|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the powers and duties of the Travis County Healthcare |
|
|
District. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 803, Government Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Section 803.204 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 803.204. COMBINED SERVICE CREDIT IN CERTAIN SYSTEMS. |
|
|
(a) This section applies only to an employee who: |
|
|
(1) is a member of a municipal retirement system |
|
|
described by Section 803.0021(1); |
|
|
(2) is employed by a hospital district, a charitable |
|
|
organization created by the hospital district, or an administrative |
|
|
agency created under Section 791.013, either before or after being |
|
|
employed by the employing municipality located in the same county |
|
|
as the hospital district, charitable organization, or |
|
|
administrative agency; and |
|
|
(3) participates in a public retirement system: |
|
|
(A) that is determined to be a qualified plan |
|
|
under Section 401(a), Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. |
|
|
Section 401(a)), of a hospital district, charitable organization, |
|
|
or administrative agency that is determined to be a governmental |
|
|
unit, or an agency or an instrumentality of a governmental unit; and |
|
|
(B) that records and reports service credit as |
|
|
defined by Section 803.001. |
|
|
(b) Any service credit earned by an employee described by |
|
|
Subsection (a) with a retirement system established by the hospital |
|
|
district, charitable organization, or administrative agency will |
|
|
be combined under Section 803.201 to determine whether the employee |
|
|
meets the length-of-service requirements for service retirement |
|
|
under the municipal retirement system. |
|
|
(c) On retirement, an employee described by Subsection (a) |
|
|
will receive a benefit from the municipal retirement system as |
|
|
determined by Subchapter D, and if the hospital district or |
|
|
administrative agency has established or participates in a |
|
|
retirement program or the charitable organization has a retirement |
|
|
plan, will receive a benefit from the hospital district, |
|
|
administrative agency, or charitable organization as determined by |
|
|
the terms of the district's, agency's, or organization's retirement |
|
|
plan. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Subdivision (2), Section 1431.001, Government |
|
|
Code, is amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(2) "Eligible countywide district" means a flood |
|
|
control district or a hospital district the boundaries of which are |
|
|
substantially coterminous with the boundaries of a county with a |
|
|
population of three million or more or a hospital district created |
|
|
in a county with a population of more than 800,000 that was not |
|
|
included in the boundaries of a hospital district before September |
|
|
1, 2003. |
|
|
SECTION 3. Section 61.056, Health and Safety Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows: |
|
|
(c) A hospital district created in a county with a |
|
|
population of more than 800,000 that was not included in the |
|
|
boundaries of a hospital district before September 1, 2003, may |
|
|
affiliate with any public or private entity to provide regional |
|
|
administration and delivery of health care services. The regional |
|
|
affiliation, in accordance with the affiliation agreement, shall |
|
|
use money contributed by an affiliated governmental entity to |
|
|
provide health care services to an eligible resident of that |
|
|
governmental entity. |
|
|
SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 281, Health and Safety |
|
|
Code, is amended by adding Section 281.0281 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 281.0281. EMPLOYMENT OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS. |
|
|
(a) This section applies only to a district created in a county |
|
|
with a population of more than 800,000 that was not included in the |
|
|
boundaries of a hospital district before September 1, 2003. |
|
|
(b) The board may employ physicians, dentists, or other |
|
|
health care providers as the board considers necessary for the |
|
|
district's efficient operation. |
|
|
(c) This section 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 5. Subchapter C, Chapter 281, Health and Safety |
|
|
Code, is amended by adding Section 281.0511 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 281.0511. CONTRACTING AUTHORITY OF CERTAIN DISTRICTS. |
|
|
(a) This section applies only to a district created in a county |
|
|
with a population of more than 800,000 that was not included in the |
|
|
boundaries of a hospital district before September 1, 2003. |
|
|
(b) Notwithstanding Sections 281.050 and 281.051, the board |
|
|
may contract with any person, including a private or public entity |
|
|
or a political subdivision of this state, to provide or assist in |
|
|
the provision of services. |
|
|
SECTION 6. Section 281.0565, Health and Safety Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows: |
|
|
(d) A district created in a county with a population of more |
|
|
than 800,000 that was not included in the boundaries of a hospital |
|
|
district before September 1, 2003, may make a capital or other |
|
|
financial contribution to a charitable organization created by the |
|
|
district to provide regional administration and delivery of health |
|
|
care services to or for the district. |
|
|
SECTION 7. Subchapter G, Chapter 281, Health and Safety |
|
|
Code, is amended by adding Section 281.124 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 281.124. ELECTION TO APPROVE TAX RATE IN EXCESS OF |
|
|
ROLLBACK TAX RATE. (a) This section applies only to a district |
|
|
created in a county with a population of more than 800,000 that was |
|
|
not included in the boundaries of a hospital district before |
|
|
September 1, 2003. |
|
|
(b) The board may hold an election at which the registered |
|
|
voters of the district may approve a tax rate for the current tax |
|
|
year that exceeds the district's rollback tax rate for the year |
|
|
computed under Chapter 26, Tax Code, by a specific rate stated in |
|
|
dollars and cents per $100 of taxable value. |
|
|
(c) An election under this section must be held at least 180 |
|
|
days before the date on which the district's tax rate is adopted by |
|
|
the board. At the election, the ballot shall be prepared to permit |
|
|
voting for or against the proposition: "Approving the ad valorem |
|
|
tax rate of $ (insert total proposed tax rate) per $100 valuation in |
|
|
(insert district name) for the (insert current tax year) tax year, a |
|
|
rate that exceeds the district's rollback tax rate. The proposed ad |
|
|
valorem tax rate exceeds the ad valorem tax rate most recently |
|
|
adopted by the district by $(insert difference between proposed and |
|
|
preceding year's tax rates) per $100 valuation." |
|
|
(d) If a majority of the votes cast in the election favor the |
|
|
proposition, the tax rate for the specified tax year is the rate |
|
|
approved by the voters, and that rate is not subject to a rollback |
|
|
election under Section 26.07, Tax Code. The board shall adopt the |
|
|
tax rate as provided by Chapter 26, Tax Code. |
|
|
(e) If the proposition is not approved as provided by |
|
|
Subsection (c), the board may not adopt a tax rate for the district |
|
|
for the specified tax year that exceeds the rate that was not |
|
|
approved, and Section 26.07, Tax Code, applies to the adopted rate |
|
|
if that rate exceeds the rollback tax rate. |
|
|
(f) Notwithstanding any other law, if a majority of the |
|
|
votes cast in the election favor the proposition, a governing body |
|
|
with approval authority over the district's budget or tax rate may |
|
|
not disapprove the tax rate approved by the voters or disapprove the |
|
|
budget based solely on the tax rate approved by the voters. |
|
|
SECTION 8. Section 162.001, Occupations Code, is amended by |
|
|
adding Subsections (c-4) and (c-5) to read as follows: |
|
|
(c-4) The board shall certify a health organization to |
|
|
contract with or employ physicians licensed by the board if the |
|
|
organization: |
|
|
(1) is a hospital district: |
|
|
(A) recognized by a federal agency as a public |
|
|
entity eligible to receive a grant related to a community or |
|
|
federally qualified health center described by Subdivision (2); and |
|
|
(B) created in a county with a population of more |
|
|
than 800,000 that was not included in the boundaries of a hospital |
|
|
district before September 1, 2003; and |
|
|
(2) is organized and operated as: |
|
|
(A) a migrant, community, or homeless health |
|
|
center under the authority of and in compliance with 42 U.S.C. |
|
|
Section 254b or 254c; or |
|
|
(B) a federally qualified health center under 42 |
|
|
U.S.C. Section 1396d(l)(2)(B). |
|
|
(c-5) This section applies to a hospital district described |
|
|
by Subsection (c-4) only in relation to the hospital district's |
|
|
operations as a community or federally qualified health center |
|
|
described by Subsection (c-4)(2). |
|
|
SECTION 9. Section 281.123, Health and Safety Code, is |
|
|
repealed. |
|
|
SECTION 10. Section 803.204, Government Code, as added by |
|
|
this Act, applies only to a person who retires on or after the |
|
|
effective date of this Act. |
|
|
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007. |