HB 1457 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to Halifax Hospital Medical Center,
3	Volusia County; codifying, reenacting, and amending the
4	charter of the Halifax Hospital Medical Center special tax
5	district; providing for boundaries of the district;
6	establishing a Board of Commissioners; providing for
7	membership and appointment; providing powers and duties of
8	the board; providing for meetings of the board;
9	authorizing the district to establish, construct, operate,
10	and maintain hospitals, medical facilities, and services;
11	providing that the district shall have the power of
12	eminent domain; authorizing the district to perform
13	certain functions in order to carry out the purposes of
14	the act; providing for the issuance of bonds and
15	procedures relating thereto; authorizing the district to
16	levy and collect certain taxes; authorizing officers of
17	the district to sign checks and warrants; providing
18	procedure for levy and collection of taxes; providing for
19	the payment of expenses; requiring the establishment of
20	revenue accounts; requiring the district to provide care
21	and services for the medically indigent; providing for
22	liberal construction; exempting property of the district
23	from taxation; requiring an annual audit of the books and
24	records of the district; providing for employee benefits;
25	providing for competitive bidding; providing an
26	alternative to bidding procedure; providing an exception;
27	authorizing the board to designate a direct-support
28	organization; providing for severability; repealing
29	chapters 79-577, 79-578, 84-539, 89-409, and 91-352, Laws
30	of Florida; providing an effective date.
31
32	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
33
34	Section 1. Pursuant to section 189.429, Florida Statutes,
35	this act constitutes the codification of all special acts
36	relating to the Halifax Hospital Medical Center special tax
37	district. It is the intent of the Legislature to provide a
38	single, comprehensive special act charter for said district,
39	including all current legislative authority granted to the
40	district by its several legislative enactments and any
41	additional authority granted by this act and chapter 189,
42	Florida Statutes, as they may be amended from time to time. It
43	is further the intent of this act to preserve all district
44	authority.
45	Section 2. Chapters 79-577, 79-578, 84-539, 89-409, and
46	91-352, Laws of Florida, relating to the Halifax Hospital
47	Medical Center special tax district are codified, reenacted,
48	amended, and repealed as herein provided.
49	Section 3. The charter for the Halifax Hospital Medical
50	Center special tax district is re-created and reenacted to read:
51	Section 1. A special tax district is hereby created to be
52	known as “Halifax Hospital Medical Center” in Volusia County,
53	Florida, which district shall include all of Volusia County
54	except those parts described below:
55
56	Beginning at the point of intersection of the main
57	channel of Mosquito Inlet and the Atlantic Ocean,
58	thence run Southeasterly with the shore of the
59	Atlantic Ocean to the point of intersection with the
60	South line of Township 19S, thence West with said
61	Township line to the Southwest corner of Section 34,
62	Township 19S, Range 33E, thence North to the Northwest
63	corner of Section 3, Township 19S, Range 33E, thence
64	West along the South line of Township 18S, Range 33E,
65	to the Southwest corner of said Township 18S, Range
66	33E, thence north with West line of Township 18S,
67	Range 33E, to the Northwest corner of said Township
68	18S, Range 33E, thence West along line between
69	Townships 17S and 18S to the Southwest corner of
70	Township 17S, Range 32E, thence along the Range line
71	between Ranges 31E and 32E North to the Northwest
72	corner of Township 17S, Range 32E, thence East along
73	the North line of Township 17S, Range 32E to the point
74	of intersection with the South fork of Spruce Creek,
75	thence Northerly and Easterly along Spruce Creek to
76	the point of intersection with the main channel of the
77	Halifax River, thence Southerly and Easterly along the
78	main channel of the Halifax River and the main channel
79	of Mosquito Inlet to the point of beginning. All the
80	above described property lying and being in County of
81	Volusia, State of Florida.
82
83	Commencing at a point on the East Shore of Lake George
84	where same is intersected by the Putnam-Volusia County
85	line and run Northeasterly with said line to be the
86	Southernmost point of Lake Crescent; thence East with
87	shore line of Lake Crescent to the mouth of Hawk
88	Creek; thence up said Creek to its intersection with
89	the East line of Range 28 East; run thence South with
90	said Range line (it being the Flagler-Volusia County
91	line) to the Northwest corner of Section 30, Township
92	14 South, Range 29 East; thence run East 12 miles to
93	the Northeast corner of Section 25, Township 14 South,
94	Range 30 East; thence run South two miles to the
95	Southeast corner of Township 14 South, Range 30 East;
96	thence run West along said Township line to the
97	Northeast corner of Township 15 South, Range 30 East;
98	thence run South with the range line between Ranges 30
99	and 31 East about six miles to the Southeast corner of
100	Township 15 South, Range 30 East, run thence East
101	along the North line of Township 16 South, Range 31
102	East about six miles to the Northeast corner of said
103	Township 16 South, Range 31 East; run thence South on
104	the range line between Ranges 31 and 32 East about
105	twelve miles to the Southeast corner of Township 17
106	South, Range 31 East; run thence East with the line
107	between Township 17 and 18 South to the Northeast
108	corner of Township 18 South, Range 32 East; run thence
109	South on the range line between Ranges 32 and 33 East
110	to the Southeast corner of Township 18 South, Range 32
111	East; run thence East on the line between Township 18
112	South, Range 33 East and Township 19 South, Range 33
113	East about three miles to the Northeast corner of
114	Section 4 of Township 19 South, Range 33 East. Run
115	thence South on the East line of Sections 4-9-16-21-28
116	and 33. Township 19 South, Range 33 East to the
117	Southeast corner of Section 33, Township 19, South
118	Range 33 East; run thence East on the line between
119	Township 19 South, Range 33 East and Township 20
120	South, Range 33 East to the Northeast corner of
121	Township 20 South, Range 33 East; run thence South on
122	the East line of Township 20 South, Range 33 East and
123	along the East line of Township 21 South, Range 33
124	East to the Southeast corner of Section 36, Township
125	21 South, Range 33 East, run thence West along a South
126	line of Township 21 South, Range 33 East to the
127	intersection of said Township line with the St. Johns
128	River; thence run down the St. Johns River in a
129	generally Northwesterly direction to Lake George and
130	with the East Shore line of said Lake George to the
131	place of beginning.
132
133	Section 2. (1) The governing body of the district shall
134	be a Board of Commissioners which shall consist of seven
135	members, each of whom shall be a resident of the district and
136	appointed by the Governor. Except with respect to those
137	appointees who shall be appointed to serve terms ending on the
138	dates specified herein, each commissioner shall be appointed for
139	a term of 4 years. The appointments which must be made with
140	respect to the four commissioners whose terms end in May of 1985
141	shall be made with two commissioners being appointed for terms
142	ending May 23, 1986, and two commissioners being appointed for
143	regular 4-year terms. With respect to the appointments which
144	must be made for the three commissioners whose terms end in May
145	1987, two commissioners shall be appointed for regular 4-year
146	terms and one commissioner shall be appointed for a term ending
147	May 23, 1988.
148	(2) The Governor may suspend a commissioner pursuant to
149	section 7, Article IV of the State Constitution. Each
150	commissioner shall give bond to the Governor conditioned on the
151	officer’s faithful performance of the duties of his or her
152	office, in the sum of $5,000, with a surety company approved by
153	the district and qualified to do business in Florida. The bond
154	shall be approved and filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court
155	of Volusia County. The premiums on each bond shall be paid by
156	the district.
157	Section 3. The district shall have all powers of a body
158	corporate, including, but not limited to, the power to sue and
159	be sued; to enter into contracts; to adopt and use a common
160	seal; to establish corporations pursuant to chapter 617, Florida
161	Statutes, under the control of the district; to enter into
162	capital or operating leases; and to acquire, purchase, hold,
163	lease, and convey such real and personal property as may be
164	proper or expedient to carry out the purposes of this act. The
165	district shall have the power to employ a chief executive
166	officer or such other agents and employees as it deems may be
167	advisable to operate and manage the district’s facilities; to
168	borrow money and issue notes, bonds, and other evidences of
169	indebtedness to carry out the provisions of this act; to foster
170	community redevelopment within the district through financial
171	contribution with the community redevelopment trust fund; and to
172	accept promissory notes and voluntary liens to evidence and
173	secure payment for health care services rendered to patients
174	whenever patients are unable to pay their bills in full when
175	payment is due.
176	Section 4. Four of the commissioners shall constitute a
177	quorum, but no action, except to recess or adjourn, shall be
178	effective unless four of the commissioners concur therein. The
179	Board of Commissioners shall keep true and accurate minutes and
180	records of all business transacted by it. The minutes, records,
181	and books of account shall at all reasonable times be open and
182	subject to inspection and copying by the public, pursuant to
183	section 119.07, Florida Statutes.
184	Section 5. The district may establish, construct, operate,
185	and maintain such hospitals, medical facilities, and other
186	health care facilities and services as are necessary. The
187	hospitals, medical facilities, and other health care facilities
188	and services shall be established, constructed, operated, and
189	maintained by the district for the preservation of the public
190	health, for the public good, and for the use of the public of
191	the district. Maintenance of such hospitals, medical facilities,
192	and other health care facilities and services in the district is
193	hereby found and declared to be a public purpose and necessary
194	for the general welfare of the residents of the district.
195	Section 6. The district shall have the power of eminent
196	domain, and it may condemn and acquire any real or personal
197	property within the district which the board may deem necessary
198	for the use of the district. The power of condemnation shall be
199	exercised in the same manner as is now or may be provided by
200	general law for the exercise of the power of eminent domain by
201	counties of the state, including the right to take possession
202	and title in advance of final judgment under the procedures set
203	forth in chapter 74, Florida Statutes.
204	Section 7. In order to carry out the purposes of this act:
205	(1) The district may borrow money and execute promissory
206	notes having a term of up to 7 years and may enter into credit
207	purchase agreements having a term of up to 7 years. The
208	district may determine with respect to such notes or credit
209	purchase agreements the initial principal amounts and may set
210	terms and rates of interest.
211	(2) The district may facilitate fair and consistent
212	delivery of health care services to indigent persons by charging
213	for indigent care services on the same sliding scale used by the
214	Volusia County Health Department.
215	(3) The district may form both not-for-profit and for-
216	profit corporations. The for-profit corporations may only
217	engage in health care-related activities. Only the not-for-
218	profit corporations may be capitalized by the district and
219	financially supported by the district. Neither the district nor
220	a not-for-profit corporation formed by the district may
221	capitalize for-profit corporations, but this shall not prohibit
222	the district or its not-for-profit corporations from entering
223	good faith agreements to receive from such for-profit
224	corporations services, goods, and facilities, as long as the
225	charge for such services, goods, and facilities is at fair
226	market value. The district shall not hold in its name corporate
227	stock issued by any for-profit corporation established by the
228	district, but the stock of such for-profit corporations may be
229	held by a not-for-profit corporation established by the district
230	or by a third party in trust for the district under a written
231	trust agreement.
232	(4) The not-for-profit corporations and the for-profit
233	corporations established by the district may be stockholders
234	which may enter into joint ventures and other cooperative
235	projects with third-party individuals and entities as long as:
236	(a) Any assets of the not-for-profit corporation which are
237	provided by the district are not liened, collateralized,
238	mortgaged, subject to a security interest, or otherwise put at
239	risk.
240	(b) The district’s credit is not pledged or lent to or for
241	the benefit of the joint venture or other cooperative projects.
242	(c) The district itself is not directly involved as a
243	shareholder, joint venturer, or partner. The fact that a
244	corporation established by the district is a shareholder, joint
245	venturer, or other type of participant in a business or
246	cooperative project shall not, alone, subject that business or
247	cooperative project to requirements of chapter 119, Florida
248	Statutes, or chapter 286, Florida Statutes.
249	(5) The district may issue tax anticipation notes and
250	neither validation proceedings nor referendum approval is
251	necessary with respect to tax anticipation notes with a maturity
252	date not more than 12 months after their date of issuance.
253	(6) The district shall maintain commercial insurance,
254	establish a risk retention program consisting of self-insurance
255	plans, or utilize a combination of commercial insurance and
256	self-insurance plans to protect against those risks of less
257	commonly insured against by businesses and organizations
258	carrying out the health care functions provided by the district.
259	Such commercial insurance and/or self-insurance plans shall be
260	in such amounts as deemed prudent under the circumstances by the
261	district’s insurance consultant. The district may develop a
262	risk retention program consisting of separate self-insurance
263	plans for the following risks: general liability, errors and
264	omissions, medical professional liability, including the
265	district’s “shared risk” of joint and several liability with
266	medical physicians, workers’ compensation, and employee medical
267	benefits.
268	(7) Each self-insurance plan established or sponsored by
269	the district shall be funded on an annual basis in an amount at
270	least equal to that sum jointly established by the hospital's
271	CEO and the district's insurance consultant as needed to
272	maintain the plan's solvency for the applicable plan year. In
273	making such determination, the insurance consultant and the CEO
274	shall include “incurred but not reported” claims in the reserves
275	against claims. The self-insurance plans within the risk
276	retention program may be established and funded utilizing a
277	single trust as long as the cost of risk for each self-insurance
278	plan is separately accounted for and reported. If necessary or
279	beneficial for legal or actuarial purposes, the separate self-
280	insurance plans within the risk retention program may be
281	established utilizing separate trusts or separate not-for-profit
282	corporations.
283	(8) Protecting the district and its assets through
284	commercial insurance or through a risk retention program
285	consisting of self-insurance plans or through a combination of
286	commercial insurance and self-insurance plans is an essential
287	governmental function. The fact that hospital employees, their
288	beneficiaries, or other third parties receive incidental
289	benefits as a result of the commercial insurance or self-
290	insurance plans purchased, established, or sponsored by the
291	district shall not be a basis for asserting such commercial
292	insurance or such plan within the risk retention program is not
293	primarily for the benefit of the district or is not an essential
294	governmental function as long as any third party receiving such
295	incidental benefit pays its fair and equitable share of the
296	district’s total costs for insuring or self-insuring the risks.
297	(9) Nothing herein shall be interpreted as prohibiting the
298	district from purchasing other commercial insurance or
299	establishing or sponsoring other self-insurance plans under its
300	risk retention program.
301	Section 8. (1) The district may, by resolution of the
302	board, authorize the issuance of bonds for the purposes set
303	forth in this act, and for the acquisition and development of
304	real property, including appurtenances, fixtures, and equipment,
305	and for major repairs or renovations to real property which
306	significantly extend its useful life or change its function, and
307	for any necessary operating capital outlay to furnish and
308	operate a new or improved facility. The bonds may be revenue
309	bonds payable from ad valorem taxes, or bonds payable from a
310	combination of the two; provided, however, that no bonds either
311	pledging the full faith and credit of the district, or pledging
312	the taxing power thereof, except refunding bonds issued at a
313	lower net average interest cost rate, shall be issued unless the
314	issuance has been approved in a referendum by a majority vote of
315	the electors of the district voting on the question. Nothing
316	herein shall limit any rights the district has or may have under
317	general law.
318	(2) Pursuant to resolution of the board, such bonds may:
319	(a) Be issued in either coupon or registered form or both.
320	(b) Have dates of maturity not exceeding 40 years after
321	the date of issuance.
322	(c) Bear interest at a rate to be determined by the board.
323	(d) Provide for registration of coupon bonds and
324	conversion and reconversion of bonds from coupon to registered
325	form or from registered form to coupon form.
326	(e) Provide for payment at maturity and redemption prior
327	to maturity at specified times and prices.
328	(f) Be payable at specified places within or without the
329	state.
330	(3) Bonds shall be signed by such officers of the board or
331	district as shall be required by resolution of the board. The
332	signatures may be manual or facsimile signatures, but at least
333	one of the signatures shall be a manual signature. The coupons
334	shall be signed with the facsimile signatures of such officials
335	of the board as the board shall determine. In case any officer
336	whose signature or facsimile of whose signature appears on any
337	bonds or coupons ceases to be such officer before delivery of
338	the bonds or coupons, his or her signature or facsimile
339	signature shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all
340	purposes as fully and to the same extent as if he or she had
341	remained in office until delivery.
342	(4) All bonds shall be exempt from all state, county, and
343	city taxation.
344	(5) All bonds issued pursuant to this act shall be and
345	have, and are hereby declared to be and have, all the qualities
346	and incidents of negotiable instruments under the Uniform
347	Commercial Code--Investment Securities Law of the state.
348	(6) The board may sell the bonds in such a manner and at
349	such prices as the board may determine to be in the best
350	interest of the district, but not, however, at less than 95
351	percent of par value.
352	(a) The bonds may be sold either at negotiated or public
353	sale as determined by the board to be in the best interest of
354	the district.
355	(b) If the bonds are to be sold at public sale:
356	1. Notice of the sale shall be published at least once at
357	least 10 days prior to the date of sale in one or more
358	newspapers or financial journals published within or without the
359	state and shall contain such terms as the board shall deem
360	advisable and proper under the circumstances; provided that if
361	no bids are received at the time and place called for by the
362	notice of sale, or if all bids received are rejected, the bonds
363	may again be offered for sale upon a shorter period of
364	reasonable notice provided for by resolution of the board.
365	2. All bids for the purchase of any bonds offered for sale
366	by the board shall be opened in public. Such bonds shall be
367	awarded by resolution of the board to the bidder offering to
368	purchase such bonds at the lowest net interest cost, such cost
369	to be determined by deducting the total amount of premium bid
370	from or adding the total amount of discount bid to the aggregate
371	amount of interest which will accrue on such bonds until their
372	respective maturities, without reference to any provisions for
373	prior redemption of such bonds.
374	3. No best bid from a reputable underwriter or team of
375	underwriters which bid conforms to the notice of sale may be
376	rejected unless all bids are rejected. If the bids rejected are
377	legally acceptable bids under the notice of sale, such bonds
378	shall not be sold thereafter except upon public sale after
379	publication of notice of sale as provided herein.
380	(7) No bonds shall be issued by the district unless the
381	face or reverse thereof contains a certificate, executed either
382	manually or with the facsimile signature of the secretary or
383	assistant secretary of the board or district, to the effect that
384	the issuance of such bonds has been approved under the
385	provisions of this act by the board. The certificate shall be
386	conclusive evidence as to approval of the issuance of such bonds
387	by the district and that the requirements of this act and all of
388	the laws relating to such bonds are in full compliance.
389	(8) The district, by resolution of its board, shall have
390	the authority to issue bond anticipation notes in the name of
391	the district in anticipation of the receipt of the proceeds of
392	the bonds in the same manner and subject to the same limitations
393	and conditions provided by section 215.431, Florida Statutes.
394	The rights and remedies which they would have if they were the
395	holders of the definitive bonds in anticipation of which they
396	are issued, and all of the covenants, agreements, or other
397	proceedings relating to the definitive bonds in anticipation of
398	which such bond anticipation notes are issued shall be a part of
399	the proceedings relating to the issuance of the notes as fully
400	and to the same extent as if incorporated verbatim herein.
401	(9) Prior to the preparation of definitive bonds, the
402	district, pursuant to resolution of its board, may issue interim
403	receipts or temporary bonds, with or without coupons,
404	exchangeable for definitive bonds when such bonds have been
405	executed and are available for delivery under such terms and
406	conditions as the board shall deem advisable. The resolution
407	may also provide for the replacement of any bonds which shall
408	become mutilated or be destroyed, stolen, or lost under such
409	terms and conditions as the board shall deem advisable.
410	(10) Bonds issued under the provisions of this act may be
411	validated in the manner provided in chapter 75, Florida
412	Statutes.
413	Section 9. (1) Prior to the issuance of full faith and
414	credit bonds, the Board of Commissioners shall determine the
415	amount which, in the opinion of the board, will be necessary to
416	be raised annually by taxation for the payment of the debt
417	service on all such outstanding bonds and all such bonds
418	proposed to be issued. Subject to the millage limitations
419	authorized by law, the district shall provide for the levy and
420	collection annually of a sufficient tax upon all the taxable
421	property in the district to make the debt service payments on
422	the bonds and debt service on notes, for expenses of operation,
423	maintenance, construction, improvements, and repair of the
424	hospitals or clinics, and for the payment of any indebtedness or
425	other necessary expenses in carrying out the business of the
426	district.
427	(2) The millage for the taxes assessed and levied against
428	the taxable property within the district for the payment of debt
429	service, including interest and principal of the bonds and notes
430	issued by the district and for the operation, maintenance,
431	improvement, and repair of the hospitals, medical facilities,
432	clinics, or outpatient facilities and services, including, but
433	not limited to, providing care to the indigent as provided in
434	this act, or for the payment of any outstanding indebtedness
435	authorized by this act, or for the payment of other necessary
436	expenses in carrying on and transacting the business of the
437	district, shall not exceed 4 mills on all the nonexempt property
438	within the district, unless authorized by law and approved by a
439	majority vote of the electors of the district voting on the
440	issue.
441	Section 10. The Board of Commissioners, the Chief
442	Executive Officer, and the Chief Fiscal Officer of the district
443	are hereby authorized to sign checks and warrants of the
444	district by facsimile signature and to use and employ facsimile
445	signature machines for that purpose. The stamping, printing, or
446	lithographing of facsimile signatures of the Chief Executive
447	Officer and Chief Fiscal Officer shall constitute sufficient
448	signatures in compliance with Florida Statutes as to the
449	withdrawal of district funds from a depository.
450	Section 11. The levy of the taxes authorized by any
451	provision of this act shall be pursuant to a resolution of the
452	board. Certified copies of the resolution executed in the name
453	of the board by its chair, under its corporate seal, shall be
454	made and delivered to the County Council of Volusia County, and
455	to the Department of Revenue in the same manner and within the
456	same time period as required of counties pursuant to general
457	law. The County Council of Volusia County shall require the
458	Director of the Finance Department of the county to collect the
459	amount of taxes so assessed or levied by the district upon the
460	nonexempt property in the district, at the rate of taxation as
461	fixed, levied, and adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the
462	district for the year and included in the warrant of the
463	Property Appraiser and attached to the assessment roll of taxes
464	for the county each year. The Director of the Finance
465	Department of Volusia County shall collect the tax as levied by
466	the district in the same manner as other taxes are collected,
467	and he or she shall remit the taxes collected to the district
468	within the time and in the manner prescribed by law for the
469	collection and handling of county taxes to the county
470	depository. All revenues so collected shall be held, used,
471	invested, and disbursed by the district as provided in this act
472	or as otherwise provided by law.
473	Section 12. The district is authorized to pay from the
474	funds of the district all expenses necessarily incurred in the
475	formation of the district and all other reasonable and necessary
476	expenses, including, but not limited to, those expenses of the
477	type normally incurred in the establishment, operation, repair,
478	maintenance, expansion, and diversification of a modern
479	integrated system for the delivery of health care services
480	consisting of hospitals, clinics, health maintenance
481	organizations, ambulatory care facilities, managed care
482	facilities, other alternative delivery systems, self-insurance,
483	risk retention programs, captive insurance companies, and
484	support organizations. This section shall not be construed to
485	restrict any of the powers vested in the district by any other
486	provision of this act or any provision of general law.
487	Section 13. (1) The district shall create two separate
488	revenue accounts. One account shall be the Ad Valorem Tax
489	Revenue Account which shall be a separate account into which all
490	ad valorem tax revenues are deposited, and the other account
491	shall be the General Revenue Account into which all other
492	district revenues are deposited.
493	(2) Each corporation established and controlled by the
494	district shall utilize a bookkeeping and financial management
495	system which identifies all of that corporation’s revenues
496	generated through operation of those assets which were obtained
497	with ad valorem tax revenues.
498	(3) Annually the board shall publish in a newspaper of
499	general circulation published in the district an audited
500	consolidated financial statement of the district and its
501	corporations. Such financial statements shall be prepared
502	according to generally accepted accounting principles, shall
503	specifically include a combined balance sheet and a combined
504	statement of revenues and expenses, and shall show a complete
505	statement of the financial conditions of the district as of the
506	end of the fiscal year.
507	Section 14. The hospitals, medical facilities, clinics,
508	and outpatient facilities established under this act or by a
509	not-for-profit corporation formed by the district shall provide
510	either independently or in cooperation with each other and/or in
511	cooperation with the Volusia County Public Health Care Unit an
512	appropriate location or locations for the delivery of quality
513	hospital care and related services and treatment to patients who
514	are determined according to criteria established by the board to
515	be medically indigent. Persons so determined to be medically
516	indigent shall receive such services at the locations
517	established by the district or by a not-for-profit corporation
518	formed by the district either for no charge or alternatively for
519	a reduced charge according to the same sliding scale used by the
520	Volusia County Health Department. Each hospital, medical
521	facility, clinic, and outpatient facility established under this
522	act shall collect such charges as the district may from time to
523	time establish for hospital care, outpatient care, and related
524	services and treatment. Except as is otherwise required by law
525	or by agreement with the Volusia County Health Department, the
526	district’s ad valorem tax revenues shall be used to fund medical
527	services to indigent persons only if such services are provided
528	at facilities owned by the district or at facilities in which
529	the district or a corporation established by the district holds
530	an ownership interest. The district may extend the use of
531	hospitals, clinics, and medical facilities of the district to
532	nonresidents upon such terms and conditions as the district may
533	from time to time by its rules provide. The medically indigent
534	residents of the district wherein such hospital and clinic are
535	located shall have priority to admission and outpatient
536	services.
537	Section 15. It is intended that the provisions of this act
538	shall be liberally construed in order to accomplish the purposes
539	of the act. Where strict construction of this act would result
540	in the defeat of the accomplishment of any of the purposes of
541	this act, and a liberal construction would permit or assist in
542	the accomplishment thereof, the liberal construction shall be
543	chosen.
544	Section 16. All property, real and personal, of the
545	Halifax Hospital Medical Center, a special tax district in
546	Volusia County, and all property, both real and personal, of the
547	Board of Commissioners of the special tax district are hereby
548	exempted from taxation pursuant to chapter 196, Florida
549	Statutes.
550	Section 17. The books and records of the district shall be
551	audited annually by an independent certified public accountant.
552	The Governor of the State of Florida may, when in his or her
553	judgment it is necessary, direct the Auditor General to audit
554	the books and records of the district.
555	Section 18. The district is authorized to:
556	(1) Provide and pay all or any part of the insurance
557	expenses or premiums on its respective employees’ insurance or
558	self-insurance covering injuries received by such employees
559	after working hours or covering illness of such employees and
560	their dependents.
561	(2) Provide to employees and their dependents a discount
562	on the cost of drugs, laboratory, X-ray work, or other hospital
563	services.
564	(3) Provide and pay for employee benefits for group life
565	insurance on employees of the district.
566	(4) Provide such other fringe benefits to district
567	employees as it from time to time deems appropriate.
568	(5) Incur and pay reasonable expenditures for travel,
569	physician recruiting, employee recruiting, hospitality,
570	education, and marketing related to the furtherance of the
571	district’s objectives.
572	Section 19. (1) All purchases of supplies, commodities,
573	equipment, and materials as well as the leasing of equipment for
574	use in the operation and maintenance of the district, and all
575	contracts for work, construction, repair, or replacement of
576	buildings or other capital improvements to the district’s
577	property, the cost of which is in excess of $10,000, shall be
578	made or let by the district by contract to the lowest
579	responsible bidder according to the written specifications
580	previously prescribed therefor, and after publication in a
581	newspaper of general circulation within the district, 1 day a
582	week for 2 consecutive weeks, of an advertisement or notice
583	calling for or inviting such bids.
584	(2) As an alternative to the procedure prescribed in
585	subsection (1), whenever it reasonably appears to the Board of
586	Commissioners of the district that by reason of an emergency or
587	other unusual condition the compliance with the bidding
588	procedure prescribed in subsection (1) would be detrimental to
589	the interest of the district or its patients, or it appears to
590	the Board of Commissioners that such supplies, commodities,
591	equipment, and materials, and the leasing of equipment for the
592	use in the operation or maintenance of the district are
593	obtainable from only one source or supplier, the Board of
594	Commissioners of the district may by appropriate resolution
595	identify such emergency, unusual condition, or sole source
596	situation and authorize the purchase, lease agreement, or
597	contract without complying with the procedure prescribed in
598	subsection (1).
599	(3) The bidding requirements in subsection (1) shall not
600	apply to prosthetic devices, pacemakers, or other surgically
601	implanted devices or materials if the delay incident to
602	complying with such bidding requirements could adversely affect
603	patient care or could cause the patient to elect to have the
604	implant surgery performed at a private hospital which is not
605	bound by such bidding requirements.
606	(4) All contracts between the district and a third party
607	for construction, repair, or replacement of buildings,
608	structures, or other capital improvements owned and operated by
609	the district, the cost of which is in excess of $25,000, shall
610	be made or let to the lowest responsible bidder, unless:
611	(a) The construction is in conjunction with a design-build
612	project, in which case the district shall comply with section
613	287.055(9), Florida Statutes; or
614	(b) The lowest bidder refuses to enter into a contract
615	which prohibits the contractor from claiming delay damages, in
616	which case the district may contract with any qualified general
617	contractor for the district’s choice on the condition that the
618	contract with such contractor prohibits the contractor claiming
619	delay damages and the contract price does not exceed the bid
620	from the lowest responsible bidder by more than 5 percent.
621	Section 20. (1) The Board of Commissioners may designate
622	an organization as a Halifax Hospital Medical Center direct-
623	support organization to provide assistance, funding, and support
624	to the board in carrying out its powers and duties. For the
625	purposes of this section, “Halifax Hospital Medical Center
626	direct-support organization” means an organization which:
627	(a) Is a corporation not for profit which is incorporated
628	under chapter 617, Florida Statutes.
629	(b) Is organized and operated exclusively to receive,
630	hold, invest, and administer property and to make expenditures
631	to, or for the benefit of, Halifax Hospital Medical Center,
632	except that the organization may not receive funds from the
633	board by grant, gift, or contract unless specifically authorized
634	by the Legislature.
635	(c) Provides equal employment opportunities to all persons
636	regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or
637	religion.
638	(d) Has been specifically certified as a Halifax Hospital
639	Medical Center direct-support organization by a resolution
640	adopted by the Board of Commissioners.
641	(2) The Board of Commissioners shall prescribe, by rule,
642	procedures by which the Halifax Hospital Medical Center direct-
643	support organization is to be governed and any conditions with
644	which the organization must comply in order to use property,
645	facilities, or personal services of the district without charge.
646	“Personal services” include the services of full-time personnel
647	and the services of part-time personnel. The rules shall
648	provide:
649	(a) That the articles of incorporation and procedures for
650	the governance of the direct-support organization must be
651	approved by the board.
652	(b) That an annual budget must be submitted by the direct-
653	support organization to the board for approval.
654	(c) That the chair of the Board of Commissioners or his or
655	her designee must certify, after an annual financial and
656	performance review, that the direct-support organization is
657	operating in compliance with the provisions of the rules and in
658	a manner consistent with the goals of the board and in the best
659	interests of the state. Such certification shall be made to the
660	board annually and reported in the official minutes of a meeting
661	of the board.
662	(d) For procedures to be followed to revoke the
663	designation of the nonprofit organization as a direct-support
664	organization and for procedures for the reversion to the state
665	of funds held in trust by the direct-support organization if
666	such designation is revoked or, after notice of such revocation,
667	procedures for expenditure of such funds for purposes approved
668	by the board.
669	(e) That the fiscal year of the direct-support
670	organization begins on July 1 each year and ends on June 30 next
671	following.
672	(3) Before taking office, each member of the governing
673	board of the Halifax Hospital Medical Center direct-support
674	organization must be approved by the Board of Commissioners.
675	The chair of the Board of Commissioners, or a board member
676	designated by the chair, shall serve as a member of the
677	governing board and of the executive committee of the direct-
678	support organization.
679	(4) The Halifax Hospital Medical Center direct-support
680	organization shall provide for an annual financial and
681	compliance audit of its accounts and records, to be conducted by
682	an independent certified public accountant in accordance with
683	rules adopted by the Board of Commissioners. The annual audit
684	report shall include a management letter and shall be filed as a
685	public record with the district. The Board of Commissioners and
686	the Auditor General may request, and shall receive from the
687	direct-support organization or its auditor, any detail or
688	supplemental data which relates to the operation of the
689	organization.
690	(5) Meetings of the Halifax Hospital Medical Center
691	direct-support organization are public meetings and shall be
692	conducted in accordance with section 286.011, Florida Statutes.
693	Records of the direct-support organization, except for records
694	which identify donors or potential donors to the direct-support
695	organization and which shall be confidential, are public records
696	for the purposes of chapter 119, Florida Statutes. The
697	confidentiality of records which identify donors or potential
698	donors to the direct-support organization shall be maintained in
699	the auditor’s report.
700	Section 21. Nothing in this act may be interpreted or
701	construed as eliminating or limiting any right, power, or
702	authority which the district has under any other state law.
703	Section 4. If any provision of this act or the application
704	thereof to any person or circumstance is held inoperative,
705	unconstitutional, or invalid, it shall not affect other
706	provisions or applications of the act which can be given effect
707	without the invalid provision or application, and to this end
708	the provisions of this act are declared severable.
709	Section 5. Chapters 79-577, 79-578, 84-539, 89-409, and
710	91-352, Laws of Florida, are repealed.
711	Section 6. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.