80R5930 ABC-F
 
  By: Estes S.B. No. 1165
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the powers and duties of the Gainesville Hospital
District.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  Section 4, Chapter 211, Acts of the 64th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1975, is amended to read as follows:
       Sec. 4.  (a) The district is governed by a board of nine
directors.
       (b)  Directors serve staggered three-year terms.  [Upon the
effective date of this Act, the following named nine persons shall
be and constitute the temporary or provisional directors of the
said district:
1--Lambert Bezner 6--Dr. Harry M. Roark
2--Dr. James R. Cole 7--J. Robert Evans
3--L. V. Henry 8--W. W. Weems
4--E. J. (Junior) Hudspeth 9--E. E. Wright
5--Joe B. Hundt
and each of said directors shall subscribe to the constitutional
oath of office within 60 days of the effective date of this Act.  
Should any of the named directors refuse to act or for any reason
fail to qualify as herein required, the County Judge of Cooke County
shall fill such vacancy.  The terms of office of the first, third,
fifth, seventh, and ninth named directors shall expire on the first
Saturday in April of the year following the election for the
creation of the district, and the terms of the second, fourth,
sixth, and eighth named directors shall expire on the first
Saturday in April of the second year following the election for the
creation of the district.]
       (c)  A regular election for directors shall be held on the
uniform election date in May [first Saturday in April] of each year
to elect the appropriate number of directors.  [The regular
election for directors shall be ordered by the board, and such order
shall state the time, place, and purpose of the election, and the
board shall appoint the presiding judge who shall appoint an
assistant judge and such clerks as may be required, and such
election shall be ordered at least 30 days prior to the date on
which it is to be held.]  Any person desiring the person's [his]
name to be printed on the ballot as a candidate for director shall
file an application [a petition, signed by not less than 15
qualified voters asking that such name be printed on the ballot,]
with the secretary of the board of directors of the district in
accordance with Chapter 144, Election Code.  [Such petition shall
be filed with such secretary at least 25 days prior to the date of
election.]  Notice of such election shall be published [one time] in
a newspaper of general circulation in the area of the district in
accordance with Section 4.003, Election Code [at least 20 days
before the election].
       (d)  All vacancies in office [(other than for the failure of
an original director herein appointed to qualify)] shall be filled
by a majority vote of the remaining directors, and such appointees
shall hold office for the unexpired terms for which they were
appointed.
       (e)  A director who fails to attend at least four regular
meetings in any 12-month period is considered to have resigned the
director's position, effective immediately on the date of the
fourth absence. Further action is not required by the director or
the board to effectuate a vacancy under this subsection. A vacancy
created by a resignation under this subsection shall be filled as
provided by Subsection (d) of this section.
       (f)  No director shall be entitled to compensation but shall
be entitled to receive his actual expenses incurred in attending to
the district's business, provided such expenses are approved by the
remainder of the board.
       (g)  To be qualified to hold office as a director of the
district, a person must be a resident of the district and a
registered voter [and own property therein subject to
hospital-district taxation].
       (h)  The board of directors shall elect from its number a
president, vice-president, secretary, and such other officers as in
the judgement of the board are necessary.  [The president shall be
the chief executive officer of the district and shall have the same
right to vote as any other director.  The vice-president shall
perform all duties and exercise all powers conferred by this Act
upon the president when the president is absent or fails or declines
to act.
       [The directors named herein and their successors in office
shall hold office as provisional or temporary directors until such
time as the creation of the district has been approved at an
election as herein provided.  At such time as the creation of the
district is so approved and the returns of the election officially
canvassed, the persons acting as provisional or temporary directors
shall become permanent directors whose terms shall expire as
hereinabove provided.]
       (i)  Each [permanent] director and his successor in office
shall qualify by executing the constitutional oath of office.
       (j)  A majority of the board shall constitute a quorum for
the transaction of business.
       SECTION 2.  Section 5, Chapter 211, Acts of the 64th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1975, is amended to read as follows:
       Sec. 5.  (a)  The board of directors shall manage, control,
and administer the hospital system and the funds and resources
[hospital facilities to provide medical and hospital care for needy
residents] of the district.  The district through its board of
directors shall have the power and authority to sue and be sued and
to promulgate rules and regulations governing the operation of the
district.
       (b)  The board of directors shall appoint a qualified person
to be known as the administrator [or manager] of the hospital
district and may in its discretion appoint an assistant to the
administrator [or manager].  Such administrator [or manager,] and
assistant administrator [or assistant manager], if any, shall serve
at the will of the board and shall receive such compensation as may
be fixed by the board.  The administrator [or manager] shall, upon
assuming his duties, execute a bond payable to the hospital
district in an amount to be set by the board of directors, in no
event less than $5,000, conditioned that he shall perform the
duties required of him, and containing such other conditions as the
board may require.  The board may pay for the bond with district
funds. The administrator [or manager] shall supervise all the work
and activities of the hospital district and shall have general
direction of the affairs of the district, subject to such
limitations as may be prescribed by the board.
       (c)  The board of directors[, with the administrator,] shall
have the authority to appoint to or dismiss from the medical staff 
[admit] such physicians, dentists, and podiatrists as the board
determines are [doctors or employ technicians, nurses, and other
employees of every kind and character as may be deemed] necessary
for the efficient operation of the hospital district [or may
provide that the administrator or manager shall have the authority
to admit or employ such persons].
       (d)  The district may employ technicians, nurses, fiscal
agents, accountants, architects, additional attorneys, and other
necessary employees. The board may delegate to the administrator
the authority to employ persons for the district.
       (e)  Such board shall be authorized to contract with any
county or incorporated municipality located outside the district
for the care and treatment of the sick, diseased, or injured persons
of any such county or municipality and shall have the authority to
contract with the State of Texas and agencies of the federal
government for treatment of sick, diseased, or injured persons for
whom the State of Texas or the federal government is responsible.  
The board of directors is also authorized to enter into such
contracts or agreements with the State of Texas or the federal
government as may be required to establish or continue a retirement
program for the benefit of the district's employees.
       (f)  The board may also enter into a contract or contracts
with nonprofit corporations whereby such corporations agree to
provide administrative and other personnel for the operation of the
hospital facilities, but in no event may such contract be for a
period in excess of 25 years from the date the same is executed.
       (g)  The board of directors of such district shall have the
power to prescribe the method and manner of making purchases and
expenditures by and for such hospital district and also shall be
authorized to prescribe all accounting and control procedures and
to make such rules and regulations as may be required to carry out
the provisions of this Act.  The board is given exclusive authority
to determine the type, character, and use of the facilities forming
a part of the hospital system.
       SECTION 3.  (a)  The election of directors scheduled before
the effective date of this Act to be held in May 2008 shall be held,
and the three directors who receive the highest number of votes
shall each be elected to serve three-year terms. The two remaining
directors elected shall be elected to serve two-year terms.
Successor directors shall serve three-year terms.
       (b)  Four directors shall be elected in 2009. The director
who receives the highest number of votes shall be elected to serve a
four-year term. The three remaining directors elected shall be
elected to serve three-year terms. Successor directors shall serve
three-year terms.
       SECTION 4.  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.