SB 1756 Florida Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Medical Freedom

Summary

Medical Freedom; Citing this act as the "Medical Freedom Act"; repealing a provison relating to the future repeal of the definition of the term “messenger ribonucleic acid vaccine”; prohibiting a vaccine manufacturer from offering or paying, and a health care practitioner from receiving, specified financial incentives for the administration of a vaccine; requiring certain health care practitioners and paramedics to, before administering one or more vaccines to a minor child, provide the parent or legal guardian with specified materials; providing that specified amendments made by the act to s. 456.0575, F.S., take effect on a specified date or within a specified timeframe after the Board of Medicine and the Board of Osteopathic Medicine adopt certain materials by joint rule, whichever occurs later, etc.

Issues: ✗ Healthcare

Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 22, 2026 Last action Mar 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

S 1756 c2 → S 1756 e1 · 7 edits

MODERATE

This bill adds new provisions prohibiting vaccine manufacturers from offering financial incentives to healthcare providers for administering vaccines and establishes penalties for violations. It also expands public health emergency powers, clarifies school immunization exemption procedures, and creates immunity for healthcare providers and pharmacists prescribing ivermectin to adults.

Scope change

The bill expands from primarily repealing a future repeal of the mRNA vaccine definition to adding new substantive provisions about vaccine incentives, public health emergency powers, and ivermectin access.

REQUIREMENT

Prohibits vaccine manufacturers from offering commissions, bonuses, kickbacks, or rebates to healthcare practitioners for administering vaccines, and prohibits practitioners from receiving such incentives.

Adds new requirements for public health emergencies including directing drug manufacturers to prioritize shipping, compounding bulk drugs for county health departments, reactivating inactive practitioner licenses, and ordering individuals to be examined or treated.

Clarifies that the State Health Officer's authority to order treatment does not include the authority to order a vaccination.

Revises school immunization exemption procedures to require the Department of Health to make the exemption form and related materials available as a single downloadable document.

Creates immunity from civil, criminal, and disciplinary liability for healthcare practitioners and pharmacists who prescribe or provide ivermectin to adults in good faith.

ENFORCEMENT

Establishes that violations of the vaccine incentive prohibition are punishable as patient brokering under s. 817.505.

TIMELINE

Changes the effective date for certain vaccination information requirements to July 1, 2026, or 30 days after the Board of Medicine and Board of Osteopathic Medicine adopt joint rules, whichever occurs later.

S 1756 c1 → S 1756 c2 · 8 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised to repeal a provision about future repeal of the mRNA vaccine definition, add new requirements for health care practitioners to provide specific immunization information materials to parents, and expand the list of health care practitioners eligible for license reactivation during public health emergencies. The version also adds new requirements for pharmacists to provide specific information about ivermectin and expands the list of health care practitioners who can be reactivated during emergencies.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include additional health care practitioner categories eligible for license reactivation during public health emergencies and added new requirements for pharmacists to provide specific ivermectin information to patients.

DEFINITION

Removed the repeal of a provision relating to the future repeal of the definition of the term 'messenger ribonucleic acid vaccine'.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the requirement from providing 'specified materials' to providing 'specified materials' approved and adopted by joint rule of the Board of Medicine and the Board of Osteopathic Medicine.

Added new requirement for the State Health Officer to order individuals to be examined, tested, treated, isolated, or quarantined for communicable diseases that pose a severe danger to public health.

Added requirement that when an immunization exemption form is downloaded from the Department of Health website, it must include the form and specified materials as a single document.

Added requirement that the web page containing the immunization exemption form download link must prominently display links to CDC Vaccine Information Statements.

Added requirement for pharmacists to provide written information about ivermectin indications, contraindications, appropriate dosage, and need for follow-up care before providing it without a prescription.

ELIGIBILITY

Added respiratory therapists, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics to the list of health care practitioners eligible for license reactivation during public health emergencies.

TIMELINE

Changed the effective date provision to allow the Board of Medicine and Board of Osteopathic Medicine to adopt joint rule within 120 days of the act becoming law.

S 1756 Filed → S 1756 c1 · 7 edits

MODERATE

This bill was amended from a filed version to a committee substitute version, adding new sections that create specific statutes granting immunity to health care practitioners who prescribe ivermectin and expanding public health emergency powers. The committee version also clarifies vaccine information requirements and modifies school immunization exemption procedures.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include new statutory sections creating immunity for health care practitioners and pharmacists regarding ivermectin distribution, and added specific provisions for reactivating inactive health care licenses during public health emergencies.

REQUIREMENT

Added new sections creating statutes 458.3351, 459.0156, and 464.0181 that grant immunity from civil, criminal, and disciplinary liability to licensed health care practitioners who prescribe or administer ivermectin to adults in good faith.

Added new section 465.1897 authorizing pharmacists to provide ivermectin to adults without a prescription as a behind-the-counter medication until FDA approval for over-the-counter sale, with immunity provisions for good faith provision.

Modified Section 381.00315 to add new subsection 4 granting the State Health Officer authority to order examination, testing, treatment, isolation, or quarantine for communicable diseases, including authority to isolate or quarantine individuals who refuse treatment for reasons of health, religion, or conscience.

Modified Section 456.0575 to clarify vaccine information requirements for minors, specifying that practitioners must obtain parent/guardian signatures acknowledging receipt of information and allowing vaccine administration over multiple encounters at parent request.

Modified Section 1003.22 to revise school immunization exemption procedures, including changes to the religious/conscience exemption form requirements and temporary exemption procedures for students transferring schools or in juvenile justice programs.

Added specific requirements for reactivating inactive health care practitioner licenses during public health emergencies, including a 90-day maximum reactivation period and automatic return to inactive status when the emergency ends.

TIMELINE

Modified the effective date provision, changing from an unspecified timeframe to a specific date of July 1, 2026.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 9, 2026

How they voted

23–16

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 40

Mar 9, 2026

D Democratic11

11 Nay

100% Nay

I Independent1

1 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican28

22 Yea 5 Nay 1

78% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

CS passed; YEAS 23 NAYS 15

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Amendment(s) adopted (861452, 978470)

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review -under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Feb 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Rules, 03/03/26, 9:00 am, 412 Knott Building

upper

Feb 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

Favorable by Appropriations; YEAS 10 NAYS 7

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Appropriations, 02/24/26, 9:00 am, 110 Senate Building

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Jan 22, 2026

Introduced

upper

Jan 21, 2026

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Health Policy, 01/26/26, 3:30 pm, 412 Knott Building

upper

Jan 16, 2026

Committee

Referred to Health Policy; Appropriations; Rules

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors