08 SB353/CSFA/1
Senate
Bill 353
By:
Senators Shafer of the 48th, Williams of the 19th, Moody of the 56th, Johnson of
the 1st, Rogers of the 21st and others
AS
PASSED SENATE
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Article 4 of Chapter 7 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to county and municipal hospital authorities, so as to enact
the "Public Hospital Integrity Act"; to provide for a short title; to provide
definitions; to provide that certain individuals shall not serve on a hospital
authority board or a nonprofit organization managing a hospital on behalf of a
hospital authority; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws;
and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
This
Act shall be known and may be referred to as the "Public Hospital Integrity
Act."
SECTION
2.
Article
4 of Chapter 7 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to county and municipal hospital authorities, is amended by adding a new Code
section to read as follows:
"31-7-75.4.
(a)
As used in this Code section, the term:
(.1)
'Competitor' means any hospital licensed as a general hospital by the
department, including a critical access hospital, which is operating within five
miles of a public hospital.
(1)
'Governing capacity' means service as a member of a hospital authority or a
director of a nonprofit hospital management corporation.
(2)
'Immediate family member' means spouse, parent, sibling, or child.
(3)
'Major vendor of the public hospital' means any person or entity which receives
more than $50,000.00 per year in payments from the public hospital other than
for public utilities.
(4)
'Nonprofit hospital management corporation' means a nonprofit corporation
qualified as exempt from federal income taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code created to manage a public hospital under contract with a
hospital authority pursuant to Code Section 31-7-74.3 or other applicable
laws.
(5)
'Public hospital' means a hospital organized under this article by a resolution
or ordinance of the governing bodies of two or more counties which receives more
than 80 percent of its combined revenues from federal, state, and local
government.
(b)
No individual shall be eligible to serve in a governing capacity of a public
hospital if that individual or any immediate family member of such individual is
an employee or contractor of the public hospital or an employee, director, or
contractor of a major vendor of the public hospital. No individual shall be
eligible to serve in a governing capacity of a public hospital if that
individual is an employee or director of or has a financial interest in a
competitor of the public hospital.
(c)
This subsection shall be cumulative to:
(1)
Any conflict of interest provisions applicable to members of hospital
authorities contained in this article;
(2)
Any conflict of interest provisions applicable to directors of nonprofit
corporations contained in Chapter 3 of Title 14, the 'Georgia Nonprofit
Corporation Code'; and
(3)
Any other conflict of interest provisions adopted by the hospital authority or
nonprofit hospital management corporation."
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.