A573

An Act concerning hospital boards of trustees and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. The board of trustees of a general hospital licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.) shall adopt a written policy governing conflicts of interest on the part of board members. Each general hospital shall maintain its board’s written policy governing conflicts of interest in its administrative records, which policy shall be available to the Department of Health and Senior Services.

The written policy shall be updated annually.

Each general hospital shall post on its website its most current written policy governing conflicts of interest, and shall make it publicly available upon request.

b. The written policy adopted pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall include, at a minimum, requirements for:

(1) the disclosure by a board member of any actual conflict of interest on the member’s part with respect to any matter pending before the board;

(2) a prohibition on the board member voting on any such matter relating to the awarding of such contract; and

(3) the maintenance by the board of a record of the disclosure by the board member of the actual conflict of interest.

c. Each hospital board of trustees shall disseminate the written policy to all current board members upon its adoption and to each new board member upon appointment to the board.

d. In the case where a board member has an actual conflict of interest in a matter involving the awarding of a contract in an amount greater than $25,000, a general hospital shall solicit at least three bids or three proposals, whichever is applicable, with respect to that contract. If it is not practicable to solicit at least three bids or three proposals, the general hospital shall, within five business days of the solicitation, provide the department with an explanatory letter that the department shall keep on file for the hospital.

2. This act shall take effect on the 180th day after enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill requires that each general hospital, as a condition of licensure, adopt a written policy governing conflicts of interest on the part of its board members.

The board of trustees is required to adopt a written policy governing conflicts of interest on the part of board members. Each general hospital is to maintain the policy in its administrative records, which will be available to the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). The written policy is to be updated annually. Each general hospital is to post on its website its most current written policy governing conflicts of interest, and make it publicly available upon request.

The written policy is to include, at a minimum, requirements for: (1) the disclosure by a board member of any actual conflict of interest on the member’s part with respect to any matter pending before the board; (2) a prohibition on the board member voting on the awarding of such a contract; and (3) the maintenance by the board of a record of the disclosure by the board member of the actual conflict of interest.

Each hospital board of trustees is to disseminate the written policy to all current board members upon its adoption and to each new board member upon appointment to the board.

In the case where a board member has an actual conflict of interest in a matter involving the awarding of a contract in an amount greater than $25,000, a general hospital is to solicit at least three bids or three proposals, whichever is applicable, with respect to that contract. If it is not practicable for the general hospital to solicit at least three bids or three proposals, the general hospital is to, within five business days of the solicitation, provide DHSS with an explanatory letter that DHSS will keep on file for the hospital.