CS/CS/HB 817 Summary

• Authorizes public health trust boards to lease office space and employ legal counsel at their discretion, expanding operational flexibility.

• Repeals legislative findings on trauma care and eliminates trauma service area designations, while revising trauma center definitions and approval processes.

• Restricts Level II trauma center designation to rural counties (300 or fewer persons per square mile) and prohibits new Level II designations within 75 miles of existing Level I centers after July 1, 2013.

• Establishes a 7-year approval period for Level I and pediatric trauma center designations with renewal requirements, while Level II centers designated after July 1, 2013 must hold American College of Surgeons certification.

• Takes effect July 1, 2013.