1-1     By:  Turner of Harris (Senate Sponsor - Lindsay)      H.B. No. 2328

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 16, 1997;

 1-3     May 16, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on State

 1-4     Affairs; May 18, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote:

 1-5     Yeas 12, Nays 0; May 18, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to an exception to the open meetings law for certain

 1-9     deliberations of the board of a hospital district.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  Section 551.085, Government Code, is amended to

1-12     read as follows:

1-13           Sec. 551.085.  GOVERNING BOARD [OF DIRECTORS] OF MUNICIPAL

1-14     HOSPITAL, HOSPITAL DISTRICT, OR MUNICIPAL HOSPITAL AUTHORITY.  This

1-15     chapter does not require the governing board [of directors] of a

1-16     municipal hospital, [or of a] municipal hospital authority, or

1-17     hospital district created under general or special law to conduct

1-18     an open meeting to deliberate:

1-19                 (1)  pricing or financial planning information relating

1-20     to a bid or negotiation for the arrangement or provision of [in

1-21     which the hospital offers] services or product lines [as a contract

1-22     service provider] to another person if disclosure of the

1-23     information would give advantage to competitors of the hospital or

1-24     hospital district; or

1-25                 (2)  information relating to a proposed new service or

1-26     product line of the hospital or hospital district before the

1-27     hospital publicly announces the service or product line.

1-28           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-29           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-30     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-31     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-32     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-33     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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