any equivalent independent reports, to the 33 Governor and the Legislature by a specified date each 34 year; revising requirements of such reports; beginning 35 on a specified date, requiring that each allocation 36 agreement issued by the department relating to certain 37 cancer center payments include specified elements; 38 providing an effective date. 39 40 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 41 42 Section 1.Present subsections (8), (9), and (10) of 43 section 381.915, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as 44 subsections (10), (12), and (13), new subsections (8) and (9) 45 and subsection (11) are added to that section, and subsection 46 (2) of that section is amended, to read: 47 381.915Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program. 48 (2)The Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program is 49 established to enhance the quality and competitiveness of cancer 50 care in this state, further a statewide biomedical research 51 strategy directly responsive to the health needs of Floridas 52 citizens, and capitalize on the potential educational 53 opportunities available to its students, and promote the 54 provision of high-quality, innovative health care for persons 55 undergoing cancer treatment in this state. The department shall: 56 (a)Make payments to cancer centers recognized by the 57 National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of 58 Health as NCI-designated cancer centers or NCI-designated 59 comprehensive cancer centers, and cancer centers working toward 60 achieving NCI designation. The department shall distribute funds 61 to participating cancer centers on a quarterly basis during each 62 fiscal year for which an appropriation is made. 63 (b)Make cancer innovation grant funding available through 64 the Cancer Innovation Fund administered by the Cancer Connect 65 Collaborative under subsection (9) to health care providers and 66 facilities that demonstrate excellence in patient-centered 67 cancer treatment or research. 68 (8)The Cancer Connect Collaborative, a council as defined 69 in s. 20.03, is created within the department to advise the 70 department and the Legislature on developing a holistic approach 71 to the states efforts to fund cancer research, cancer 72 facilities, and treatments for cancer patients. The 73 collaborative may make recommendations on proposed legislation, 74 proposed rules, best practices, data collection and reporting, 75 issuance of grant funds, and other proposals for state policy 76 relating to cancer research or treatment. 77 (a)The Surgeon General shall serve as an ex officio, 78 nonvoting member and shall serve as the chair. 79 (b)The collaborative shall be composed of the following 80 voting members, to be appointed by September 1, 2024: 81 1.Two members appointed by the Governor, one member 82 appointed by the President of the Senate, and one member 83 appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, based 84 on the criteria of this subparagraph. The appointing officers 85 shall make their appointments prioritizing members who have the 86 following experience or expertise: 87 a.The practice of a health care profession specializing in 88 oncology clinical care or research; 89 b.The development of preventive and therapeutic treatments 90 to control cancer; 91 c.The development of innovative research into the causes 92 of cancer, the development of effective treatments for persons 93 with cancer, or cures for cancer; or 94 d.Management-level experience with a cancer center 95 licensed under chapter 395. 96 2.One member who is a resident of this state who can 97 represent the interests of cancer patients in this state, 98 appointed by the Governor. 99 (c)The terms of appointees under paragraph (b) shall be 100 for 2 years unless otherwise specified. However, to achieve 101 staggered terms, the initial appointees under that paragraph 102 shall serve 3 years for their first term. These appointees may 103 be reappointed for no more than four consecutive terms. 104 (d)Any vacancy occurring on the collaborative must be 105 filled in the same manner as the original appointment. Any 106 member who is appointed to fill a vacancy occurring because of 107 death, resignation, or ineligibility for membership shall serve 108 only for the unexpired term of the members predecessor. 109 (e)Members whose terms have expired may continue to serve 110 until replaced or reappointed, but for no more than 6 months 111 after the expiration of their terms. 112 (f)Members shall serve without compensation but are 113 entitled to reimbursement for per diem and travel expenses 114 pursuant to s. 112.061. 115 (g)The collaborative shall meet as necessary, but at least 116 quarterly, at the call of the chair. A majority of the members 117 of the collaborative constitutes a quorum, and a meeting may not 118 be held with less than a quorum present. In order to establish a 119 quorum, the collaborative may conduct its meetings through 120 teleconference or other electronic means. The affirmative vote 121 of a majority of the members of the collaborative present is 122 necessary for any official action by the collaborative. 123 (h)The collaborative shall develop a long-range 124 comprehensive plan for the Casey DeSantis Cancer Research 125 Program. In the development of the plan, 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 of 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, research 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 patient 139 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 shall 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 innovative cancer 150 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 collaborative 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)Beginning July 1, 2025 2017, and each year every 3 158 years thereafter, the department, in conjunction with 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 independent 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 adjusted mortality rates by age group, geographic region, and 176 type of cancer, which must include, at a minimum: 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 collaboration, 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 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 quarterly 204 reports of all expenditures made by the cancer center with funds 205 received through the Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program. 206 (d)A provision to allow the department and other state 207 auditing bodies to audit all financial records, supporting 208 documents, statistical records, and any other documents 209 pertinent to the allocation agreement. 210 (e)A provision requiring the annual reporting of outcome 211 data and protocols used in achieving those outcomes. 212 (12)(9)This section is subject to annual appropriation by 213 the Legislature. 214 (13)(10)The department may adopt rules to administer this 215 section. 216 Section 2.This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.