(1) No later than thirty days after the attorney general has received the completed notice and filing pursuant to section 6-19-402, the attorney general shall hold at least one public hearing in the service area of the hospital involved in the transaction, at which the attorney general shall allow any person to either file written comments and exhibits or appear and make a statement about any aspect of the transaction, including, but not limited to, whether the proposed transaction complies with the requirements of section 6-19403. At least seven days prior to each public hearing, the attorney general shall submit a press release providing pertinent information about the hearing, including the time and place of the hearing, to one or more newspapers of general circulation in the affected communities and notify the mayor of the city or city and county and the board of county commissioners of the county in which the hospital is located. The public hearing shall be a legislative rather than an adjudicative hearing.
The attorney general shall have the power to subpoena documents or witnesses, require and administer oaths, and require statements at any time that are reasonably necessary to assess an application or monitor compliance with this section.
If any person fails to cooperate with any investigation pursuant to this section or failsto obey any subpoena issued pursuant to this section, the attorney general may apply to the appropriate district court for an appropriate order to effect the purposes of this section. The application shall state that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the order applied for is necessary to carry out the attorney general's duties under this section. If the court is satisfied that reasonable grounds exist, the court, in its order, may:
Require the attendance of or the production of documents by such person, or both;
Grant such other or further relief as may be necessary to obtain compliance by suchperson.
(4) Except for documents the attorney general determines to be confidential as a matter of law, the documents filed pursuant to section 6-19-402 shall be available to the public for review and copying during normal business hours at both the attorney general's office and the offices of the parties to the transaction. Reasonable costs of copying shall be borne by the parties if copies are requested at their offices.
Source: L. 98: Entire article added, p. 526, § 1, effective April 30.