Florida Health Officials Propose New Background-Screening and Fingerprint Rules for Medical Marijuana Businesses

Florida health officials have proposed a substantial update to background-screening rules for medical marijuana businesses, adding monthly employee-status confirmations, new fingerprint-retention payment deadlines and expanded recordkeeping requirements for licensed treatment centers.

The Florida Department of Health published the proposed changes to Rule 64-4.208 in the Florida Administrative Register on September 23. The rule governs background screenings for employees, owners and managers of medical marijuana treatment centers (MMTCs).

Under the proposal, an MMTC would be required to obtain written confirmation from the department that a prospective employee, owner or manager has passed the required background screening before allowing that person to begin serving in the position.

Businesses could submit screening requests by email or through the department’s online portal. A new background-screening form would have to be signed and dated before fingerprints are submitted to a Livescan provider. If the form is completed after the fingerprints are submitted, the department would not process the background report.

One of the most significant additions involves Florida’s Applicant Fingerprint Retention and Notification Program, which retains fingerprints so officials can receive subsequent criminal-history notifications.

Each month, the department would send MMTCs a notice identifying employees, owners and managers whose fingerprint records are scheduled for continued retention. Businesses would have 14 calendar days to confirm whether each person is still affiliated with the company and submit an Excel file listing the person’s name, date of birth, fingerprint-retention date, employment status and location.

If an MMTC misses that deadline, it would be responsible for the annual retention fee for everyone listed in the notice, including people who have already left the company.

The annual fingerprint-retention fee would remain $6 per person after the initial year. After the department issues a monthly fee notice, payment would have to be received within 21 calendar days. Failure to make timely payment could result in disciplinary action.

MMTCs would also continue to be required to notify the department within 30 days when an employee, owner or manager leaves so their fingerprints can be removed from the retention program. If the department discovers that a current worker’s fingerprints are not being retained, the individual would have to undergo another background screening within 30 days of notice.

The proposal would further require businesses to retain written background-screening notices for at least five years after a person leaves the company and provide copies to regulators upon request.

For certain arrests involving potentially disqualifying offenses, MMTCs would continue to have 48 hours after becoming aware of the arrest to notify the department, with the proposed rule adding the arrested person’s date of birth to the required information.

The department would also gain an explicit mechanism to request a list of all current MMTC employees, owners and managers, including identifying information such as dates of birth and Social Security numbers. Businesses would have five business days to provide the requested information.

A hearing on the proposal will be scheduled if requested within 21 days of the September 23 notice. The proposed rule was approved by State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo on September 16.