Senate Bill 3055

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE "MISSISSIPPI ICU INFRASTRUCTURE ACT" TO BE ADMINISTERED BY THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO PROVIDE FUNDS TO HOSPITALS TO INCREASE TREATMENT CAPACITY RELATED TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC; TO AUTHORIZE THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO PROMULGATE RULES AND REGULATIONS TO GOVERN THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROGRAM; TO ESTABLISH CERTAIN CONDITIONS ON THE USE OF FUNDS UNDER THE PROGRAM; TO CREATE A SPECIAL FUND IN THE STATE TREASURY FOR PROGRAM FUNDS; TO SET CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS ON THE USE AND ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS UNDER THE PROGRAM; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO REPORT ON THE STATUS OF THE PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Upon the effective date of this act, the State Fiscal Officer shall transfer to the "ICU Infrastructure Fund" out of the Budget Contingency Fund.................. $ 10,000,000.00.

SECTION 2. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Mississippi ICU Infrastructure Act."

SECTION 3. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mississippi Department of Health shall establish and administer the ICU Infrastructure Program for the purpose of providing funds to hospitals to increase treatment capacity related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including adding intensive care units or negative pressure rooms, and related construction and facilitation costs, but not to include any administrative expenses or costs or any staffing expenses or costs.

SECTION 4. (1) The Department of Health shall:

(a) Promulgate rules and regulations to govern the administration of the program;

(b) Make every effort to expend the funds appropriated to the program established in this act by October 30, 2020;

(c) Require recipients of funds under this program to certify that there is a need to add intensive care units or negative pressure rooms at the facility receiving funds;

(d) Require recipients of funds under this program to certify that the facility adding intensive care units or negative pressure rooms can adequately staff such units or rooms; and

(e) Certify to the Department of Finance and Administration that each expenditure of the funds appropriated to the Department of Health under this act is in compliance with the guidelines, guidance, rules, regulations and/or other criteria, as may be amended from time to time, of the United States Department of the Treasury regarding the use of monies from the Coronavirus Relief Fund established by the CARES Act.

(2) The Department of Health may retain up to Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) of the funds appropriated to the program established in this act to pay reasonable expenses incurred in the administration of the program.

SECTION 5. (1) There is created a special fund in the State Treasury, to be known as the "ICU Infrastructure Fund," from which the awards authorized under the ICU Infrastructure Program shall be disbursed by the Department of Health.

(2) (a) All monies shall be disbursed from the fund created in subsection (1) of this section in compliance with the guidelines, guidance, rules, regulations or other criteria, as may be amended from time to time, of the United States Department of the Treasury regarding the use of monies from the Coronavirus Relief Fund established by the CARES Act. However, unexpended amounts of any monies unrelated to the Coronavirus Relief Fund, whether appropriated by the Legislature or donated by any public or private entity, remaining in the funds at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the Budget Contingency Fund or the State General Fund, and any investment earnings or interest earned on amounts in the program fund shall be deposited to the credit of the ICU Infrastructure Fund; and

(b) If on December 15, 2020, there are unexpended Coronavirus Relief Fund monies remaining in the fund created in this section, those funds shall be transferred into the Unemployment Compensation Fund no later than December 30, 2020.

(3) The use of funds allocated under this program shall be subject to audit by the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Inspector General and the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor. Each person receiving funds under these programs found to be fully or partially noncompliant with the requirements in this act shall return to the state all or a portion of the funds received.

SECTION 6. If the Office of Inspector General of the United States Department of the Treasury, or the Office of Inspector General of any other federal agency having oversight over the use of monies from the Coronavirus Relief Fund established by the CARES Act (a) determines that the Department of Health or recipient has expended or otherwise used any of the funds appropriated to the Department of Health under this act for any purpose that is not in compliance with the guidelines, guidance, rules, regulations and/or other criteria, as may be amended from time to time, of the United States Department of the Treasury regarding the use of monies from the Coronavirus Relief Fund established by the CARES Act, and (b) the State of Mississippi is required to repay the federal government for any of those funds that the Office of the Inspector General determined were expended or otherwise used improperly by the Department of Health or recipient, then the Department of Health or recipient that expended or otherwise used those funds improperly shall be required to pay the amount of those funds to the State of Mississippi for repayment to the federal government.

SECTION 7. On October 15, 2020, the Department of Health shall provide the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chair of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, and the Chair of the House Public Health and Human Services Committee with a status report of the funds appropriated to it under this act. Thereafter, the Department of Health shall report weekly on the status of the funds under this act until October 30, 2020 or until the funds under this act are fully expended, whichever is later.

SECTION 8. If any section, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or any part of this act is declared to be in conflict with federal law, or if for any reason is declared to be invalid or of no effect, the remaining sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases or parts thereof shall be in no matter affected thereby but shall remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.