Senate Bill sb2012c1

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    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 2012

    By the Committee on Higher Education; and Senator Oelrich





    589-2151-07

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to state universities; amending

  3         s. 1004.24, F.S.; transferring responsibility

  4         for securing liability insurance from the State

  5         Board of Education to the Board of Governors;

  6         authorizing discussion of patient care

  7         information for certain purposes; amending ss.

  8         1004.43 and 1004.445, F.S.; conforming

  9         provisions; amending s. 1012.965, F.S.;

10         authorizing a university board of trustees to

11         intervene in a civil action for medical

12         negligence under certain circumstances;

13         providing legal status of employees and agents

14         of a university board of trustees and

15         university faculty practice plan entities;

16         providing an effective date.

17  

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

19  

20         Section 1.  Section 1004.24, Florida Statutes, is

21  amended to read:

22         1004.24  Board of Governors State Board of Education

23  authorized to secure liability insurance.--

24         (1)  The Board of Governors State Board of Education is

25  authorized to secure, or otherwise provide as a self-insurer,

26  or by a combination thereof, comprehensive general liability

27  insurance, including professional liability for health care

28  and veterinary sciences, for:

29         (a)  The Board of Governors State Board of Education

30  and its officers and members.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 2012
    589-2151-07




 1         (b)  A university board of trustees and its officers

 2  and members.

 3         (c)  The faculty and other employees and agents of a

 4  university board of trustees.

 5         (d)  The students of a state university.

 6         (e)  A state university or any college, school,

 7  institute, center, or program thereof.

 8         (f)  Any not-for-profit corporation organized pursuant

 9  to chapter 617, and the directors, officers, employees, and

10  agents thereof, which is affiliated with a state university,

11  if the corporation is operated for the benefit of the state

12  university in a manner consistent with the best interests of

13  the state, and if such participation is approved by a

14  self-insurance program council, the university president, and

15  the board of trustees.

16         (2)  In the event the Board of Governors State Board of

17  Education adopts a self-insurance program, a governing council

18  chaired by the vice president for health affairs or his or her

19  academic equivalent shall be established to administer the

20  program and its duties and responsibilities, including the

21  administration of self-insurance program assets and

22  expenditure policies, which shall be defined by in rules

23  adopted by the Board of Governors as authorized by this

24  section. The council shall have an annual actuary review

25  performed to establish funding requirements to maintain the

26  fiscal integrity of the self-insurance program. The assets of

27  a self-insurance program shall be deposited outside the State

28  Treasury and shall be administered in accordance with rules as

29  authorized by this section.

30         (3)  Any self-insurance program created under this

31  section shall be funded by the entities and individuals

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    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 2012
    589-2151-07




 1  protected by such program. There shall be no funds

 2  appropriated to any self-insurance program. The assets of the

 3  self-insurance program shall be the property of the Board of

 4  Governors State Board of Education and shall be used only to

 5  pay the administrative expenses of the self-insurance program

 6  and to pay any claim, judgment, or claims bill arising out of

 7  activities for which the self-insurance program was created.

 8  Investment income that is in excess of that income necessary

 9  to ensure the solvency of a self-insurance program as

10  established by a casualty actuary may be used to defray the

11  annual contribution paid into the program by the entities and

12  individuals protected by the program.

13         (4)  No self-insurance program adopted by the Board of

14  Governors State Board of Education may sue or be sued. The

15  claims files of any such program are privileged and

16  confidential, exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1), and

17  are only for the use of the program in fulfilling its duties.

18  Physicians, health care providers, and other agents or

19  employees of participants in a self-insurance program, as

20  described in this section, are authorized to discuss patient

21  care information for the purposes of quality improvement,

22  incident investigation, and claim defense with self-insurance

23  program council members, staff, and attorneys retained by the

24  self-insurance program, and such communications do not

25  constitute a violation of any statute or rule relating to

26  patient privacy or confidentiality. Any self-insurance trust

27  fund and revenues generated by that fund shall only be used to

28  pay claims and administration expenses.

29         (5)  Each self-insurance program council shall make

30  provision for an annual financial audit pursuant to s. 11.45

31  of its accounts to be conducted by an independent certified

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    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 2012
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 1  public accountant. The annual audit report must include a

 2  management letter and shall be submitted to the Board of

 3  Governors State Board of Education for review. The Board of

 4  Governors State Board of Education shall have the authority to

 5  require and receive from the self-insurance program council or

 6  from its independent auditor any detail or supplemental data

 7  relative to the operation of the self-insurance program.

 8         (6)  The Board of Governors State Board of Education

 9  may adopt make such rules as are necessary to carry out the

10  provisions of this section.

11         Section 2.  Subsection (3) of section 1004.43, Florida

12  Statutes, is amended to read:

13         1004.43  H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research

14  Institute.--There is established the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer

15  Center and Research Institute at the University of South

16  Florida.

17         (3)  The Board of Governors State Board of Education is

18  authorized to secure comprehensive general liability

19  protection, including professional liability protection, for

20  the not-for-profit corporation and its subsidiaries pursuant

21  to s. 1004.24. The not-for-profit corporation and its

22  subsidiaries shall be exempt from any participation in any

23  property insurance trust fund established by law, including

24  any property insurance trust fund established pursuant to

25  chapter 284, so long as the not-for-profit corporation and its

26  subsidiaries maintain property insurance protection with

27  comparable or greater coverage limits.

28         Section 3.  Subsection (4) of section 1004.445, Florida

29  Statutes, is amended to read:

30         1004.445  Johnnie B. Byrd, Sr., Alzheimer's Center and

31  Research Institute.--

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    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 2012
    589-2151-07




 1         (4)  The Board of Governors State Board of Education is

 2  authorized to secure comprehensive general liability

 3  protection, including professional liability protection, for

 4  the not-for-profit corporation and its subsidiaries, pursuant

 5  to s. 1004.24. The not-for-profit corporation and its

 6  subsidiaries shall be exempt from any participation in any

 7  property insurance trust fund established by law, including

 8  any property insurance trust fund established pursuant to

 9  chapter 284, so long as the not-for-profit corporation and its

10  subsidiaries maintain property insurance protection with

11  comparable or greater coverage limits.

12         Section 4.  Section 1012.965, Florida Statutes, is

13  amended to read:

14         1012.965  Payment of costs of civil action against

15  employees; legal status of employees and agents of university

16  board of trustees and university faculty practice plan

17  entities.--

18         (1)  An employee or agent under the right of control of

19  a university board of trustees who, pursuant to the university

20  board's policies or rules, renders medical care or treatment

21  at any hospital or health care facility with which the

22  university board maintains an affiliation agreement whereby

23  the hospital or health care facility provides to the

24  university board a clinical setting for health care education,

25  research, and services, shall not be deemed to be an agent of

26  any person other than the university board in any civil action

27  resulting from any act or omission of the employee or agent

28  while rendering said medical care or treatment. For this

29  subsection to apply, the patient shall be provided separate

30  written conspicuous notice by the university board of trustees

31  or by the hospital or health care facility, and shall

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    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 2012
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 1  acknowledge receipt of this notice, in writing, unless

 2  impractical by reason of an emergency, either personally or

 3  through another person authorized to give consent for him or

 4  her, that he or she will receive care provided by university

 5  board's employees and liability, if any, that may arise from

 6  that care is limited as provided by law. Compliance by a

 7  hospital or health care facility with the requirements of

 8  chapter 395 or s. 766.110(1) shall not be used as evidence in

 9  any civil action to establish an employment or agency

10  relationship between the hospital or health care facility and

11  an employee or agent of the university board of trustees

12  providing services within the hospital or health care

13  facility.

14         (2)  A university board of trustees shall have the

15  unconditional right and shall be permitted to intervene in any

16  civil action for medical negligence filed against an

17  affiliated hospital or health care facility when an employee

18  or agent of a university board of trustees delivered care at

19  such affiliated hospital or health care facility to the

20  patient whose care is at issue in the civil action. For the

21  purpose of ruling on a university's motion to intervene, the

22  court shall accept as conclusive a university's assertion that

23  a person is or was an employee or agent of its board of

24  trustees; however, ultimate resolution of the actual agency

25  status of the person is a factual issue to be determined

26  during the civil action in accordance with established rules

27  of court.

28         (3)  Each faculty practice plan entity of a university

29  functions as the university's agent for the orderly collection

30  and administration of income generated from university faculty

31  practice activities that are part of the university board's

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    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 2012
    589-2151-07




 1  provision of a clinical setting for health care education,

 2  research, and services, which setting is governed by the

 3  university board and its rules. A university's faculty

 4  practice plan entity is not and shall not be a provider of

 5  medical services or an employer of any faculty physicians or

 6  other health care professionals and does not have a

 7  partnership, joint venture, association, employment, or agency

 8  relationship with any university faculty physicians or other

 9  health care professionals.

10         (4)(2)  All faculty physicians employed by a university

11  board of trustees who are subject to the requirements of s.

12  456.013 shall complete their risk management continuing

13  education on issues specific to academic medicine. Such

14  continuing education shall include instruction for the

15  supervision of resident physicians as required by the

16  Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. The

17  boards described in s. 456.013 shall adopt rules to implement

18  the provisions of this subsection.

19         (5)(3)  There are appropriated out of any funds

20  available to a university, not subject to the obligation of

21  contract, covenant, or trust, the amounts necessary to carry

22  out the purposes of this section.

23         (6)(4)  Failure of a university board of trustees or an

24  affiliated health care provider to do any act authorized by

25  this section shall not constitute a cause of action against

26  the university board, or an affiliated health care provider,

27  or any of their members, officers, or employees.

28         Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.

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    Florida Senate - 2007                           CS for SB 2012
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 1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 2                         Senate Bill 2012

 3                                 

 4  The committee substitute:

 5  Transfers State Board of Eduction authority to secure
    comprehensive general liability protection to the Board of
 6  Governors regarding both the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and
    Research Institute and the Johnnie B. Byrd, Sr., Alzheimer's
 7  Center and Research Institute;

 8  Specifies that a university assertion that an employee or
    agent of the university board of trustees is or was its agent
 9  is dispositive regarding a motion to intervene, but not to the
    case outcome; and
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    Clarifies that the clinical setting providing the basis for
11  the faculty practice plan is subject to control of the
    university board of trustees and its rules.
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