Physician Joel Rudman assigned to House Health Care Regulation Subcommittee

Dr. Joel Rudman will bring his medical expertise to the House Health Care Regulation Subcommittee during the 2024 Legislative Session. Republican House Speaker Paul Renner announced committee assignments on Friday before the first committee week, which begins September 18. Rudman, a Navarre Republican and physician, will return to Tallahassee after a reasonably productive rookie Session last year.

His chosen profession makes him an unsurprising pick for the subcommittee. Rudman’s background in medicine is evident in his legislative track record. Last year, he sponsored a successful bill requiring Florida state universities, colleges and career schools to award nursing credits to American combat medics.

Under the law, medics receive credits from a school in proportion to their experience. Some practicing physicians may also be happy to have him on the committee. He’s already filed a bill (HB 11) for this Session to ban noncompete contracts for medical doctors and osteopaths. Rudman also championed a successful bill last year that allows doctors to refuse to administer health care that is at odds with their religious or ethical beliefs.

The Legislature ultimately passed the Senate’s version of the bill, SB 1580, and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved the law on May 11. Rudman will also serve on the Commerce Committee, Insurance & Banking Subcommittee, Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, Regulatory Reform & Economic Development Subcommittee, Post Secondary Education Subcommittee, and the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee. The 2024 Legislative Session begins January 9.

Before then, legislators meet during so-called committee weeks to workshop legislation, hear from stakeholders and the public, and set the agenda for the 60-day lawmaking Session. In a Friday memo to members, Renner said a detailed schedule for the first committee week will come “shortly.”