Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §50 is enacted to read:

§50.__Mandate Review

Beginning January 1, 2006, prior to enacting legislation with requirements for mandatory action that will impose costs on physicians licensed in this State and health care providers licensed by the department, the Legislature shall require the department to perform a mandate review in accordance with this section.

1.__Contracting.__The department may contract for performance of any part of the mandate review.

2.__Process.__The mandate review must include review and evaluation of the medical efficacy of the proposed mandate and the costs of the proposed mandate, including, but not limited to, the financial impact on physicians and health care providers and their patients, the social costs and the effects of balancing social, economic and medical efficacy considerations.

3.__Recommendation.__The mandate review must include a recommendation from the department regarding the proposed mandate and options for changing the proposed mandate to address significant challenges identified in the mandate review.

4.__Report.__The department shall report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health and human services matters and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over the bill proposing the mandate on the results of the mandate review, including the department's recommendation and any options included in the mandate review under subsection 3.

5.__Requirement.__Following receipt of the mandate review and consideration of the proposed mandate under subsection 2, the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over the bill proposing the mandate may report out the bill with any amendments from the committee.__A bill subject to the provisions of this section may not be enacted into law unless review and consideration under this section have been completed.

SUMMARY

This bill imposes on the Legislature a mandate review procedure similar to the procedure used in health insurance matters. The procedure applies to proposed mandates that would