2016 LEGISLATIVE REPORT

Transcription

1 2016 LEGISLATIVE REPORT

2 Overview The Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates is the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood health centers in Florida and represents the interests of 22 health centers statewide, 15 of which provide abortion care. Floridians know they can count on Planned Parenthood for nonjudgmental, compassionate and affordable quality care. With nearly 70% of Planned Parenthood health centers in medically underserved areas or physician shortage areas, Planned Parenthood is a reliable provider for communities in need. For years, Planned Parenthood patients have experienced funding cuts to county health departments and preventive health services. Each year since 2012, Florida has experienced HIV infections rise even as they decline across the country. Planned Parenthood is proud to stand with the estimated 77,000 women, men and teens that turn to them for reproductive health services, including lifesaving cancer screenings, testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, contraception services and abortion care. Planned Parenthood continues to play a critical role in meeting reproductive health care needs in communities. And yet, none of these matters deterred the conservative legislature from attacking Floridian s access to reproductive healthcare. In an unprecedented legislative session, elected officials introduced four onerous bills which didn t just restrict access to reproductive health services but attempted to end all access to abortion care in the state. In addition for the first time, the Florida legislature attempted to defund Planned Parenthood health centers through the budget process. The Florida for Life Act filed by Representative Charles Van Zant attempted to ban all abortion services in the state and urged the United States Supreme Court to overturn Roe v Wade. The legislation has been filed for the past seven years of the Representative s legislative term but had never received a committee hearing because of constitutional concerns. This session, for the first time ever, this unconstitutional legislation was heard in the Civil Justice Subcommittee and passed favorably with 8 Republican yeas, 2 Democratic nays and 1 Republican nay. The legislation died in the committee process but just having that one committee hearing was indicative of the hostile environment in the legislature regarding reproductive rights. Ultimately, the legislature passed an omnibus TRAP (Targeted Regulations on Abortion Providers) bill (SB 1722/) that lists over 10 medically unnecessary Session by the Numbers volunteers testified in committee hearings volunteers participated in Lobby Days positive op-eds on reproductive health 7,080 new supporters

3 and burdensome government regulations and mandatory reporting to restrict women s access to safe and legal abortion. The bill requires all abortion providers to have admitting privileges or transfer agreements, which are not legislatively required for any other licensed medical provider, nor are they a designation of the quality of a provider. Medical experts, like the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists denounce these types of restrictions and agree that they do not make patients safer. These regulations have nothing to do with protecting women and everything to do with shutting down providers by placing unreasonable requirements on health care centers. Simultaneously, the legislation also blocks all government funding for family planning providers that also provide abortion care. No federal or state dollars provided to Planned Parenthood are in the form of a blank check. This means that any government funds that Planned Parenthood affiliates receive are reimbursements for contraception services, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and cancer screenings. These reimbursements are now prohibited under state law. A similar law took effect in Texas that would deny Planned Parenthood from any state dollars for preventive health care. A study was conducted two years after the effective date and it showed that the number of women who obtained birth control through state-funded family planning services dropped roughly one-third in requests for long-acting methods of birth control. Floridians deserve to have access to their provider of choice to receive preventive health care services to reduce the rate of unintended pregnancies and the rate of sexually transmitted infections. This year, with the support of coalition partners and through grassroots efforts, the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates successfully defeated three other bills that attempted to restrict women s access to health care. This report provides an overview of the bills that the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates worked on during the 2016 Legislative Session in conjunction with our allies and supporters. Social Media: Online Activism 58,502 online actions

4 SB 1722/ Termination of Pregnancies by Sen. Stargel, Rep. Burton Co-Sponsors: Reps. Adkins, Ahern, Albritton, Baxley, Boyd, Burgess, Combee, Cortes (B), Costello, Drake, Eagle, Fant, Gaetz, Gonzalez, Hill, La Rosa, Magar, Mayfield, McBurney, Metz, Moraitis, Plakon, Porter, Raburn, Renner, Rodrigues (R), Rooney, Santiago, Smith, Spano, Sullivan and Van Zant. SB 1722/ significantly impacts women s access to abortion care with over 10 changes to current regulations by requiring medically unnecessary admitting privileges or transfer agreements for abortion providers. It also prohibits state funding of any abortion provider for preventive health care services like cancer screening, contraception services and STD testing and treatment. STATUS: PASSED. The legislation passed the Senate and the House It will go into effect July 1, To see how your elected officials voted, please visit myfloridahouse.gov. SB 602/HB 1 Relating to Physician Admitting Privileges by Sen. Stargel, Rep. Hill Co-Sponsors: Reps. Fant, Perry, and Van Zant SB 602/HB 1 would have severely restricted access to safe and legal abortion by requiring all abortion providers to obtain admitting privileges at a local hospital, which is not a state-mandated requirement for any other licensed medical provider. Admitting privileges or transfer agreements are medically unnecessary and medical experts agree it would not make patients safer. HB 233 Relating to Abortion Clinics by Rep. Trujillo Co-Sponsors: Reps. Ahern, Gaetz, Hill, Moraitis, and Van Zant HB 233 would have required abortion facilities to comply with regulations that are intended for facilities that perform more invasive procedures, and use higher levels of sedation than abortion requires. These laws have nothing to do with protecting women and everything to do with shutting down providers by placing unreasonable building requirements on health care centers. STATUS: Was heard in the first House committee of reference, the Health Innovation Subcommittee, and passed favorable on a party-line vote with 9 yeas and 4 nays. Died in the committee process. Anti-Reproductive Health Legislation SB 1718/HB 865 Florida for Life Act by Sen. Evers, Rep. Van Zant Co-Sponsors: Reps. Adkins, Ahern, Baxley, Broxson, Burgess, Costello, Cummings, Eagle, Gaetz, Grant, Hill, La Rosa, Mayfield, Perry, Pigman, Rodrigues (R), Smith, Stone, and Sullivan SB 1718/HB 865 is government interference at its worst and would have banned safe, legal abortion in Florida. This legislation provided no exception for survivors of rape, sexual assault or incest, and only very limited exceptions for the life and health of the woman and narrowly defined medical emergencies. STATUS: The House bill was heard in Civil Justice Subcommittee and passed favorable in a party-line vote of 8 yeas, 3 nays. The House bill died in the committee process. To see how your elected officials voted, please visit myfloridahouse.gov. The Senate bill did not see legislative action. HB 5001 Relating to General Appropriations by the Florida House of Representatives HB 5001 is the expansive appropriations legislation that creates the state s budget, funding all sectors of governments. This year the Florida House of Representatives took an unprecedented step of using the budget process to defund a specific provider, Planned Parenthood. This language would have taken away preventive health care services provided by Planned Parenthood, like cancer screenings, contraception services and STD testing and treatment. STATUS: An amendment (Barcode #: ) was filed by Democratic Caucus Leader Mark Pafford to remove the language. The amendment failed with 71 Republican members and 1 Democratic member who voted against and 34 Democratic members and 6 Republican members who voted in favor of the amendment. Ultimately, through the budget conferencing process the language was removed from the budget and approved without specific defunding language of Planned Parenthood. To see how your elected officials voted, visit myfloridahouse.gov.

5 Pro-Reproductive Health Legislation In addition to the attacks on reproductive health introduced this session, there were two bills that would have focused on promoting healthier lifestyles by providing access to preventive care and education. Below are bills that the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates spearheaded with champion bill sponsors: SB 1056/HB 859 Florida Healthy Adolescent Act by Sen. Bullard, Rep. Fullwood Co-sponsors: Sens. Braynon, Clemens, Sobel, Soto, and Thompson(C) and Soto. Reps. Berman, Bracy, ClarkeReed, Cruz, Dubose, Geller, Jones (S), Kerner, McGhee, Pafford, and Rogers. This legislation would protect Florida s youth by requiring that all public schools that already teach a sexual health course implement curriculum that is comprehensive, medically-accurate, age-appropriate and factual, including education about abstinence. SB 1116/HB 947 Relating to Long-acting Reversible Contraception Pilot Program by Sen. Joyner, Rep. Berman Co-sponsors: Sen. Grimsley. Rep. Pafford. This legislation would allow the Department of Health to establish a long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) pilot program in Hillsborough, Palm Beach, and Pinellas Counties. The program is similar to the one in Colorado that has resulted in plunging birth and abortion rates among young women. STATUS: The Senate bill was heard in two committees, Health Policy with a favorable vote of 7 yeas, 2 nays and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services with a favorable vote of 8 yeas, 0 nays. The Senate bill died in the committee process. The House bill did not see legislative action. To see how your elected officials voted, please visit myfloridahouse.gov.

6 There were several other bills that would have helped women, men, and their families in Florida. Below are bills that the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates supported: SB 120/HB 45 Competitive Workforce Act by Sen. Abruzzo, Rep. Raschein Co-sponsors: Sens. Bullard, Clemens, Gibson, Hutson, Latvala, Margolis, Ring, Sobel, Soto and Thompson. Reps. Berman, Cortes (J), Cruz, Dudley, Edwards, Fitzenhagen, Geller, Goodson, Hager, Jacobs, Kerner, Latvala, Miller, Moskowitz, Murphy, Narain, Peters, Pilon, Plasencia, Powell, Rader, Rehwinkel Vasilinda, Richardson, Rodriguez (J), Rooney, Rouson, Stark, Torres and Watson (C). This legislation sought to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in public employment, public lodging establishments and public food service establishments. STATUS: Died in committee. SB 454/HB 7 Helen Gordon Davis Fair Pay Protection Act by Sen. Joyner, Rep. Cruz Co-Sponsors: Reps. Berman, Cortes (J), Jenne, Pafford, Rehwinkel Vasilinda, and Richardson. This legislation would have established the Governor s Recognition Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace and recognized the importance of equal pay for equal work for women. Other Legislation of Interest SB 384/HB 603 Florida Paid Family Care Leave Act by Sen. Bullard, Rep. Cruz Co-sponsors: Reps. Berman, Pafford and Williams. This legislation would require an employer to allow an employee to take paid family care leave to bond with a new child upon the child s birth, adoption, or foster care placement. SB 480/HB 125 Relating to High School Graduation Requirements by Sen. Bullard, Rep. Clarke-Reed This legislation reinstates the requirement for students to earn one-half credit in health education for high school graduation. SB 74/HB 8001 Equal Rights for Men and Women by Sen. Joyner, Rep. Berman Co-Sponsors: Sens. Brandes, Gibson and Soto. Reps. Clarke- Reed, Criz, Fullwood, Jacbos, Jenne, Murphy, Pafford, Pritchett, Richardson, Stark, Watson (B) and Williams. This bill would have ratified the proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to equal rights for men and women. For additional information, please visit

7 Senate Votes Senator Party District NV = No vote recorded SB 1722 Health Policy SB 1722 Approps HHS SB 1722 Fiscal Policy Floor Amendment (Soto) Floor Amendment (Sobel) Floor Vote Abruzzo, Joseph Dem 25 N N Y Y N Altman, Thad Rep 16 N N Y Bean, Aaron Rep 4 Y Y Y N N Y Benacquisto, Lizbeth Rep 30 Y N N Y Bradley, Rob Rep 7 Y N N Y Brandes, Jeffrey Rep 22 N N Y Braynon, Oscar Dem 36 N Y Y N Bullard, Dwight Dem 39 Y Y N Clemens, Jeff Dem 27 N Y Y N Dean, Charles S. Charlie Rep 5 NV NV Y Detert, Nancy Rep 28 N NV N Diaz de la Portilla, Miguel Rep 40 N N Y Evers, Greg Rep 2 N N Y Flores, Anitere Rep 37 Y Y N N Y Gaetz, Don Rep 1 Y N N Y Galvano, Bill Rep 26 Y N N Y Garcia, Rene Rep 38 NV Y N N Y Gardiner, Andy Rep 13 N N Y Gibson, Audrey Dem 9 Y Y N Grimsley, Denise Rep 21 Y Y N Y Y Hays, Alan Rep 11 NV N N Y Hukill, Dorothy L. Rep 8 Y N N Y Hutson, Travis Rep 6 N N Y Joyner, Arthenia Dem 19 N Y Y N Latvala, Jack Rep 20 N NV Y Lee, Tom Rep 24 N N Y Legg, John Rep 17 Y N N Y Margolis, Gwen Dem 35 N Y Y N Montford, Bill Dem 3 Y Y N Negron, Joe Rep 32 N N Y Richter, Garrett Rep 23 Y N N Y Ring, Jeremy Dem 29 Y Y N Sachs, Maria Lorts Dem 34 NV Y Y N Simmons, David Rep 10 N N Y Simpson, Wilton Rep 18 N N Y Smith, Christopher Chris Dem 31 N Y Y N Sobel, Eleanor Dem 33 N N Y Y N Soto, Darren Dem 14 Y Y N Stargel, Kelli Rep 15 Y N N Y Thompson, Geraldine F. Dem 12 Y Y N

8 House Votes Representative Party District Health Quality Healthcare Approps HHS Adkins, Janet Rep 11 Y Ahern, Larry Rep 66 Y Albritton, Ben Rep 56 Y Antone, Bruce Dem 46 N Artiles, Frank Rep 118 Y Avila, Bryan Rep 111 Y Y Floor Vote HB 233 Health Innovation Baxley, Dennis Rep 23 Y Y Berman, Lori Dem 90 N Beshears, Halsey Rep 7 N Bileca, Michael Rep 115 Y Y Boyd, Jim Rep 71 Y Bracy, Randolph Dem 45 N N Brodeur, Jason T. Rep 28 Y Y Y Broxson, Doug Rep 3 Y Burgess, Danny Rep 38 Y Burton, Colleen Rep 40 Y Y Caldwell, Matt Rep 79 Y Campbell, Daphne Dem 108 Y Clarke-Reed, Gwyndolen Dem 92 N N Combee, Neil Rep 39 Y Corcoran, Richard Rep 37 Y Cortes, John Dem 43 Y N Cortes, Robert Rep 30 N Costello, Fred Rep 25 Y Y Y Crisafulli, Steve Rep 51 Y Cruz, Janet Dem 62 N N Cummings, Travis Rep 18 Y Y Y Diaz, Jose Felix Rep 116 Y Diaz, Manny Rep 103 Y Y Drake, Brad Rep 5 Y DuBose, Bobby Dem 94 N N Dudley, Dwight Dem 68 N Eagle, Dane Rep 77 Y Edwards, Katie A. Dem 98 N N Eisnaugle, Eric Rep 44 Y Fant, Jay Rep 15 Y Y Fitzenhagen, Heather Dawes Rep 78 Y Fresen, Erik Rep 114 Y Fullwood, Reggie Dem 13 N Gaetz, Matt Rep 4 Y Y HB 865 Criminal Justice

9 House Votes Representative Party District Health Quality Healthcare Approps HHS Geller, Joe Dem 100 N Gonzalez, Julio Rep 74 Y Y Goodson, Tom Rep 50 N Grant, James Re Y Hager, Bill Rep 89 N Floor Vote HB 233 Health Innovation Harrell, Gayle Rep 83 Y Y Y Y Harrison, Shawn Rep 63 Y Y Hill, Mike Rep 2 Y Y Hudson, Matt Rep 80 Y Y Ingoglia, Blaise Rep 35 Y Ingram, Clay Rep 1 Y Jacobs, Kristin Dem 96 N N Jenne, Evan Dem 99 N Jones, Mia Dem 14 N N Jones, Shevrin D. Dem 101 N Kerner, Dave Dem 87 N N LaRosa, Michael Rep 42 Y Latvala, Chris Rep 67 Y Y Lee, Larry Dem 84 N Magar, MaryLynn Rep 82 Y Y Y Mayfield, Debbie Rep 54 Y McBurney, Charles Rep 16 Y McGhee, Kionne L. Dem 117 N Metz, Larry Rep 32 Y Miller, Mike Rep 49 N N Moraitis, Jr., George R. Rep 93 Y Moskowitz, Jared Evan Dem 97 N N Murphy, Amanda Dem 36 N N Narain, Ed Dem 61 N N Nuñez, Jeanette M. Rep 119 Y O Toole, Marlene Rep 33 Y Oliva, Jose Rep 110 Y Pafford, Mark Dem 86 N Passidomo, Kathleen C. Rep 106 Y Perry, W. Keith Rep 21 Y Peters, Kathleen Mick Rep 69 Y Pigman, Cary Rep 55 Y Y Y Y Pilon, Ray Rep 72 N N Plakon, Scott Rep 29 Y Y Y Plasencia, Rene Rep 49 N N HB 865 Criminal Justice

10 House Votes Representative Party District Health Quality Healthcare Approps HHS Porter, Elizabeth W. Rep 10 Y Powell, Bobby Dem 88 N Pritchett, Sharon Dem 102 N Raburn, Jacob William Rep 57 Y Rader, Kevin Dem 81 N Raschein, Holly Merrill Rep 120 N Raulerson, Daniel D. Rep 58 Y Ray, Lake Rep 12 Y Rehwinkel Vasilinda, Michelle Dem 9 N Floor Vote Renner, Paul Rep 24 Y Y Y Richardson, David Dem 113 N N Roberson, Kenneth L. Rep 75 Y Y Y Y Rodrigues, Ray Rep 76 Y Rodriguez, Jose Javier Dem 112 N Rogers, Hazelle P. Hazel Dem 95 N N Rooney, Jr., Patrick Rep 85 Y Y Rouson, Darryl Dem 70 N Santiago, David Rep 27 Y Slosberg, Irving Irv Dem 91 N Smith, Jimmie T. Rep 34 Y HB 233 Health Innovation Spano, Ross Rep 59 Y Y Sprowls, Chris Rep 65 Y Y Y Stafford, Cynthia A. Dem 109 N N Stark, Richard Dem 104 N N Steube, W. Gregory Greg Rep 73 Y Y Y Stevenson, Cyndi Rep 17 Y Y Stone, Charlie Rep 22 Y Sullivan, Jennifer Rep 31 Y Taylor, Dwayne Dem 26 N Tobia, John Rep 53 Y Torres, Victor M. Dem 48 N Trujillo, Carlos Rep 105 Y Y Trumbull, Jay Rep 6 Y Y Y Van Zant, Charles E. Rep 19 Y Y Watson, B, Barbara Dem 107 N Watson, C, Clovis Dem 20 N Williams, Alan B. Dem 8 N Wood, John Rep 41 Y Workman, Ritch Rep 52 Y Young, Dana D. Rep 60 Y HB 865 Criminal Justice