LB418 LB418
2021 2021
LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 418
Introduced by Murman, 38; Blood, 3; Bostar, 29; Briese, 41; Cavanaugh,
J., 9; Clements, 2; Day, 49; Dorn, 30; Erdman, 47; Flood,
19; Geist, 25; Gragert, 40; Halloran, 33; Lowe, 37; Pansing Brooks, 28; Slama, 1; Walz, 15.
Read first time January 14, 2021
Committee: Health and Human Services
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to public health; to adopt the Solemn Covenant
2 of the States to Award Prizes for Curing Diseases compact.
3 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Article I.
2 Definitions
3 For purposes of this compact:
4 1. Compacting state means either of the following:
5 a. Any state that has enacted the compact and which has not
6 withdrawn or been suspended pursuant to Article XIV of the compact;
7 b. The federal government in accordance with the commission's
8 bylaws.
9 2. Compact means the Solemn Covenant of the States to Award Prizes
10 for Curing Diseases enacted in this section.
11 3. Noncompacting state means any state or the federal government, if
12 it is not at the time a compacting state.
13 4. Public health expenses means the amount of all costs paid by
14 taxpayers in a specified geographic area relating to a particular
15 disease.
16 5. State means any state, district, or territory of the United
17 States of America.
18 Article II.
19 Establishment of the Commission; Membership
20 1. Upon the enactment of the compact by six states, the compacting
21 states shall establish the Solemn Covenant of States Commission.
22 2. The commission is a body corporate and politic and an
23 instrumentality of each of the compacting states and is solely
24 responsible for its liabilities, except as otherwise specifically
25 provided in the compact.
26 3. Each compacting state shall be represented by one member as
27 selected by the compacting state. Each compacting state shall determine
28 its member's qualifications and period of service and shall be
29 responsible for any action to remove or suspend its member or to fill the
30 member's position if it becomes vacant. Nothing in the compact shall be
31 construed to affect a compacting state's authority regarding the
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1 qualification, selection, or service of its own member.
2 Article III.
3 Powers of the Commission
4 1. To adopt bylaws and rules pursuant to Articles V and VI of the
5 compact, which shall have the force and effect of law and shall be
6 binding in the compacting states to the extent and in the manner provided
7 in the compact;
8 2. To receive and review in an expeditious manner treatments and
9 therapeutic protocols for the cure of disease submitted to the commission
10 and to award prizes for submissions that meet the commission's standards
11 for a successful cure treatment or therapeutic protocol;
12 3. To make widely available a cure treatment or therapeutic protocol
13 upon a prize winner claiming a prize and transferring any intellectual
14 property necessary for the manufacture and distribution of the cure in
15 accordance with section 3.g.i. of Article VI, including by arranging or
16 contracting for the manufacturing, production, or provision of any drug,
17 serum, or other substance, device, or process, provided that the
18 commission does not market the cure or conduct any other activity
19 regarding the cure not specifically authorized in the compact;
20 4. To establish a selling price for the cure, which shall be not
21 more than the expenses for the cure's manufacturing, distribution,
22 licensing, and any other necessary governmental requirements for
23 compacting states, or those expenses plus any royalty fees, for
24 noncompacting states; the price shall not include the expenses of any
25 other activities;
26 5. In noncompacting states and foreign countries, to establish and
27 collect royalty fees imposed on manufacturers, producers, and providers
28 of any drug, serum, or other substance, device, or process used for a
29 cure treatment or therapeutic protocol, for which a prize is awarded;
30 royalty fees may be added to the sales price of the cure pursuant to
31 section 4 of this article; provided that the royalty fees shall
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1 cumulatively be not more than the estimated five-year savings in public
2 health expenses for that state or country, as calculated by actuaries
3 employed or contracted by the commission;
4 6. To do the following regarding the collected royalty fees:
5 a. Pay or reimburse expenses related to the payment of a prize,
6 which shall include employing or contracting actuaries to calculate
7 annual taxpayer savings amounts in compacting states in accordance with
8 section 3.g.iii. of Article VI, and payment of interest and other
9 expenses related to a loan obtained in accordance with section 3.g.vi. of
10 Article VI;
11 b. Annually disburse any amounts remaining after making payments or
12 reimbursements under section 6.a. of this article as refunds to
13 compacting states based on the percent of the state's prize obligation in
14 relation to the total obligation amount of all compacting states;
15 7. To bring and prosecute legal proceedings or actions in its name
16 as the commission;
17 8. To issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of
18 witnesses and the production of evidence;
19 9. To establish and maintain offices;
20 10. To borrow, accept, or contract for personnel services, including
21 personnel services from employees of a compacting state;
22 11. To hire employees, professionals, or specialists, and elect or
23 appoint officers, and to fix their compensation, define their duties and
24 give them appropriate authority to carry out the purposes of the compact,
25 and determine their qualifications; and to establish the commission's
26 personnel policies and programs relating to, among other things,
27 conflicts of interest, rates of compensation, and qualifications of
28 personnel;
29 12. To accept any and all appropriate donations and grants of money,
30 equipment, supplies, materials, and services, and to receive, utilize,
31 and dispose of the same; provided that at all times the commission shall
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1 strive to avoid any appearance of impropriety;
2 13. To lease, purchase, or accept appropriate gifts or donations of,
3 or otherwise to own, hold, improve, or use, any property, real, personal,
4 or mixed; provided, that at all times the commission shall strive to
5 avoid any appearance of impropriety;
6 14. To sell, convey, mortgage, pledge, lease, exchange, abandon, or
7 otherwise dispose of any property, real, personal, or mixed;
8 15. To monitor compacting states for compliance with the
9 commission's bylaws and rules;
10 16. To enforce compliance by compacting states with the commission's
11 bylaws and rules;
12 17. To provide for dispute resolution among compacting states or
13 between the commission and those who submit treatments and therapeutic
14 protocols for the cure of disease for consideration;
15 18. To establish a budget and make expenditures;
16 19. To borrow money;
17 20. To appoint committees, including management, legislative, and
18 advisory committees comprised of members, state legislators or their
19 representatives, medical professionals, and such other interested persons
20 as may be designated by the commission;
21 21. To establish annual membership dues for compacting states, which
22 shall be used for daily expenses of the commission and not for interest
23 or prize payments;
24 22. To adopt and use a corporate seal;
25 23. To perform such other functions as may be necessary or
26 appropriate to achieve the purposes of this compact.
27 Article IV.
28 Meetings and Voting
29 1. The commission shall meet and take such actions as are consistent
30 with the compact, bylaws, and rules.
31 2. A majority of the members of the commission shall constitute a
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1 quorum necessary in order to conduct business or take actions at meetings
2 of the commission.
3 3. Each member of the commission shall have the right and power to
4 cast one vote regarding matters determined or actions to be taken by the
5 commission. Each member shall have the right and power to participate in
6 the business and affairs of the commission.
7 4. A member shall vote in person or by such other means as provided
8 in the commission's bylaws. The commission's bylaws may provide for
9 members' participation in meetings by telephone or other means of
10 communication.
11 5. The commission shall meet at least once during each calendar
12 year. Additional meetings shall be held as set forth in the commission's
13 bylaws.
14 6. No decision of the commission with respect to the approval of an
15 award for a treatment or therapeutic process for the cure of a disease
16 shall be effective unless two-thirds of all the members of the commission
17 vote in favor thereof.
18 7. Guidelines and voting requirements for all other decisions of the
19 commission shall be established in the commission's bylaws.
20 Article V.
21 Bylaws
22 The commission shall, by a majority vote of all the members of the
23 commission, prescribe bylaws to govern its conduct as may be necessary or
24 appropriate to carry out the purposes, and exercise the powers, of the
25 compact, including, but not limited to:
26 1. Establishing the fiscal year of the commission;
27 2. Providing reasonable procedures for appointing and electing
28 members, as well as holding meetings, of the management committee;
29 3. Providing reasonable standards and procedures:
30 a. For the establishment and meetings of other committees;
31 b. Governing any general or specific delegation of any authority or
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1 function of the commission; and
2 c. Voting guidelines and procedures for commission decisions.
3 4. Providing reasonable procedures for calling and conducting
4 meetings of the commission that shall consist of requiring a quorum to be
5 present, ensuring reasonable advance notice of each such meeting and
6 providing for the right of citizens to attend each such meeting with
7 enumerated exceptions designed to protect the public's interest and the
8 privacy of individuals.
9 5. Providing a list of matters about which the commission may go
10 into executive session and requiring a majority of all members of the
11 commission vote to enter into such session. As soon as practicable, the
12 commission shall make public:
13 a. A copy of the vote to go into executive session, revealing the
14 vote of each member with no proxy votes allowed; and
15 b. The matter requiring executive session, without identifying the
16 actual issues or individuals involved.
17 6. Establishing the titles, duties, authority, and reasonable
18 procedures for the election of the officers of the commission;
19 7. Providing reasonable standards and procedures for the
20 establishment of the personnel policies and programs of the commission.
21 Notwithstanding any civil service or other similar laws of any compacting
22 state, the commission's bylaws shall exclusively govern the personnel
23 policies and programs of the commission;
24 8. Allowing a mechanism for:
25 a. The federal government to join as a compacting state; and
26 b. Foreign countries or subdivisions of those countries to join as
27 liaison members by adopting the compact; provided that adopting countries
28 or subdivisions shall not have voting power or the power to bind the
29 commission in any way.
30 9. Adopting a code of ethics to address permissible and prohibited
31 activities of members and employees;
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1 10. Providing for the maintenance of the commission's books and
2 records;
3 11. Governing the acceptance of and accounting for donations, annual
4 member dues, and other sources of funding and establishing the proportion
5 of these funds to be allocated to prize amounts for treatments and
6 therapeutic protocols that cure disease;
7 12. Governing any fund raising efforts in which the commission
8 wishes to engage; and
9 13. Providing a mechanism for winding up the operations of the
10 commission and the equitable disposition of any surplus funds that may
11 exist after the termination of the compact after the payment and
12 reserving of all its debts and obligations.
13 Article VI.
14 Rules
15 1. The commission shall adopt rules to do the following:
16 a. Effectively and efficiently achieve the purposes of this compact;
17 b. Govern the methods, processes, and any other aspect of the
18 research, creation, and testing of a treatment or therapeutic protocol
19 for each disease for which a prize may be awarded.
20 2. The commission shall also adopt rules establishing the criteria
21 for defining and classifying the diseases for which prizes shall be
22 awarded. The commission may define and classify subsets of diseases, for
23 example, tubular carcinoma of the breast. For purposes of sections 3.a.
24 and c. of this article, a subset of a disease shall be considered one
25 disease. The commission may consult the most recent edition of the
26 international classification of diseases as published by the world health
27 organization or other definitions agreed to by a two-thirds vote of the
28 commission.
29 3. The commission shall also adopt rules regarding prizes for curing
30 diseases that establish the following:
31 a. At least ten major diseases for which to create prizes, which
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1 shall be determined based on the following factors:
2 i. The severity of the disease to a human individual's overall
3 health and well-being;
4 ii. The survival rate or severity of impact of the disease;
5 iii. The public health expenses and treatment expenses for the
6 disease.
7 b. The criteria a treatment or therapeutic protocol must meet in
8 order to be considered a cure for any of the diseases for which a prize
9 may be awarded, which shall include the following requirements:
10 i. It must be approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration
11 or have otherwise obtained legal status for the compact to immediately
12 contract to manufacture and distribute in the United States;
13 ii. Except as provided in secti