A bill that would establish a statewide tracking and treatment registry for blood clots in Florida is one committee stop away from heading to the Senate floor.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services approved the “Emily Adkins Family Protection Act.” That panel concluded that the state should establish a statewide registry for blood clots reports within the Department of Health.

The proposed measure is named after Emily Adkins, who died at 23 years old due to an undetected blood clot following a broken ankle in 2023. While the Senate committee approved the measure, some new questions came up about the bill (SB 890) sponsored by Jacksonville Republican Sen. Clay Yarborough.

The committee deleted earlier language that would have required tracking impacts from thromboembolism and additional training for personnel who are not physicians.

There were also several representatives from the assisted care facilities industry in Florida who argued that they should not be included in the stipulations of the proposed bill.

Bijou Ikli, CEO of the Florida Assisted Living Association, said she supports tracking blood clot data. But the requirement for assisted living facilities be tasked with such a measure does not fall within the purview of those facilities. They are not medical institutions, she said.

“The expectation for assisted living facilities is unrealistic,” Ikli said as she addressed the committee. “We have residents, we don’t have patients. We rely on our health care partners. …  Assisted living facilities are not there to diagnose.”

Yarborough later said there is “an open door” to possibly modifying the language of the bill before it goes to a full vote on the floor of the Senate.

The proposed registry would serve as a catalog to keep data on demographics such as age, gender and ZIP codes of Floridians who are suffering from blood clots who live independently or in assisted care facilities. Medical professionals have heralded the measure of being the first of its kind in America and say it’s long overdue.

Adkins’ mother, Janet Adkins, a former Florida Representative, spoke at the committee hearing Tuesday and said that after the tragedy involving her daughter, the state needs to track blood clot data.

“Who knew blood clots could impact young people?” Adkins said.

A companion bill (HB 1421) in the House sponsored by Rep. Dean Black, a Jacksonville Republican, must still go to the House Health and Human Services Committee for review before reaching the floor.

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With no warning, a Senate committee has temporarily postponed a bill to enshrine Hope Florida into state government — the latest twist in a showdown between Republican lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The delay comes as House Republicans raise questions about the legality behind funding for Hope Florida, First Lady Casey DeSantis’ pet project.

“Given the questions raised by the Florida House, the President felt it appropriate to take a pause at this point,” Senate President Ben Albritton’s spokesperson, Katie Betta, said in response to a question about the delay.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services Committee was supposed to take up Republican Sen. Danny Burgess’ legislation (SB 1144, SB 1146) Tuesday morning. But Republican Sen. Jason Brodeur, a member of the committee, said the bills had been temporarily postponed without providing an explanation.

Hope Florida leaders are scheduled to appear at a Health Care Budget Subcommittee later Tuesday morning.

Hope Florida has been under scrutiny after the charity received a $10 million from a Medicaid settlement between the health care provider Centene and the Agency for Health Care Administration. Hope Florida then sent the money out to other organizations, and most of that money was then used to fight the marijuana legalization amendment last year.

The money ended up in a political committee controlled by DeSantis’ then-Chief of Staff, James Uthmeier. DeSantis appointed Uthmeier as Attorney General in February.

Republican Rep. Alex Andrade said he plans to issue a subpoena for Uthmeier’s text messages and call logs into the Hope Florida dark money, the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times reported.

Meanwhile, DeSantis has defended Hope Florida and accused House GOP leaders of unfairly attacking his wife’s organization. He said there was nothing illegal about the $10 million “voluntary contribution.”

“Shame on you in the Florida House and your terrible behavior in leadership,” DeSantis said Monday at a press conference. “Hope Florida didn’t do anything wrong.”

Burgess’ bill sought to codify Hope Florida under the Governor’s Office.

Albritton earlier expressed optimism the Legislature could pass the bill this session.

“We should be about the budget. We should be about continuous improvement. So when we see things that may either appear to be incorrect or not as transparent as we would like, that provides opportunity for us to, not throw the baby out with the bath water, but just have a conversation about, how do we do it better?” he said during a recent interview during “Facing South Florida with Jim DeFede.”

Casey DeSantis started Hope Florida in 2021 to connect people in need with government resources, nonprofits, the private sector and religious organizations.

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