By Lindsay                                      S.B. No. 1396

      75R6740 CLG-F                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to an exception to the open meetings law for certain

 1-3     deliberations of the board of a hospital district.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 551.085, Government Code, is amended to

 1-6     read as follows:

 1-7           Sec. 551.085.  BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF MUNICIPAL HOSPITAL,

 1-8     HOSPITAL DISTRICT, OR MUNICIPAL HOSPITAL AUTHORITY.  This chapter

 1-9     does not require the board of directors of a municipal hospital,

1-10     [or of a] municipal hospital authority, or hospital district

1-11     created under general or special law to conduct an open meeting to

1-12     deliberate:

1-13                 (1)  pricing or financial planning information relating

1-14     to a bid or negotiation for the arrangement or provision of [in

1-15     which the hospital offers] services or product lines [as a contract

1-16     service provider] to another person if disclosure of the

1-17     information would give advantage to competitors of the hospital or

1-18     hospital district; or

1-19                 (2)  information relating to a proposed new service or

1-20     product line of the hospital or hospital district [before the

1-21     hospital publicly announces the service or product line].

1-22           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-23           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-24     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 2-1     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 2-2     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 2-3     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.