MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1998 Regular Session

To: Public Health and Welfare

By: Representative Broomfield

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 25-61-15, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR ENHANCED PENALTIES AND PERSONAL LIABILITY FOR CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF COMMUNITY HOSPITALS WHO FAIL TO PROVIDE THE HOSPITAL OWNERS WITH ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS OF OFFICIAL BOARD MINUTES; TO AMEND SECTION 41-9-68, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 25-61-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

25-61-15. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2), any person who shall willfully and knowingly deny to any person access to any public record which is not exempt from the provisions of this act shall be liable civilly in a sum not to exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), plus all reasonable expenses incurred by such person bringing the lawsuit.

(2) Any person serving as the chief executive officer of a community hospital who fails to provide the owner of the hospital with access to the public records consisting of the official minutes of any meeting of the board of trustees of the hospital within two (2) business days of a written request for such access, shall be civilly liable to the owner of the hospital in the following amounts: for the first failure to provide access to the public records, the sum of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00); for the second failure to provide access to the public records, the sum of Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00); and for a third or subsequent failure to provide access to the public records, the sum of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00). The civil liability imposed in this subsection shall be the personal liability of the person serving as the chief executive officer of the hospital, regardless of whether the person failing to provide access to the public records is the chief executive officer or his agent or employee, and no sums imposed under this subsection may be paid for or reimbursed by the hospital for which the person serves as the chief executive officer. For the purposes of this subsection, the terms "community hospital" and "owner" shall be defined as provided in Section 41-13-10.

SECTION 2. Section 41-9-68, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

41-9-68. Records maintained by public hospitals, except the official minutes of the board of trustees, and financial reports filed as required by statute with the board of supervisors or municipal authorities or any other agency of government, shall be exempt from the provisions of the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983. Failure to provide the owner of a community hospital with access to the public records consisting of the official minutes of any meeting of the board of trustees of the hospital within two (2) business days of a written request for such access shall be punished as provided in Section 25-61-15(2). For the purposes of this section, the terms "community hospital" and "owner" shall be defined as provided in Section 41-13-10.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 1998.