The department must issue hospital construction and renovation regulations tied to federal Medicare life-safety standards, may waive enforcement in limited cases, and conflicting rules can lapse or become void.
*197.065. Life safety code standards — waiver, when — rulemaking authority. — 1. The department of health and senior services shall promulgate regulations for the construction and renovation of hospitals that include life safety code standards for hospitals that exclusively reflect the life safety code standards imposed by the federal Medicare program under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act and its conditions of participation in the Code of Federal Regulations. 2. The department shall not require a hospital to meet the standards contained in the Facility Guidelines Institute for the Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities, but any hospital that complies with the 2010 or later version of such guidelines for the construction and renovation of hospitals shall not be required to comply with any regulation that is inconsistent or conflicts in any way with such guidelines. 3. The department may waive enforcement of the standards for licensed hospitals imposed by this section if the department determines that: (1) Compliance with those specific standards would result in unreasonable hardship for the facility and if the health and safety of hospital patients would not be compromised by such waiver or waivers; or (2) The hospital has used other standards that provide for equivalent design criteria. 4. Regulations promulgated by the department to establish and enforce hospital licensure regulations under this chapter that conflict with the standards established under subsections 1 and 3 of this section shall lapse on and after January 1, 2018. 5. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, that is created under the authority delegated in this section shall become effective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the provisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028. This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to delay the effective date, or to disapprove and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 2016, shall be invalid and void. (L. 2016 S.B. 608 merged with S.B. 635 merged with S.B. 973) Effective 8-28-16 (S.B. 635); 8-28-16 (S.B. 973); *10-14-16 (S.B. 608), see § 21.250 *S.B. 608 was vetoed July 5, 2016. The veto was overridden on September 14, 2016.