Legislative
Session - Week 2 Report
March 14-18, 2005
Health Activity
Persistent Vegetative State
Legislation
Both chambers
of the Florida legislature debated legislation addressing provision of
nutrition and hydration for persons in persistent vegetative state this
week. The Florida House passed CSHB 701 (Baxley); the Florida Senate has
temporarily postponed CSSB 804 (Webster), and it remains available for
action. We
urge all receiving this report to contact your Florida Senator urging that
CSSB 804 or CSHB 701 be considered next week.
Florida House
Passes CSHB 701
The Florida House passed CSHB
701, which establishes a presumption for providing nutrition and hydration
for persons in persistent vegetative state. This presumption would not hold
in cases when:
1.
A
person has an applicable advance directive;
2.
clear and convincing evidence exists that a persons directly and
unequivocally related a desire to have nutrition and hydration withheld;
3.
nutrition and hydration would not be possible, would hasten death, would
cause suffering or intractable pain, or would not sustain life or provide
comfort (requires involvement of 2 physicians and ethics committee); or,
4.
in
medical judgment, death is imminent, the person will die reasonably soon
from a terminal illness or injury, and the purpose is not to cause death
(also requires involvement of 2 physicians and ethics committee).
Other Provisions Include:
In cases involving an oral declaration in which the desire of the patient is
unclear or unknown, and there is no written directive, substituted judgment
of a proxy, which may include a spouse, is not allowed. Parties reasonably
expected to be impacted by a decision to withhold or withdraw can appeal for
continuation of nutrition and hydration. The provisions of this legislation
would apply to any living person at the time this bill becomes law.
The language preserves patient
autonomy, allowing wishes to be made known and expressed in advance. In
situations where patient wishes are unclear or questionable, the presumption
for nutrition and hydration would hold so long as their provision is not
useless or burdensome. While this bill is not perfect, other features make
it an improvement over existing state law, which is open to abuse.
Florida
Senate – No Passage of Legislation
CSSB 804 remains on the Senate calendar and prohibits suspension of
nutrition and hydration when:
1.
It is the sole intent to end a
person’s life;
2.
a
conflict exists between the guardian or adult relatives with a sincere
interest in the situation; and,
3.
a
PVS patient has no written advance directive (living will, surrogate
designation).
A guardian, spouse, adult child,
parent, adult sibling or adult relative may petition a court at any time to
prevent suspension of hydration and nutrition. Like CSHB 701, CSSB 804
would apply to any person living at the time of enactment.
Educational Activity
Voucher Accountability
The two primary scholarship
accountability bills SB 2 (King) and HB 1163 (Pickens) received favorable
passage in the Senate Education Committee and the House Education Council,
respectively. Both bills will be discussed in appropriations committees
before they are put forth for a floor vote in the Senate and House
chambers. Both bills require a list of compliance checks and reporting
provisions, including provisions for fiscal soundness, background screening,
school personnel and controls on scholarship funding organizations. Both
bills include provisions that the Florida Catholic Conference supports. SB
2 includes a testing provision and credentialing language in keeping with
the Florida Catholic Conference recommendations.
Voluntary
Universal Pre-Kindergarten (VUPK)
Governor Jeb Bush indicated
within the past week that he supports follow-up VUPK legislation.
Presently, VUPK has been filed in the Senate, but there is no House
companion. The Florida Catholic Conference has asked that VUPK legislation
be filed this session to address teacher-pupil ratios, pre-assessment and a
delivery system for children who are in need of special education and or
language services.
Child Safety
SB 246 (Hill) - This legislation
requires parents of public or private school children to produce
identification to school personnel before their children can be released
from school. This legislation passed out of the Senate this week. No
action on the House companion.
Child Summer
Nutrition
Ms. Willie Ann Glenn Act HB 227
(Greenstein); SB 752 (Wise) - This legislation requires school districts to
provide a summer nutritional program for children. This legislation
authorizes superintendents of schools to collaborate with faith-based
organizations to provide food services. SB 752 was reported favorably by
the Senate Commerce Committee this week. The House companion was referred
to committees and then postponed in the initial committee.
Next Week
HB 1041, the
Women’s Health
and Safety Act (HB
1041, Bean; SB 1862, Dockery), is scheduled to be heard in the House Health
Care Committee at 9:00 am, Wednesday, March 23. SB 1862 is expected to be
heard on Tuesday, March 29 by the Senate Health Care Committee.
CSHB 701/CSSB
804 – Both bills are available for the Florida Senate to consider.
Florida Catholic Conference
201 W. Park Avenue * Tallahassee, FL * 32301-7715
Phone (850) 222-3803 * Fax (850) 681-9548
