The House bill, filed by state Rep. Ed Hooper (R-Clearwater), and the Senate bill, filed by state Sen. Rene Garcia (R-Hialeah), were prompted by a recent court ruling that unwinds the merger of public Bert Fish Medical Center in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., with Adventist Health’s Florida Hospital in Orlando due to Sunshine Law violations.
The Sunshine Law establishes a basic right of access to most meetings of boards, commissions and other governing bodies of state and local governmental agencies or authorities.
The bills would require hospital district boards take the following steps before selling or leasing a hospital: publicly advertise the request for proposals, seek approval from state Attorney General 120 days before the transaction closing date, seek a hospital valuation before closing the deal and publicly submit in writing findings to support the board’s decision, according to the report.
Read the News-Journal report on Florida hospital transaction regulations.
Read more coverage on Bert Fish Medical Center:
– Judge Overturns Bert Fish, Adventist Merger Due to Sunshine Law Violations
