Orange County, FL Public Health Rules: Syringe Disposal (2026)
Key Facts
- Authorizing statute
- Fla. Stat. § 381.0038(4)
- Exchange ratio
- one clean needle per used needle
- Eligible operators
- hospital, clinic, med school, ARF, or 501(c)(3)
- Funding source
- private grants/donations only, no public funds
- Annual report due
- August 1, to Board and DOH
- Overseeing county dept
- Orange County Health Services Department
- General penalty
- up to $500 fine or 60 days jail
Summary
Orange County authorizes a sterile needle and syringe exchange program under County Code Section 20-225, run only by a contracted operator the Board of County Commissioners has approved under Florida Statutes Section 381.0038(4). The program trades one clean needle and syringe for each used one, operates from fixed sites or mobile health units, and requires secure, documented disposal of every returned needle.
(a)In accordance with Section 381.0038(4), Florida Statutes, the exchange program is authorized to operate within the boundaries of Orange County, Florida.(b)The exchange program may operate at one (1) or more fixed locations or through mobile health units.(c)The exchange program shall offer the free exchange of clean, unused needles and hypodermic syringes for used needles and hypodermic syringes as a means to prevent the transmission of HIV, AIDS, viral hepatitis, or other blood-borne diseases among intravenous drug users and their sexual partners and offspring.(d)It shall be unlawful to operate an exchange program unless the operator is under a board-approved contract with the county pursuant to the requirements of this article and Section 381.0038(4), Florida Statutes.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 128).
Full Breakdown
Article II of Chapter 20 (the "Infectious Disease Elimination Program Ordinance") applies throughout both the incorporated and unincorporated areas of Orange County and in any municipality that has not adopted its own competing ordinance (Section 20-223). The Orange County Health Services Department advises on operations, but the program itself must be run by a contracted operator: a licensed hospital, a Chapter 400 Part X health care clinic, an accredited Florida medical school, a licensed addictions receiving facility, or a 501(c)(3) HIV/AIDS service organization (Section 20-227(a)).
Before the program can start, the Board must sign a letter of agreement with the Florida Department of Health, enlist the county Health Department for ongoing advice, and execute the operator contract (Section 20-226). That contract must build in an oversight and accountability system with measurable objectives, monthly tracking, routine progress reports, and defined consequences for noncompliance (Section 20-227(b)(1)). Security is spelled out at the site level: the operator must account for needles and syringes on hand and in storage, ensure safe disposal of every returned needle, and control any other risk of sterile needles being diverted (Section 20-228).
Day-to-day, the exchange runs one clean unit for one used unit, must offer disease-transmission education at every exchange, must provide onsite (or 72-hour referral) counseling, treatment referrals and HIV/hepatitis screening, and must supply or refer participants to kits containing an emergency opioid antagonist (Section 20-229). The operator reports annually to the Board and the Florida Department of Health by August 1, tracking participants served, needles exchanged, demographics, and treatment and testing referrals, while personal identifying information may never be collected (Section 20-230). No state, county, or municipal money may fund the program; it runs on private grants and donations only (Section 20-232).
Violations & Fines
Operating an exchange program without a Board-approved operator contract is unlawful under Section 20-225(d). Staff, volunteers, and participants keep their Section 381.0038(4) immunity only for needles handled inside the program: Section 20-231(b) strips that protection for possessing needles outside the exchange or redistributing them beyond it, exposing that conduct to ordinary drug-paraphernalia prosecution. Code violations generally carry a fine up to $500.00 or up to 60 days in county jail under Section 1-9, with each continuing day a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is needle exchange legal in Orange County?
Who can run the exchange program?
Where do used needles go?
Does the county pay for the program?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Orange County
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