SF 326

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to health; requiring reporting on 
  1.3             notification that is required before an abortion is 
  1.4             performed on a minor or certain other women; providing 
  1.5             civil penalties; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.6             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 144. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [144.3431] [ABORTION NOTIFICATION DATA.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [REPORTING FORM.] (a) Within 90 days of the 
  1.10  effective date of this section, the commissioner of health shall 
  1.11  prepare a reporting form for use by physicians and facilities 
  1.12  performing abortions. 
  1.13     (b) The form shall require the following information: 
  1.14     (1) the number of minors or women for whom a guardian or 
  1.15  conservator has been appointed under sections 525.54 to 526.551 
  1.16  because of a finding of incompetency for whom the physician or 
  1.17  an agent of the physician provided the notice described in 
  1.18  section 144.343, subdivision 2; of that number, the number of 
  1.19  notices provided personally as described in section 144.343, 
  1.20  subdivision 2, paragraph (a), and the number of notices provided 
  1.21  by mail as described in section 144.343, subdivision 2, 
  1.22  paragraph (b); and of each of those numbers, the number who, to 
  1.23  the best of the reporting physician's information and belief, 
  1.24  went on to obtain the abortion; 
  1.25     (2) the number of minors or women for whom a guardian or 
  1.26  conservator has been appointed under sections 525.54 to 526.551 
  2.1   because of a finding of incompetency upon whom the physician 
  2.2   performed an abortion without providing the notice described in 
  2.3   section 144.343, subdivision 2; and of that number, the number 
  2.4   who were emancipated minors and the number for whom section 
  2.5   144.343, subdivision 4, was applicable; 
  2.6      (3) the number of abortions performed upon a female by the 
  2.7   physician after receiving judicial authorization to do so 
  2.8   without the required notification; 
  2.9      (4) the county the female resides in; the county where the 
  2.10  abortion was performed, if different from the female's 
  2.11  residence; and, if a judicial bypass was obtained, the county it 
  2.12  was obtained in, if different from the female's residence; 
  2.13     (5) the age of the female; 
  2.14     (6) the ethnic background of the female; 
  2.15     (7) the process the physician or the physician's agent used 
  2.16  to inform the female of the judicial bypass; whether court forms 
  2.17  were provided to her; and whether the physician or the 
  2.18  physician's agent made the court arrangement for the female; and 
  2.19     (8) how soon after visiting the abortion facility the 
  2.20  female went to court to obtain a judicial bypass. 
  2.21     Subd. 2.  [DISTRIBUTION OF FORMS.] The commissioner of 
  2.22  health shall ensure that copies of the reporting forms described 
  2.23  in subdivision 1 and a printed copy of this section are provided:
  2.24     (a) to all physicians licensed to practice in the state 
  2.25  within 120 days after the effective date of this section; 
  2.26     (b) to each physician who subsequently becomes newly 
  2.27  licensed to practice in the state, at the same time as official 
  2.28  notification to that physician that the physician is so 
  2.29  licensed; and 
  2.30     (c) by December 1 of each year, other than the calendar 
  2.31  year in which forms are distributed under subdivision 1, to all 
  2.32  physicians licensed to practice in the state. 
  2.33     Subd. 3.  [SUBMISSION.] A physician who provides, or whose 
  2.34  agent provides, the notice described in section 144.343, 
  2.35  subdivision 2, and a physician who knowingly performs an 
  2.36  abortion upon a minor or woman for whom a guardian or 
  3.1   conservator had been appointed according to sections 525.54 to 
  3.2   525.551 because of a finding of incompetency shall complete and 
  3.3   submit the form to the commissioner no later than April 1 for 
  3.4   abortions performed in the previous calendar year. 
  3.5      Subd. 4.  [FAILURE TO REPORT AS REQUIRED.] Reports that are 
  3.6   not submitted more than 30 days following the due date shall be 
  3.7   subject to a late fee of $500 for each additional 30-day period 
  3.8   or portion of a 30-day period overdue.  A physician required to 
  3.9   report under this section who has not submitted a report, or has 
  3.10  submitted only an incomplete report, more than one year 
  3.11  following the due date, may, in an action brought by the 
  3.12  commissioner of health, be directed by a court of competent 
  3.13  jurisdiction to submit a complete report within a period stated 
  3.14  by court order or be subject to sanctions.  In the event of a 
  3.15  court proceeding to enforce compliance, the court may assess 
  3.16  reasonable attorney fees and costs against the noncomplying 
  3.17  party. 
  3.18     Subd. 5.  [PUBLIC RECORDS.] (a) By September 30 of each 
  3.19  year, the commissioner of health shall issue a public report 
  3.20  providing statistics for each item listed in subdivision 1 for 
  3.21  the previous calendar year compiled from reports submitted 
  3.22  according to this section.  The report shall also include 
  3.23  statistics, which shall be obtained from court administrators, 
  3.24  that include: 
  3.25     (1) the total number of petitions or motions filed under 
  3.26  section 144.343, subdivision 6, paragraph (c), clause (i); 
  3.27     (2) the number of cases in which the court appointed a 
  3.28  guardian ad litem; 
  3.29     (3) the number of cases in which the court appointed 
  3.30  counsel; 
  3.31     (4) the number of cases in which the judge issued an order 
  3.32  authorizing an abortion without notification, including: 
  3.33     (i) the number of petitions or motions granted by the court 
  3.34  because of a finding of maturity and the basis for that finding; 
  3.35  and 
  3.36     (ii) the number of petitions or motions granted because of 
  4.1   a finding that the abortion would be in the best interest of the 
  4.2   minor and the basis for that finding; 
  4.3      (5) the number of denials from which an appeal was filed; 
  4.4      (6) the number of appeals that resulted in a denial being 
  4.5   affirmed; and 
  4.6      (7) the number of appeals that resulted in reversal of a 
  4.7   denial. 
  4.8      (b) The report shall provide the statistics for all 
  4.9   previous calendar years for which a public report was required 
  4.10  to be issued, adjusted to reflect any additional information 
  4.11  from late or corrected reports.  Court administrators shall 
  4.12  ensure that none of the information included in the public 
  4.13  reports could reasonably lead to the identification of a minor 
  4.14  or of a woman for whom a guardian or conservator has been 
  4.15  appointed. 
  4.16     Subd. 6.  [MODIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS.] The commissioner 
  4.17  of health may, by administrative rule, alter the dates 
  4.18  established in subdivisions 2, 3, and 5 or consolidate the forms 
  4.19  or reports to achieve administrative convenience or fiscal 
  4.20  savings or to reduce the burden of the data collection, so long 
  4.21  as reporting forms are sent to all licensed physicians in the 
  4.22  state at least once a year and the report described in 
  4.23  subdivision 5 is issued at least once a year. 
  4.24     Subd. 7.  [SUIT TO COMPEL STATISTICAL REPORT.] If the 
  4.25  commissioner of health fails to issue the public report required 
  4.26  under subdivision 5, any group of ten or more citizens of the 
  4.27  state may seek an injunction in a court of competent 
  4.28  jurisdiction against the commissioner, requiring that a complete 
  4.29  report be issued within a period stated by court order.  Failure 
  4.30  to abide by the injunction shall subject the commissioner to 
  4.31  sanctions for civil contempt. 
  4.32     Subd. 8.  [ATTORNEY'S FEES.] If judgment is rendered in 
  4.33  favor of the plaintiff in any action described in this section, 
  4.34  the court shall also render judgment for a reasonable attorney's 
  4.35  fee in favor of the plaintiff against the defendant.  If the 
  4.36  judgment is rendered in favor of the defendant and the court 
  5.1   finds that plaintiff's suit was frivolous and brought in bad 
  5.2   faith, the court shall render judgment for a reasonable 
  5.3   attorney's fee in favor of the defendant against the plaintiff. 
  5.4      Subd. 9.  [SEVERABILITY.] If any one or more provision, 
  5.5   section, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this 
  5.6   section or the application thereof to any person or circumstance 
  5.7   is found to be unconstitutional, the same is hereby declared to 
  5.8   be severable and the balance of this section shall remain 
  5.9   effective notwithstanding such unconstitutionality.  The 
  5.10  legislature hereby declares that it would have passed this 
  5.11  section, and each provision, section, subdivision, sentence, 
  5.12  clause, phrase, or word thereof irrespective of the fact that 
  5.13  any one provision, section, subdivision, sentence, clause, 
  5.14  phrase, or word be declared unconstitutional.