1-1     By:  Uher (Senate Sponsor - Armbrister)               H.B. No. 2094

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 8, 1997;

 1-3     May 9, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on Health

 1-4     and Human Services; May 15, 1997, reported favorably by the

 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 15, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to authorizing the Sweeny Hospital District to operate or

 1-9     provide for certain medical care and medical services to or for

1-10     needy residents of the district.

1-11           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-12           SECTION 1.  Section 2, Chapter 135, Acts of the 58th

1-13     Legislature, Regular Session, 1963, is amended to read as follows:

1-14           Sec. 2.  (a)  The hospital district herein authorized to be

1-15     created, shall provide for the establishment of a hospital system

1-16     to furnish medical and hospital care to persons residing in said

1-17     hospital district by the purchase, construction, acquisition,

1-18     repair, or renovation of buildings and improvements; and the

1-19     equipping of same and the administration thereof for hospital

1-20     purposes.  Such district shall assume full responsibility for

1-21     providing medical and hospital care for its needy inhabitants.

1-22           (b)  The district may operate or provide for home health care

1-23     services, long-term care services, skilled nursing care,

1-24     intermediate nursing care, hospice care, personal care services,

1-25     nutritional services, personal assistance services, respite

1-26     services, adult day-care services, ambulance and emergency medical

1-27     services, or any other reasonable or appropriate medical care or

1-28     medical service.  The district may include facilities or provide

1-29     for equipment the board considers necessary for the provision of

1-30     medical care or medical services or for hospital purposes,

1-31     including durable medical equipment and equipment to provide for

1-32     domiciliary care and treatment of sick, injured, or geriatric

1-33     patients.

1-34           (c)  Such hospital district shall not be created nor shall

1-35     such tax therein be authorized unless and until such creation and

1-36     such taxes are approved by a majority of the qualified property

1-37     taxpaying electors of the district voting in an election called for

1-38     such purpose.  Such election may be initiated by election judges,

1-39     who shall be O. K. Hitchcock, Earl Wells, Bobby W. Brown, George

1-40     Sparkman and Roy Walby upon their own motion or upon a petition of

1-41     one hundred (100) resident qualified property taxpaying electors,

1-42     residing within the boundaries of the proposed hospital district,

1-43     to be held not less than thirty (30) days nor more than sixty (60)

1-44     days from the time said election is ordered by the election judges.

1-45           The order calling the election shall specify the time and

1-46     place or places of holding same, the form of ballot and the

1-47     presiding judge for each voting place.  At such election there

1-48     shall be submitted to the qualified property taxpaying electors the

1-49     proposition of whether or not Sweeny Hospital District shall be

1-50     created with authority to levy annual taxes at a rate not to exceed

1-51     seventy-five cents (75 ) on the One Hundred Dollar ($100) valuation

1-52     of all taxable property within such district for the purpose of

1-53     meeting the requirements of the district's bonds and its

1-54     maintenance and operating expenses, and a majority of the qualified

1-55     property taxpaying electors of the district voting in said election

1-56     in favor of the proposition shall be sufficient for its adoption.

1-57     The ballots shall have printed thereon the following:

1-58           "FOR the creation of the Sweeny Hospital District; providing

1-59     for the levy of annual taxes not to exceed seventy-five cents (75 )

1-60     on the One Hundred Dollar ($100) valuation of all taxable property

1-61     within such District."

1-62           "AGAINST the creation of the Sweeny Hospital District;

1-63     providing for the levy of annual taxes not to exceed seventy-five

1-64     cents (75 ) on the One Hundred Dollar ($100) valuation of all

 2-1     taxable property within such District."

 2-2           Notice of election shall be given by publishing a substantial

 2-3     copy of the election order in a newspaper of general circulation in

 2-4     Sweeny Hospital District once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks,

 2-5     the first publication to appear at least fourteen (14) days prior

 2-6     to the date established for the election.

 2-7           The failure of any such election shall not operate to

 2-8     prohibit the calling and holding of subsequent elections for the

 2-9     same purpose.

2-10           SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-11     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-12     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-13     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-14     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

2-15     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

2-16     passage, and it is so enacted.

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