By Uher                                               H.B. No. 2094

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to authorizing the Sweeny Hospital District to operate or

 1-3     provide for certain medical care and medical services to or for

 1-4     needy residents of the district.

 1-5           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-6           SECTION 1.  Section 2, Chapter 135, Acts of the 58th

 1-7     Legislature, Regular Session, 1963, is amended to read as follows:

 1-8           Sec. 2.  (a)  The hospital district herein authorized to be

 1-9     created, shall provide for the establishment of a hospital system

1-10     to furnish medical and hospital care to persons residing in said

1-11     hospital district by the purchase, construction, acquisition,

1-12     repair, or renovation of buildings and improvements; and the

1-13     equipping of same and the administration thereof for hospital

1-14     purposes.  Such district shall assume full responsibility for

1-15     providing medical and hospital care for its needy inhabitants.

1-16           (b)  The district may operate or provide for home health care

1-17     services, long-term care services, skilled nursing care,

1-18     intermediate nursing care, hospice care, personal care services,

1-19     nutritional services, personal assistance services, respite

1-20     services, adult day-care services, ambulance and emergency medical

1-21     services, or any other reasonable or appropriate medical care or

1-22     medical service.  The district may include facilities or provide

1-23     for equipment the board considers necessary for the provision of

1-24     medical care or medical services or for hospital purposes,

 2-1     including durable medical equipment and equipment to provide for

 2-2     domiciliary care and treatment of sick, injured, or geriatric

 2-3     patients.

 2-4           (c)  Such hospital district shall not be created nor shall

 2-5     such tax therein be authorized unless and until such creation and

 2-6     such taxes are approved by a majority of the qualified property

 2-7     taxpaying electors of the district voting in an election called for

 2-8     such purpose.  Such election may be initiated by election judges,

 2-9     who shall be O. K. Hitchcock, Earl Wells, Bobby W. Brown, George

2-10     Sparkman and Roy Walby upon their own motion or upon a petition of

2-11     one hundred (100) resident qualified property taxpaying electors,

2-12     residing within the boundaries of the proposed hospital district,

2-13     to be held not less than thirty (30) days nor more than sixty (60)

2-14     days from the time said election is ordered by the election judges.

2-15           The order calling the election shall specify the time and

2-16     place or places of holding same, the form of ballot and the

2-17     presiding judge for each voting place.  At such election there

2-18     shall be submitted to the qualified property taxpaying electors the

2-19     proposition of whether or not Sweeny Hospital District shall be

2-20     created with authority to levy annual taxes at a rate not to exceed

2-21     seventy-five cents (75 ) on the One Hundred Dollar ($100) valuation

2-22     of all taxable property within such district for the purpose of

2-23     meeting the requirements of the district's bonds and its

2-24     maintenance and operating expenses, and a majority of the qualified

2-25     property taxpaying electors of the district voting in said election

2-26     in favor of the proposition shall be sufficient for its adoption.

2-27     The ballots shall have printed thereon the following:

 3-1           "FOR the creation of the Sweeny Hospital District; providing

 3-2     for the levy of annual taxes not to exceed seventy-five cents (75 )

 3-3     on the One Hundred Dollar ($100) valuation of all taxable property

 3-4     within such District."

 3-5           "AGAINST the creation of the Sweeny Hospital District;

 3-6     providing for the levy of annual taxes not to exceed seventy-five

 3-7     cents (75 ) on the One Hundred Dollar ($100) valuation of all

 3-8     taxable property within such District."

 3-9           Notice of election shall be given by publishing a substantial

3-10     copy of the election order in a newspaper of general circulation in

3-11     Sweeny Hospital District once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks,

3-12     the first publication to appear at least fourteen (14) days prior

3-13     to the date established for the election.

3-14           The failure of any such election shall not operate to

3-15     prohibit the calling and holding of subsequent elections for the

3-16     same purpose.

3-17           SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the

3-18     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

3-19     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

3-20     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-21     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

3-22     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

3-23     passage, and it is so enacted.