BG C.S.H.B. 3587 75(R) BILL ANALYSIS PUBLIC HEALTH C.S.H.B. 3587 By: Hirschi 4-30-97 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND The Wichita General Hospital is seeking measures to lease the Bethania Regional Health Care Center. This lease agreement has broad community support. Texas anti-trust laws provide for certain exemptions to county-city boards in order to lease hospital facilities. Precedent has been set in the Texas Legislature for state action immunity by the passage of laws allowing for other county-city board hospital lease arrangements. PURPOSE CSHB 3587 allows for the acquisition or lease of hospital facilities by certain countymunicipality hospital boards. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 265.037, Health and Safety Code, by adding Subsection (d) to allow a board which exists in a county with a population of more than 100,000 and a municipality with a population of more than 75,000 to purchase, construct, receive, lease, or otherwise acquire hospital facilities, including the sublease of one or more hospital facilities, regardless of whether the action might be considered anti-competitive under the antitrust laws of the United States or this state. SECTION 2. Emergency Clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The substitute bill revises the title of HB 3587 to make it more general and succinct. CSHB 3587 changes SECTION 1 by removing language that specified the board to be "a county-municipality hospital board" and by replacing "health care facilities" with the term "hospital facilities." The substitute bill also omits the clause regarding the Act becoming effective upon passage.