House Bill 3605

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 3605

        By Representative Fasano






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public hospital meetings and

  3         records; amending s. 395.3035, F.S.; defining

  4         "strategic plan" for purposes of provisions

  5         which provide for the confidentiality of such

  6         plans and of meetings relating thereto;

  7         providing an exemption from open meetings

  8         requirements for meetings at which such plans

  9         are modified or approved by the hospital's

10         governing board; providing for future review

11         and repeal; providing conditions for the early

12         release of transcripts of meetings at which

13         such plans are discussed; providing a finding

14         of public necessity; providing an effective

15         date.

16

17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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19         Section 1.  Subsection (4) of section 395.3035, Florida

20  Statutes, is amended, subsection (6) is renumbered as

21  subsection (7), and a new subsection (6) is added to said

22  section, to read:

23         395.3035  Confidentiality of public hospital records

24  and meetings.--

25         (2)  The following public hospital records and

26  information are confidential and exempt from the provisions of

27  s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution:

28         (b)  A public hospital's strategic plans, including

29  plans for marketing its services, which services are or may

30  reasonably be expected by the hospital's governing board to be

31  provided by competitors of the hospital. However, documents

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 3605

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  1  that are submitted to the hospital's governing board as part

  2  of the board's approval of the hospital's budget, and the

  3  budget itself, are not confidential and exempt.

  4         (4)(a)  Those portions of a board meeting at which the

  5  written strategic plans, including written plans for marketing

  6  its services, are discussed or reported on are exempt from the

  7  provisions of s. 286.011 and s. 24(b), Art. I of the State

  8  Constitution.

  9         (b)  Those portions of a board meeting at which written

10  strategic plans, including written plans for marketing its

11  services, are modified or approved by the governing board are

12  exempt from the provisions of s. 286.011 and s. 24(b), Art. I

13  of the State Constitution. This paragraph is subject to the

14  Open Government Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with

15  s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2003, unless

16  reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the

17  Legislature.

18         (c)  All portions of any board meeting which are closed

19  to the public shall be recorded by a certified court reporter.

20  The reporter shall record the times of commencement and

21  termination of the meeting, all discussion and proceedings,

22  the names of all persons present at any time, and the names of

23  all persons speaking. No portion of the meeting shall be off

24  the record.  The court reporter's notes shall be fully

25  transcribed and maintained by the hospital records custodian

26  within a reasonable time after the meeting.  The transcript

27  shall become public 3 years after the date of the board

28  meeting or at an earlier date if the governing board

29  determines that the strategic plan discussed at the meeting

30  has been fully implemented or the circumstances do not require

31  the transcript of the meeting to remain confidential.

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  1         (6)  For purposes of this section, the term "strategic

  2  plan" means any plan to:

  3         (a)  Initiate or acquire a new health service;

  4         (b)  Expand an existing health service;

  5         (c)  Acquire additional facilities;

  6         (d)  Expand existing facilities;

  7         (e)  Change all or part of the use of an existing

  8  facility or a newly acquired facility;

  9         (f)  Acquire, merge, or consolidate with another health

10  care facility or health care provider;

11         (g)  Enter into a shared service arrangement with

12  another health care provider;

13         (h)  Enter into a transaction permitted by s. 155.40;

14         (i)  Market the services of the hospital and its

15  ancillary facilities; or

16         (j)  Any combination of paragraphs (a)-(i).

17         Section 2.  (1)  The Legislature finds that it is a

18  public necessity that all contracts for managed care

19  arrangements under which a public hospital provides health

20  care services be held confidential and exempt. This exemption

21  is needed because, as with preferred provider organization

22  contracts and health maintenance organization contracts which

23  are currently confidential and exempt, other managed care

24  contracts, including exclusive provider organization contracts

25  and alliance network arrangements, contain, among other

26  things, payment methodologies and rates the disclosure of

27  which would negatively affect a public hospital in the

28  marketplace. Additionally, documents relating to the

29  negotiation, performance, and implementation of contracts,

30  including managed care arrangements, would also reveal such

31  proprietary and trade secret information. Furthermore, it is a

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 3605

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  1  public necessity that portions of a public hospital's

  2  governing board meetings be closed when contracts, contract

  3  negotiations, or strategic plans that are exempt from the

  4  public records laws are discussed. If such meetings ar not

  5  closed, information contained in the confidential contracts,

  6  contract negotiations, and strategic plans would be revealed.

  7  The disclosure of any such confidential contracts, contract

  8  negotiations, and strategic plans would make it exceptionally

  9  difficult, if not impossible, for a public hospital to

10  effectively compete in the marketplace against private

11  hospitals, whose records and meeting are not required to be

12  open to the public.

13         (2)  It is also a public necessity that any records

14  generated at closed public hospital board meetings, such as

15  tape recordings, notes, and minutes, memorializing the

16  discussions regarding such confidential contracts, documents,

17  and strategic plans, including marketing plans, also be held

18  confidential for a limited time as provided; otherwise,

19  confidential proprietary and trade secret information would

20  become public and impair a public hospital's ability to

21  effectively and efficiently compete in the marketplace.

22         (3)  The necessity for the strategic planning exemption

23  from public records and public meeting laws is critical to the

24  survival of Florida's public hospital delivery system, which

25  is often the last safety net for our less advantaged citizens

26  and visitors. "Strategic plan," as defined in this act, is

27  limited to plans for:  the initiation or expansion of health

28  services; the acquisition, expansion, or change in use of

29  health care facilities; team-up with another health care

30  facility; sale or lease of the facility to a private entity;

31  and marketing of the facility's services. Disclosure of

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 3605

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  1  information on any or all of these subjects would place a

  2  public hospital at a competitive disadvantage with respect to

  3  its privately owned competitors and could allow those

  4  competitors to disrupt the implementation of any strategic

  5  plan or marketing plan.

  6         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

  7  law.

  8

  9            *****************************************

10                          HOUSE SUMMARY

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      Defines "strategic plan" for purposes of provisions which
12    provide for the confidentiality of a public hospital's
      strategic plans and of meetings relating thereto.
13    Provides an exemption from open meetings requirements for
      meetings at which such plans are modified or approved by
14    the hospital's governing board. Provides for future
      review and repeal of said exemption. Specifies
15    circumstances under which transcripts of such meetings
      may be kept confidential for less than 3 years from the
16    date of the meeting.

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