---
type: "Bill"
title: "Rural Emergency Hospitals"
description: "Rural Emergency Hospitals; Subjecting rural emergency hospitals to certain requirements for the provision of emergency services and care; defining the terms “rural emergency hospital” and “rural emergency services”; authorizing qualifying hospitals to apply to the Agency for Health Care Administration for designation as a rural emergency hospital, etc."
jurisdiction: "us/states/fl"
legislature: "Florida Legislature"
session: "2024"
identifier: "SB 644"
citation: "Florida SB 644 (2024)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["social welfare"]
status: "enacted"
chapter_law: "2024-201"
primary_sponsors: ["Simon"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 31
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2023-11-29"
last_action: "2024-05-29"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/dc85005e-0c10-48c7-aa73-9c2c87270e35"
source_url: "https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/644/ByCategory"
source_hash: "1fa2c9f29a4ef260bfe4444861f32508be6365afd6133a1edf04dd2da55716ff"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-fl"]
---

# Florida SB 644 (2024) — Rural Emergency Hospitals

Rural Emergency Hospitals; Subjecting rural emergency hospitals to certain requirements for the provision of emergency services and care; defining the terms “rural emergency hospital” and “rural emergency services”; authorizing qualifying hospitals to apply to the Agency for Health Care Administration for designation as a rural emergency hospital, etc.

**Enacted** — Laws of Florida, Chapter 2024-201.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **S 644 Filed** (filed) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/644/BillText/Filed/HTML)
2. **S 644 c1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/644/BillText/c1/HTML)
3. **S 644 er** (enrolled) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/644/BillText/er/HTML)

## Votes

- Favorable with Committee Substitute — **10–0** (pass) · upper
- Passage, Third Reading — **113–0** (pass) · lower
- Favorable — **10–0** (pass) · upper
- Favorable — **17–0** (pass) · upper
- Third Reading — **37–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services — primary (organization)
- Simon — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2023-11-29** Filed `filing`
- **2023-12-13** Referred to Health Policy; Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services; Fiscal Policy `referral-committee`
- **2024-01-09** Introduced `introduction`
- **2024-01-18** On Committee agenda-- Health Policy, 01/23/24, 1:00 pm, 412 Knott Building
- **2024-01-23** Favorable by Health Policy; YEAS 10 NAYS 0 `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2024-01-24** Now in Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services
- **2024-02-05** On Committee agenda-- Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services, 02/08/24, 10:45 am, 412 Knott Building
- **2024-02-08** CS by Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services; YEAS 10 NAYS 0
- **2024-02-12** Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)
- **2024-02-12** Now in Fiscal Policy
- **2024-02-13** CS by Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services read 1st time
- **2024-02-19** On Committee agenda-- Fiscal Policy, 02/22/24, 12:00 pm, 412 Knott Building
- **2024-02-22** Favorable by- Fiscal Policy; YEAS 17 NAYS 0 `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2024-02-23** Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading
- **2024-02-26** Placed on Special Order Calendar, 02/28/24
- **2024-02-28** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2024-02-28** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2024-02-28** CS passed; YEAS 37 NAYS 0 `passage`
- **2024-02-28** In Messages
- **2024-02-28** Bill referred to House Calendar
- **2024-03-04** Bill added to Special Order Calendar (3/5/2024)
- **2024-03-04** 1st Reading (Committee Substitute 1) `reading-1`
- **2024-03-05** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2024-03-05** Placed on 3rd reading `reading-3`
- **2024-03-05** Added to Third Reading Calendar
- **2024-03-06** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2024-03-06** CS passed; YEAS 113, NAYS 0 `passage`
- **2024-03-06** Ordered enrolled `enrolled`
- **2024-05-21** Signed by Officers and presented to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2024-05-28** Approved by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2024-05-29** Chapter No. 2024-201

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/dc85005e-0c10-48c7-aa73-9c2c87270e35`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Florida legislature records).