Electronic Monitoring Devices in Long-term Care Facilities:
HB 223 would create new sections in Florida law allowing residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities, or their authorized representatives, to install and use electronic monitoring devices in their own rooms. The bill defines an electronic monitoring device as a fixed-position video camera, audio recorder, or both, and defines who may act as a resident’s representative. Before installation, the resident must notify the facility using a standard form adopted by the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), and the resident must pay the costs of the device, installation, maintenance, removal, and internet access.
The bill also addresses shared rooms. If another resident shares the room, that resident or representative must consent to the device’s use, may place conditions on that consent, and may revoke consent later. If consent is denied, the facility must make a reasonable attempt to move the resident who wants monitoring to another similar available room, if the resident agrees. AHCA would be required to adopt standard notice and consent forms, and facilities could post a notice at the room entrance indicating that monitoring is in use.
HB 223 would add two new statutory provisions, sections 400.025 and 429.265, Florida Statutes, governing electronic monitoring in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. It would prohibit facilities from denying admission, discharging a resident, or otherwise discriminating or retaliating because a resident chooses to use a monitoring device, and it would impose a $500 administrative fine for violations. The bill also creates criminal penalties for anyone other than the resident or authorized representative who intentionally obstructs, tampers with, or destroys the device or recordings, making that conduct a first-degree misdemeanor. It further restricts who may view or listen to the recordings and bars public internet posting of the images or sounds. AHCA would be authorized to adopt implementing rules, forms, and procedures, and the act would take effect July 1, 2025.
The bill appears to have been generally supportive of resident autonomy and transparency in long-term care, as reflected by its straightforward authorization of monitoring devices and protections against facility retaliation. However, the absence of recorded committee debate or votes limits the ability to identify detailed public sentiment. Its final status—died in the Judiciary Committee—suggests that, despite the policy goal of protecting residents, the measure did not advance through the legislative process.
The main points of contention likely involve privacy, consent, and facility liability. The bill requires consent from roommates in shared rooms and allows them to impose conditions, reflecting concern about the privacy rights of other residents. Facilities are also required to use agency forms that include liability waivers, but the bill still limits access to recordings and prohibits public dissemination, indicating sensitivity to misuse of recorded material. Another likely issue is enforcement: the bill imposes criminal penalties for tampering and administrative fines for retaliation, which may have raised concerns among providers about operational burden, privacy exposure, and the practical difficulty of accommodating monitoring requests in shared rooms.