HB 869 2022
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hb0869-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to public records and meetings; 2
creating s. 395.3027, F.S.; providing an exemption 3
from public records requirements for certain 4
confidential information held by in -hospital medical 5
staff committees of public hospitals; providing an 6
exemption from public meetings requirements for 7
portions of meetings held by such medical staff 8
committees wherein such confidential information is 9
discussed; requiring the recording and transcription 10
of exempt portions of such meetings; providing an 11
exemption from public records requirements for such 12
recordings and transcripts; providing for future 13
legislative review and repeal of the exemptions; 14
providing a statemen t of public necessity; providing 15
an effective date. 16
17
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18
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Section 1. Section 395.3027, Florida Statutes, is created 20
to read: 21
395.3027 Confidentiality of in -hospital medical staff 22
committee records and meetings.— 23
(1) The records held by an in -hospital medical staff 24
committee including, but not limited to, any medical executive 25
HB 869 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
committee or credentialing committee, or agent thereof, of a 26
public hospital which contain any of the following inform ation 27
are confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. 28
I of the State Constitution: 29
(a) Individually identifiable health information protected 30
under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 31
1996, or its implementing regu lations. 32
(b) Personal identifying information of hospital 33
personnel. 34
(c) Information relating to: 35
1. Pending legal matters, including, but not limited to, 36
litigation strategy. 37
2. Contract negotiations. 38
3. Personnel matters. 39
4. Peer review proce dures. 40
5. Trade secrets, as defined in s. 688.002. 41
(2) Any portion of an in -hospital medical staff committee 42
meeting at which information that is confidential and exempt 43
pursuant to subsection (1) is discussed is exempt from s. 44
286.011 and s. 24(b), Ar t. I of the State Constitution. A 45
complete recording and transcript must be made of any portion of 46
a meeting which is closed pursuant to this subsection, and any 47
closed portion of such meeting may not be held off the record. 48
The recordings and transcripts of the closed portion of a 49
meeting are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the 50
HB 869 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
State Constitution. 51
(3) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset 52
Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed 53
on October 2, 2027, unless reviewed and saved from repeal 54
through reenactment by the Legislature. 55
Section 2. (1) The Legislature finds that it is a public 56
necessity that the records held by in -hospital medical staff 57
committees including, but not limited to, medical exec utive 58
committees and credentialing committees, or agents thereof, of 59
public hospitals which contain individually identifiable health 60
information; the personal identifying information of hospital 61
personnel; and information relating to pending legal matters, 62
contract negotiations, personnel matters, peer review 63
procedures, and trade secrets be made confidential and exempt 64
from disclosure under s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 65
24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. The Legislature also 66
finds that subjecting the records of these in -hospital medical 67
staff committees to the public records requirements could cause 68
unnecessary harm to individuals whose personal identifying 69
information and confidential health information are revealed and 70
would impair public hospitals from effectively competing in the 71
marketplace against private hospitals whose records are not 72
required to be open to the public. 73
(2) The Legislature finds that it is a public necessity 74
that any portion of meetings held by in -hospital medical staff 75
HB 869 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
committees of public hospitals at which the confidential and 76
exempt information described in subsection (1) is discussed be 77
made exempt from s. 286.011, Florida Statutes, and s. 24(b), 78
Article I of the State Constitution, and that the recordings and 79
transcripts of such meetings be made exempt from s. 119.07(1), 80
Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State 81
Constitution. Such meetings are designed to encourage the free 82
discussion and exchange of ideas between health care 83
practitioners and othe r hospital personnel, which could be 84
blunted if such confidential and sensitive information were 85
subject to disclosure. The Legislature also finds that 86
subjecting these in-hospital medical staff committees to the 87
public meetings requirements is duplicative since the final 88
decisions made by medical staff committees are subsequently 89
presented to a public body at publicly noticed meetings. 90
Furthermore, the failure to exempt the recordings and 91
transcripts of such meetings would defeat the purpose of the 92
public meeting exemption. Therefore, the Legislature finds that 93
the public and private harm in disclosing the confidential 94
information and records outweighs any public benefit derived 95
from the disclosure of such information. 96
Section 3. This act shall take eff ect October 1, 2022. 97