By: Madla S.B. No. 760 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT 1-1 relating to the authorization for the governing body of certain 1-2 hospitals to conduct meetings by telephone conference call. 1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-4 SECTION 1. Chapter 311, Health and Safety Code, is amended 1-5 by adding Subchapter E to read as follows: 1-6 SUBCHAPTER E. MEETING BY TELEPHONE CONFERENCE CALL 1-7 Sec. 311.061. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: 1-8 (1) "Hospital" means a county hospital, county 1-9 hospital authority, or a hospital district. 1-10 (2) "Rural county" means a nonmetropolitan county as 1-11 defined by the United States Census Bureau in its most recent 1-12 census. 1-13 Sec. 311.062. MEETING BY TELEPHONE CONFERENCE CALL. 1-14 (a) The governing board of a hospital in a rural county may 1-15 conduct an open or closed meeting by telephone conference call. 1-16 (b) The notice of the telephone conference call meeting must 1-17 specify as the location of the meeting the location where meetings 1-18 of the governing board are usually held. The location designated 1-19 in the notice shall provide two-way communication during each part 1-20 of the telephone conference meeting that is required to be open to 1-21 the public under Chapter 551, Government Code, and the 1-22 identification of each party to the telephone conference call 1-23 meeting shall be clearly stated prior to speaking. 1-24 (c) Each part of the telephone conference call meeting that 2-1 is required to be open to the public shall be audible to the public 2-2 at the location specified in the notice of the meeting as the 2-3 location of the meeting. A member of the public at a meeting under 2-4 this subsection must be able to participate in the meeting to the 2-5 same extent the public is allowed to participate in a meeting held 2-6 at a single location. 2-7 (d) The part of the telephone conference call meeting that 2-8 is open to the public shall be tape-recorded. The tape recording 2-9 shall be made available to the public. 2-10 SECTION 2. Subchapter F, Chapter 551, Government Code, is 2-11 amended by adding Section 551.125 to read as follows: 2-12 Sec. 551.125. BOARD MEETINGS FOR CERTAIN HOSPITALS. 2-13 (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the governing board of a 2-14 hospital in a rural county may conduct an open or closed meeting by 2-15 telephone conference call as provided by Subchapter E, Chapter 311, 2-16 Health and Safety Code. 2-17 (b) The governing board of a hospital in a rural county must 2-18 conduct a minimum of two regularly scheduled meetings of that board 2-19 per year without benefit of the telephone conference call provided 2-20 by Subchapter E, Chapter 311, Health and Safety Code. 2-21 (c) In this section, "hospital" and "rural county" have the 2-22 meanings assigned by Section 311.061, Health and Safety Code. 2-23 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 2-24 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-25 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-26 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-27 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 3-1 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 3-2 passage, and it is so enacted.