MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2015 Regular Session
To: Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency
By: Senator(s) Wiggins
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 25-41-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF A COMMUNITY HOSPITAL IS A PUBLIC BODY; TO AMEND SECTION 25-41-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THE ABILITY OF THE BOARD OF A TRUSTEES TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR MATTERS CONCERNING THE OPERATION OF THE HOSPITAL AS A BUSINESS ENTITY; TO AMEND SECTION 25-61-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT RECORDS CONTAINING INFORMATION CONCERNING TRADE SECRETS AND CONFIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF A PROPRIETARY NATURE DEVELOPED BY A PUBLIC HOSPITAL ARE NOT SUBJECT TO THE MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC RECORDS ACT OF 1983; TO AMEND SECTION 25-61-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THAT FEDERAL STATUTORY LAW IMPOSING CONFIDENTIALITY UPON A RECORD WILL EXEMPT THE RECORD FROM THE MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC RECORDS ACT OF 1983; TO AMEND SECTION 25-61-12, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT RECORDS RELATING TO THE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OF A PUBLIC HOSPITAL ARE NOT SUBJECT TO THE MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC RECORDS ACT OF 1983; TO AMEND SECTION 41-13-10, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; TO AMEND SECTION 41-13-29, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO IMPOSE A GREATER RANGE FOR THE PERFORMANCE BOND TO BE SECURED ON BEHALF OF TRUSTEES OF A PUBLIC HOSPITAL AND TO REVISE THE QUALIFICATIONS OF PERSONS TO BE APPOINTED TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF A COMMUNITY HOSPITAL; TO AMEND SECTIONS 41-13-35 AND 41-13-47, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; TO AMEND SECTION 27-104-155, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE A LEVEL OF TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR COMMUNITY HOSPITALS; TO AMEND SECTION 41-9-68, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THE PUBLIC HOSPITAL RECORDS THAT ARE EXEMPT FROM THE MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC RECORDS ACT OF 1983; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
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. There shall be exempted from the provisions
of this chapter:
(i) The judiciary, including all jury deliberations;
* * *
( * * *ii) Law enforcement officials;
( * * *iii) The military;
( * * *iv) The State Probation and Parole
Board;
( * * *v) The Workers' Compensation
Commission;
( * * *vi) Legislative subcommittees and
legislative conference committees;
( * * *vii) The arbitration council established
in Section 69-3-19;
( * * *viii) License revocation, suspension
and disciplinary proceedings held by the Mississippi State Board of Dental
Examiners; and
( * * *ix) Hearings and meetings of the Board
of Tax Appeals and of the hearing officers and the board of review of the
Department of Revenue as provided in Section 27-77-15.
(b)
"Meeting" means an assemblage of members of a public body at which
official acts may be taken upon a matter over which the public body has
supervision, control, jurisdiction or advisory power; "meeting" also
means any * * *
assemblage through the use of video or teleconference devices.
SECTION 2. Section 25-41-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
25-41-7. (1) Any public
body may enter into executive session for the transaction of public business; * * * however, all meetings of any * * * public body shall commence as an open
meeting, and an affirmative vote of three-fifths (3/5) of all members present
shall be required to declare an executive session.
(2) The procedure to be
followed by any public body in declaring an executive session shall be as
follows: Any member shall have the right to request by motion a closed
determination upon the issue of whether or not to declare an executive session. * * * The motion, by majority vote,
shall require the meeting to be closed for a preliminary determination of the
necessity for executive session. No other business shall be transacted until
the discussion of the nature of the matter requiring executive session has been
completed and a vote, as required in subsection (1) hereof, has been taken on
the issue.
(3) An executive session
shall be limited to matters allowed to be exempted from open meetings by
subsection (4) of this section. The reason for holding * * * an executive session shall be stated in an
open meeting, and the reason so stated shall be recorded in the minutes of the
meeting. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require that any
meeting be closed to the public, nor shall any executive session be used to
circumvent or to defeat the purposes of this chapter.
(4) A public body may hold an executive session pursuant to this section for one or more of the following reasons:
(a) Transaction of business and discussion of personnel matters relating to the job performance, character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of a person holding a specific position or matters concerning the recruitment of potential physician employees or physician partners by a public hospital.
(b) Strategy sessions or negotiations with respect to prospective litigation, litigation or issuance of an appealable order when an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the litigating position of the public body.
(c) Transaction of business and discussion regarding the report, development or course of action regarding security personnel, plans or devices.
(d) Investigative proceedings by any public body regarding allegations of misconduct or violation of law.
(e) Any body of the
Legislature which is meeting on matters within the jurisdiction of * * * that body.
(f) Cases of
extraordinary emergency which would pose immediate or irrevocable harm or
damage to persons * * *
or property, or both, within the jurisdiction of * * * the public body.
(g) Transaction of business and discussion regarding the prospective purchase, sale or leasing of lands.
(h) Discussions
between a school board and individual students who attend a school within the
jurisdiction of * * *
the school board or the parents or teachers of * * * the students regarding problems of * * * the students or their parents or
teachers.
(i) Transaction of business and discussion concerning the preparation of tests for admission to practice in recognized professions.
(j) Transaction of business and discussions or negotiations regarding the location, relocation or expansion of a business or an industry, and the recruitment of physicians or formation of partnerships with health care professionals before the health care professional or health care professional group is employed by or contracts with the public hospital.
(k) Transaction of business and discussions regarding employment or job performance of a person in a specific position or termination of an employee, including a contract employee, holding a specific position. The exemption provided by this paragraph includes the right to enter into executive session concerning a line item in a budget which might affect the termination of an employee or employees. All other budget items shall be considered in open meetings and final budgetary adoption shall not be taken in executive session.
(l) Discussions regarding material or data exempt from the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983 pursuant to Section 25-11-121.
(5) The total vote on the
question of entering into an executive session shall be recorded and spread
upon the minutes of * * *
the public body.
(6) Any * * * vote whereby an executive session is
declared shall be applicable only to that particular meeting on that particular
day.
SECTION 3. Section 25-61-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
25-61-9. (1) Records
furnished to public bodies by third parties which contain trade secrets or
confidential commercial or financial information shall not be subject to
inspection, examination, copying or reproduction under this chapter until
notice to * * *
third parties has been given, but * * * the records shall be released
within a reasonable period of time unless the * * * third parties * * * have obtained a court order protecting * * * the records as confidential.
(2) If any public record
which is held to be exempt from disclosure pursuant to this chapter contains
material which is not exempt pursuant to this chapter, the public body shall
separate the exempt material and make the nonexempt material available for
examination * * *
or copying, or both, as provided for in this chapter.
(3) Trade secrets and
confidential commercial and financial information of a proprietary nature
developed by a college * * *, university or public hospital under contract with
a firm, business, partnership, association, corporation, individual or other
like entity shall not be subject to inspection, examination, copying or
reproduction under this chapter.
(4) Misappropriation of a trade secret shall be governed by the provisions of the Mississippi Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Sections 75-26-1 through 75-26-19.
(5) A waste minimization plan and any updates developed by generators and facility operators under the Mississippi Comprehensive Multimedia Waste Minimization Act of 1990 shall be retained at the facility and shall not be subject to inspection, examination, copying or reproduction under this chapter.
(6) Data processing software obtained by an agency under a licensing agreement that prohibits its disclosure and which software is a trade secret, as defined in Section 75-26-3, and data processing software produced by a public body which is sensitive must not be subject to inspection, copying or reproduction under this chapter.
As used in this subsection, "sensitive" means only those portions of data processing software, including the specifications and documentation, used to:
(a) Collect, process, store, and retrieve information which is exempt under this chapter.
(b) Control and direct access authorizations and security measures for automated systems.
(c) Collect, process, store, and retrieve information, disclosure of which would require a significant intrusion into the business of the public body.
SECTION 4. Section 25-61-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
25-61-11. The provisions of
this chapter shall not be construed to conflict with, amend, repeal or
supersede any constitutional * * * law, state or federal statutory law,
or decision of a court of this state or the United States which at the time of
this chapter is effective or thereafter specifically declares a public record
to be confidential or privileged, or provides that a public record shall be
exempt from the provisions of this chapter.
SECTION 5. Section 25-61-12, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
25-61-12. (1) The home
address, any telephone number of a privately paid account or other private
information of any law enforcement officer, criminal investigator, judge or
district attorney or the spouse or child of * * * the law enforcement officer,
criminal investigator, judge or district attorney shall be exempt from the
Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983. This exemption does not apply to any
court transcript or recording if given under oath and not otherwise excluded by
law.
(2) (a) When in the possession of a law enforcement agency, investigative reports shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter; however, a law enforcement agency, in its discretion, may choose to make public all or any part of any investigative report.
(b) Nothing in this
chapter shall be construed to prevent any and all public bodies from having
among themselves a free flow of information for the purpose of achieving a
coordinated and effective detection and investigation of unlawful activity.
Where the confidentiality of records covered by this section is being
determined in a private hearing before a judge under Section 25-61-13, the
public body may redact or separate from * * * the records the identity of
confidential informants or the identity of the person or persons under
investigation or other information other than the nature of the incident, time,
date and location.
(c) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to exempt from public disclosure a law enforcement incident report. An incident report shall be a public record. A law enforcement agency may release information in addition to the information contained in the incident report.
(d) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require the disclosure of information that would reveal the identity of the victim.
(3) Personal information of victims, including victim impact statements and letters of support on behalf of victims that are contained in records on file with the Mississippi Department of Corrections and State Parole Board shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter.
(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.
SECTION 6. Section 41-13-10, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-13-10. For purposes of Sections 41-13-10 through 41-13-47, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a)
"Administrator" * * *shall mean means the chief administrative official and
executive officer of a community hospital selected by the board of trustees of * * * the community hospital.
(b) "Board of
trustees" * * * means the board appointed pursuant to Section 41-13-29,
to operate a community hospital.
(c) "Community
hospital" * * * means any hospital, nursing home * * * or related health facilities or programs,
including, without limitation, ambulatory surgical facilities,
intermediate care facilities, after-hours clinics, home health agencies and
rehabilitation facilities, established and acquired by boards of trustees or by
one or more owners which is governed, operated and maintained by a board of
trustees.
(d) "Owner" * * * means any board of
supervisors of any county having an ownership interest in any community
hospital or leased facility on behalf of the county or on behalf of any
supervisors district, judicial district or election district of the county and * * * also means any governing council
or board of any municipality having an ownership interest in any community
hospital or leased facility.
(e) "Leased
facility" * * * means a hospital, nursing home or related health
facilities which an owner has leased to an individual, partnership,
corporation, other owner or board of trustees for a term not in excess of fifty
(50) years, conditioned upon the facility continuing to operate on a nonprofit
basis. A leased facility shall not be deemed or considered to be a community
hospital except for purposes of Sections 41-13-19 through 41-13-25, and shall
not be subject to the statutory requirements placed on community hospitals
except to the extent as may be specifically required by the terms of the
applicable lease agreement. However, in situations where another community
hospital, acting through its board of trustees, is the lessee of a leased
facility, the leased facility shall remain subject to this chapter and other
laws applicable to community hospitals, except that the owners of the lessee
shall have sole authority to appoint the board of trustees for the leased
facility, which shall be the same board of trustees as appointed under Section
41-13-29 for the lessee community hospital.
(f) "Service area" means that area as determined by a board of trustees by its patient origin studies.
SECTION 7. Section 41-13-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-13-29. (1) The owners
are hereby authorized to appoint trustees for the purpose of operating and
governing community hospitals and may remove a trustee after appointment for
good cause shown. * * * To be eligible for appointment, an
appointee must be an adult legal * * * resident of the county which
has an ownership interest in * * * the community hospital or the
county * * *
in which the municipality or other political subdivision holding the
ownership interest in the community hospital is located. The authority to
appoint trustees shall not apply to leased facilities, unless specifically
reserved by the owner in the applicable lease agreement. The board of trustees
shall consist of not more than seven (7) members nor less than five (5)
members, except where specifically authorized by statute, and shall be
appointed by the respective owners on a pro rata basis comparable to the ownership
interests in the community hospital. Where * * * the community hospital is owned
solely by a county, or any supervisors districts, judicial districts or
election district of a county, or by a municipality, the trustees shall be
residents of the owning entity. Trustees for municipally owned community
hospitals shall be appointed by the * * * governing authority of * * * the municipality. Trustees for a
community hospital owned by a county shall be appointed by the board of
supervisors with each supervisor having the right to nominate one (1) trustee
from his district or from the county at large. Appointments exceeding five (5)
in number shall be from the county at large. Trustees for a community hospital
owned solely by supervisors districts, judicial districts or election district
of a county, shall be appointed by the board of supervisors of * * * the county from nominees submitted
by the supervisor * * *
or supervisors representing the owner district * * * or districts.
(2) (a) Initially
the board of trustees shall be appointed as follows: one (1) for a term of one
(1) year, one (1) for a term of two (2) years, one (1) for a term of three (3)
years, one (1) for a term of four (4) years, and one (1) for a term of five (5)
years. Appointments exceeding five (5) in number shall be for terms of four
(4) and five (5) years, respectively. Thereafter, all terms shall be for five
(5) years. No community hospital trustee holding office on July 1, 1982, shall
be affected by this provision, but * * * the terms shall be filled at the
expiration thereof according to the provisions of this section, provided,
however, that any other specific appointment procedures presently authorized
shall likewise not be affected by the terms hereof. Any vacancy on the board
of trustees shall be filled within ninety (90) days by appointment by the
applicable owner for the remainder of the unexpired term.
(b) From and after July 1, 2015, to be eligible for appointment, an appointee must have no felony convictions, possess at least a high school diploma or the equivalent, owe no outstanding debt to the community hospital, and not be a plaintiff in any pending lawsuit against the community hospital.
(3) (a) Any community
hospital erected, owned, maintained and operated by any county located in the
geographical center of the State of Mississippi and in which State Highways No.
12 and No. 35 intersect, shall be operated by a board of trustees of five (5)
members who have the qualifications set forth in this section to be
appointed by the board of supervisors from the county at large, one (1) for a
term of one (1) year, one (1) for a term of two (2) years, one (1) for a term
of three (3) years, one (1) for a term of four (4) years, and one (1) for a
term of five (5) years. Thereafter all * * * trustees shall be appointed from the
county at large for a period of five (5) years.
(b) Any community hospital erected, owned, maintained and operated by any county situated in the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Levee District and bordering on the Mississippi River and having a population of not less than forty-five thousand (45,000) and having an assessed valuation of not less than Thirty Million Dollars ($30,000,000.00) for the year 1954, shall be operated by a board of trustees which may consist of not more than eleven (11) members who have the qualifications set forth in this section.
(c) Any hospital erected, owned, maintained and operated by any county having two (2) judicial districts, which is traversed by U.S. Interstate Highway 59, which intersects Highway 84 therein, shall be operated by a board of trustees which shall consist of seven (7) members who have the qualifications set forth in this section. The first seven (7) members appointed under authority of this paragraph shall be appointed by the board of supervisors for terms as follows:
Each supervisor of
Supervisors Districts One and Two shall nominate and the board of
supervisors shall appoint one (1) person from each said beat for a one-year
term. Each supervisor of Supervisors Districts Three and Four shall
nominate and the board of supervisors shall appoint one (1) person from each * * * beat for a two-year term. The supervisor
of Supervisors District Five shall nominate and the board of supervisors
shall appoint one (1) person from * * * the beat for a three-year term.
The medical staff at the hospital shall submit a list of four (4) nominees and
the supervisors shall appoint two (2) trustees from * * * the list of nominees, one (1) for
a three-year term and one (1) for a one-year term. Thereafter, as the terms of
the board of trustee members authorized by this paragraph expire, all but the
trustee originally appointed from the medical staff nominees for a one-year
term shall be appointed by the board of supervisors for terms of three (3)
years. The term of the trustee originally appointed from the medical staff
nominees by the board of supervisors for a term of one (1) year shall remain a
term of one (1) year and shall thereafter be appointed for a term of one (1)
year. The two (2) members appointed from medical staff nominees shall be
appointed from a list of two (2) nominees for each * * * position to be submitted by the medical
staff of the hospital for each vacancy to be filled. It is the intent of the
Legislature that the board of trustees which existed prior to July 1, 1985, was
abolished by amendment to this section under Section 5, Chapter 511, Laws of
1985, and * * *
the amendment authorized the appointment of a new board of trustees on
or after July 1, 1985, in the manner provided in this paragraph. Any member of
the board of trustees which existed * * * before July 1, 1985, who
has the qualifications set forth in this section shall be eligible for
reappointment subject to the provisions of this paragraph.
(d) Any community hospital erected, owned, maintained and operated by any county bordering on the Mississippi River having two (2) judicial districts, wherein U.S. Highway 61 and Mississippi Highway 8 intersect, lying wholly within a levee district, shall be operated by a board of trustees which may consist of not more than nine (9) members who have the qualifications set forth in this section.
(e) (i) Until February 1, 2016, any community hospital system owned, maintained and operated by any county bordering on the Gulf of Mexico and the State of Alabama shall be operated by a board of trustees constituted as follows: seven (7) members shall be selected as provided in subsection (1) of this section and the remaining members shall be the chiefs of staff at those hospitals which are a part of the hospital system; the members must have the qualifications set forth in this section. The term of the chiefs of staff on the board of trustees shall coincide with their service as chiefs of staff at their respective hospitals.
(ii) 1. The term of any member serving on the board of trustees of any community hospital system owned, maintained and operated by any county bordering on the Gulf of Mexico and the State of Alabama shall terminate at midnight on January 31, 2016.
2. Effective February 1, 2016, the board of trustees shall consist of seven (7) members selected on or after January 1, 2016, as provided in subsection (1) of this section, to serve for a term as provided in subsection (2) of this section; the remaining members shall be the chiefs of staff at those hospitals that are a part of the hospital system. The term of the chiefs of staff on the board of trustees shall coincide with their service as chiefs of staff at their respective hospitals.
(4) Any community hospital
owned, maintained and operated by any county wherein Mississippi Highways 16
and 19 intersect, having a land area of five hundred sixty-eight (568) square
miles, and having a population in excess of twenty-three thousand seven hundred
(23,700) according to the 1980 federal decennial census, shall be operated by a
board of trustees of five (5) members who have the qualifications set forth
in this section, one (1) of whom shall be elected by the qualified electors
of each supervisors district of the county in the manner provided herein. Each
member so elected shall be a resident and qualified elector of the district
from which he is elected. The first elected members of the board of trustees
shall be elected at the regular general election held on November 4, 1986. At * * * the election, the members of the
board from Supervisors Districts One and Two shall be elected for a term of six
(6) years; members of the board from Supervisors Districts Three and Four shall
be elected for a term of two (2) years; and the member of the board from
Supervisors District Five shall be elected for a term of four (4) years. Each
subsequent member of the board shall be elected for a term of six (6) years at
the same time as the general election in which the member of the county board
of education representing the same supervisors district is elected. All
members of the board shall take office on the first Monday of January following
the date of their election. The terms of all seven (7) appointed members of * * * the board of trustees holding
office on the effective date of this act shall expire on the date that the
first elected members of the board take office. The board of trustees provided
for herein shall not lease or sell the community hospital property under its
jurisdiction unless the board of supervisors of the county calls for an
election on the proposition and a majority voting in * * * the election shall approve * * * the lease or sale.
The members of the board of
trustees provided for in this subsection shall be compensated a per diem and
reimbursed for their expenses and mileage in the same amount and subject to the
same restrictions provided for members of the county board of education in
Section 37-5-21 and may, at the discretion of the board, choose to participate
in any hospital medical benefit plan which may be in effect for hospital
employees. Any member of the board of trustees choosing to participate in * * * the plan shall pay the full cost of
his participation in the plan so that no expenditure of hospital funds is
required.
The name of any qualified
elector who is a candidate for * * * the community hospital board of
trustees shall be placed on the ballot used in the general elections by the
county election commissioners, * * * if the candidate files
with * * * the
county election commissioners, not more than ninety (90) days and not less than
thirty (30) days * * * before the date of * * * the general election, a petition of
nomination signed by not less than fifty (50) qualified electors of the county
residing within each supervisors district. The candidate in each supervisors
district who receives the highest number of votes cast in the district shall be
declared elected.
(5) A board of trustees
provided for herein may, in its discretion, where funds are available,
compensate each trustee per diem in the amount of at least the amount
established by Section 25-3-69 up to the maximum amount of not more than One
Hundred Fifty Dollars ($150.00) for each meeting of * * * the board of trustees or meeting
of a committee established by the board of trustees where the trustee was in
attendance, and in addition thereto provide meals at * * * the meetings and compensate each
member attending travel expenses at the rate authorized by Section 25-3-41 for
actual mileage traveled to and from the place of meeting.
(6) The owner which
appointed a trustee may likewise remove him from office by majority vote for
failure to attend at least fifty percent (50%) of the regularly scheduled
meetings of * * *
the board during the twelve-month period preceding * * * the vote, or for violation of any
statute relating to the responsibilities of his office, based upon the
recommendation of a majority of the remaining trustees.
(7) For community
hospitals located in a county having a population of less than one hundred
thousand (100,000) according to the most recent federal decennial census,
the members of the board of trustees, administrator and any other officials of
the community hospital as may be deemed necessary or proper by the board of
trustees shall be under bond in an amount not less than Ten Thousand Dollars
($10,000.00) nor more than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) with some
surety company authorized to do business in the State of Mississippi to
faithfully perform the duties of his office. For community hospitals
located in a county having a population of one hundred thousand (100,000) or
more according to the most recent federal decennial census, the bond shall be
in an amount not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) nor more than
Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00). Premiums for * * * the bonds shall be paid from funds
of the community hospital.
SECTION 8. Section 41-13-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-13-35. (1) The board of
trustees of any community hospital shall have full authority to appoint an
administrator, who shall not be a member of the board of trustees, and to
delegate reasonable authority to * * * the administrator for the operation
and maintenance of * * *
the hospital and all property and facilities otherwise appertaining thereto.
(2) The board of trustees
shall have full authority to select from its members, officers and committees
and, by resolution or through the board bylaws, to delegate to * * * the officers and committees
reasonable authority to carry out and enforce the powers and duties of the
board of trustees during the interim periods between regular meetings of the
board of trustees; provided, however, that any * * * action taken by an officer or committee
shall be subject to review by the board, and actions may be withdrawn or
nullified at the next subsequent meeting of the board of trustees if the action
is in excess of delegated authority.
(3) The board of trustees
shall be responsible for governing the community hospital under its control and
shall make and enforce staff and hospital bylaws and * * * rules and regulations necessary for the
administration, government, maintenance and * * * expansion or contraction of * * * the hospitals. The board of
trustees shall keep meaningful and accurate minutes of its official
business and shall comply with Section 41-9-68.
(4) The decisions of * * * the board of trustees of the
community hospital shall be valid and binding unless expressly prohibited by
applicable statutory or constitutional provisions.
(5) The power of the board of trustees shall specifically include, but not be limited to, the following authority:
(a) To deposit and invest funds of the community hospital in accordance with Section 27-105-365;
(b) To establish * * * equitable wage and salary programs and
other employment benefits as may be deemed expedient or proper, and in so
doing, to expend reasonable funds for * * * employee salary and benefits. Allowable
employee programs shall specifically include, but not be limited to,
medical benefit, life, accidental death and dismemberment, disability,
retirement and other employee coverage plans. The hospital may offer and fund * * * the programs directly or by
contract with any third party and shall be authorized to take all actions
necessary to implement, administer and operate * * * the plans, including payroll
deductions for * * *
the plans;
(c) To authorize employees to attend and to pay actual expenses incurred by employees while engaged in hospital business or in attending recognized educational or professional meetings;
(d) To enter into loan
or scholarship agreements with employees or students to provide educational
assistance where * * *
the student or employee agrees to work for a stipulated period of time
for the hospital;
(e) To devise and implement employee incentive programs;
(f) To recruit and
financially assist physicians and other health care practitioners in
establishing, or relocating practices within the service area of the community
hospital, including, without limitation, direct and indirect financial
assistance, loan agreements, agreements guaranteeing minimum incomes for a
stipulated period from opening of the practice and providing free office space
or reduced rental rates for office space where * * * the recruitment would directly
benefit the community hospital * * * or the health and welfare of the citizens
of the service area;
(g) To contract by way of lease, lease-purchase or otherwise, with any agency, department or other office of government or any individual, partnership, corporation, owner, other board of trustees, or other health care facility, for the providing of property, equipment or services by or to the community hospital or other entity or regarding any facet of the construction, management, funding or operation of the community hospital or any division or department thereof, or any related activity, including, without limitation, shared management expertise or employee insurance and retirement programs, and to terminate said contracts when deemed in the best interests of the community hospital;
(h) To file suit on behalf of the community hospital to enforce any right or claims accruing to the hospital and to defend and/or settle claims against the community hospital and/or its board of trustees;
(i) To sell or
otherwise dispose of any chattel property of the community hospital by any
method deemed appropriate by the board where * * * the disposition is consistent with
the hospital purposes or where * * * the property is deemed by the board
to be surplus or otherwise unneeded;
(j) To let contracts for the construction, remodeling, expansion or acquisition, by lease or purchase, of hospital or health care facilities, including real property, within the service area for community hospital purposes where such may be done with operational funds without encumbrancing the general funds of the county or municipality, provided that any contract for the purchase of real property must be ratified by the owner;
(k) To borrow money
and enter other financing arrangements for community hospital and related
purposes and to grant security interests in hospital equipment and other
hospital assets and to pledge a percentage of hospital revenues as security for * * * the financings where needed;
provided that the owner shall specify by resolution the maximum borrowing
authority and maximum percent of revenue which may be pledged by the board of
trustees during any given fiscal year;
(l) To expend hospital funds for public relations or advertising programs;
(m) To offer the
following inpatient and outpatient services, after complying with applicable
health planning, licensure statutes and regulations, whether or not heretofore
offered by * * *
the hospital or other similar hospitals in this state and whether or not
heretofore authorized to be offered, long-term care, extended care, home care,
after-hours clinic services, ambulatory surgical clinic services, preventative
health care services including wellness services, health education,
rehabilitation and diagnostic and treatment services; to promote, develop,
operate and maintain a center providing care or residential facilities for the
aged, convalescent or handicapped; and to promote, develop and institute any
other services having an appropriate place in the operation of a hospital
offering complete community health care;
(n) To promote,
develop, acquire, operate and maintain on a nonprofit basis, or on a profit
basis if the community hospital's share of profits is used solely for community
hospital and related purposes in accordance with this chapter, either
separately or jointly with one or more other hospitals or health-related
organizations, facilities and equipment for providing goods, services and
programs for hospitals, other health care providers, and other persons or
entities in need of * * *
the goods, services and programs and, in doing so, to provide for
contracts of employment or contracts for services and ownership of property on
terms that will protect the public interest;
(o) To establish and
operate medical offices, child care centers, wellness or fitness centers and
other facilities and programs which the board determines are appropriate in the
operation of a community hospital for the benefit of its employees, personnel
and/or medical staff which shall be operated as an integral part of the
hospital and which may, in the direction of the board of trustees, be offered
to the general public. If * * * the programs are not established in
existing facilities or constructed on real estate previously acquired by the
owners, the board of trustees shall also have authority to acquire, by lease or
purchase, * * *
the facilities and real property within the service area, whether or not
adjacent to existing facilities, provided that any contract for the purchase of
real property shall be ratified by the owner. The trustees shall lease any * * * medical offices to members of the medical
staff at rates deemed appropriate and may, in its discretion, establish rates
to be paid for the use of other facilities or programs by its employees or
personnel or members of the public whom the trustees may determine may properly
use * * * the
other facilities or programs;
(p) Provide, at its
discretion, ambulance service and/or to contract with any third party, public
or private, for the providing of * * * the service;
(q) Establish a fair
and equitable system for the billing of patients for care or users of services
received through the community hospital, which in the exercise of the board of
trustees' prudent fiscal discretion, may allow for rates to be classified
according to the potential usage by an identified group or groups of patients
of the community hospital's services and may allow for standard discounts where
the discount is designed to reduce the operating costs or increase the revenues
of the community hospital. * * * The billing system may also allow
for the payment of charges by means of a credit card or similar device and
allow for payment of administrative fees as may be regularly imposed by a
banking institution or other credit service organization for the use of * * * the cards;
(r) To establish as an
organizational part of the hospital or to aid in establishing as a separate
entity from the hospital, hospital auxiliaries designed to aid the hospital,
its patients, and * * *
families and visitors of patients, and when the auxiliary is established as a
separate entity from the hospital, the board of trustees may cooperate with the
auxiliary in its operations as the board of trustees deems appropriate; and
(s) To make any agreements or contracts with the federal government or any agency thereof, the State of Mississippi or any agency thereof, and any county, city, town, supervisors district or election district within this state, jointly or separately, for the maintenance of charity facilities.
(6) No board of trustees of any community hospital may accept any grant of money or other thing of value from any not-for-profit or for-profit organization established for the purpose of supporting health care in the area served by the facility unless two-thirds (2/3) of the trustees vote to accept the grant.
(7) No board of trustees, individual trustee or any other person who is an agent or servant of the trustees of any community hospital shall have any personal financial interest in any not-for-profit or for-profit organization which, regardless of its stated purpose of incorporation, provides assistance in the form of grants of money or property to community hospitals or provides services to community hospitals in the form of performance of functions normally associated with the operations of a hospital.
SECTION 9. Section 41-13-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-13-47. On or before the
first Monday in September of each year, the said board of trustees shall make,
enter on its minutes and file with the owner or owners, separately or jointly
interested in said hospital, a proposed budget based on anticipated income and
expenditures for the ensuing fiscal year. * * * The budget, as submitted or
amended, shall be approved by the said owner or owners, as the case may be,
which approval shall be evidenced by a proper order recorded upon the minutes
of each * * *
owner.
On or before the first
Monday in March of each year, said board of trustees shall also make, enter on
its minutes and file with * * *such the owner or owners a full fiscal year report
which shall contain a complete and correct accounting of all funds received and
expended for all hospital purposes.
SECTION 10. Section 27-104-155, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
27-104-155. (1) The Department of Finance and Administration shall develop and operate a searchable website that includes information on expenditures of state funds from all funding sources. The website shall have a unique and simplified website address, and the department shall require each agency that maintains a generally accessible Internet site or for which a generally accessible Internet site is maintained to include a link on the front page of the agency's Internet site to the searchable website required under this section.
(a) With regard to disbursement of funds, the website shall include, but not be limited to:
(i) The name and principal location of the entity or recipients of the funds, excluding release of information relating to an individual's place of residence, the identity of recipients of state or federal assistance payments, and any other information deemed confidential by state or federal law relating to privacy rights;
(ii) The amount of state funds expended;
(iii) A descriptive purpose of the funding action or expenditure;
(iv) The funding source of the expenditure;
(v) The budget program or activity of the expenditure;
(vi) The specific source of authority and descriptive purpose of the expenditure, to include a link to the funding authorization document(s) in a searchable PDF form;
(vii) The specific source of authority for the expenditure including, but not limited to, a grant, subgrant, contract, or the general discretion of the agency director, provided that if the authority is a grant, subgrant or contract, the website entry shall include a grant, subgrant or contract number or similar information that clearly identifies the specific source of authority. The information required under this paragraph includes data relative to tax exemptions and credits;
(viii) The expending agency;
(ix) The type of transaction;
(x) The expected performance outcomes achieved for the funding action or expenditure;
(xi) Links to any state audit or report relating to the entity or recipient of funds or the budget program or activity or agency; and
(xii) Any other information deemed relevant by the Department of Finance and Administration.
(b) When the expenditure of state funds involves the expenditure of bond proceeds, the searchable website must include a clear, detailed description of the purpose of the bonds, a current status report on the project or projects being financed by the bonds, and a current status report on the payment of the principal and interest on the bonds.
(c) The searchable website must include access to an electronic summary of each grant, including amendments; subgrant, including amendments; contract, including amendments; and payment voucher that includes, wherever possible, a hyperlink to the actual document in a searchable PDF format, subject to the restrictions in paragraph (d) of this section. The Department of Finance and Administration may cooperate with other agencies to accomplish the requirements of this paragraph.
(d) Nothing in Sections 27-104-151 through 27-104-159 shall permit or require the disclosure of trade secrets or other proprietary information, including confidential vendor information, or any other information that is required to be confidential by state or federal law.
(e) The information available from the searchable website must be updated no later than fourteen (14) days after the receipt of data from an agency, and the Department of Finance and Administration shall require each agency to provide to the department access to all data that is required to be accessible from the searchable website within fourteen (14) days of each expenditure, grant award, including amendments; subgrant, including amendments; or contract, including amendments; executed by the agency.
(f) The searchable website must include all information required by this section for all transactions that are initiated in fiscal year 2015 or later. In addition, all information that is included on the searchable website from the date of the inception of the website until July 1, 2014, must be maintained on the website according to the requirements of this section before July 1, 2014, and remain accessible for ten (10) years from the date it was originally made available. All data on the searchable website must remain accessible to the public for a minimum of ten (10) years.
(2) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall create the IHL Accountability and Transparency website to include its executive office and the institutions of higher learning no later than July 1, 2012. 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 appropriated funds;
(b) Have a unique and simplified website address;
(c) Be directly accessible via a link from the main page of the Department of Finance and Administration website, as well as the IHL website and the main page of the website of each institution of higher learning;
(d) Include other links, features or functionality that will assist the public in obtaining and reviewing public financial information;
(e) Report expenditure information currently available within these enterprise resource planning (ERP) computer systems; and
(f) Design the reporting format using the existing capabilities of these ERP computer systems.
(3) The Mississippi Community College Board shall create the Community and Junior Colleges Accountability and Transparency website to include its executive office and the community and junior colleges no later than July 1, 2012. 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 appropriated funds;
(b) Have a unique and simplified website address;
(c) Be directly accessible via a link from the main page of the Department of Finance and Administration website, as well as the Mississippi Community College Board website and the main page of the website of each community and junior college;
(d) Include other links, features or functionality that will assist the public in obtaining and reviewing public financial information;
(e) Report expenditure information currently available within the computer system of each community and junior college; and
(f) Design the reporting format using the existing capabilities of the computer system of each community and junior college.
(4) Each community hospital board 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.
SECTION 12. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015.