The Senate passed a bill unanimously to remove the exemptions from public records laws for the public hospitals. Copy of bill SB #2407. The relevant proposed changes in the law are :
SECTION 1. Section
25-41-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
25-41-3. For purposes of
this chapter, the following words shall have the meaning ascribed herein, to
wit:
(a) "Public
body" means any executive or administrative board, commission, authority,
council, department, agency, bureau or any other policymaking entity, or
committee thereof, of the State of Mississippi, or any political subdivision or
municipal corporation of the state, whether * * * the entity be created by statute or
executive order, which is supported wholly or in part by public funds or
expends public funds, and any standing, interim or special committee of the
Mississippi Legislature. The term "public body" includes the
governing board of a charter school authorized by the Mississippi Charter
School Authorizer Board and the board of trustees of a community hospital as
defined in Section 41-13-10.....
(4) Records of a public hospital
board relating to the purchase or sale of medical or other practices or other
business operations, and the recruitment of physicians and other health care
professionals, shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter while the
recruiting or negotiation is ongoing, but the records shall be available upon
execution of an employment agreement or contract....
(4) Each board of trustees of a community hospital, as defined in Section 41-13-10, shall create its own Accountability and Transparency website no later than January 1, 2016. This website shall:
(a) Provide access
to existing financial reports, financial audits, budgets and other financial
documents that are used to allocate, appropriate, spend and account for public
funds;
(b) Have a unique
and simplified website address;
(c) Include links,
features or functionality that will assist the public in obtaining and
reviewing public financial information;
(d) Report
expenditure information currently available within the computer system of each
community hospital; and
(d) Design the
reporting format using the existing capabilities of the computer system of each
community hospital.....
SECTION 11. Section
41-9-68, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-9-68. Hospital
records maintained by public hospitals * * * shall be exempt from the provisions
of the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983. The official minutes of the
board of trustees of a public hospital, financial reports filed as required by
statute with the board of supervisors, municipal governing authority or any
other agency of government, executed employment contracts between the hospital
and a health care professional, or any other record maintained by public
hospitals that does not fall within the definition of the term "hospital
records" as the term "hospital records" is defined in Section 41-9-61,
shall not be exempt from the provisions of the Mississippi Public Records Act
of 1983.
5 comments:
While on a roll, I wish the legislature would remove its own exemption too. Not sure why they deserve to conduct the people's business behind closed doors while demanding that other public bodies do the same. What about it Tater?
Tate isn't doing business behind closed doors. Nope, he's busy downing double chili-cheeseburgers and biggie fries. Tate's got a profile to keep up. If you know what I mean.
I like Tate. What's with all the personal insults lately? Is your body perfect?
Tate is an idiot and the next governor. That said.....
I was once news director for the TV station in Tuscaloosa, AL. The chief sponsor for the 6 p.m. news was First National Bank of Tuskaloosa. (Yep, that's how they spelled it.) The chairman of the Druid City Hospital board was also the President of FNB of T. I had been on the job for about three months when the station manager calls me into the office and wants to know why we didn't have a reporter at the hospital board of directors meeting last night. Then he tells me FNB of T is going to drop its sponsorship of the news if we don't cover the next board meeting. Being from Mississippi, I never dreamed hospital board meetings would WANT reporters to be at the meetings. Just shows the difference.
So this exempts UMMC?
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