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SF 3061

as introduced - 82nd Legislature (2001 - 2002) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

KEY: stricken = removed, old language.
underscored = added, new language.

Current Version - as introduced

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to health; prohibiting family planning grant 
  1.3             funds from being used to subsidize abortion services; 
  1.4             prohibiting organizations that receive family planning 
  1.5             grant funds from engaging in certain activities; 
  1.6             requiring independent audits of certain organizations; 
  1.7             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.8             chapter 145. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  [145.417] [FAMILY PLANNING GRANT FUNDS NOT USED 
  1.11  TO SUBSIDIZE ABORTION SERVICES.] 
  1.12     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] (a) For purposes of this 
  1.13  section, the following definitions apply. 
  1.14     (b) "Abortion" means the use or prescription of any 
  1.15  instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device to 
  1.16  intentionally terminate the pregnancy of a female known to be 
  1.17  pregnant, with an intention other than to increase the 
  1.18  probability of a live birth, preserve the life or health of the 
  1.19  child after live birth, or remove a dead fetus. 
  1.20     (c) "Family planning grant funds" means funds distributed 
  1.21  through the maternal and child health block grant program under 
  1.22  sections 145.881 to 145.889, the family planning special 
  1.23  projects grant program under section 145.925, the program to 
  1.24  eliminate health disparities under section 145.928, or any other 
  1.25  state grant program whose funds are or may be used to fund 
  1.26  family planning services. 
  1.27     (d) "Family planning services" means preconception services 
  2.1   that limit or enhance fertility, including methods of 
  2.2   contraception, the management of infertility, preconception 
  2.3   counseling, education, and general reproductive health care. 
  2.4      (e) "Nondirective counseling" means providing patients with:
  2.5      (1) a list of health care providers and social service 
  2.6   providers that provide prenatal care, childbirth care, infant 
  2.7   care, foster care, adoption services, alternatives to abortion, 
  2.8   or abortion services; and 
  2.9      (2) nondirective, nonmarketing information regarding such 
  2.10  providers. 
  2.11     (f) "Public advocacy" means engaging in one or more of the 
  2.12  following: 
  2.13     (1) regularly engaging in efforts to encourage the passage 
  2.14  or defeat of legislation pertaining to the continued or expanded 
  2.15  availability of abortion; 
  2.16     (2) publicly endorsing or recommending the election or 
  2.17  defeat of a candidate for public office based on the candidate's 
  2.18  position on the legality of abortion; or 
  2.19     (3) engaging in civil litigation against a unit of 
  2.20  government as a plaintiff seeking to enjoin or otherwise 
  2.21  prohibit enforcement of a statute, ordinance, rule, or 
  2.22  regulation pertaining to abortion. 
  2.23     Subd. 2.  [USES OF FAMILY PLANNING GRANT FUNDS.] No family 
  2.24  planning grant funds may be: 
  2.25     (1) expended to directly or indirectly subsidize abortion 
  2.26  services or administrative expenses; 
  2.27     (2) paid or granted to an organization or an affiliate of 
  2.28  an organization that provides abortion services, unless the 
  2.29  affiliate is independent as provided in subdivision 4; or 
  2.30     (3) paid or granted to an organization that has adopted or 
  2.31  maintains a policy in writing or through oral public statements 
  2.32  that abortion is considered part of a continuum of family 
  2.33  planning services, reproductive health services, or both. 
  2.34     Subd. 3.  [ORGANIZATIONS RECEIVING FAMILY PLANNING GRANT 
  2.35  FUNDS.] An organization that receives family planning grant 
  2.36  funds:  
  3.1      (1) may provide nondirective counseling relating to 
  3.2   pregnancy but may not directly refer patients who seek abortion 
  3.3   services to any organization that provides abortion services, 
  3.4   including an independent affiliate of the organization receiving 
  3.5   family planning grant funds.  For purposes of this clause, an 
  3.6   affiliate is independent if it satisfies the criteria in 
  3.7   subdivision 4, paragraph (a); 
  3.8      (2) may not display or distribute marketing materials about 
  3.9   abortion services to patients; 
  3.10     (3) may not engage in public advocacy promoting the 
  3.11  legality or accessibility of abortion; and 
  3.12     (4) must be separately incorporated from any affiliated 
  3.13  organization that provides abortion services. 
  3.14     Subd. 4.  [INDEPENDENT AFFILIATES THAT PROVIDE ABORTION 
  3.15  SERVICES.] (a) To ensure that the state does not lend its 
  3.16  imprimatur to abortion services and to ensure that an 
  3.17  organization that provides abortion services does not receive a 
  3.18  direct or indirect economic or marketing benefit from family 
  3.19  planning grant funds, an organization that receives family 
  3.20  planning grant funds may not be affiliated with an organization 
  3.21  that provides abortion services unless the organizations are 
  3.22  independent from each other.  To be independent, the 
  3.23  organizations may not share any of the following: 
  3.24     (1) the same or a similar name; 
  3.25     (2) medical facilities or nonmedical facilities, including 
  3.26  but not limited to business offices, treatment rooms, 
  3.27  consultation rooms, examination rooms, and waiting rooms; 
  3.28     (3) expenses; 
  3.29     (4) employee wages or salaries; or 
  3.30     (5) equipment or supplies, including but not limited to 
  3.31  computers, telephone systems, telecommunications equipment, and 
  3.32  office supplies. 
  3.33     (b) An organization that receives family planning grant 
  3.34  funds and that is affiliated with an organization that provides 
  3.35  abortion services must maintain financial records that 
  3.36  demonstrate strict compliance with this subdivision and that 
  4.1   demonstrate that its independent affiliate that provides 
  4.2   abortion services receives no direct or indirect economic or 
  4.3   marketing benefit from the family planning grant funds. 
  4.4      Subd. 5.  [INDEPENDENT AUDIT.] (a) An organization that 
  4.5   receives family planning grant funds and that is affiliated with 
  4.6   an organization that provides abortion services must have an 
  4.7   independent audit conducted at least annually to ensure 
  4.8   compliance with this section.  The audit must be conducted by an 
  4.9   independent auditing firm approved by the commissioner of health 
  4.10  and the organization receiving funds must retain the firm and is 
  4.11  responsible for the costs of the audit. 
  4.12     (b) An organization that receives family planning grant 
  4.13  funds but that is not affiliated with an organization that 
  4.14  provides abortion services must have an independent audit 
  4.15  conducted at least once every three years to ensure compliance 
  4.16  with this section.  The audit must be conducted by an 
  4.17  independent auditing firm retained by the commissioner of health 
  4.18  and the commissioner is responsible for the costs of the audit. 
  4.19     Subd. 6.  [ORGANIZATIONS RECEIVING TITLE X FUNDS.] Nothing 
  4.20  in this section requires an organization that receives federal 
  4.21  funds under title X of the Public Health Service Act to refrain 
  4.22  from performing any service that is required to be provided as a 
  4.23  condition of receiving title X funds, as specified by the 
  4.24  provisions of title X or the title X program guidelines for 
  4.25  project grants for family planning services published by the 
  4.26  United States Department of Health and Human Services. 
  4.27     Subd. 7.  [SEVERABILITY.] If any one or more provision, 
  4.28  word, phrase, clause, sentence, or subdivision of this section, 
  4.29  or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is 
  4.30  found to be unconstitutional, the same is hereby declared to be 
  4.31  severable and the balance of this section shall remain effective 
  4.32  notwithstanding such unconstitutionality.  The legislature 
  4.33  hereby declares that it would have passed this section, and each 
  4.34  provision, word, phrase, clause, sentence, or subdivision 
  4.35  thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more 
  4.36  provision, word, phrase, clause, sentence, or subdivision be 
  5.1   declared unconstitutional.