Brief (1)
SB 24, as amended, would abolish the Joint Committee on Oversight of the University of Kansas Hospital Authority on July 1, 2000.
Background
The University of Kansas Hospital Authority was created by the 1998 Legislature with the passage of 1998 SB 373 to operate the University of Kansas Hospital as an independent instrumentality of the state. The same legislation also created the six-member Joint Committee on Oversight of the University of Kansas Hospital Authority to monitor the implementation of the act. SB 24 was introduced by the Joint Committee as part of the Joint Committee's report to the 1999 Legislature. In the report, the Joint Committee noted that the Authority's Board of Directors includes several university officials as well as current and former legislators. This membership, in conjunction with the Senate's role in confirmation of members of the Authority's Board of Directors, was deemed by the Joint Committee as adequate to ensure the state's interests in the Authority's operations.
Two members of the Authority's Board of Directors, Senator Sandy Praeger and Senator Sherman Jones, spoke in favor of the bill. No opponents to the bill appeared.
The Senate Ways and Means Committee also received a status report on the operations of the Hospital Authority. Irene Cumming, President and Chief Executive Officer, informed the Committee that since the creation of the Authority the Hospital has benefitted from increased patient utilization and improved net income and cash reserves. In addition, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations surveyed the Hospital in June 1999. Based on the survey results the Hospital was awarded Accreditation with Commendation, a recognition reserved for the top 5 percent of hospitals in the country.
The fiscal note on SB 24 indicates the bill would produce savings in the Legislature's budget of $2,098, based on 1998 costs for mileage, per diem compensation, and subsistence.
The Senate Committee amendments were technical in nature.
1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/bill_search.html