80R7863 ABC-F

By: Homer H.B. No. 2825

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the powers and duties of the Hopkins County Hospital District.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 3, Chapter 43, Acts of the 57th Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1961, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 3. The board of directors consists of seven (7) directors who serve staggered three-year terms. A director shall continue to serve until a successor has been duly elected or appointed and qualified. No person shall be appointed or elected as a member of the board of directors of said hospital district unless he is a resident and a qualified voter thereof and unless at the time of such election or appointment he shall be more than twenty-one (21) years of age. An employee of the Hopkins County Hospital District may not serve as a director of that district. Each member of the board of directors shall qualify by executing the constitutional oath of office and shall execute a good and sufficient bond for One Thousand Dollars ($1,000) payable to said district conditioned upon the faithful performance of his duties, and such oaths and bonds shall be deposited with the depository bank of the district for safekeeping.

The board of directors shall elect a president, a vice president, and a secretary. A majority of the full membership of the board of directors shall constitute a quorum and a concurrence of a majority shall be sufficient in all matters pertaining to the business of the district. All vacancies in the office of director shall be filled for the unexpired term by appointment of the remainder of the board of directors. In the event the number of directors shall be reduced to less than the number that constitutes a majority for any reason, the remaining directors shall immediately call a special election to fill said vacancies, and upon failure to do so a district court may, upon application of any voter or taxpayer of the district, issue a mandate requiring that such election be ordered by the remaining directors.

A regular election of directors shall be held each year on the [first Saturday in] May uniform election date under Section 41.001, Election Code. Notice of the [of each year and notice of such] election shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the district in accordance with Section 4.003, Election Code [county one (1) time at least ten (10) days prior to the date of election]. Any person desiring that person's [his] name to be printed on the ballot as a candidate for director shall file an application with the secretary of the board of directors of the district in accordance with Chapter 144, Election Code. [Such application shall be filed with such secretary at least forty-five (45) days prior to the date of election.]

SECTION 2. Section 6A, Chapter 43, Acts of the 57th Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1961, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 6A. (a) The board shall determine the type, number, and location of buildings required to establish and maintain office facilities for health care providers [staff physicians] as necessary to provide adequate health [medical] care services.

(b) The board may acquire property and equipment and construct facilities for the district for use by health care providers [staff physicians] and may mortgage or pledge the property, facilities, or equipment acquired as security for the payment of the purchase or construction price.

(c) The board, on behalf of the district, may lease the office facilities and equipment to health care providers [staff physicians] or may sell or otherwise dispose of the property, facilities, or equipment.

SECTION 3. Section 8A, Chapter 43, Acts of the 57th Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1961, is amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:

(c) The board may provide financial inducements, including income subsidies or guarantees and reimbursement of relocation expenses, to a full-time medical intern or a [resident] physician [serving in a hospital] who contractually agrees to reside and practice in Hopkins County and to provide care and treatment to its needy residents. [The financial inducements may include income subsidies or guarantees and reimbursement of relocation expenses. The board may offer the financial inducements only to attract qualified physicians who possess medical expertise that is not available in the county.]

(d) The board may employ physicians, dentists, or other health care providers as the board considers necessary for the district's efficient operation. This subsection does not authorize the board to supervise or control the practice of medicine or permit the unauthorized practice of medicine, as prohibited by Subtitle B, Title 3, Occupations Code.

SECTION 4. Section 9, Chapter 43, Acts of the 57th Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1961, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 9. The fiscal year of the hospital district [authorized to be established by the provisions hereof] shall commence on October 1st of each year and end on the thirtieth (30th) day of September of the following year. The district directors shall cause an annual independent audit to be made of the books and records of the district, such audit to be made covering such fiscal year, and the same shall be filed [with the Comptroller of Public Accounts of the State of Texas and] at the office of the district not later than December 31st of each year.

The board of directors shall each year cause a budget to be prepared showing the proposed expenditures and disbursements and the estimated receipts and collections for the following fiscal year and shall hold a public hearing on the proposed budget after publication of a notice of hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the county at least once not less than ten (10) days prior to the date set for the hearing. Any person who is a resident [taxpayer] of the district shall have the right to appear at the time and place designated in the notice and be heard with reference to any item shown in the proposed budget. The proposed budget shall also show the amount of taxes required to be levied and collected during such fiscal year and upon final approval of the budget, the board of directors shall levy such tax as may be required and certify the tax rate for such year to the county tax assessor and collector as provided in Section 5 hereof, and it shall be the duty of the said tax assessor and collector to assess and collect such tax.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2007.