Bill Text: TX SB559 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Comm Sub

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relating to the Rankin County Hospital District.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2011-05-02 - Comm. report sent to Local & Consent Calendar [SB559 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-SB559-Comm_Sub.html

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By: Duncan S.B. No. 559
(In the Senate - Filed February 8, 2011; February 17, 2011,
read first time and referred to Committee on Intergovernmental
Relations; March 14, 2011, reported favorably by the following
vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; March 14, 2011, sent to printer.)

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Rankin County Hospital District.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 3, Chapter 182, Acts of the 60th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1967, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 3. BOARD [CREATION OF DIRECTORS]. (a) [Within 10
days after such election is held, the commissioners court in such
county shall convene and canvass the returns of the election and if
a majority of qualified property taxpaying electors voting at said
election vote in favor of the proposition, the court shall so find
and declare the hospital district established and created.] The
[management and control of the district is vested in a] board of
directors [which] consists of five members elected from the
district at large. Directors serve staggered two-year terms unless
four-year terms are established under Section 285.081, Health and
Safety Code.
(b) A person may not be elected or appointed as a director
unless the person is:
(1) a resident of the district; and
(2) at least 21 years of age.
(c) An employee of the district may not serve as a
director[, to be elected by the qualified electors who own taxable
property within the district and who have duly rendered that
property for taxation. To qualify for the election to the board, a
person must:
[1. be at least 21 years of age;
[2. have been a resident of the district for at least two
years;
[3. be a qualified voter;
[4. own taxable property within the district and have duly
rendered that property for taxation;
[5. shall not be an officer of any political subdivision or
the State of Texas or the County of Upton, whether such office be
elective or by appointment].
(d) Before assuming the duties of the office of director,
each [Not less than 15 nor more than 25 days after the district is
declared established and created the commissioners court shall call
an election for the five directors who will serve as the district's
first board of directors, this election to be held on a date not
more than 30 days after the day of the passage of the commissioners
court order calling same but on such date as will permit publication
of an election notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the
district one time not less than 14 days prior to such election date.
Any candidate desiring to be voted upon as a first director shall,
no later than five days subsequent to the day of passage of the
commissioners court order calling the election, present a petition
to that court signed by such candidate requesting that his name be
placed upon the official ballot. The regular term of each director
shall be for two years but at the first called election, the three
directors receiving the highest vote at such election shall serve
for two years and the other two directors shall serve for one year.
The first year terms shall be ended on the date of the first annual
elections as hereinafter provided. Each] member of the board of
directors shall [qualify by executing the constitutional oath of
office and shall] execute a [good and sufficient commercial] bond
for $1,000 payable to the [said] district conditioned upon the
faithful performance of the director's [his] duties, and such
[oaths and] bonds shall be deposited with the depository bank of the
district for safekeeping. The cost of this bond shall be an expense
of the hospital district.
(e) The board of directors shall elect from among its
members a president and vice president [organize by election a
chairman, who shall preside; or in his absence a chairman pro tem
shall preside; and the administrator or any member of the board may
be appointed secretary]. The board shall appoint a secretary, who
need not be a director.
(f) A [Any three members of the board of directors shall
constitute a quorum and a] concurrence of three directors is [shall
be] sufficient in all matters pertaining to the business of the
district[. The board shall require the secretary to keep suitable
records of all proceedings of each meeting of the board. Such
records shall be read and signed after each meeting by the chairman
or the member presiding, and attested by the secretary. The board
shall have a seal, on which shall be engraved the name of the
hospital district; and said seal shall be kept by the secretary and
used in authentication of all acts of the board].
(g) All district records, including books, accounts,
notices, minutes, and all other matters of the district and the
operation of its facilities, shall be:
(1) maintained at the district office; and
(2) open to public inspection at the district office
at all reasonable hours.
(h) All vacancies in the office of director shall be filled
by appointment of the remainder of the board of directors until the
next election for directors and at such election the directors
shall be elected for the unexpired term.
(i) Unless four-year terms are established under Section
285.081, Health and Safety Code, a [A] regular election of
directors shall be held on the uniform election date in May of each
year to elect the appropriate number of directors. Notice of the
[first Saturday of April of each year and notice of such] election
shall be published in accordance with Section 4.003, Election Code,
in a newspaper of general circulation in the county [one time at
least 30 days prior to the date of election. Any person desiring
his name to be printed on the ballot as a candidate for director
shall file an application to have his name placed on the ballot with
the secretary of the board of directors of the district. Such
application shall be filed with the secretary at least 25 days prior
to the date of the election].
SECTION 2. Section 4, Chapter 182, Acts of the 60th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1967, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 4. ADMINISTRATOR. (a) The board of directors may
appoint a qualified person as district administrator.
(b) The district administrator serves at the will of the
board and receives the compensation determined [The board shall
appoint a general manager, to be known as the administrator of the
hospital district. The administrator shall hold office at the
pleasure of the board and shall receive such compensation as may be
fixed] by the board. The administrator shall be subject to removal
at any time by the board.
(c) The administrator shall, before entering into the
discharge of the administrator's [his] duties, execute a bond
payable to the district, in the amount of not less than $10,000
conditioned that the administrator [he] shall well and faithfully
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 money.
(d) The administrator shall perform all duties which may be
required of the administrator [him] by the board, and shall
supervise all of the work and activities of the district and have
general direction of the affairs of the district within such
limitations as may be prescribed by the board. [Said administrator
shall not be a member of the board and shall be a qualified
practitioner of medicine or be specifically trained for work of
such character.]
(e) The board of directors, with the approval of the
commissioners court, shall be authorized to contract with any
county other than Upton County for care and treatment of the
county's sick, diseased and injured persons, and with the state and
agencies of the federal government for the care and treatment of
such persons for whom the state and such agencies of the federal
government are responsible. Further, under the same conditions,
the board of directors may enter into such contracts with the state
and federal government as may be necessary to establish or continue
a retirement program for the benefit of its employees.
(f) The board of directors may in addition to retirement
programs authorized by this Act establish such other retirement
program for the benefit of its employees as it deems necessary and
advisable.
SECTION 3. Section 7, Chapter 182, Acts of the 60th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1967, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 7. [AUTHORIZATION OF] BONDS. (a) The board of
directors may [shall have the power and authority to] issue and sell
as the obligations of such hospital district, and in the name and
upon the faith and credit of such hospital district, general
obligation bonds for the purchase, construction, acquisition,
repair or renovation of buildings and improvements and equipping
the same for hospital purposes and for any or all of such purposes.
(b) At the time general obligation bonds are issued by the
district, the board shall impose an ad valorem[; provided, that a
sufficient] tax at a rate sufficient [shall be levied] to create an
interest and sinking fund to pay the principal of and interest on
the bonds as the bonds mature. Such [interest and principal as same
matures provided said] tax together with any other taxes levied for
said district shall not exceed 75 cents per $100 valuation of
taxable property in the district in any one year.
(c) The board's presiding officer shall execute the general
obligation bonds in the district's name. The board secretary shall
countersign the bonds.
(d) The district may issue general obligation bonds only if
the bonds are [Such bonds shall be executed in the name of the
hospital district and on its behalf by the chairman of the board of
directors and countersigned by the secretary of the board of
directors, and shall be subject to the same requirements in the
matter of approval thereof by the Attorney General of the State of
Texas and the registration thereof by the Comptroller of Public
Accounts of the State of Texas as are by law provided. Upon the
approval of such bonds by the Attorney General of Texas the same
shall be incontestable for any cause. No bonds shall be issued by
such hospital district (except refunding bonds) until] authorized
by a majority of the district voters [vote of the legally qualified
property taxpaying voters, residing in such hospital district,]
voting at an election [called and] held for such purpose. The board
may order the election on its own motion. The order calling the
election must [Such election may be called by the board of directors
of its own motion, shall] specify the place or places where the
election shall be held, the presiding officers thereof, the purpose
for which the bonds are to be issued, the amount of the bonds to be
authorized [thereof], the maximum interest rate, [(not to exceed
six percent per annum)] and the maximum maturity date of such bonds
(not to exceed 40 years from their date of issuance). Notice of
election shall be given by publishing a substantial copy of the
order calling the election in a newspaper of general circulation in
such district once a week for two consecutive weeks prior to the
date of election, the date of the first publication being at least
20 full days prior to the date set for the election. The costs of
such election shall be paid by the hospital district.
(e) The board may, without an election, issue refunding
bonds to refund outstanding bonds issued or assumed by the
district. A refunding bond may be:
(1) sold, with the proceeds of the refunding bond
applied to the payment of the bonds to be refunded; or
(2) exchanged wholly or partly for not less than a
similar amount of outstanding bonds and the unpaid matured interest
on the bonds.
(f) The board may issue revenue bonds to:
(1) purchase, construct, acquire, repair, or renovate
buildings or improvements;
(2) equip buildings or improvements for hospital
purposes; or
(3) acquire real property for hospital purposes.
(g) Revenue bonds must be payable from and secured by a
pledge of all or part of the revenue derived from the operation of
the district's hospital system. Revenue bonds may be additionally
secured by a mortgage or deed of trust on all or part of district
property. Revenue bonds must be issued in the manner provided by
Sections 264.042, 264.043, 264.046, 264.047, 264.048, and 264.049,
Health and Safety Code, for issuance of revenue bonds by a county
hospital authority.
(h) In addition to the authority to issue general obligation
and revenue bonds under this section, the board may provide for the
security and payment of district bonds from a pledge of a
combination of ad valorem taxes as authorized by Subsection (b) of
this section and revenue and other sources as authorized by
Subsection (g) of this section.
(i) The district may use the proceeds of bonds issued under
this section to pay:
(1) any expense the board determines is reasonable and
necessary to issue, sell, and deliver the bonds;
(2) interest payments on the bonds during a period of
acquisition or construction of a project or facility to be provided
through the bonds, not to exceed five years;
(3) costs related to the operation and maintenance of
a project or facility to be provided through the bonds:
(A) during an estimated period of acquisition or
construction, not to exceed five years; and
(B) for one year after the project or facility is
acquired or constructed;
(4) costs related to the financing of the bond funds,
including debt service reserve and contingency funds;
(5) costs related to the bond issuance;
(6) costs related to the acquisition of land or
interests in land for a project or facility to be provided through
the bonds; and
(7) construction costs of a project or facility to be
provided through the bonds, including the payment of related
professional services and expenses. [In the manner hereinabove
provided, the bonds of such hospital district may, without the
necessity of any election therefor, be issued for the purpose of
refunding and paying off any bonded indebtedness theretofore
assumed by such hospital district; such refunding bonds may be sold
and the proceeds thereof applied to the payment of any such
outstanding bonds or may be exchanged in whole or in part for not
less than a like amount of said outstanding bonds and interest
matured thereon, but unpaid; provided the average interest cost per
annum on the refunding bonds, computed in accordance with
recognized standard bond interest cost per annum so computed, upon
the bonds to be discharged out of the proceeds of the refunding
bonds, unless the total interest cost on the refunding bonds,
computed to their respective maturity dates, is less than the total
interest so computed on the bonds to be discharged out of such
proceeds. In the foregoing computations, any premium or premiums
required to be paid upon the bonds to be refunded as a condition to
payment in advance of their stated maturity dates shall be taken
into account as an addition to the net interest cost to the hospital
district of the refunding bonds.]
SECTION 4. Chapter 182, Acts of the 60th Legislature,
Regular Session, 1967, is amended by adding Section 7A to read as
follows:
Sec. 7A. AUTHORITY TO BORROW MONEY. (a) The board of
directors may borrow money at a rate not to exceed the maximum
annual percentage rate allowed by law for district obligations at
the time the loan is made.
(b) To secure a loan, the board may pledge:
(1) district revenue that is not pledged to pay the
district's bonded indebtedness;
(2) tax revenue to be collected by the district during
the 12-month period following the date of the pledge that is not
pledged to pay the principal of or interest on district bonds; or
(3) district bonds that have been authorized but not
sold.
(c) A loan for which taxes or bonds are pledged must mature
not later than the first anniversary of the date the loan is made. A
loan for which district revenue is pledged must mature not later
than the fifth anniversary of the date the loan is made.
SECTION 5. Section 10, Chapter 182, Acts of the 60th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1967, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 10. DISTRICT DEPOSITORY. (a) The board of directors
of the district shall select [name] one or more banks [within the
district] to serve as a depository for [the funds of the] district
money. [All such funds shall, as derived and collected, be
immediately deposited with such depository bank or banks except
that sufficient funds shall be remitted to the bank or banks for the
payment of principal of and interest on the outstanding bonds of the
district or other obligations assumed by it and in time that such
money may be received by said bank or banks of payment on or prior to
the date of maturity of such principal and interest so to be paid.]
To the extent that money [funds] in a [the] depository bank is [or
banks are] not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation, the money must [they shall] be secured in the manner
provided by law for security of county funds. Membership on the
board of directors of an officer or director of a bank shall not
disqualify such bank from being designated as a depository.
(b) The board may invest operating, depreciation, or
building reserves only in funds or securities specified by Chapter
2256, Government Code.
SECTION 6. Section 13, Chapter 182, Acts of the 60th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1967, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 13. METHODS AND PROCEDURES; CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS.
(a) The board may prescribe the method of making purchases and
expenditures by and for the district.
(b) The board may prescribe accounting and control
procedures for the district.
(c) The board may enter into purchase or construction
contracts on behalf of the district; however, the board may enter
into construction [or purchase] contracts that involve spending
more than the amount provided by Section 271.024, Local Government
Code, [$10,000] only after advertising as provided by Subchapter B,
Chapter 271 [252], Local Government Code.
(d) Chapter 2253, Government Code [Article 5160, Revised
Statutes], applies to construction contracts let by the district.
SECTION 7. 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, 2011.
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