Title: Sterile Needle and Syringe Exchange Pilot Program

Summary: Authorizing the pilot program established by the University of Miami and its affiliates to serve Palm Beach County in addition to Miami-Dade County; requiring certain quarterly reports to be submitted to the Department of Health in Palm Beach County on or before specified dates, etc.

Full Text:
An act relating to the Sterile Needle and Syringe Exchange Pilot Program; amending s. 381.0038, F.S.; authorizing the pilot program established by the University of Miami and its affiliates to serve Palm Beach County in addition to Miami-Dade County; requiring certain quarterly reports to be submitted to the Department of Health in Palm Beach County on or before specified dates; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Subsection (4) of section 381.0038, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 381.0038 Education; sterile needle and syringe exchange pilot program. The Department of Health shall establish a program to educate the public about the threat of acquired immune deficiency syndrome. (4) The University of Miami and its affiliates may establish a single sterile needle and syringe exchange pilot program in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties County.The pilot program may operate at a fixed location or through a mobile health unit. The pilot program shall offer the free exchange of clean, unused needles and hypodermic syringes for used needles and hypodermic syringes as a means to prevent the transmission of HIV, AIDS, viral hepatitis, or other blood-borne diseases among intravenous drug users and their sexual partners and offspring. (a) The pilot program must: 1. Provide for maximum security of exchange sites and equipment, including an accounting of the number of needles and syringes in use, the number of needles and syringes in storage, safe disposal of returned needles, and any other measure that may be required to control the use and dispersal of sterile needles and syringes. 2. Operate a one-to-one exchange, whereby the participant shall receive one sterile needle and syringe unit in exchange for each used one. 3. Make available educational materials and referrals to education regarding the transmission of HIV, viral hepatitis, and other blood-borne diseases; provide referrals for drug abuse prevention and treatment; and provide or refer for HIV and viral hepatitis screening. (b) The possession, distribution, or exchange of needles or syringes as part of the pilot program established under this subsection is not a violation of any part of chapter or any other law. (c) A pilot program staff member, volunteer, or participant is not immune from criminal prosecution for: 1. The possession of needles or syringes that are not a part of the pilot program; or 2. The redistribution of needles or syringes in any form, if acting outside the pilot program. (d) The pilot program must collect data for quarterly, annual, and final reporting purposes. The annual report must include information on the number of participants served, the number of needles and syringes exchanged and distributed, the demographic profiles of the participants served, the number of participants entering drug counseling and treatment; the number of participants receiving testing for HIV, AIDS, viral hepatitis, or other blood-borne diseases; and other data necessary for the pilot program. However, personal identifying information may not be collected from a participant for any purpose. Quarterly reports must be submitted to the Department of Health in Miami-Dade County and in Palm Beach County by October 15, January 15, April 15, and July of each year. An annual report must be submitted to the Department of Health by August every year until the program expires. A final report is due on August 1, 2021, to the Department of Health and must describe the performance and outcomes of the pilot program and include a summary of the information in the annual reports for all pilot program years. (e) State, county, or municipal funds may not be used to operate the pilot program. The pilot program shall be funded through grants and donations from private resources and funds. (f) The pilot program shall expire July 1, 2021. Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.