Minnesota Session Laws - 2003, Regular Session

                             CHAPTER 98-S.F.No. 770 
                  An act relating to Hennepin county; removing its 
                  medical center and its health maintenance organization 
                  from certain contracting requirements; amending 
                  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 383B.217, subdivision 
                  7. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 383B.217, 
        subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 7.  [PURCHASES AND MARKETING.] (a) Contracting and 
        purchasing made on behalf of the Hennepin county medical 
        center and its health maintenance organization (HMO) of goods, 
        materials, supplies, equipment, and contracted services shall 
        comply with that are incidental to or that are included as part 
        of a contract for the purchase of goods, materials, supplies, or 
        equipment are specifically exempted from sections 383B.141 to 
        383B.151 and 471.345 or other applicable laws related to public 
        procurement.  Contracting and purchasing of services shall 
        comply with sections 383B.141 to 383B.151 or other applicable 
        laws related to public procurement.  
           (b) Notwithstanding chapter 13D, the county board on behalf 
        of the medical center and HMO may meet in closed session to 
        discuss and take action on specific products or services that 
        are in direct competition with other providers of goods or 
        services in the public or private sector, if disclosure of 
        information pertaining to those matters would clearly harm the 
        competitive position of the medical center or HMO. 
           (c) The medical center and HMO shall inform the county 
        board when there are matters that are appropriate for discussion 
        or action under paragraph (b).  The county administrator or the 
        administrator's designee shall give the board an opinion on the 
        propriety of discussion or action under paragraph (b) for each 
        of the matters.  The county board may, by a majority vote in a 
        public meeting, decide to hold a closed meeting under paragraph 
        (b).  The purpose, time, and place of the meeting must be 
        announced at a public meeting.  A written roll of members 
        present at a closed meeting must be made available to the public 
        after the closed meeting.  The proceedings of a closed meeting 
        must be tape recorded at the expense of the county board and be 
        preserved for not less than five years after the meeting.  The 
        data on the tape are nonpublic data under section 13.02, 
        subdivision 9, until two years after the meeting.  A contract 
        entered into by the county board at a meeting held on behalf of 
        the medical center or HMO is subject to section 471.345.  All 
        bids and any related materials that are considered at the 
        meeting must be retained for a period of not less than five 
        years.  After the expiration of the term of any contract entered 
        into pursuant to this subdivision or a period of two years, 
        whichever is less, the contract, the bids, and any related 
        materials are public data.  The contract, the bids, and any 
        related materials are subject to review by the state auditor at 
        any time. 
           (d) Data concerning specific products or services that are 
        in direct competition with other providers of goods or services 
        in the public or private sector are trade secret information for 
        purposes of section 13.37, to the extent disclosure of 
        information pertaining to the matters would clearly harm the 
        competitive position of the medical center or HMO.  The data are 
        trade secret information for the term of the contract or a 
        two-year period, whichever is less.  
           (e) Notwithstanding section 471.345 or other applicable 
        law, the county board on behalf of the medical center, HMO, 
        ambulatory health center, or other clinics authorized under 
        section 383B.219, may contract with a private or public 
        cooperative purchasing organization, if it can be established 
        the purchasing organization's goods, materials, supplies, 
        equipment, or services that are purchased, rented, or leased, 
        have been awarded through a competitive or request for proposal 
        process, except for services, by any means that the county board 
        or at its direction the medical center or HMO may 
        determine.  When contracting for services, the county board must 
        comply with sections 383B.141 to 383B.151 and other applicable 
        law, except that the board may contract with a private or public 
        cooperative purchasing organization if it can be established 
        that the purchasing organization's services that are purchased 
        have been awarded through a competitive or request for proposal 
        process.  
           (f) This subdivision applies to the medical center, HMO, 
        ambulatory health centers, or other clinics authorized under 
        section 383B.219, as well as any other organization, 
        association, partnership, or corporation authorized by Hennepin 
        county under section 144.581. 
           Presented to the governor May 23, 2003 
           Signed by the governor May 25, 2003, 9:45 p.m.