Constitution panel considers patient rights, vaping limits

TALLAHASSEE — Vaping could be banned in workplaces, and nursing-home and assistedliving facility residents could be guaranteed certain rights — including the ability to sue without limitations — as part of a series of health-care related proposals being considered by a Florida panel that has the power to place proposed constitutional amendments on the 2018 ballot.

Former state Sen. Lisa Carlton, the sponsor of the measure on vaping, said her goal is to amend the Florida Constitution to make clear that the state’s existing ban on smoking in workplaces also incorporates vaping, such as the use of electronic cigarettes.

“The goal is, if you cannot smoke there, you cannot vape there,” she said, noting that electronic cigarettes weren’t available when the original ban was passed by Florida voters in 2002.

Carlton is part of the 37-member Florida Constitution Revision Commission that meets every 20 years to evaluate possible changes to the Constitution. The panel can put issues before voters without having to gather petition signatures or get proposals approved by the Legislature.

In all, the commission is expected to consider seven healthcare-related proposals, including a controversial proposal about nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

Commissioner Brecht Heuchan has offered a proposal that would establish a “bill of rights” for residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. His proposal, in part, would require nursing homes to carry liability insurance — which is not a requirement today — and includes a right of access to courts and legal remedies, “without limitations,” in cases involving issues such as abuse, negligence or exploitation.

Emmett Reed, executive director of the Florida Health Care Association, the state’s largest nursing-home group, issued a scathing news release attacking Heuchan for the proposal.