HB 0273 2003
1	CHAMBER ACTION
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6	The Committee on Local Government & Veterans’ Affairs recommends
7	the following:
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9	Committee Substitute
10	Remove the entire bill and insert:
11	A bill to be entitled
12	An act relating to the Southeast Volusia Hospital
13	District, Volusia County; providing for codification of
14	the district’s charter; codifying, amending, and
15	reenacting chapters 24961 (1947), 29586 (1953), 57-1931,
16	65-2362, 67-2148, 81-499, and 89-552, Laws of Florida;
17	providing a declaration of legislative intent; repealing
18	special acts relating to the district; providing an
19	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 the Southeast Volusia Hospital District. It is the
26	intent of the Legislature to provide a single, comprehensive
27	special act charter for the district including all current
28	legislative authority granted to the district by its several
29	legislative enactments and any additional authority granted by
30	this act and chapter 189, Florida Statutes, as they may be
31	amended from time to time. It is further the intent of this act
32	to preserve all district authority.
33	Section 2. Chapters 24961 (1947), 29586 (1953), 57-1931,
34	65-2362, 67-2148, 81-499, and 89-552, Laws of Florida, relating
35	to the Southeast Volusia Hospital District, are codified,
36	reenacted, amended, and repealed as herein provided.
37	Section 3. The charter for the Southeast Volusia Hospital
38	District is re-created and reenacted to read:
39	Section 1. A special tax district is hereby created and
40	incorporated, to be known as “Southeast Volusia Hospital
41	District” in Volusia County, which district shall embrace and
42	include the following described property in Volusia County:
43	Beginning at the point of intersection of the main
44	channel of Mosquito Inlet and the Atlantic Ocean,
45	thence run Southeasterly with the shore of the
46	Atlantic Ocean to the point of intersection with the
47	South line of Township 19S, Thence West with said
48	Township line to the Southwest corner of Section 34,
49	Township 19S, Range 33E, Thence North to the Northwest
50	corner of Section 3, Township 19S, Range 33E, Thence
51	West along the South line of Township 18S, Range 33E,
52	to the Southwest corner of said Township 18S, Range
53	33E, thence North with West line of Township 18S,
54	Range 33E, to the Northwest corner of said Township
55	18S, Range 33E, thence West along line between
56	Townships 17S and 18S to the Southwest corner of
57	Township 17S, Range 32E, Thence along the Range line
58	between Ranges 31E and 32E North to the Northwest
59	corner of Township 17S, Range 32E, thence East along
60	the North line of Township 17S, Range 32E to point of
61	intersection with the South fork of Spruce Creek,
62	thence Northerly and Easterly along Spruce Creek to
63	the point of intersection with the main channel of the
64	Halifax River, thence Southerly and Easterly along the
65	main channel of the Halifax River and the main channel
66	of Mosquito Inlet to the point of beginning. All the
67	above described property lying and being in County of
68	Volusia, State of Florida.
69	Section 2. (1) The governing body of the Southeast
70	Volusia Hospital District shall consist of seven commissioners,
71	all of whom shall be qualified electors and freeholders residing
72	in the district. Two commissioners shall be residents of New
73	Smyrna Beach, two commissioners shall be residents of the City
74	of Edgewater, one commissioner shall be a resident of Oak Hill,
75	and two commissioners shall be residents of the unincorporated
76	area of the hospital district. Commissioners shall have
77	business, professional, or personal experience useful for
78	service as a commissioner.
79	(2) Of the appointments to the commission to be made by
80	the Governor by January 1, 2007, one appointment from the
81	unincorporated area of the hospital district and one appointment
82	from the City of Edgewater shall be for terms of fifteen (15)
83	months expiring March 31, 2008, and one appointment from the
84	unincorporated area of the hospital district and one appointment
85	from the City of Edgewater shall be for terms of fifty-one (51)
86	months expiring March 31, 2011. Thereafter, the terms for all
87	commissioners shall be for four (4) years each, expiring March
88	31.
89	(3) The commissioners shall hold an annual organizational
90	meeting between the first and fifteenth day of March each year.
91	The Governor shall have the power to remove any member of the
92	board of commissioners for cause and shall fill any vacancies
93	that may at any time occur therein. Each member shall give bond
94	to the Governor for the faithful performance of his or her
95	duties in the sum of $5,000, with a surety company qualified to
96	do business in the state as surety; however, the bonds of the
97	chair and of the treasurer of the board shall be $10,000 for
98	each such officer, which bonds shall be approved and kept by the
99	Clerk of the Circuit Court of Volusia County. The premiums on
100	the bonds shall be paid as part of the expense of the district.
101	Section 3. The board of commissioners of the Southeast
102	Volusia Hospital District, hereinafter called the board, shall
103	have all the powers of a body corporate, including the power to
104	sue and be sued under the name of the Southeast Volusia Hospital
105	District; to contract and be contracted with; to adopt and use a
106	common seal and to alter the same at pleasure; to acquire,
107	purchase, hold, lease, and convey such real and personal
108	property as the board may deem proper or expedient to carry out
109	the purposes of the act; to appoint and employ a superintendent
110	and chief surgeon and such other agents and employees as the
111	board may deem advisable; to borrow money; and to issue the
112	notes, bonds, and other evidences of debt of the district
113	thereof to carry out the provisions of this act in the manner
114	hereinafter provided.
115	Section 4. Four (4) of the commissioners shall constitute
116	a quorum, and a vote of at least a majority of the commissioners
117	at any regular or special meeting shall be necessary to the
118	transaction of any business of the district. The commissioners
119	shall cause true and accurate minutes and records to be kept of
120	all business transacted by them and shall keep full, true, and
121	complete books of account and minutes, which minutes, records,
122	and books of account shall at all reasonable times be open and
123	subject to the inspection of inhabitants of the district. Any
124	person desiring to do so may make or procure copy of the
125	minutes, records, or books of account, or such portions thereof
126	as he or she may desire.
127	Section 5. (1) The board is authorized to purchase or
128	otherwise acquire such real and personal property as may be
129	required to establish, construct, operate, and maintain such
130	hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, or related facilities as in
131	its opinion shall be necessary for the health and welfare of the
132	people of the district. The hospitals, clinics, nursing homes,
133	or related facilities shall be established, constructed,
134	operated, and maintained by the board for the preservation of
135	the public health, for the public good, and for the use of the
136	public of the district; and the acquisition of real and personal
137	property for the establishment, construction, operation, and
138	maintenance of such hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, or
139	related facilities within the district are hereby found and
140	declared to be a public purpose and are necessary for the
141	preservation of the public health, for the public use, and for
142	the welfare of the district and inhabitants thereof. The
143	location of such hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, or related
144	facilities shall be determined by the board.
145	(2) The board of commissioners of the Southeast Volusia
146	Hospital District is authorized to provide necessary hospitals,
147	clinics, nursing homes, and related services or facilities for
148	poor and indigent persons or, in lieu thereof, the board is
149	authorized to enter into a contract or contracts for a period
150	not exceeding twenty-five (25) years with any hospital, clinic,
151	or nursing home, public or private, now or hereafter existing
152	within the district for the purpose of providing such facilities
153	or services to the poor and indigent and to pay for the same out
154	of the funds of the district and from the proceeds of any tax
155	which is levied under the provisions of this act or amendments
156	thereto.
157	Section 6. The board shall have the power of eminent
158	domain and may thereby condemn and acquire any real or personal
159	property which the board may deem necessary for the use of the
160	district, whether within or without the district. Such power of
161	condemnation shall be exercised in the same manner as is now
162	provided by the general law for the exercise of the power of
163	eminent domain by cities and towns of the state.
164	Section 7. The board is authorized, in order to provide
165	for and carry out the provisions of this act, to purchase or
166	otherwise acquire real and personal property; to establish,
167	construct, repair, alter, and maintain hospital, clinic, and
168	nursing home buildings and facilities; and to purchase, lease,
169	repair, and maintain hospital, clinic, and nursing home
170	equipment, furniture, and fixtures on lands in the district
171	owned by or leased to the district. The board is further
172	authorized to expend district funds derived from taxes or any
173	other source whatsoever for the purchase or lease of real or
174	personal property and for building, constructing, purchasing,
175	leasing, repairing, and maintaining all hospital, clinic, and
176	nursing home lands, buildings, equipment, and facilities in the
177	district, and to borrow money from time to time for such
178	purposes, and also for operating expenses; however, a tax not to
179	exceed four (4) mills on the dollar may be assessed and levied
180	against the taxable property within the district for all
181	purposes.
182	It is hereby found and declared that all funds expended for
183	current operating expenses, the care of indigent patients, and
184	for the construction, purchase, lease, maintenance, and repair
185	of all hospital, clinic, or nursing home lands, buildings, and
186	equipment, whether on lands owned by or leased to the district,
187	shall be for public purposes.
188	Section 8. (1) ISSUANCE OF OBLIGATIONS.—
189	(a) The board is authorized to provide by resolution at
190	one time or from time to time for the issuance of bonds or
191	revenue certificates, or both, collectively referred to in this
192	section as bonds of the district for the purpose of paying all
193	or a part of the cost of acquisition, construction, repairing,
194	extensions, additions, equipping, and reconstruction of any
195	hospital facilities of the district. The bonds of each issue
196	shall be dated, shall bear interest at such rate or rates as may
197	be determined by the board, and may be made redeemable before
198	maturity, at the option of the board, at such price or prices
199	and under such terms and conditions as may be fixed by the board
200	prior to the issuance of the bonds. The board shall determine
201	the form of the bonds, including any interest coupons to be
202	attached thereto, and the manner of execution of the bonds and
203	coupons, and shall fix the denomination or denominations of the
204	bonds and the place or places of payment of principal and
205	interest, which may be at any bank or trust company within or
206	without the state. In case any officer whose signature or a
207	facsimile of whose signature shall appear on any bonds or
208	coupons shall cease to be such officer before the delivery of
209	such bonds, such signature or such facsimile shall nevertheless
210	be valid and sufficient for all purposes the same as if he or
211	she had remained in office until such delivery. All bonds
212	issued under the provisions of this act shall have and are
213	hereby declared to have all the qualities and incidents of
214	negotiable instruments under the negotiable instruments laws of
215	the state. The bonds may be issued in coupon or in registered
216	form, or both, as the board may determine, and provisions may be
217	made for the registration of any coupon bonds as to principal
218	alone and also as to both principal and interest, and for the
219	reconversion into coupon bonds of any bonds registered as to
220	both principal and interest. The issuance of such bonds shall
221	not be subject to any limitations or conditions contained in any
222	other law. Prior to the preparation of definitive bonds, the
223	board may, under like restrictions, issue interim receipts or
224	temporary bonds with or without coupons, exchangeable for
225	definitive bonds when such bonds have been executed and are
226	available for delivery. The board may also provide for the
227	replacement of any bonds which shall be mutilated or be
228	destroyed or lost.
229	(b) Bonds may be issued under the provisions of this act
230	without obtaining the consent of any commission, board, bureau,
231	or agency of the state or county and without any other
232	proceedings or the happening of any other condition or thing
233	than those proceedings, conditions, or things which are
234	specifically required by this act.
235	(c) The proceeds of the bonds shall be used solely for the
236	payment of the cost of the hospital facilities for which such
237	bonds shall have been authorized and shall be disbursed in the
238	manner provided in the resolution or in the trust agreement
239	authorizing the issuance of such bonds. If the proceeds of the
240	bonds of any issue shall exceed the amount required for the
241	purpose for which the same shall have been issued, the surplus
242	shall be set aside and used only for payment of the cost of
243	additional projects or for the payment of the principal of and
244	interest on such bonds. In the event that the actual cost of
245	the project exceeds the estimated cost, the board may issue
246	additional bonds to cover the deficiency, subject to the same
247	restrictions as required for the original issue.
248	(2) BONDS.-- Bonds may be issued from time to time by the
249	board for the purposes herein provided, provided the issuance of
250	general obligation bonds shall have been approved by a majority
251	of the votes cast in an election held for such purposes pursuant
252	to the requirements of the Constitution of Florida.
253	(3) REVENUE CERTIFICATES.—
254	(a) Revenue certificates issued under the provisions of
255	this act shall be payable from the revenues derived from the
256	operation of any hospital facility or combination of hospital
257	facilities of the district under the supervision, operation, and
258	control of the board and from any other funds legally available
259	therefor. The issuance of such revenue certificates shall not
260	directly, indirectly, or contingently obligate the state, the
261	board, or the district to levy any ad valorem taxes or to make
262	any appropriations for their payment or for the operation and
263	maintenance of the hospital facilities of the district.
264	(b) The board shall not convey or mortgage any hospital
265	facility or any part thereof as security for the payment of the
266	revenue certificates.
267	(c) In the discretion of the board, each or any issue of
268	such revenue certificates may be secured by a trust agreement by
269	and between the district and a corporate trustee, which may be
270	any trust company or bank having the powers of a trust company
271	within or outside of the state. Such trust agreement may pledge
272	or assign the revenues to be received by the board. The
273	resolution providing for the issuance of revenue certificates or
274	such trust agreement may contain such provisions for protecting
275	and enforcing the rights and remedies of the certificate holders
276	as may be reasonable, proper, and not in violation of law,
277	including covenants setting forth the duties of the board in
278	relation to the acquisition, construction, improvement,
279	maintenance, operation, repair, equipping, and insurance of the
280	facilities and the custody, safeguarding, and application of all
281	moneys. It shall be lawful for any bank or trust company
282	incorporated under the laws of this state to act as such
283	depository and to furnish such indemnifying bonds or to pledge
284	such securities as may be required by the board. Such
285	resolution or such trust agreement may restrict the individual
286	right of action by certificate holders as is customary in trust
287	agreements securing bonds or debentures of corporations. In
288	addition to the foregoing, such resolution or such trust
289	agreement may contain such other provisions as the board may
290	deem reasonable and proper for the security of the certificate
291	holders. Except as otherwise provided in this act, the board
292	may provide, by resolution or by trust agreement, for the
293	payment of the proceeds of the sale of the revenue certificates
294	and the revenues of the facilities to such officer, board, or
295	depository as it may determine for the custody thereof, and for
296	the method of disbursement thereof, with such safeguards and
297	restrictions as it may determine. All expenses incurred in
298	carrying out the trust agreement may be treated as a part of the
299	cost of operation of the facilities affected by the trust
300	agreement.
301	(d) The resolution or trust agreement providing for the
302	issuance of the revenue certificates may also contain such
303	limitations upon the issuance of additional revenue certificates
304	as the board may deem proper, and such additional certificates
305	shall be issued under such restrictions or limitations as may be
306	prescribed by such resolution or trust agreement.
307	(4) REFUNDING OBLIGATIONS.-- The board is authorized to
308	provide by resolution for the issuance of refunding bonds or
309	refunding revenue certificates for the purpose of refunding any
310	bonds or revenue certificates, respectively, then outstanding
311	and issued under the provisions of this act, provided that the
312	refunding of any bonds payable from ad valorem taxes shall be to
313	the advantage of the district, such as providing for lower
314	interest rates or other savings to the taxpayers. The board is
315	further authorized to provide by resolution for the issuance of
316	revenue certificates for the combined purpose of (1)paying the
317	cost of any acquisition, construction, extension, addition,
318	improving, equipping, or reconstruction of a facility or
319	facilities of the district and (2) refunding revenue
320	certificates of the district which shall theretofore have been
321	issued under the provisions of the act and shall then be
322	outstanding. The issuance of such obligations, the maturities
323	and other details thereof, the right and remedies of the holders
324	thereof, and the rights, powers, privileges, duties, and
325	obligations of the district with respect to the same shall be
326	governed by the foregoing provisions of this act insofar as the
327	same may be applicable.
328	(5) ELECTION.-- The board of county commissioners of
329	Volusia County shall, when presented with a resolution adopted
330	by the board requesting the holding of an election to approve
331	the issuance of bonds under this act, call, notice, and conduct
332	such election in the manner required by the constitution and by
333	the general laws of the state for the issuance of bonds by the
334	county. The cost of holding and conducting such election shall
335	be paid by the district.
336	Section 9. Prior to the issuance of such bonds, the board
337	shall, by resolution, determine the amount which in their
338	opinion will be necessary to be raised annually by taxation for
339	an interest and sinking fund with which to pay the interest and
340	principal of the bonds, and the board is authorized and required
341	to provide for the levy and collection annually of a sufficient
342	tax, without limitation as to rate or amount, upon all the
343	taxable property in the district to pay such interest and with
344	which to provide and maintain a sinking fund for the payment of
345	the principal of the bonds. Such sinking funds providing for
346	the payment of principal and interest of the outstanding bonds
347	shall not be used for any other purpose, provided, however, that
348	such sinking funds so set aside may be invested at the
349	discretion of the board or in the purchase or retirement of
350	bonds previously issued by the district. The revenues or any
351	part thereof derived from the operation of any hospital facility
352	or any combination of the hospital facilities of the district
353	shall, if so authorized by the board, be deposited to the credit
354	of the sinking fund for such bonds, and in that event the amount
355	of the annual levy herein required may be reduced in any year by
356	the amount of such revenues actually received in the preceding
357	year (excluding any depreciation fund) and then remaining on
358	deposit to the credit of the sinking fund for the payment of
359	such principal and interest.
360	Section 10. The board shall offer said bonds for sale by
361	notice stating the amount of bonds for sale, rate of interest
362	and when due, and payable, by advertising once a week for two
363	(2) weeks in a newspaper published in the district. The board
364	shall receive bids for the purchase of the bonds or any part
365	thereof on the day fixed by the notice, being not less than
366	twenty (20) days from the date of the first (1st) publication.
367	It shall have the right to reject any and all bids and
368	readvertise the bonds or any portion thereof remaining unsold.
369	Section 11. A bank or banks, or other depositary or
370	depositaries to be designated by the board, may receive and be
371	custodian of the bonds and all moneys arising from the sale of
372	the bonds.
373	Section 12. The funds of the district shall be paid out
374	upon warrant signed by the chair of the board and countersigned
375	by the treasurer thereof or bearing the facsimile signature of
376	the chair and treasurer when authorized by the board by
377	appropriate resolution. No warrant shall be drawn or issued
378	against funds of the district except for the purpose authorized
379	by this act or amendments thereto.
380	Section 13. It shall be the duty of the board, whenever
381	the bonds or any portion thereof are from time to time issued by
382	it, or whenever contracts entered into by the board require, to
383	annually assess and levy against the taxable property within the
384	district a tax to be collected and paid into the district fund
385	and used by the board for the operation, maintenance, and repair
386	of a hospital or hospitals established or authorized by this
387	act, or for the payment of any outstanding indebtedness
388	authorized by section 8, or for providing hospitalization under
389	a contract for the poor and indigent as contemplated under this
390	act, or amendments thereto, or for the payment of other
391	necessary expenses in carrying on and transacting the business
392	of the district, provided, nevertheless, that the millage for
393	the operating, maintenance, and repair of the hospital or
394	hospitals established as authorized by this act, or for the
395	payment of other necessary expenses in carrying on and
396	transacting the business of the district, shall not exceed four
397	(4) mills on all of the taxable property within the district.
398	Section 14. The board of commissioners of the Southeast
399	Volusia Hospital District is authorized and directed annually to
400	levy upon all the real and personal taxable property in the
401	district a sufficient tax to pay the interest and to provide and
402	maintain a sinking fund for the payment of the interest and
403	principal of the bonds provided for and authorized by this act.
404	Section 15. The levy by the board of the taxes authorized
405	by any provision of this act shall be by resolution of the board
406	duly entered upon the minutes of the board. Certified copies of
407	such resolution executed in the name of the board by its chair,
408	under its corporate seal, shall be made and delivered to the
409	board of the county commissioners of Volusia County and to the
410	comptroller of the state, not later than the first (1st) day of
411	July of every year. The county commissioners of Volusia County
412	shall order and require the tax assessor of the county to
413	assess, and the county tax collector of the county to collect,
414	the amount of taxes so assessed or levied by the board of
415	commissioners of the Southeast Volusia Hospital District upon
416	the taxable property in the district, at the rate of taxation
417	adopted by the board of commissioners of the district for the
418	year and included in the warrant of the tax assessor and
419	attached to the assessment roll of taxes for the county each
420	year. The tax collector shall collect such tax so levied by the
421	board in the same manner as other taxes are collected and shall
422	pay the same over to the board of commissioners of the Southeast
423	Volusia Hospital District within the time and in the manner
424	prescribed by law for the payment by the tax collector of county
425	taxes to the county depositary. It shall be the duty of the
426	comptroller of the state to assess and levy on all the railroad
427	lines and railroad property and telegraph lines and telegraph
428	property situated or located in the district, including as well
429	all telephone lines. The amount of each levy of each county or
430	state taxes and the said taxes shall be assessed by the same
431	officer respectively as are county taxes upon such property, and
432	such taxes shall be remitted by the collecting officer to the
433	board of commissioners of the Southeast Volusia Hospital
434	District. All such taxes shall be held by the board and paid
435	out by them as provided in this act.
436	Section 16. The board is authorized to pay from the funds
437	of the district all expenses of the organization of the board
438	and all expenses necessarily incurred with the formation of the
439	district and all other reasonable and necessary expenses,
440	including the fees and expenses of an attorney in the
441	transaction of the business of the district, and including the
442	compensation of a secretary to the board whose duties shall be
443	to keep and be responsible for all books of account, minutes,
444	and other records of the board, and in carrying out and
445	accomplishing the purposes of this act. This section, however,
446	shall not be construed to remit or instruct any of the powers
447	vested in the board by any other section or provision of this
448	act.
449	Section 17. At least once a year, the board shall publish
450	once in some newspaper in the district a complete detailed
451	statement of all moneys received and disbursed by them since the
452	creation of the district as to the first (1st) published
453	statement and since the last published statement as to any other
454	year. Such statement shall also show the several sources from
455	which said funds were received and shall show the balance on
456	hand at the time of the published statement. It shall show a
457	complete statement of the condition of the district.
458	Section 18. Each hospital and clinic established under
459	this act shall be for the use and benefit of the indigent sick.
460	Such residents shall be admitted to such hospital and clinic and
461	be entitled to medical care without charge, subject to the rules
462	and regulations prescribed by the board. Such hospitals and
463	clinics shall care for and treat without charge patients who are
464	found by the board to be indigent, but the board may collect
465	from patients financially able such charges as the board may
466	from time to time establish. The board shall have the power to
467	extend the benefits and privileges of such hospitals and clinics
468	and treatment and outpatient department to the home of the
469	indigent residents of the county. The board may extend the
470	privileges and use of such hospitals and clinics to nonresidents
471	of the district upon such terms and conditions as the board may
472	from time to time by its rules and regulations provide.
473	Section 19. It is intended that the provisions of this act
474	shall be liberally construed for accomplishing the work
475	authorized and provided for or intended to be and provided for
476	this act, and where strict construction would result in defeat
477	of the accomplishment of any part of the work authorized by this
478	act and liberal construction would permit or assist in the
479	accomplishment thereof, the liberal construction shall be
480	chosen.
481	Section 20. All bonds issued under the provisions of this
482	act may be validated by the board under and in accordance with
483	the provisions of the general laws of Florida, in the same
484	manner as is therein provided for validation of bonds, etc., by
485	any county, municipality, taxing district, etc. of the state.
486	Section 21. If any section, paragraph, phrase, or sentence
487	contained in this act, or amendments thereto, shall be held
488	inoperative, unconstitutional, or invalid by a court of
489	competent jurisdiction, it shall in no way affect the remaining
490	portions of this act.
491	Section 4. Chapters 24961 (1947), 29586 (1953), 57-1931,
492	65-2362, 67-2148, 81-499, and 89-552, Laws of Florida, are
493	repealed.
494	Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.