HB 1113, Engrossed 1 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to Sarasota County; providing legislative
3	intent; amending, codifying, and reenacting all special
4	acts relating to the Sarasota County Public Hospital
5	District; providing District boundaries; providing for a
6	governing board; providing powers, functions, and duties
7	of the District and its governing board, including express
8	power to sell and exchange real estate; repealing chapters
9	26468 (1949), 27888 (1951), 31262 (1955), 57-1838, 59-
10	1839, 61-2807, 61-2855, 61-2868, 63-1893, 63-1895, 63-
11	1896, 63-1913, 65-2226, 65-2227, 65-2232, 67-2047, 69-
12	1583, 69-1593, 71-907, 83-525, 84-530, 85-501, 86-373, 87-
13	526, 88-534, 90-411, 90-422, 95-507, and 2000-400, Laws of
14	Florida, except for the provisions approved in referendum
15	on January 10, 1950, conferring ad valorem taxing
16	authority; ratifying actions of the District and the
17	governing board taken pursuant to chapter 69-1583, Laws of
18	Florida; providing severability; providing for
19	construction and effect; providing an effective date.
20
21	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23	Section 1. Pursuant to section 189.429, Florida Statutes,
24	this act constitutes the codification of all special acts
25	relating to Sarasota County Public Hospital District. It is the
26	intent of the Legislature in enacting this law to provide a
27	single, comprehensive special act charter for the District
28	including all current legislative authority granted to the
29	District by its several legislative enactments, inclusive of
30	authority conferred in referenda of Sarasota County electors,
31	and any additional authority granted by this act. It is further
32	the intent of this act to preserve all District authority in
33	addition to any authority contained in general law as amended
34	from time to time.
35	Section 2. Chapters 26468 (1949), 27888 (1951), 31262
36	(1955), 57-1838, 59-1839, 61-2807, 61-2855, 61-2868, 63-1893,
37	63-1895, 63-1896, 63-1913, 65-2226, 65-2227, 65-2232, 67-2047,
38	69-1583, 69-1593, 71-907, 83-525, 84-530, 85-501, 86-373, 87-
39	526, 88-534, 90-411, 90-422, 95-507, and 2000-400, Laws of
40	Florida, are amended, codified, reenacted, and repealed as
41	herein provided.
42	Section 3. The Sarasota County Public Hospital District is
43	re-created, and the charter for such District is re-created and
44	reenacted to read:
45	Section 1. (1) The Sarasota County Public Hospital
46	District ("District”), an independent special district, is
47	hereby established with jurisdiction extending territorially
48	throughout all of Sarasota County, which territory is hereby
49	known as the Sarasota County Public Hospital District, and which
50	shall be governed by the Sarasota County Public Hospital
51	Board("Hospital Board”), as a body corporate.
52	(2) For purposes of election of Hospital Board members,
53	the Hospital Board shall create three hospital board districts
54	within the Sarasota County Public Hospital District, the
55	boundaries of which shall be within the boundaries of Sarasota
56	County, which shall be designated as northern, central, and
57	southern districts, and which shall be as nearly equal in
58	population as practicable. The Hospital Board by resolution
59	adopted from time to time, at intervals of no more than 10
60	years, shall fix the boundaries of the districts along the lines
61	of precincts as they exist at the time such boundaries are
62	fixed. A certified copy of the resolution shall be furnished by
63	the secretary of the Hospital Board to the Sarasota County
64	Supervisor of Elections at least 10 months prior to the next
65	ensuing general election following adoption of the resolution.
66	(3) The membership of the Hospital Board shall consist of
67	nine members, all of whom must be qualified electors of the
68	District. Commencing with the election of 1988, two such
69	members must reside in each of said hospital board districts.
70	All members shall be elected in a partisan election by the
71	qualified electors of the District. Two members who are
72	residents of the southern district shall be elected to district
73	seats in 1986 and every fourth year thereafter; two members who
74	are residents of the northern district shall be elected to
75	district seats in 1986 and every fourth year thereafter; one
76	member who is a resident of the central district shall be
77	elected to a district seat in 1986 and every fourth year
78	thereafter; one member who is a resident of the central district
79	shall be elected to a district seat in 1988 and every fourth
80	year thereafter; and three members shall be elected to at-large
81	seats in 1988 and every fourth year thereafter. Candidates for
82	the six district seats and the three at-large seats shall be
83	numerically or otherwise grouped for a specific seat on primary
84	or general election ballots as provided in the Florida Election
85	Code. Candidates for district seats shall be placed in
86	districts on primary and general election ballots. In any year
87	in which hospital board district seats are to be filled, the
88	hospital board district (northern, central, or southern) shall
89	be printed on the ballot beneath the name of the office. The
90	format of the ballot shall be in conformity with the Florida
91	Election Code. Four members who were elected for 4-year terms
92	in the election of November 2000 shall serve until the
93	expiration of their terms of office, and four members shall be
94	elected for 4-year terms in 2004 and each fourth year
95	thereafter. Five members who were elected for 4-year terms in
96	the election of November 2002 shall serve until the expiration
97	of their terms of office, and five members shall be elected for
98	4-year terms in 2006 and each fourth year thereafter.
99	(4) If a vacancy occurs on the Hospital Board due to a
100	member's death, resignation, removal from office for neglect of
101	duty, removal of residence from the territorial limits of the
102	county, or removal of residence from the territorial limits of
103	the district in the case of a district seat holder, the
104	remainder of the Hospital Board shall appoint a temporary member
105	to fill the vacancy until the next ensuing general election, at
106	which time a new member must be elected for the remainder of the
107	term of the member whose membership has been so vacated. To be
108	eligible for appointment to such Hospital Board, a person must
109	be a qualified elector of the territory covered by this act, and
110	if the vacancy occurs in a hospital board district seat, such
111	person must also be a resident of that district in which the
112	vacancy occurs.
113	(5) The term of office of a Hospital Board member begins
114	on the Tuesday 2 weeks following the day of general election in
115	which the member is elected. The term of office of a member's
116	immediate predecessor expires contemporaneously with the
117	commencement of the term of such newly elected member.
118	(6) Each Hospital Board member shall attend not less than
119	75 percent of the regular meetings of the Hospital Board during
120	each year of such board member's term. For purposes of this
121	subsection, the year of a board member's term commences on the
122	date, followed by the yearly anniversary of the date, upon which
123	the board member takes office. The failure of any Hospital
124	Board member to meet this attendance requirement without being
125	excused by the chair of the Hospital Board constitutes neglect
126	of duty. By resolution specifying facts sufficient to advise a
127	Hospital Board member as to the basis for his or her suspension
128	or removal and after providing the Hospital Board member with
129	reasonable notice and an informal opportunity for him or her to
130	be heard, the Hospital Board may suspend or remove from office
131	any Hospital Board member for neglect of duty. If a vacancy
132	occurs on the Hospital Board due to removal from office pursuant
133	to this subsection, the remainder of the Hospital Board shall
134	fill the vacancy in the manner set forth in subsection (4).
135	Section 2. The members of said Hospital Board shall
136	receive no salary as board members but shall be reimbursed for
137	the amount of actual expenses incurred by them in the
138	performance of their duties. Reimbursement for mileage shall
139	include mileage from members' places of residence to Hospital
140	Board facilities and return and for vicinity mileage incurred in
141	the performance of their duties and shall be computed as
142	provided in section 112.061, Florida Statutes. The travel
143	expenses, subsistence, and lodging expenses of a member may not
144	exceed those prescribed by section 112.061, Florida Statutes,
145	unless actual reasonable expenses in excess of those prescribed
146	by section 112.061, Florida Statutes, are specifically
147	authorized prior to the incurring of such expenses, by action of
148	the Hospital Board taken at a regular monthly meeting at which
149	the question of such expenses appears as a separate item on the
150	agenda.
151	Section 3. The Hospital Board shall select a meeting place
152	and a place for its principal office, and the board meetings
153	shall be held at least once a month. The Hospital Board may
154	elect one of its members to serve as secretary, one to serve as
155	assistant secretary, one to serve as treasurer, and two to serve
156	as assistant treasurers; or it may appoint persons not members
157	of the Hospital Board to serve in those capacities. There shall
158	be a chair of the board, a first vice chair, and a second vice
159	chair. The Hospital Board is authorized to establish and
160	maintain a refund account in a commercial bank of its choosing
161	and may designate the president, executive vice president, vice
162	presidents, business office manager, or controller of the
163	Hospital Board, or any of them, as the sole authorized
164	signatories for such refund account. The president appointed by
165	the Hospital Board, the chair, the first vice chair, the second
166	vice chair, the treasurer, and the assistant treasurers shall be
167	empowered to issue, without a cosignature, warrants for payment
168	of salaries and wages of employees of the Hospital Board. All
169	other vouchers and warrants shall be issued by either the
170	treasurer or assistant treasurer and shall be signed by the
171	chair, and in the event of the absence of the chair, by the
172	first vice chair, and in the event of the absence of the chair
173	and the first vice chair, by the second vice chair. The
174	Hospital Board is authorized to issue its checks, warrants, and
175	vouchers bearing facsimile signatures which are affixed by
176	check-signing machines and devices of the officers and employees
177	of the Hospital Board who are authorized to sign on its behalf.
178	Said treasurer and assistant treasurers shall give bonds, in
179	amounts to be designated by a majority vote of said Hospital
180	Board, of the faithful performance of their duties, by some
181	reputable bonding company authorized to do business in the State
182	of Florida. The said Hospital Board is authorized to pay to the
183	treasurer, assistant treasurers, secretary, and assistant
184	secretary a salary and expenses commensurate with the work done
185	and in keeping with the salary paid for like work by other
186	businesses in the community from time to time.
187	Section 4. The said Sarasota County Public Hospital Board,
188	as the governing body of the District, is hereby declared to be
189	a body corporate and it shall adopt a common seal.
190	Section 5. The duties of the secretary duly elected by
191	said Hospital Board shall be to keep full and correct minutes of
192	all proceedings and minutes of the Hospital Board. The duties
193	of the treasurer duly elected by said Hospital Board shall be to
194	keep a separate account of all expenditures and disbursements by
195	said Hospital Board and an account of all receipts.
196	Section 6. The said Hospital Board shall make and adopt
197	such bylaws, rules, and regulations for its guidance and for the
198	governance of any hospitals that may be established, as may be
199	deemed expedient for the economic and equitable conduct thereof,
200	and shall have exclusive control of the expenditures of all
201	moneys collected or paid to the secretary of the Hospital Board,
202	and shall have power to purchase a site or sites, and to
203	construct any hospital building or buildings necessary, and
204	shall have full supervision, care, and custody of all properties
205	belonging to said Sarasota County Public Hospital Board, or
206	leased to it, or set apart to it for its purposes. Said
207	Hospital Board shall also have the right to buy at a reasonable
208	price any buildings or hospitals which may be now in use and
209	suitable for the purposes of said Board.
210	Section 7. All moneys and receipts for such hospital or
211	hospitals and other health care services, if any, shall be
212	deposited in a bank or banks designated by said Hospital Board
213	and placed to the credit of said Hospital Board. Such moneys
214	may be paid out in the same manner as provided in section 3,
215	without an order from said Hospital Board, for general operating
216	expenses including, but not limited to, such categories of
217	expense as drugs, food, fuel, linens, supplies, laundry,
218	medicines, salaries, wages, utilities, and items of equipment;
219	for capital expenses for land, buildings, and equipment; and for
220	other valid corporate purposes. The Hospital Board is empowered
221	to adopt resolutions or to adopt provisions in its bylaws from
222	time to time which establish a procedure which requires the
223	approval and order of the Hospital Board for the payment of any
224	of the foregoing designated categories of expense which exceed a
225	dollar amount or which meet any other expense criteria as
226	established in such Hospital Board resolutions or bylaws. When
227	such items requiring board approval have been approved by the
228	Hospital Board in regular session and a voucher issued, a
229	warrant may be drawn for same.
230	Section 8. A majority of said Hospital Board shall
231	constitute a quorum for the transaction of its business, and
232	said Hospital Board shall be and is hereby authorized and
233	empowered:
234	(1) To appoint a suitable president, fix his or her
235	compensation, remove any such appointee, and authorize the
236	president to do all things reasonable and necessary to direct
237	the operations and activities of facilities owned or operated by
238	the Hospital Board.
239	(2) To acquire by purchase, gift, or otherwise real and
240	personal property necessary or useful for the construction,
241	operation, and maintenance of hospital buildings and other
242	buildings necessary, in the opinion of the Hospital Board, for
243	health care purposes; to sell or exchange real estate or any
244	interest in real estate; and to construct hospitals, health
245	facilities which may include outpatient health facilities and
246	medical offices, and buildings and accessories incidental
247	thereto on such real estate, and, if such construction occurs
248	within the Memorial Hospital Core as defined by the
249	Comprehensive Plan of the City of Sarasota, to do so without
250	regard to municipal and county zoning ordinances, laws, and
251	regulations.
252	(3) To adopt from time to time resolutions requesting the
253	Board of County Commissioners of Sarasota County to call
254	elections in the District for the purpose of submitting to the
255	qualified electors in the District the question of issuing bonds
256	of the District for the purpose of acquiring a site or sites,
257	the construction thereon of a hospital or hospitals and
258	buildings incidental thereto, and to improve buildings or
259	buildings and the furnishings and equipping of any such hospital
260	or hospitals and buildings. Said Hospital Board may adopt such
261	resolutions on its own initiative and shall adopt such
262	resolutions upon the filing with it of a petition signed by not
263	less than 5 percent of the qualified electors of the District
264	requesting the Hospital Board to adopt such resolutions. Upon
265	the adoption of such resolution by the Hospital Board, it shall
266	be the duty of the Board of County Commissioners of Sarasota
267	County to forthwith adopt a resolution or resolutions which
268	order an election to be held in such county and provide for the
269	date of such elections and the publication of notices thereof,
270	all in the form and manner provided by law.
271	(4) To issue negotiable coupon bonds of the District, from
272	time to time, if approved by a majority of the votes cast in an
273	election by the qualified electors of the District, bearing
274	interest at such rate or rates not exceeding 6 percent per
275	annum, maturing at such time or times not exceeding 30 years
276	from the date thereof, and redeemable at such times and at such
277	price or prices, all as said Hospital Board may determine by
278	resolution, and to sell such bonds at public or private sale and
279	for such price, not less than 95 percent of the par value
280	thereof, as said county Hospital Board may by resolution
281	determine.
282	(5) To supervise, operate, and maintain all properties
283	belonging to it.
284	(6) To enter into contracts or leases with any individual,
285	corporation, public body, board of commissioners, the State of
286	Florida, Sarasota County, or any municipality, or agency or
287	instrumentality of said state, county, or municipality, with
288	respect to the use of any of the property belonging to the
289	Hospital Board by any thereof.
290	(7) To borrow money from any person, firm, association,
291	corporation, or governmental agency necessary for the purpose of
292	purchasing property, constructing buildings, equipping the
293	hospital or hospitals or other health facilities owned or
294	operated by the Hospital Board, and maintaining said hospital or
295	hospitals or other health facilities, from time to time as may
296	be necessary in properly carrying out the spirit and purpose of
297	this act, and as evidence thereof to make, execute, and deliver
298	promissory notes or other evidences of other indebtedness; and,
299	to the extent permitted by the Florida Constitution and general
300	laws, to secure the payment of same by mortgages, liens, and
301	other kinds of security upon any property owned or held by the
302	Hospital Board.
303	(8) To certify to the Board of County Commissioners of
304	Sarasota County the amount of the principal and interest upon
305	bonds issued by the Hospital Board and falling due in which any
306	such principal or interest may be payable and the amount
307	necessary to be raised in the District for the purposes of
308	providing a fund sufficient in the opinion of the Hospital Board
309	to pay the cost of operating and maintaining properties of the
310	Hospital Board in each year. In the event bonds shall be issued
311	under the provisions of this act, it shall be the duty of the
312	Hospital Board to certify such facts in writing to the Board of
313	County Commissioners within 30 days after the delivery of such
314	bonds and on or before the expiration of each 12-month period
315	thereafter, and it shall be the duty of the Board of County
316	Commissioners to levy upon all taxable property in the District
317	and collect a tax sufficient to provide funds for the payment of
318	the principal and the interest upon such bonds as such principal
319	and the interest upon such bonds fall due and a tax, not to
320	exceed 2 mills on assessed valuation of property in the
321	District, to provide funds for the operation, maintenance, and
322	repair of and for the making of alterations and additions to any
323	hospitals established by the Hospital Board under the provisions
324	of this act. The proceeds of all such taxes shall be paid over
325	to the secretary and treasurer of the District as such taxes are
326	received.
327	(9) To certify to the Board of County Commissioners of
328	Sarasota County, on or before the 15th day of each month
329	commencing with the month of November 1959, a list of all the
330	medically indigent persons who have been hospitalized in any of
331	the hospitals which are operated by the Hospital Board during
332	the preceding month, together with the itemized charges for the
333	hospital services and care for each of said medically indigent
334	persons which have been rendered in such preceding month by the
335	said hospital. The Board of County Commissioners of Sarasota
336	County shall, within 45 days after the receipt of such certified
337	list of medically indigent patients with the hospital charges,
338	make remittance to the treasurer of the Hospital Board of the
339	sum total of the amount shown on the certified list to be the
340	amount owing to the Hospital Board for the hospital services and
341	care rendered to the medically indigent persons during the month
342	embraced in said certification.
343	The Hospital Board shall give written notice to the Welfare
344	Department of Sarasota County of the proposed admission of each
345	medically indigent person to hospitals operated by said Hospital
346	Board, prior to the actual admission of each such medically
347	indigent person, provided, however, that notice to said Welfare
348	Department prior to the admission of a medically indigent person
349	shall not be required in emergency cases.
350	The said Board of County Commissioners shall in like manner
351	reimburse any other hospital in Sarasota County, approved by the
352	State Board of Health, for hospital services rendered to
353	medically indigent persons as herein defined, upon like
354	certification by such hospital and at such rates as shall not
355	exceed those prescribed for such patients by hospitals owned and
356	operated by said Hospital Board.
357	The term "medically indigent person," as used in this act,
358	shall be deemed to mean an inhabitant of Sarasota County who is
359	ill or injured and who requires treatment in a hospital as
360	prescribed and ordered by a physician and who is unable to
361	provide himself or herself with such necessary hospital
362	services.
363	(10) To expend hospital funds and withhold employees'
364	wages in order to make payment (including any amount paid for
365	insurance and annuities, or into a fund, to provide for any such
366	payment) to or on behalf of an employee of the Hospital Board or
367	any of his or her dependents under any plan or system
368	established by the Hospital Board, when such payment is on
369	account of (a) retirement; (b) sickness or accident
370	disability;(c) medical or hospitalization expenses in connection
371	with sickness or accident disability; or (d) death.
372	(11) To expend funds and provide facilities and personnel
373	to conduct formal and informal courses of instruction,
374	demonstration, and education through hospitals under its
375	jurisdiction relating to hospital procedures, services, and care
376	and the operation and care of apparatus and equipment utilized
377	in connection with usual hospital functions, and to authorize
378	the participation in such courses with private or other
379	governmental agencies; and to award scholarship grants and make
380	scholarship loans to qualified students of nursing, X-ray
381	technology, and other hospital-related fields of study in
382	consideration for the promises of such students to enter the
383	employment of said Hospital Board and to meet other conditions
384	and requirements to be established by said Hospital Board from
385	time to time.
386	(12) To provide hospital and other health care services
387	within the confines of facilities which are owned or operated by
388	the Board. Additionally, the Hospital Board is authorized to
389	provide hospital and other health care services within the
390	boundaries of the Hospital District but outside of facilities
391	which are owned or operated by the Board, provided that the
392	Hospital Board shall adopt a resolution or resolutions from time
393	to time defining the type and scope of hospital and other health
394	care services which the Hospital Board employees, agents, and
395	staff are authorized to render outside of the facilities of the
396	Board.
397	(13) To participate, to the extent permitted by the
398	constitution and laws of this state, as a shareholder in a
399	corporation, as a joint venturer in a joint venture, as a
400	partner in a limited partnership or a general partnership, or as
401	a member of any other lawful form of business organization which
402	provides health care or engages in activities related thereto;
403	to make or arrange for loans, contributions to capital, and
404	other debt and equity financing for the activities of such
405	corporations, joint ventures, partnerships, or other lawful
406	forms of business organization and to guarantee loans for such
407	purposes; to elect the boards of directors of its not-for-profit
408	corporations; and to utilize, for any lawful purpose, assets and
409	resources of the Hospital Board to the extent not needed for
410	health care and related activities.
411	(14) To establish a fund out of hospital revenues other
412	than those revenues derived from ad valorem taxation to promote
413	the activities of the facilities owned or operated by the
414	Hospital Board. The term "promote," as used in this subsection,
415	shall be defined in its broadest sense to include, but not be
416	limited to, advertising, the extension of hospitality or
417	entertainment, the use of news media, and the employment of
418	public relations methods. Expenditures from the fund shall be
419	limited to those determined by the Hospital Board to be
420	reasonable and necessary to encourage and develop support for
421	the facilities owned and operated by the Hospital Board. The
422	Hospital Board may adopt rules for the effective implementation
423	of this subsection.
424	(15) To compromise and settle any accounts receivable or
425	other claim for money due and owing to the hospital by persons
426	unable to pay on demand according to such terms and conditions
427	as the Hospital Board in its discretion may determine. The
428	Hospital Board is further authorized and empowered to sell,
429	assign, or convey to any person, financial institution, or
430	organization the right, title, and interest in any account
431	receivable or judgment owned by the Hospital Board by full or
432	partial payment of such account or judgments as the Hospital
433	Board in its discretion may determine.
434	(16) To establish, own, provide, or participate in health
435	maintenance organizations, in preferred provider organizations,
436	in food services, and in other health-care-related activities
437	using assets and resources of the Hospital Board to the extent
438	not needed for health care. Any of such activities may be
439	carried out by the Hospital Board through any of its forms of
440	organization authorized under this act.
441	(17) To the extent permitted by the constitution and laws
442	of this state, to establish, operate, or support subsidiaries
443	and affiliates, either for profit or not for profit, to assist
444	the Hospital Board in fulfilling its declared public purpose of
445	provision for the health care needs of the people of the
446	District; to establish or support nonaffiliated, not-for-profit
447	corporations which operate primarily within the District and
448	which have as their purposes the furtherance of the Hospital
449	Board's provision for the health care needs of the people of the
450	District; and to accomplish such establishment, operation, or
451	support of any such subsidiary, affiliate, or nonaffiliated,
452	not-for-profit corporation by means of loans of funds either
453	interest free or at low interest, leases of real or personal
454	property either rent free or for low rental, gifts and grants of
455	funds, or guarantees of indebtedness of such subsidiaries,
456	affiliates, and nonaffiliated, not-for-profit corporations. The
457	establishment, operation, or support of a subsidiary or
458	affiliate corporation or nonaffiliated, not-for-profit
459	corporation is hereby found and declared to be a public purpose
460	and necessary for the preservation of the public health and for
461	a public use and for the welfare of the Hospital Board and
462	inhabitants of the District. It is the intent of the
463	Legislature to authorize the formation of the entities described
464	in this section to further the interests of the residents of
465	Sarasota County in maintaining the financial well-being of
466	Memorial Hospital of Sarasota by providing, directly or
467	indirectly, for the delivery, financing, and support of hospital
468	and nonhospital health care services and related activities to
469	the extent consistent with the financial, patient acquisition,
470	and development needs of Memorial Hospital of Sarasota.
471	(18) In addition to any investment authorized by general
472	law, and to the extent permitted by the constitution of this
473	state, to invest any funds in its control or possession in the
474	following:
475	(a) Bankers' acceptances which are drawn upon and accepted
476	by a commercial bank which is a member bank of the Federal
477	Reserve System maintaining capital accounts in excess of 7.5
478	percent of total assets, and which member bank or its holding
479	company carries a credit rating in one of the two highest
480	alphabetical categories from at least two nationally recognized
481	debt rating agencies.
482	(b) Commercial paper of prime quality rated by at least
483	two nationally recognized debt rating agencies in the highest
484	letter and numerical rating of each agency. If not so rated,
485	such prime quality commercial paper may be purchased if secured
486	by a letter of credit provided by a commercial bank, which bank
487	or its holding company carries a credit rating in one of the two
488	highest alphabetical categories from at least two nationally
489	recognized debt rating agencies.
490	(c) Interest-bearing bonds, debentures, and other such
491	evidence of indebtedness with a fixed maturity of any domestic
492	corporation within the United States which is listed on any one
493	or more of the recognized national stock exchanges in the United
494	States and conforms with the periodic reporting requirements
495	under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such obligation
496	shall either carry ratings in one of the two highest
497	classifications of at least two nationally recognized debt
498	rating agencies or be secured by a letter of credit provided by
499	a commercial bank, which bank or its holding company carries a
500	credit rating in one of the two highest alphabetical categories
501	from at least two nationally recognized debt rating agencies.
502	(d) Negotiable direct obligations of, or obligations the
503	principal and interest of which are unconditionally guaranteed
504	by, the United States Government at the then prevailing market
505	price for such securities; and obligations of the Federal Farm
506	Credit Banks, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, or Federal
507	Home Loan Bank or its district banks, including Federal Home
508	Loan Mortgage Corporation participation certificates, or
509	obligations guaranteed by the Government National Mortgage
510	Association, or obligations of such Federal Agencies and
511	Government Sponsored Enterprises which are qualified for
512	purchase under paragraph (f); which are purchased and sold under
513	repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements.
514	Repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements may be
515	entered into only with a member bank of the Federal Reserve
516	System or primary dealer in U.S. Government Securities, which
517	member bank or primary dealer must have $100 million in capital.
518	Securities purchased or repurchased by the Hospital Board shall
519	be delivered to the Hospital Board or its agent versus payment.
520	(e) Purchase of options so as to engage in bona fide
521	hedging activities for the purpose of protecting the asset value
522	of the underlying portfolio, provided the instruments for such
523	purpose are traded on a securities exchange or board of trade
524	regulated by the Securities Exchange Commission or the Commodity
525	Futures Trading Commission.
526	(f) Negotiable direct obligations of Federal Agencies or
527	Government Sponsored Enterprises(GSE) which meet each of the
528	following criteria:
529	1. An agency or GSE with at least $10 billion in
530	outstanding debt.
531	2. A rating of at least an AA by a nationally recognized
532	securities rating agency.
533	3. A selling group of at least three nationally recognized
534	securities dealers.
535	4. Chartered by or pursuant to an Act of Congress.
536	5. Bonds issued under authority of, or pursuant to, an Act
537	of Congress.
538	6. Accepted as security for fiduciary, trust, and public
539	funds under control of the United States Government.
540	7. Eligible as collateral for Federal Reserve Bank
541	discount window transactions.
542	8. Eligible as collateral for Treasury Tax and Loan
543	accounts.
544	9. Eligible for National Bank purchase without regard to
545	statutory limitations and restrictions generally applicable to
546	investment securities.
547	10. Authority to borrow from the United States Treasury.
548	(19) In addition to other power and authority conferred by
549	this act or by general law, the Hospital Board is vested with
550	the following powers for issuance of revenue bonds of the
551	District:
552	(a) The Hospital Board is hereby authorized to provide by
553	resolution at one time or from time to time for the issuance of
554	revenue bonds of the District for the purpose of paying all or a
555	part of the cost of acquisition, construction, planning,
556	leasing, repairing, extensions to, additions, equipping, and
557	reconstruction of any hospital buildings and facilities of the
558	District. The bonds of each issue shall be dated, shall bear
559	interest at such rate or rates not exceeding 7 percent per
560	annum, shall mature at such time or times, not exceeding 40
561	years from their date or dates, as may be determined by the
562	Hospital Board, and may be made redeemable before maturity, at
563	the option of the Hospital Board, at such price or prices and
564	under such terms and conditions as may be fixed by the Hospital
565	Board prior to the issuance of the bonds. The Hospital Board
566	shall determine the form of the bonds, including any interest
567	coupons to be attached thereto, and the manner of execution of
568	the bonds and coupons, and shall fix the denominations of the
569	bonds and the place or places of payment of principal and
570	interest, which may be at any bank or trust company within or
571	without the state. In case any officer whose signature or a
572	facsimile of whose signature shall appear on any bonds or
573	coupons shall cease to be such officer before the delivery of
574	such bonds, such signature or such facsimile shall nevertheless
575	be valid and sufficient for all purposes the same as if he or
576	she had remained in office until such delivery. All bonds
577	issued under the provisions of this act shall have and are
578	hereby declared to have all the qualities and incidents of
579	negotiable instruments under the negotiable instruments laws of
580	the state. The bonds may be issued in coupon or in registered
581	form, or both, as the Hospital Board may determine, and
582	provisions may be made for the registration of any coupon bonds
583	as to the principal alone and also as to both principal and
584	interest, and for the reconversion into coupon bonds of any
585	bonds registered as to both principal and interest. The issuance
586	of such bonds shall not be subject to any limitations or
587	conditions contained in any other law, and the Hospital Board
588	may sell bonds in such manner at public or private sale and for
589	such price as it may determine to be for the best interest of
590	the Hospital Board, but no such sale shall be made at a price so
591	low as to require the payment of interest on the money received
592	therefor at more than 7 percent per annum, computed with
593	relation to the absolute maturity of the bonds in accordance
594	with standard tables of bond values, excluding, however, from
595	such computations the amount of any premium to be paid on
596	redemption of any bonds prior to maturity. Prior to the
597	preparation of definitive bonds, the Hospital Board may, under
598	like restrictions, issue interim receipts or temporary bonds
599	with or without coupons, exchangeable for definitive bonds when
600	such bonds have been executed and are available for delivery.
601	The Hospital Board may also provide for the replacement of any
602	bonds which shall be mutilated, destroyed, or lost.
603	(b) Bonds may be issued under the provisions of this act
604	without obtaining the consent of any commission, board, bureau,
605	or agency of the state or county and without any other
606	proceedings or the happening of any other condition or thing
607	than those proceedings, conditions, or things which are
608	specifically required by this act.
609	(c) No approval of the issuance of the revenue bonds
610	herein authorized at an election of the freeholders who are
611	qualified electors residing in the District shall be necessary
612	unless such election is required by the Constitution of the
613	State of Florida; then, and only in such event, such election
614	shall be called, noticed, and conducted and the results thereof
615	determined and declared as may be required by the general laws
616	of the state.
617	(d) The proceeds of the bonds shall be used solely for the
618	payment of the cost of the hospital facilities for which such
619	bonds shall have been authorized and shall be disbursed in the
620	manner provided in the resolution or in the trust agreement
621	authorizing the issuance of such bonds. If the proceeds of the
622	bonds of any issue shall exceed the amount required for the
623	purpose for which the same shall have been issued, the surplus
624	shall be set aside and used only for the payment of the cost of
625	additional hospital facilities or shall be deposited in the
626	sinking fund for such bonds. In the event that the actual cost
627	of the hospital facilities exceeds the estimated cost, the
628	Hospital Board may issue additional bonds to cover the
629	deficiency, subject to the same restrictions as required for the
630	original issue.
631	(e) The Hospital Board is authorized and empowered to fix,
632	charge, and collect rates, fees, and charges for the use of and
633	for the services furnished or to be furnished by any hospital
634	facilities under the supervision, operation, and control of the
635	Hospital Board in amounts sufficient, with any other funds
636	legally available therefor, first to pay the principal of and
637	the interest on any revenue bonds issued under the provisions of
638	this act, including reserves therefor, and second to pay the
639	cost of operating and maintaining such hospital facilities.
640	(f) Revenue bonds issued under the provisions of this act
641	may be payable from the revenues derived from the operation of
642	any hospital facility or combination of hospital facilities of
643	the District under the supervision, operation, and control of
644	the Hospital Board and from any other funds legally available
645	therefor. The issuance of such revenue bonds shall not
646	directly, indirectly, or contingently obligate the state,
647	Sarasota County, the Hospital Board, or the District to levy any
648	ad valorem taxes or to make any appropriations for their payment
649	or for the operation and maintenance of the hospital facilities
650	of the District.
651	(g) The Hospital Board shall not convey or mortgage any
652	hospital facility or any part thereof as security for the
653	payment of the revenue bonds.
654	(h) In the discretion of the Hospital Board, each or any
655	issue of such revenue bonds may be secured by a trust agreement
656	by and between the Hospital Board and a corporate trustee, which
657	may be any trust company or bank having the powers of a trust
658	company within or without the state. Such trust agreement may
659	pledge or assign the revenues to be received by the Hospital
660	Board. The resolution providing for the issuance of revenue
661	bonds or such trust agreement may contain such provisions for
662	protecting and enforcing the rights and remedies of the
663	bondholders as may be reasonable, proper, and not in violation
664	of law, including covenants setting forth the duties of the
665	Hospital Board in relation to the acquisition, construction,
666	improvement, maintenance, operation, repair, equipping, and
667	insurance of the hospital facilities, and the custody,
668	safeguarding, and application of all moneys. It shall be lawful
669	for any bank or trust company incorporated under the laws of
670	this state to act as such depository and to furnish such
671	indemnifying bonds or to pledge such securities as may be
672	required by the Hospital Board. Such resolution or such trust
673	agreement may restrict the individual right of action by
674	bondholders as is customary in trust agreements securing similar
675	securities. In addition to the foregoing, such resolution or
676	such trust agreement may contain such other provisions as the
677	Hospital Board may deem reasonable and proper for the security
678	of the bondholders. Except as in this act otherwise provided,
679	the Hospital Board may provide, by resolution or by trust
680	agreement, for the payment of the proceeds of the sale of the
681	revenue bonds and the revenues of the facilities to such
682	officer, board, or depository as it may determine for the
683	custody thereof, and for the method of disbursement thereof,
684	with such safeguards and restrictions as it may determine. All
685	expenses incurred in carrying out such trust agreement may be
686	treated as a part of the cost of operation of the facilities
687	affected by such trust agreement.
688	(i) The resolution or trust agreement providing for the
689	issuance of the revenue bonds may also contain such limitations
690	upon the issuance of additional revenue bonds as the Hospital
691	Board may deem proper, and such additional bonds shall be issued
692	under such restrictions or limitations as may be prescribed by
693	such resolution or trust agreement.
694	(j) The Hospital Board is hereby authorized to provide by
695	resolution for the issuance of refunding revenue bonds for the
696	purpose of refunding any revenue bonds, respectively, then
697	outstanding and issued under the provisions of this act. The
698	Hospital Board is further authorized to provide by resolution
699	for the issuance of revenue bonds for the combined purpose of
700	paying the cost of any acquisition, construction, planning,
701	leasing, extension to, addition, improving, equipping, or
702	reconstruction of a facility or facilities of the District and
703	refunding revenue bonds of the District which shall theretofore
704	have been issued under the provisions of this act and shall then
705	be outstanding. The issuance of such bonds, the maturities and
706	other details thereof, the right and remedies of the holders
707	thereof, and the rights, powers, privileges, duties, and
708	obligations of the District with respect to the same shall be
709	governed by the foregoing provisions of this act insofar as the
710	same may be applicable.
711	Section 9. If the Hospital Board and the owners of the
712	property desired by said Hospital Board for hospital purposes
713	cannot agree as to the price to be paid therefor, said Hospital
714	Board is empowered to bring condemnation proceedings against
715	said property for the purpose of condemning said property for
716	public hospital purposes, and said Hospital Board is hereby
717	authorized and empowered to employ an attorney or attorneys to
718	prosecute said condemnation proceedings. The said Hospital
719	Board is hereby given and granted the same powers as the
720	counties of this state so far as condemnation of property is
721	concerned and the same procedure shall be followed. The right
722	of eminent domain hereby granted shall be exercised in
723	accordance with the provisions of chapter 74, Florida Statutes,
724	in the same manner as therein provided for the acquiring of
725	right-of-way for the state highway system and to take title to
726	lands in fee simple absolute or such lesser estate as may be
727	specified in the declaration of taking, upon the deposit of such
728	sum as the court shall determine will fully secure and fully
729	compensate the persons lawfully entitled to compensation.
730	Section 10. Any hospital established under this act shall
731	be for the benefit of the inhabitants of said territory, but
732	said hospital may extend the privileges and use of said hospital
733	for persons residing outside of said District, upon such terms
734	and conditions as the Hospital Board may from time to time by
735	its rules and regulations prescribe. Every such person or
736	inhabitant who is not a pauper shall pay said Hospital Board a
737	reasonable compensation for occupancy, nursing, care, medicine,
738	and attendance according to the rules and regulations prescribed
739	by said Hospital Board. Each municipal corporation situated
740	within the District shall be liable to said Hospital Board for
741	occupancy, nursing, care, medicine, and attendance for prisoners
742	in the custody of any such municipal corporation who are
743	admitted to any hospital operated by said Hospital Board. Said
744	hospital always shall be subject to such rules as such Hospital
745	Board may adopt from time to time in order for said hospital to
746	render the greatest benefit to the greatest number, and said
747	Hospital Board may exclude from treatment and care any indigent
748	or paying case having a communicable or contagious disease when
749	such disease may be a detriment to the best interests of such
750	hospital or a source of contagion or infection to the patients
751	in its care, unless a separate building or ward has been
752	established for the special treatment and care of patients
753	having communicable or contagious diseases and it can properly
754	and with safety to the other patients retain such communicable
755	cases in such separate building or ward.
756	Section 11. When such hospital or hospitals are
757	established, the physicians, nurses, attendants, the persons
758	sick therein, and all other persons approaching or coming within
759	the limits of same, and all furniture or other articles used or
760	brought there, shall be subject to such rules and regulations as
761	said Hospital Board may prescribe.
762	Section 12. The Hospital Board shall organize a staff of
763	physicians and dentists, and the Hospital Board is authorized to
764	give, grant, or revoke staff membership and privileges of the
765	medical staff members for practice in the hospital or hospitals
766	maintained under this act so that the welfare and health of
767	patients and the best interests of the hospital may, at all
768	times, be best served. Membership on the medical staff of the
769	hospital or hospitals owned by the Hospital Board shall be
770	restricted to persons with the following qualifications:
771	(1) Graduates of:
772	(a) Recognized medical schools approved and accredited by
773	the American Medical Association;
774	(b) Recognized dental schools approved and accredited by
775	the American Dental Association;
776	(c) An accredited college of osteopathy who have
777	successfully completed an internship or residency for at least 1
778	academic year of supervised clinical training in a hospital
779	affiliated with a medical school approved by the Council of
780	Medical Education of the American Medical Association, or who
781	have successfully completed any equivalent program established
782	by or relating to the American Osteopathic Association; or
783	(d) A foreign medical school who meet the qualifications
784	for licensure prescribed by section 458.311 or section 458.313,
785	Florida Statutes; and
786	(2) Who are legally licensed to practice medicine,
787	osteopathy, or dentistry in the State of Florida and who are
788	qualified for membership in the Sarasota County Medical Society
789	or the Sarasota County Dental Society, and who are regularly
790	practicing physicians or dentists in the territory in which that
791	hospital or hospitals are located, and who are competent to
792	perform the work required of physicians or dentists with similar
793	privileges on the hospital staff.
794	The term "physician," as used herein, includes only
795	physicians licensed to practice medicine under the Florida
796	Medical Practice Act, chapter 458, Florida Statutes, and
797	physicians licensed to practice osteopathic medicine under
798	chapter 459, Florida Statutes.
799	Medical staff membership or professional privileges shall
800	not be denied to any applicant solely because the applicant is
801	licensed as a doctor of medicine under chapter 458, Florida
802	Statutes, as a doctor of osteopathy under chapter 459, Florida
803	Statutes, nor shall professional privileges be denied to an
804	applicant solely because the applicant is licensed as a doctor
805	of podiatry under chapter 461, Florida Statutes.
806	Any patient shall have the right to employ at his or her
807	expense his or her own physician or dentist, provided such
808	physician or dentist shall have been accorded privileges in the
809	hospital. A physician or dentist, when employed by the patient,
810	shall have exclusive charge of the care and treatment of such
811	patient, subject always to such general rules and regulations as
812	shall be established by the Hospital Board under the provisions
813	of this act. It shall be the duty of the medical staff to
814	organize in the manner prescribed by the said Hospital Board.
815	The Hospital Board is further authorized and empowered to
816	set up rules and regulations for the control of all professional
817	and nonprofessional employees of the hospital, which terms shall
818	include nurses on general duty or on private duty attending
819	patients, and all parties in the hospital, either as employees
820	or in any manner in attendance of patients.
821	Section 13. The millage necessary for the maintenance of
822	said Hospital District shall not exceed a maximum of 2 mills per
823	annum. The millage necessary to pay the interest and provide a
824	sinking fund on bonded indebtedness shall be levied separately
825	from the millage necessary for maintenance of the hospital or
826	hospitals to be constructed or purchased under the provisions of
827	this act, and the Board of County Commissioners of Sarasota
828	County shall make said levy pursuant to the provisions of
829	section 14 of this act.
830	Section 14. (1) The County Property Appraiser of Sarasota
831	County, immediately after said Hospital Board shall have been
832	appointed, shall report in writing to said Hospital Board the
833	assessed valuation on all taxable property within the limits of
834	said District as assessed valuation for taxation by said
835	Hospital Board, and said report shall be made by said Property
836	Appraiser each year thereafter immediately after the tax
837	assessment of said District for that year shall have been
838	reviewed and equalized by the Board of County Commissioners of
839	Sarasota County. Said Hospital Board shall present each year,
840	determined by resolution, the total amount to be raised by
841	taxation upon said taxable property located within said hospital
842	district for such year. The amount necessary to pay the
843	interest for sinking fund or bonded or other secured
844	indebtedness, and the amount necessary for the operation,
845	maintenance, repair, alteration, and addition, shall be stated
846	separately. Said Hospital Board shall thereupon determine the
847	rate of taxation which, when levied upon the assessed valuations
848	of all taxable property within said District, will raise the
849	sums of money theretofore determined by resolutions, as the
850	total amount to be raised for such year by taxation, and shall
851	by resolution levy and fix the rate of taxation on all property
852	in said District, the rate to be levied for operation,
853	maintenance, repair, alteration, and addition to be fixed
854	separately, and the rate for such operation, maintenance,
855	repair, alteration, and addition not to exceed 2 mills per
856	annum.
857	A certified copy of said Tax Resolution, executed by the
858	chair of said Hospital Board and attested by the secretary of
859	said Hospital Board, under its corporate seal, shall be made and
860	delivered to the Board of County Commissioners of Sarasota
861	County on or before August 1 of each year, or within 15 days
862	after receipt of the tax assessment roll from the County
863	Property Appraiser. It shall be the mandatory duty of said
864	Board of County Commissioners of Sarasota County to order and
865	direct the County Property Appraiser of Sarasota County to
866	assess and levy, and to order and direct the County Tax
867	Collector of said county to collect, the tax at the rate fixed
868	and determined by said resolution of the said Hospital Board,
869	upon all taxable property located within said District, and the
870	said levies and assessments shall be included in the tax roll
871	and warrant of said Property Appraiser of said county for each
872	fiscal year thereafter. The said Tax Collector shall collect
873	said taxes in the same manner and at the same time as state and
874	county taxes are collected and shall pay and remit the same upon
875	the collection thereof to the said Hospital Board.
876	(2) In the event the millage authorized herein be reduced
877	in the year of a revaluation as provided in section 193.03,
878	Florida Statutes, 1965, then in each and every year thereafter
879	the millage to be levied may be increased (a) by not more than
880	10 percent of what it was in the preceding year, or (b) by no
881	more than that which is required for a 10-percent increase in
882	the amount which was yielded by millage levied for such Hospital
883	District in the year immediately preceding such revaluation,
884	whichever is greater, provided that nothing herein shall be
885	construed to alter the 2-mill limitation imposed by section 13
886	hereof.
887	Section 15. The Hospital Board shall have power to
888	determine whether or not persons presented to said public
889	hospital for treatment are subject to charity and shall fix
890	charges for occupancy, nursing, care, medicine, and attendance,
891	other than medical or surgical attendance, for these persons
892	able to pay for same, as the Hospital Board may deem just and
893	proper, and all receipts therefor shall be deposited to the
894	credit of the Hospital Board.
895	Section 16. Any person or persons, firms, organizations,
896	corporations, or societies desiring to make donations of money,
897	personal property, or real estate for the benefit of any
898	hospital or hospitals erected under this act shall have the
899	right to vest title of the money, personal property, or real
900	estate so donated in said Hospital Board, to be controlled when
901	accepted by said Hospital Board, according to the terms of the
902	bequests, devises, or gifts pertaining to such property.
903	Section 17. The Hospital Board shall have the right to
904	operate or participate in a nonprofit hospital service plan
905	whereby hospital care may be furnished by the said corporation
906	or by any hospital or hospitals established by said Hospital
907	Board, and said Hospital Board may agree with the subscribers to
908	certain hospital care, and said Hospital Board and those persons
909	with whom it deals on the nonprofit hospital service plan shall
910	be exempt from provisions of the insurance laws of the State of
911	Florida pertaining to insurance which may in any way conflict
912	with the hospital service plan of said Hospital Board. When a
913	contract for hospital service has been executed, the Hospital
914	Board shall be required to render the service set forth in said
915	contract and the other party to the contract shall be required
916	to fully comply with his or her parts of said agreement.
917	Section 18. The purposes for which any hospital created
918	under the provisions of this act shall be used are hereby
919	declared to be for public purposes.
920	Section 19. The term "mill," as used in subsection (8) of
921	section 8 of this act and as used in sections 13 and 14 of
922	chapter 26468 (1949), Laws of Florida, as amended, shall be
923	deemed to mean 1/10th part of a cent, and that the application
924	of the rate of 1 mill to each $1,000 of assessed valuation of
925	property shall yield $1.
926	Section 20. The Hospital Board shall be empowered to
927	destroy any of its records together with any of the records of
928	the hospital or hospitals owned and operated by the Hospital
929	Board, provided that such records are photographed or
930	microfilmed prior to their destruction.
931	Section 21. Sarasota County Public Hospital Board is
932	authorized to construct, maintain, operate, and lease parking
933	facilities for hospital agents, employees, patients, staff
934	members, patient guests, business invitees, and the visiting
935	public in conjunction with hospitals which are under the
936	jurisdiction of the Hospital Board upon real property which is
937	presently owned or which may be subsequently acquired by the
938	Hospital Board. The Hospital Board may enter into lease or
939	franchise agreements with private persons or corporations as
940	tenants or operators of such facilities upon such terms and for
941	such periods of time as the Board may deem appropriate. The
942	Hospital Board shall hold a public hearing, after the
943	publication of a notice of such meeting in a newspaper of
944	general circulation in Sarasota County at least one time no less
945	than 10 nor more than 25 days prior to such hearing: (1) to
946	consider the establishment of rates or fees, if any, which shall
947	be charged to motorists who utilize any such hospital parking
948	facility and (2) to consider any subsequent revisions therein
949	which increase the rates or fees which shall be charged to
950	motorists who utilize the hospital parking facility. The
951	Hospital Board is authorized to pledge the income and revenues
952	derived from such leases and franchise agreements as security
953	for the repayment of loans extended to the Hospital Board as the
954	Hospital Board may deem necessary or desirable from time to
955	time. All real property used for such hospital purposes, either
956	by the Hospital Board or by its licensees and franchisees, shall
957	be exempt from ad valorem taxes of Sarasota County and of any
958	municipality in which such real estate may be located.
959	Section 22. The Tax Collector of Sarasota County shall
960	issue a special beverage license authorizing the Hospital Board
961	to sell intoxicating beverages for medicinal purposes only in
962	quantities not in excess of 2 ounces per sale, provided such
963	sales are made only to inpatients of any hospital operated by
964	the Hospital Board and only upon the prescription of a duly
965	licensed physician. The special license shall authorize the
966	Hospital Board to purchase alcoholic beverages from any duly
967	licensed manufacturer or distributor of alcoholic beverages as
968	defined in chapter 561, Florida Statutes, and all such
969	manufacturers and distributors have authority to sell alcoholic
970	beverages to the Hospital Board for resale within the
971	limitations of its special license. The Hospital shall be
972	exempt from the payment of a fee for the special license, which
973	shall be renewed annually by filing with the Tax Collector a
974	resolution by the Hospital Board requesting the renewal of the
975	license.
976	Section 23. Every individual, partnership, firm,
977	association, corporation, institution, governmental district, or
978	other governmental unit, and every combination of any of the
979	foregoing, operating a hospital or hospitals in the County of
980	Sarasota shall be entitled to and is hereby given a lien as
981	herein provided for all reasonable charges for hospital care,
982	treatment, and maintenance of ill or injured persons and the
983	charges for test, laboratory work, X rays, drugs, and other
984	items incident to such care and treatment supplied by or charged
985	to the hospital for the benefit of such ill or injured persons,
986	the total or unpaid part of which is hereafter called hospital
987	bill, which lien shall be and is hereby declared upon all causes
988	of action, suits, claims, counterclaims, and demands accruing to
989	the person or persons to or for whom such care, treatment, or
990	maintenance is furnished, or accruing to the legal
991	representatives of such persons or to the person or persons
992	incurring or liable for the hospital bill, and such lien is also
993	hereby given upon the amounts due or payable under
994	hospitalization insurance, hospital or medical expenses due and
995	payable under public liability policies, or other indemnity, and
996	upon all judgments, settlements, and settlement agreements and
997	the sums payable thereunder rendered or entered into by virtue
998	thereof, on account of illness or injuries giving rise to such
999	causes of action, suits, claims, counterclaims, demands,
1000	judgments, settlements, or settlement agreements and which
1001	necessitated or shall have necessitated or have directly
1002	contributed to the necessity for such hospital care, treatment,
1003	and maintenance, and upon proceeds of such insurance or
1004	indemnity agreements as above specified, whether the illness or
1005	injury be the result of tort or otherwise. The term "hospital
1006	care," as used in this section, shall be broadly construed to
1007	include all hospital and nonhospital health care services and
1008	related activities which are rendered through any hospital or
1009	other health care facility owned or operated by the Hospital
1010	Board or its subsidiaries or affiliates or nonaffiliated, not-
1011	for-profit corporations.
1012	(1) In order to perfect such lien, an executive officer,
1013	controller, or agent of a hospital, before or within 30 days
1014	after such person shall have been discharged from such hospital,
1015	shall file in the office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of
1016	Sarasota County a verified claim in writing setting forth the
1017	following: (a) the name and address of such patient, as it
1018	shall appear on the records of such hospital, and if the patient
1019	is a minor, it shall contain the name of the parents or guardian
1020	of such minor patient,(b) the name and location of such
1021	hospital, (c) the dates of admission to and discharge of such
1022	patient therefrom, (d) the amount claimed to be due for such
1023	hospital care, treatment, and maintenance, and (e) to the best
1024	knowledge of the person signing such claim, the names and
1025	addresses, if the same be known, of all persons, firms, or
1026	corporations claimed by such ill or injured person or his or her
1027	legal representative to be liable on hospital or other indemnity
1028	insurance if known to claimant; such claimant shall also, within
1029	1 day after the filing of such claim of lien, mail a copy
1030	thereof by registered or certified mail with return receipt
1031	requested, postage prepaid, to each person, firm, or corporation
1032	so claimed to be liable on account of such illness or injuries
1033	at the address so given in such statement filed by the hospital
1034	claimant. The filing of such claim shall constitute notice
1035	thereof to all persons, firms, or corporations who may be liable
1036	on account of such illness or injuries, whether or not they are
1037	named in such claim, and whether or not a copy of such claim
1038	shall have been received by them. Such statement shall not
1039	constitute a lien upon anything other than causes of action,
1040	suits, claims, counterclaims, demands, and insurance and
1041	indemnity proceeds specified in this section, and this is not a
1042	general lien upon the property of the persons named in such
1043	statement.
1044	(2) The clerk of the circuit court shall endorse on each
1045	such claim the date and hour of filing in the official records
1046	of Sarasota County or may provide a hospital lien book with
1047	proper index in which he or she shall record such claims, and
1048	shall show therein the date and hour of such filing. The clerk
1049	shall be paid by the claimant, as his or her fee for filing and
1050	recording of each claim, the same amount he or she is authorized
1051	to charge for recording mortgages.
1052	(3) The clerk shall record any satisfaction which is
1053	executed and acknowledged under oath by the lien claimant, or
1054	its executive officer, comptroller, or agent, in the official
1055	records of Sarasota County at the same filing fees which are
1056	required by the clerk for recording satisfactions of mortgages.
1057	It shall be the duty of the hospital lien claimant to furnish
1058	the patient with a properly executed satisfaction upon payment
1059	or discharge of the lien.
1060	(4) No release or satisfaction of any action, suit, claim,
1061	counterclaim, demand, judgment, settlement, or settlement
1062	agreement shall be valid or effectual as against such lien
1063	unless such lienholder shall join therein or execute a release
1064	of such lien.
1065	(5) Any acceptance of a release or satisfaction of any
1066	such cause of action, suit, claim, counterclaim, demand, or
1067	judgment and any settlement of any of the foregoing in the
1068	absence of a release or satisfaction of the lien referred to in
1069	this act shall prima facie constitute an impairment of such
1070	lien, and the lienholder shall be entitled to an action at law
1071	for damages on account of such impairment, and in such action
1072	may recover from the one accepting such release or satisfaction
1073	or making such settlement the reasonable cost of such hospital
1074	care, treatment, and maintenance. Satisfaction of any judgment
1075	rendered in favor of the lienholder in any such action shall
1076	operate as a satisfaction of the lien. Any action by the
1077	lienholder shall be brought in the court having jurisdiction of
1078	the amount of the lienholder's claim. If the lienholder shall
1079	prevail in such action, the lienholder shall be entitled to
1080	recover from the defendant all costs allowed by law, together
1081	with reasonable attorney's fees to the lienholder's attorney for
1082	handling the action. If the plaintiff or counterclaimant shall
1083	have employed an attorney for the collection of the claims or
1084	damages, including the hospital expenses, on account of or
1085	resulting from the illness or injury of said plaintiff or
1086	counterclaimant or on account of or resulting from the illness,
1087	injury, or death of a deceased patient, the court costs shall
1088	first be paid and the attorney representing such plaintiff or
1089	counterclaimant shall receive his or her fees or compensation
1090	out of the judgment or settlement proceeds and the hospital lien
1091	provided for in this act shall next be fully paid to the
1092	hospital, and the balance of the proceeds of any such settlement
1093	or judgment, if any, shall then be paid to the plaintiff or
1094	counterclaimant.
1095	(6) Upon suit being filed by the patient or on the
1096	patient's behalf, the owner or operator of the hospital, as the
1097	case may be, may also file in the suit a notice of nonpayment of
1098	hospital bill, which said notice shall be recorded and the same
1099	shall constitute a lien upon any judgment recovered or
1100	settlement made to the extent that the court may determine the
1101	hospital's pro rata share for unpaid hospital bill, based upon
1102	such equitable distribution of the amount recovered as the court
1103	may determine, less its pro rata share of all court costs
1104	expended by the plaintiff in the prosecution of the suit and
1105	less the reasonable attorney's fees for the plaintiff's
1106	attorney, such proration to be made by the judge of the trial
1107	court upon application therefor and notice to the adverse party.
1108	Such notice shall be served upon all parties to the suit, and
1109	their attorneys of record, by registered or certified mail.
1110	(7) If the hospital has given such written notice of its
1111	lien and rights against an alleged tortfeasor, a party to said
1112	suit, and thereafter settlement of any such claim or action at
1113	law is made either before or after suit is filed and the parties
1114	fail to agree on the proportion to be paid to each, the court in
1115	which the action is pending shall determine the amount to be
1116	paid to the hospital in accordance with the provisions of this
1117	law.
1118	(8) The provisions of this act shall not be applicable to
1119	accidents or injuries within the purview of the Workers'
1120	Compensation Act of this state.
1121	(9) No hospital lien provided by this act shall continue
1122	for a longer period than 5 years after the claim of lien
1123	provided for under subsections(2) and (3) has been filed, unless
1124	within that time an action has been commenced in a court of
1125	competent jurisdiction by or on behalf of the person to whom the
1126	hospital care, treatment, or maintenance was rendered to collect
1127	on account or for the illness or injuries necessitating such
1128	hospitalization; and in the event that any such action has been
1129	commenced within such 5-year period, then such hospital lien
1130	shall continue, unless otherwise satisfied, for the duration of
1131	any judgment entered in favor of the party claiming damages for
1132	the hospital care, treatment, or maintenance, and shall attach
1133	to any settlement proceeds made pendente lite and shall continue
1134	for 3 years after the date of any such settlement pendente lite.
1135	(10) The acceptance of hospital care shall be deemed and
1136	construed as a determination that hospitalization insurance was
1137	taken out for the benefit of the hospital and as an equitable
1138	assignment of the proceeds to the hospital. Unless the policy
1139	or policies are endorsed or assigned to the hospital, the
1140	hospital may write or stamp upon every statement rendered that
1141	it claims a lien upon the proceeds of all hospitalization
1142	insurance, and such legend shall be notice to any corporation
1143	into whose possession the statement comes that the hospital has
1144	a lien. In this event, payment to policyholder without
1145	settlement direct to the hospital by the insurance company will
1146	make the insurance company liable to the hospital for the amount
1147	of the bill or so much thereof as the policy indemnifies.
1148	Section 24. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law,
1149	all operations of the hospital established under the provisions
1150	of chapter 26468 (1949), Laws of Florida, shall remain under the
1151	direct control and administration of the Hospital Board
1152	established by referendum pursuant to section 21 of said
1153	chapter. The Hospital Board shall not take any action which
1154	would result in the termination of such direct control and
1155	administration unless such action is approved by the electors of
1156	Sarasota County at a referendum called for that purpose;
1157	however, for purposes of this section, the term "operations of
1158	the hospital" does not include:
1159	(1) The operation of nonhospital health care services or
1160	related activities, which services or activities may be
1161	controlled and administered by subsidiaries or affiliates of the
1162	Hospital Board or nonaffiliated, not-for-profit corporations
1163	operating primarily within the territory of the Hospital Board;
1164	or
1165	(2) The operation and provision of hospital services
1166	through any form of shared service arrangement approved by
1167	resolution of the said Hospital Board adopted in public session
1168	and wherein the Hospital Board shall be represented by two or
1169	more Hospital Board members on the governing body of such
1170	entity.
1171	Section 25. In order to secure and promote the provision
1172	of quality medical services to the public, the authority
1173	provided for herein is found by the Legislature to be within the
1174	public policy of this state. The Hospital Board is authorized
1175	to exercise all the powers granted in this act, and those
1176	granted in the Hospital Board's enabling legislation, as
1177	amended, in such manner as it may determine to be consistent
1178	with the purposes of such enabling legislation.
1179	Section 4. Chapter 26468 (1949), Laws of Florida, which
1180	was approved by Sarasota County electors in referendum held on
1181	January 10, 1950, is hereby repealed; provided, however, that,
1182	as provided in section 189.429(3), Florida Statutes, nothing in
1183	this act, including specifically this section 4, shall (i)
1184	modify, amend, or alter any covenants, contracts, or other
1185	obligations of the Hospital Board with respect to its bonded
1186	indebtedness; and (ii) affect the ability of the Hospital Board
1187	to levy and collect taxes as permitted under prior law and
1188	herein. Chapters 27888 (1951), 31262 (1955), 57-1838, 59-1839,
1189	61-2807, 61-2855, 61-2868, 63-1893, 63-1895, 63-1896, 63-1913,
1190	65-2226, 65-2227, 65-2232, 67-2047, 69-1583, 69-1593, 71-907,
1191	83-525, 84-530, 85-501, 86-373, 87-526, 88-534, 90-411, 90-422,
1192	95-507, and 2000-400, Laws of Florida, are repealed. Chapter
1193	69-1583, Laws of Florida, which was approved by Sarasota County
1194	electors in referendum conducted pursuant to such act on
1195	November 4, 1969, is reenacted, except for requirements of
1196	referendum to approve the act, and all actions heretofore taken
1197	by the Sarasota County Public Hospital District and the Sarasota
1198	County Public Hospital Board pursuant to the authority and
1199	powers conferred by chapter 69-1583, Laws of Florida, are
1200	ratified and confirmed.
1201	Section 5. If any section, paragraph, sentence, clause,
1202	phrase, or other part of this act shall be declared
1203	unconstitutional, or if this act should be declared inapplicable
1204	in any case, such declaration shall not affect the remainder of
1205	this act or the applicability thereof in any other case.
1206	Section 6. This act shall be construed as remedial and
1207	shall be liberally construed to promote the purpose for which it
1208	is intended.
1209	Section 7. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.