The Florida Senate

155.40  Sale or lease of county, district, or municipal hospital.--

(1)  In order that citizens and residents of the state may receive quality health care, any county, district, or municipal hospital organized and existing under the laws of this state, acting by and through its governing board, shall have the authority to sell or lease such hospital to a for-profit or not-for-profit Florida corporation, and enter into leases or other contracts with a for-profit or not-for-profit Florida corporation for the purpose of operating and managing such hospital and any or all of its facilities of whatsoever kind and nature. The term of any such lease, contract, or agreement and the conditions, covenants, and agreements to be contained therein shall be determined by the governing board of such county, district, or municipal hospital. The governing board of the hospital must find that the sale, lease, or contract is in the best interests of the public and must state the basis of such finding. If the governing board of a county, district, or municipal hospital decides to lease the hospital, it must give notice in accordance with paragraph (4)(a) or paragraph (4)(b).

(2)  Any such lease, contract, or agreement made pursuant hereto shall:

(a)  Provide that the articles of incorporation of such for-profit or not-for-profit corporation be subject to the approval of the board of directors or board of trustees of such hospital;

(b)  Require that any not-for-profit corporation become qualified under s. 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code;

(c)  Provide for the orderly transition of the operation and management of such facilities;

(d)  Provide for the return of such facility to the county, municipality, or district upon the termination of such lease, contract, or agreement; and

(e)  Provide for the continued treatment of indigent patients pursuant to the Florida Health Care Responsibility Act and pursuant to chapter 87-92, Laws of Florida.

(3)  Any sale, lease, or contract entered into pursuant to this section prior to the effective date of this act must have complied with the requirements of subsection (2) in effect at the time of the sale, lease, or contract. It is the intent of the Legislature that this section does not impose any further requirements with respect to the formation of any for-profit or not-for-profit Florida corporation, the composition of the board of directors of any Florida corporation, or the manner in which control of the hospital is transferred to the Florida corporation.

(4)  In the event the governing board of a county, district, or municipal hospital elects to sell or lease the hospital, the board shall:

(a)  Negotiate the terms of the sale or lease with a for-profit or not-for-profit Florida corporation and publicly advertise the meeting at which the proposed sale or lease will be considered by the governing board of the hospital in accordance with s. 286.0105; or

(b)  Publicly advertise the offer to accept proposals in accordance with s. 255.0525 and receive proposals from all interested and qualified purchasers.

Any sale must be for fair market value, and any sale or lease must comply with all applicable state and federal antitrust laws.

(5)  In the event a hospital operated by a for-profit or not-for-profit Florida corporation receives annually more than $100,000 in revenues from the county, district, or municipality that owns the hospital, the Florida corporation must be accountable to the county, district, or municipality with respect to the manner in which the funds are expended by either:

(a)  Having the revenues subject to annual appropriations by the county, district, or municipality; or

(b)  Where there is a contract to provide revenues to the hospital, the term of which is longer than 12 months, the governing board of the county, district, or municipality must be able to modify the contract upon 12 months notice to the hospital.

A not-for-profit corporation that is subject to this subsection and that does not currently comply with the accountability requirements in this subsection shall have 12 months after the effective date of this act to modify any contracts with the county, district, or municipality in a manner that is consistent with this subsection.

(6)  Unless otherwise expressly stated in the lease documents, the transaction involving the sale or lease of a hospital shall not be construed as:

(a)  A transfer of a governmental function from the county, district, or municipality to the private purchaser or lessee;

(b)  Constituting a financial interest of the public lessor in the private lessee; or

(c)  Making a private lessee an integral part of the public lessor's decisionmaking process.

(7)  The lessee of a hospital, pursuant to this section or any special act of the Legislature, operating under a lease shall not be construed to be "acting on behalf of" the lessor as that term is used in statute, unless the lease document expressly provides to the contrary.

History.--s. 3, ch. 82-147; s. 1, ch. 83-158; s. 1, ch. 84-98; s. 6, ch. 87-92; s. 1, ch. 96-304; s. 6, ch. 99-356.