A Florida judge has rejected an emergency rule adopted Sept. 16 for generators at assisted living facilities and nursing homes, according to the Miami Herald.
Last month, Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott mandated nursing homes and assisted living facilities "obtain ample resources, including a generator and the appropriate amount of fuel, to sustain operations and maintain comfortable temperatures for at least 96-hours following a power outage." They would have until Nov. 15 to comply.
But Florida Administrative Law Judge Garnett Chisenhall on Friday rejected the emergency rule, saying the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration was not authorized to permanently enact the requirement, according to the report.
Eight residents died at Hollywood, Fla.-based Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills Sept. 13 after the facility lost power and air conditioning in the wake of Hurricane Irma. Six other residents have also died since the nursing home was evacuated, and the state revoked the nursing home's license Sept. 20.
The judge ultimately ruled this week that "AHCA took appropriate and swift action by immediately suspending Hollywood Hills' license to operate a nursing home," but concluded, "there was no evidence at the final hearing indicating that the tragic situation at Hollywood Hills was representative of the situation at any other facilities," reports the Miami Herald. The judge also questioned the allotted timetable for compliance, saying "it is impossible for the vast majority of nursing homes and ALFs currently noncompliant with the emergency rules to achieve compliance by Nov. 15, 2017."
The governor's office plans to appeal the ruling, according to the report. In a statement cited by the Miami Herald, McKinley Lewis, spokesperson for the governor, said, "AHCA will continue the public rulemaking process, and we will also continue our work with the Florida Legislature to make these critical rules permanent."