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SB 162FLORIDA · STATEWIDESession 2026dead

New Safety Requirements for Surgical Smoke

Original title: Protection from Surgical Smoke

March 13, 2026

Companion · HB 93same policy, House version
healthcareworkplace safetyhospitalssurgical procedurespublic health

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The Frame

What this does

The bill mandates that healthcare facilities invest in s to mitigate respiratory and eye irritation risks for surgical staff and patients, establishing a new standard of care for operating rooms.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers

These facilities are required to adopt and implement new policies and potentially purchase new equipment to manage surgical smoke.

Surgical personnel

Staff are the intended recipients of protection from exposure to surgical smoke during procedures.

Surgical patients

Patients are the intended recipients of protection from exposure to surgical smoke during procedures.

What changed

Last recorded activity March 13, 2026.

What's next

Introduced.

Summary

This bill requires hospitals and surgical centers to implement policies and use specialized equipment to protect patients and staff from inhaling harmful surgical smoke generated during procedures. Facilities would have been required to adopt these safety measures by January 1, 2027.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is surgical smoke?
It is the gaseous byproduct produced by energy-generating devices like lasers and electrosurgical tools, which can include bioaerosols, laser-generated airborne contaminants, and lung-damaging dust.
What equipment must hospitals use?
Hospitals must use a ',' which is equipment designed to capture and filter smoke before it reaches the eyes or respiratory tracts of people in the room.
When would this have gone into effect?
The bill would have taken effect on July 1, 2026, with a compliance deadline for facilities of January 1, 2027.

Why It Matters

The bill mandates that healthcare facilities invest in s to mitigate respiratory and eye irritation risks for surgical staff and patients, establishing a new standard of care for operating rooms.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Voting Record

Motion succeededupper2/25/2026openstates_bulkOfficial roll call ↗

Favorable with Committee Substitute

Total

8

Yes

8

No

0

Present

0

Not Voting

0

Abstain

0

Motion succeededupper1/20/2026openstates_bulkOfficial roll call ↗

Favorable

Total

11

Yes

10

No

1

Present

0

Not Voting

0

Abstain

0

Full roll-call analysis →

Sponsors

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Standardization of Surgical Safety

The bill represents a shift toward codifying specific equipment requirements for surgical smoke, moving beyond general workplace safety guidelines.

Florida Legislature

Connected Entities

organizationAppropriations Committee on Health and Human ServicesMap →
organizationHealth PolicyMap →
organizationFlorida LegislatureMap →

Sources

Open source document

openstates.org

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance65
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy20
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment5
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz15
    Current news / social attention level

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