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Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
‘An Act To Require Public Notice When Hospitals Close Emergency Rooms’
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §1833  is enacted to read:
§ 1833. Public notice of hospital 24-hour emergency room closure
 
1.  Notice.     A hospital licensed pursuant to section 1811 shall notify the public of a decision by the hospital's governing body to end 24-hour emergency room service at the hospital. Notice must be provided as follows:
 
A.  The hospital shall publish notice in the newspaper with the greatest daily circulation in the municipality in which the hospital is located no less than 6 months prior to the date 24-hour emergency room service at the hospital will end; and
 
B.  The hospital shall notify in writing the municipal officers of the municipality in which the hospital is located no less than 6 months prior to the date 24-hour emergency room service at the hospital will end.
 
2.  Public meeting.    The governing body of the hospital subject to subsection 1 shall conduct a meeting in the municipality in which the hospital is located to which the public is invited to attend and speak and that a majority of the governing body of the hospital attends. The meeting must be scheduled no earlier than 30 days after the notice in subsection 1 is provided and no later than 30 days before the 24-hour emergency room service at the hospital will end.’
 
SUMMARY
This amendment is the minority report of the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary. It replaces the bill.
This amendment requires a hospital to provide public notice and host a public meeting prior to closing its 24-hour emergency room.
The notice must be published in the newspaper with the greatest daily circulation in the municipality in which the hospital is located no less than 6 months prior to the date 24-hour emergency room service will end. The hospital must notify in writing the municipal officers of the municipality in which the hospital is located no less than 6 months prior to the date 24-hour emergency room service will end.
The governing body of the hospital is required to conduct a meeting in the municipality in which the hospital is located to which the public is invited to attend and speak. A majority of the governing body of the hospital must attend. The meeting must be scheduled no earlier than 30 days after the notice is provided and no later than 30 days before the 24-hour emergency room service will end.