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Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
‘An Act To Improve the Transparency and Public Accountability of Hospitals’
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §1819-B  is enacted to read:
§ 1819-B. Annual public meeting
 
1.  Annual public meeting.     A hospital licensed under this chapter shall, at least annually, conduct a public meeting to discuss issues relating to the operation of the hospital and concerns of the community with respect to the delivery of services at the hospital.
 
2.  Attendance.     The hospital shall ensure that, at a minimum, the chief executive officer of the hospital, the chair of the hospital board of trustees and at least 51% of the members of the hospital board of trustees are present at the meeting required under subsection 1 and available to respond to questions from members of the public.
 
3.  Open to public; provision of information; questions and issues.     The hospital shall ensure that the meeting required under subsection 1 is open to members of the public and organized so as to provide the community served by the hospital with information about the operation of the hospital and to provide an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions and raise issues of concern to them.
 
4.  Notice.     The hospital shall provide public notice of the meeting required under subsection 1:
 
A.  At least 14 days prior to the date of the meeting by posting written notice in the hospital in a conspicuous location that is available to the public and by publishing the notice in a daily or weekly newspaper of general circulation in the service area of the hospital; and
 
B.  At least 30 days prior to the date of the meeting by posting notice on the hospital's publicly accessible website.
 
5.  Department website.    The hospital shall provide notice of the meeting required under subsection 1 to the department at least 30 days prior to the date of the meeting. The department shall post notice of a hospital's annual public meeting on the department's publicly accessible website.’
 
SUMMARY
This amendment is the minority report of the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary.
This amendment replaces the bill and changes the title. It amends the laws governing hospitals to require every hospital licensed in this State to hold at least annually a public meeting to discuss issues relating to the operation of the hospital and concerns of the community with respect to the delivery of services at the hospital.
The chief executive officer of the hospital, the chair of the hospital board of trustees and at least 51% of the members of the hospital board of trustees must attend the meeting and be available to respond to questions from members of the public.
The meeting must be open to members of the public and organized so as to provide the community served by the hospital with information about the operation of the hospital and to provide an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions and raise issues of concern to them.
The hospital is directed to provide public notice of the meeting by posting notice at the hospital and publishing notice in the newspaper and on the hospital's publicly accessible website. The hospital is required to provide notice to the Department of Health and Human Services, and the department is directed to post the notice on the department's publicly accessible website.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)