Bill Analysis Legislative Service Commission |
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H.B.
194 127th General Assembly (As Reported by H. State Gov't & Elections) Reps. Zehringer, Seitz, Evans, Adams, Huffman, J. McGregor, Reinhard, Goodwin, Daniels, Flowers, Carmichael, Webster, Hite, Domenick BILL SUMMARY · Authorizes the joint township district hospital board that oversees a joint township hospital to hold an executive session to discuss trade secrets. CONTENT AND OPERATION Current law generally requires that all meetings[1] of any public body[2] be public meetings open to the public at all times (R.C. 121.22(C)). A resolution, rule, or formal action of any kind is invalid unless adopted in an open meeting of a public body, and a resolution, rule, or formal action of any kind adopted in an open meeting that results from deliberations in a meeting not open to the public is invalid unless the deliberations were for a purpose specifically authorized to be discussed in an executive session of the public body or were otherwise exempted by law (R.C. 121.22(H)). The members of a public body may hold an executive session to consider one of various specified matters only after a majority of a quorum of the public body determines by a roll call vote at a regular or special meeting to hold an executive session (R.C. 121.22(G)). Current law allows the board of county hospital trustees that oversees a county hospital operated under the County Hospital Act, or the board of hospital commissioners that oversees a municipal hospital operated under the Municipal Hospital Act, to consider trade secrets[3] as defined in the Uniform Trade Secrets Act at an executive session of a board meeting. The bill also allows a joint township district hospital board that oversees a joint township hospital operated under the Joint Township District Hospital Act to consider trade secrets at an executive session of a board meeting (R.C. 121.22(G)(7)). HISTORY
H0194-RH-127.doc/ss [1] "Meeting" means
any prearranged discussion of any public business of a public body by a
majority of its members (R.C. 121.22(B)(2)). [2] "Public body"
means (1) any board, commission, committee, council, or similar decision-making
body of a state agency, institution, or authority, and any legislative
authority or board, commission, committee, council, agency, authority, or
similar decision-making body of any county, township, municipal corporation,
school district, or local public institution, (2) any committee or subcommittee
of such a body, or (3) a court of jurisdiction of certain sanitary districts
when meeting for certain purposes (R.C. 121.22(B)(1)). [3] "Trade secret"
means information, including the whole or any portion or phase of any
scientific or technical information, design, process, procedure, formula,
pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, or improvement, or
any business information or plans, financial information, or listing of names,
addresses, or telephone numbers, that satisfies both of the following: (1) it derives independent economic value,
actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily
ascertainable by proper means by, other persons who can obtain economic value
from its disclosure or use and (2) it is the subject of efforts that are
reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy (R.C. 1333.61(D),
not in the bill). |