House Bill 3605e1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.







                                       CS/HB 3605, First Engrossed



  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; prohibiting public hospitals

11         from taking certain specified actions at closed

12         meetings; authorizing the governing board of a

13         public hospital to study issues relating to

14         reduction or termination of a health service;

15         requiring a public meeting for presentation of

16         proposals; providing for public comment;

17         restricting governing board adoption to

18         proposals presented; providing for a public

19         meeting and notice regarding strategic plans;

20         providing for future review and repeal;

21         providing conditions for the early release of

22         transcripts of meetings at which such plans are

23         discussed; providing a finding of public

24         necessity; providing an effective date.

25

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

27

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

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

30  subsection (10), and new subsections (6), (7), (8), and (9)

31  are added to said section, to read:


                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






                                       CS/HB 3605, First Engrossed



  1         395.3035  Confidentiality of public hospital records

  2  and meetings.--

  3         (2)  The following public hospital records and

  4  information are confidential and exempt from the provisions of

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

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

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

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

  9  provided by competitors of the hospital. However, documents

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

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

12  budget itself, are not confidential and exempt.

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

14  written strategic plans, including written plans for marketing

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

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

17  Constitution.

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

19  strategic plans, including written plans for marketing its

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

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

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

23  Open Government Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with

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

25  reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the

26  Legislature.

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

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

29  The reporter shall record the times of commencement and

30  termination of the meeting, all discussion and proceedings,

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


                                  2

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






                                       CS/HB 3605, First Engrossed



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

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

  3  transcribed and maintained by the hospital records custodian

  4  within a reasonable time after the meeting.  The transcript

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

  6  meeting or at an earlier date if the governing board

  7  determines that the strategic plan discussed, reported on,

  8  modified, or approved at the meeting has been fully

  9  implemented or the circumstances do not require the transcript

10  of the meeting to remain confidential.

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

12  plan" means any record which describes actions or activities

13  to:

14         (a)  Initiate or acquire an new health service;

15         (b)  Expand an existing health service;

16         (c)  Acquire additional facilities;

17         (d)  Expand existing facilities;

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

19  facility or a newly acquired facility;

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

21  care facility or health care provider;

22         (g)  Enter into a shared service arrangement with

23  another health care provider;

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

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

26  ancillary facilities; or

27         (j)  Any combination of paragraphs (a)-(i);

28

29  The term "strategic plan" does not include records that

30  describe the existing operations of a public hospital or other

31  public health care facility which implement or execute the


                                  3

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






                                       CS/HB 3605, First Engrossed



  1  provisions of a strategic plan, unless disclosure of any such

  2  document would disclose any part of a strategic plan which has

  3  not been fully implemented or is a record that is otherwise

  4  exempt from the public records laws.  Existing operations

  5  include, but are not limited to, the hiring of employees, the

  6  purchase of equipment, the placement of advertisement,

  7  entering into contracts with physicians to perform medical

  8  services, and other types of expenditures for the purpose of

  9  implementing a strategic plan.  Records that describe

10  operations are not exempt, except as specifically provided

11  herein.

12         (7)  A public hospital may not approve a binding

13  agreement to sell, lease, merge, or consolidate the hospital

14  at any closed meeting of the board. Any such approval must be

15  made at a meeting open to the public and noticed in accordance

16  with s. 286.011.

17         (8)  The governing board of a public hospital, in

18  developing a strategic plan that may result in a substantial

19  reduction or termination of a health service, may conduct

20  studies and engage in other fact-finding activities and may

21  discuss such studies and fact-finding reports, as provided in

22  subsection (4). However, prior to the governing board adopting

23  any proposal that would result in the termination or a

24  substantial reduction of a health service that is not

25  available from any other provider within 30-minutes driving

26  time, the governing board must present all proposals under

27  consideration relating to the health service to the public at

28  a public meeting noticed and conducted in accordance with

29  chapter 286. The public may comment on all proposed

30  alternatives. The governing board may not adopt any proposal

31


                                  4

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






                                       CS/HB 3605, First Engrossed



  1  other than a proposal or any combination of proposals

  2  presented to the public as required under this subsection.

  3         (9)  If the governing board of the entity that owns the

  4  hospital or other health care facility closes a portion of any

  5  board meeting pursuant to subsection (4), then, prior to

  6  placing the strategic plan or any discrete component of the

  7  strategic plan into operations, the governing board must

  8  notice and conduct a meeting in accordance with s. 286.011.

  9  The notice of such meeting shall be given not less than 15

10  days in advance of the meeting and shall specify that the

11  implementation of all or a part of a strategic plan will be

12  discussed at the meeting. The written materials which are

13  furnished to the board in preparation for the noticed meeting

14  which describe or support the proposed actions of the board

15  will be furnished to any member of the public, upon request,

16  at least 7 days prior to the meeting.

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

18  public necessity that portions of a public hospital's

19  governing board meetings be closed when strategic plans that

20  are exempt from the Public Records Law are discussed. If such

21  meetings are not closed, information contained in confidential

22  strategic plans would be revealed. The disclosure of any such

23  confidential plans would make it exceptionally difficult, if

24  not impossible, for a public hospital to effectively compete

25  in the marketplace against private hospitals, whose records

26  and meetings are not required to be open to the public.

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

28  generated at closed public hospital board meetings, such as

29  tape recordings, notes, and minutes, memorializing the

30  discussions regarding such confidential strategic plans,

31  including marketing plans, also be held confidential for a


                                  5

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






                                       CS/HB 3605, First Engrossed



  1  limited time as provided; otherwise, confidential proprietary

  2  and trade secret information would become public and impair a

  3  public hospital's ability to effectively and efficiently

  4  compete in the marketplace.

  5         (3)  The necessity for the strategic planning exemption

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

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

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

  9  and visitors. Disclosure of information contained in a

10  strategic plan, as defined in this act, would place a public

11  hospital at a competitive disadvantage with respect to its

12  privately owned competitors and could allow those competitors

13  to disrupt the implementation of any strategic plan or

14  marketing plan.

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

16  law.

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31


                                  6