Lost

AMENDMENT NO 1 PROPOSED TO

Cmte Sub for Senate Bill No. 2713

BY: Senator(s) Simmons (12th), Jackson, Jordan, Thomas, Simmons (13th)

     AMEND by striking SECTION 5 and substituting the following:

SECTION 5. Authority board.  (1)  There is created the Organizational Board of the Mississippi Delta Regional Health Authority (authority board).  The authority board shall consist of the following thirteen (13) members:

          (a)  Three (3) members appointed by the Governor, one (1) from a federally qualified health center (FQHC) located in the Mississippi Delta, one (1) from a rural hospital located in the Mississippi Delta, and one (1) who has insurance coverage experience and is a resident of the Mississippi Delta;

          (b)  Two (2) members appointed by the Lieutenant

Governor, one (1) from a large hospital system that operates in the Mississippi Delta, and one (1) who is a financial operations officer from a hospital or federal health center located in the Mississippi Delta;

          (c)  Six (6) members selected by the five (5) members appointed under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection, as follows:

               (i)  A representative of Coahoma Community College's allied health program;

               (ii)  A representative of Mississippi Delta Community College's nursing program;

               (iii)  A representative of Mississippi Valley State University's social work or environmental health program;

               (iv)  A representative of Delta State University's Department of Management/Marketing/Business Administration, Healthcare Administration program;

               (v)  An independent pharmacist who practices in the Mississippi Delta; and

               (vi)  An ambulatory transportation provider in the Mississippi Delta;

          (d)  The State Health Officer or his or her designee; and

          (e)  The special consultant on health care for the Delta Council.

     (2)  Once the authority has entered into its participation agreement, the authority organizational board shall become an operational board.  Future members of the board of the Delta Regional Health Authority shall be appointed as provided in the participation agreements.

     (3)  The members of the authority board set forth in the participation agreement shall serve for staggered terms, and with no member serving a term longer than four (4) years; however, any member of the authority board may be reappointed to serve for two (2) additional consecutive terms.  After the expiration of the initial staggered terms, all succeeding terms shall be for four (4) years from the expiration date of the previous term.  Any vacancy on the authority board shall be filled by the authority board within ninety (90) days of the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term.

     (4)  All members of the authority board shall serve without pay except for their actual travel expenses and other necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties, to be reimbursed as in the case of state employees under the provisions of Section 25-3-41.

     (5)  All meetings of the authority board shall be subject to the Open Meetings Act in Section 25-41-1 et seq.  The chief executive officer or a majority of members of the authority board may convene the board for a meeting.

     (6)  Except as may be otherwise provided by law, all records of the authority board shall be deemed public records and subject to public inspection as provided by Section 25-61-1 et seq.