1-1 By: Madla S.B. No. 760 1-2 (In the Senate - Filed February 24, 1995; February 27, 1995, 1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human 1-4 Services; April 20, 1995, reported adversely, with favorable 1-5 Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; 1-6 April 20, 1995, sent to printer.) 1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 760 By: Madla 1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-9 AN ACT 1-10 relating to the authorization for the governing body of certain 1-11 hospitals to conduct meetings by telephone conference call. 1-12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-13 SECTION 1. Chapter 311, Health and Safety Code, is amended 1-14 by adding Subchapter E to read as follows: 1-15 SUBCHAPTER E. MEETING BY TELEPHONE CONFERENCE CALL 1-16 Sec. 311.061. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: 1-17 (1) "Hospital" means a county hospital, county 1-18 hospital authority, or a hospital district. 1-19 (2) "Rural county" means a nonmetropolitan county as 1-20 defined by the United States Census Bureau in its most recent 1-21 census. 1-22 Sec. 311.062. MEETING BY TELEPHONE CONFERENCE CALL. 1-23 (a) The governing board of a hospital in a rural county may 1-24 conduct an open or closed meeting by telephone conference call. 1-25 (b) The notice of the telephone conference call meeting must 1-26 specify as the location of the meeting the location where meetings 1-27 of the governing board are usually held. The location designated 1-28 in the notice shall provide two-way communication during each part 1-29 of the telephone conference meeting that is required to be open to 1-30 the public under Chapter 551, Government Code, and the 1-31 identification of each party to the telephone conference call 1-32 meeting shall be clearly stated prior to speaking. 1-33 (c) Each part of the telephone conference call meeting that 1-34 is required to be open to the public shall be audible to the public 1-35 at the location specified in the notice of the meeting as the 1-36 location of the meeting. A member of the public at a meeting under 1-37 this subsection must be able to participate in the meeting to the 1-38 same extent the public is allowed to participate in a meeting held 1-39 at a single location. 1-40 (d) The part of the telephone conference call meeting that 1-41 is open to the public shall be tape-recorded. The tape recording 1-42 shall be made available to the public. 1-43 SECTION 2. Subchapter F, Chapter 551, Government Code, is 1-44 amended by adding Section 551.125 to read as follows: 1-45 Sec. 551.125. BOARD MEETINGS FOR CERTAIN HOSPITALS. 1-46 (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the governing board of a 1-47 hospital in a rural county may conduct an open or closed meeting by 1-48 telephone conference call as provided by Subchapter E, Chapter 311, 1-49 Health and Safety Code. 1-50 (b) The governing board of a hospital in a rural county must 1-51 conduct a minimum of two regularly scheduled meetings of that board 1-52 per year without benefit of the telephone conference call provided 1-53 by Subchapter E, Chapter 311, Health and Safety Code. 1-54 (c) In this section, "hospital" and "rural county" have the 1-55 meanings assigned by Section 311.061, Health and Safety Code. 1-56 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 1-57 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 1-58 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 1-59 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 1-60 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 1-61 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 1-62 passage, and it is so enacted. 1-63 * * * * *