Oklahoma § 63-3301 - Joint Legislative Commission to Study and Evaluate the

§ 63-3301. Joint Legislative Commission to Study and Evaluate the

Operations of the Oklahoma State University Center for Health

Sciences and the Indigent Health Care System in the Tulsa

Metropolitan Service Area - Membership - Duties and

responsibilities.

A. There is hereby created until February 6, 2006, a Joint

Legislative Commission to Study and Evaluate the Operations of the

Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences and the

Indigent Health Care System in the Tulsa Metropolitan Service Area.

The Commission shall be composed of nine (9) members as follows:

1. Three members from the House of Representatives, to be

appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

2. Three members from the Senate, to be appointed by the

President Pro Tempore of the Senate; and

3. Three members from the Office of the Governor, to be

appointed by the Governor.

B. The co-chairpersons of the Commission shall be appointed by

the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro

Tempore of the Senate. Five members shall constitute a quorum. A

quorum shall be present to conduct official business of the

Commission. Vacancies on the Commission shall be filled by the

authority where such vacancies exist. The Commission shall commence

work not later than July 15, 2005.

C. Supportive services shall be provided by the staff of the

Oklahoma House of Representatives and the State Senate. The

Commission shall also have the authority to hire such consultants or

auditors as deemed necessary to accomplish the duties and

responsibilities of the Commission. The expense of hiring any

consultants or auditors shall be paid by the Oklahoma State

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 63. Public Health and Safety

University Center for Health Sciences and/or private or foundation

funds.

D. The duties and responsibilities of the Commission shall

include, but not be limited to:

1. Study, evaluate and investigate the management and

operations of the Oklahoma State University Center for Health

Sciences, including any relationships currently existing or proposed

with hospitals in the Tulsa Metropolitan Service Area;

2. Evaluate the mission and ability of the Oklahoma State

University Center for Health Sciences in providing medical teaching

and residency programs to prepare doctors for placement in rural

Oklahoma communities;

3. Investigate potential options for providing a stable

teaching hospital environment for the continuation of residency

programs for the Oklahoma State University Center for Health

Sciences;

4. Audit and study all financial arrangements or proposed

financial agreements related to maintaining the highest quality

medical teaching and residency program possible for the Oklahoma

State University Center for Health Sciences; and

5. Study, make recommendations, and submit a written report to

the Legislature and the Governor by December 15, 2005, regarding the

Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences and the future

of the delivery and efficiency of teaching, residency, and medical

services across rural Oklahoma and the delivery of care to the

indigent, underserved, and nonindigent populations of the Tulsa

Metropolitan Service Area. The report shall include, at a minimum,

recommendations for appropriate written agreements for the lease and

management of facilities, provision of indigent care, and

recommended minimum levels of state appropriations required for the

achievement of a long-term solution for graduate medical education

at the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences.

E. In performing its duties and responsibilities, the

Commission may hold public hearings in various geographical

locations of the state and may invite individuals and organizations

to make presentations to the Commission. The Commission is further

granted the authority to administer oaths, subpoena witnesses and

records, and to hear evidence.

F. Travel reimbursement shall be the responsibility of the

appointing authority and shall be subject to the State Travel

Reimbursement Act. Legislative members to the Commission shall be

reimbursed pursuant to the provisions of Section 456 of Title 74 of

the Oklahoma Statutes.

G. The Commission shall not be subject to the provisions of the

Oklahoma Open Records Act with respect to any proprietary

information, financial information related to a private for-profit

business entity or a nonprofit organization, or other information

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 63. Public Health and Safety

that would place a business entity or nonprofit organization at a

competitive disadvantage or that the entity would not disclose to a

third party without the requirement of judicial process. The

Commission may require that documents and records that it requests

or that it compels be produced for its review subject to a

protective order that prohibits disclosure of the information

provided to any person other than a member of the Commission or its

designated agents or representatives.

Added by Laws 2005, c. 410, § 4, eff. July 1, 2005.