By Jones of Lubbock                                  H.C.R. No. 277
         76R15198 JLZ-D                           
                             HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-1           WHEREAS, In 1967, the 60th Texas Legislature authorized the
 1-2     creation of the Lubbock County Hospital District pursuant to
 1-3     Section 9, Article IX, Texas Constitution, which allows the
 1-4     legislature to provide for the creation, operation, and maintenance
 1-5     or dissolution of such districts; and
 1-6           WHEREAS, Given full responsibility for providing medical and
 1-7     hospital care for district residents, hospital districts also are
 1-8     granted exclusive authority to levy property taxes or issue bonds
 1-9     or other obligations for hospital purposes or for the provision of
1-10     medical care within each district's boundaries; and
1-11           WHEREAS, In 1969, the 61st Legislature created the Texas Tech
1-12     University School of Medicine, which later became the Texas Tech
1-13     University Health Sciences Center; comprising schools of medicine,
1-14     nursing, allied health, pharmacy, and a graduate school of
1-15     biomedical sciences, the center is charged with providing quality
1-16     education for health care professionals and developing academic,
1-17     biomedical research, patient care, and community outreach services
1-18     programs to meet the needs of the 108 counties of West Texas; and
1-19           WHEREAS, Charged with different but complementary missions,
1-20     the health sciences center and the hospital district have
1-21     established a cooperative relationship for their mutual benefit and
1-22     their respective constituencies; and
1-23           WHEREAS, For example, the hospital district owns and operates
1-24     a hospital that serves as a teaching hospital for the medical
 2-1     school; the hospital district also provides substantial financial
 2-2     support to the center, and in 1998 increased its funding by $4
 2-3     million, a significant proportion of the district's annual budget,
 2-4     to support physician residency training and medical directors; and
 2-5           WHEREAS, For 1998, the Lubbock County Hospital District
 2-6     levied taxes at a rate of 9.91 cents per $100 valuation on a
 2-7     property tax base of nearly $7.2 billion for net tax revenues of
 2-8     more than $7 million for the year; and
 2-9           WHEREAS, The district also derives income from investments,
2-10     which in the past consisted of purchases of federally guaranteed
2-11     treasury bills and bonds, safe investments that return small but
2-12     protected dividends; in 1996, however, the hospital district's
2-13     board approved a higher-risk investment policy authorizing
2-14     investments in debt issues from federal agencies such as the
2-15     Government National Mortgage Association, the Federal Farm Credit
2-16     Bureau, and the Federal National Mortgage Association; and
2-17           WHEREAS, Aside from local tax revenues and investment income,
2-18     the district also counts on government reimbursement for services
2-19     rendered through federal programs such as Medicaid and Medicare,
2-20     but the revenue stream from those sources is anticipated to
2-21     continue declining as a result of program changes; and
2-22           WHEREAS, Because the hospital district was created under the
2-23     legislature's authority and because of its relationship with a
2-24     state-funded institution, the state has an interest in ensuring
2-25     sound fiscal management of the district's financial affairs, as
2-26     well as its medical responsibilities, to the extent that they
2-27     affect the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center; now,
 3-1     therefore, be it
 3-2           RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas
 3-3     hereby request the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house
 3-4     of representatives to create a legislative oversight committee with
 3-5     jurisdiction over the Lubbock County Hospital District and its
 3-6     relationship to Texas Tech University; and, be it further
 3-7           RESOLVED, That the committee be composed of two members of
 3-8     the senate appointed by the lieutenant governor and two members of
 3-9     the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house
3-10     of representatives; and, be it further
3-11           RESOLVED, That the committee be given the power to hold
3-12     hearings on any matter pertaining to the relationship between the
3-13     hospital district and the university health sciences center and to
3-14     issue due process in accordance with Section 301.024, Government
3-15     Code, to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of
3-16     books, records, documents, and instruments required by the
3-17     committee; and, be it further
3-18           RESOLVED, That the legislative oversight committee's
3-19     proceedings and operations be governed by such general rules and
3-20     policies for joint interim committees as the 76th Legislature may
3-21     adopt and that such rules and policies supersede the provisions of
3-22     this resolution to the extent of any conflict; and, be it further
3-23           RESOLVED, That the committee submit a full report, including
3-24     findings and recommendations, to the 77th Texas Legislature when it
3-25     convenes in January 2001.