| 1 | The Governmental Operations Committee recommends the following: |
| 2 |
|
| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 |
|
| 6 | A bill to be entitled |
| 7 | An act relating to the sale or lease of a county, |
| 8 | district, or municipal hospital; amending s. 155.40, F.S.; |
| 9 | providing for the effect of the sale of a public hospital |
| 10 | to a private purchaser; providing that the purchaser of a |
| 11 | public hospital is not acting on behalf of the public |
| 12 | entity seller and is not an agency within the meaning of |
| 13 | ch. 119, F.S., unless the sale document expressly provides |
| 14 | to the contrary; providing an effective date. |
| 15 |
|
| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
|
| 18 | Section 1. Section 155.40, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 19 | read: |
| 20 | 155.40 Sale or lease of county, district, or municipal |
| 21 | hospital; effect of sale.-- |
| 22 | (1) In order that citizens and residents of the state may |
| 23 | receive quality health care, any county, district, or municipal |
| 24 | hospital organized and existing under the laws of this state, |
| 25 | acting by and through its governing board, shall have the |
| 26 | authority to sell or lease such hospital to a for-profit or not- |
| 27 | for-profit Florida corporation, and enter into leases or other |
| 28 | contracts with a for-profit or not-for-profit Florida |
| 29 | corporation for the purpose of operating and managing such |
| 30 | hospital and any or all of its facilities of whatsoever kind and |
| 31 | nature. The term of any such lease, contract, or agreement and |
| 32 | the conditions, covenants, and agreements to be contained |
| 33 | therein shall be determined by the governing board of such |
| 34 | county, district, or municipal hospital. The governing board of |
| 35 | the hospital must find that the sale, lease, or contract is in |
| 36 | the best interests of the public and must state the basis of |
| 37 | such finding. If the governing board of a county, district, or |
| 38 | municipal hospital decides to lease the hospital, it must give |
| 39 | notice in accordance with paragraph (4)(a) or paragraph (4)(b). |
| 40 | (2) Any such lease, contract, or agreement made pursuant |
| 41 | hereto shall: |
| 42 | (a) Provide that the articles of incorporation of such |
| 43 | for-profit or not-for-profit corporation be subject to the |
| 44 | approval of the board of directors or board of trustees of such |
| 45 | hospital; |
| 46 | (b) Require that any not-for-profit corporation become |
| 47 | qualified under s. 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal |
| 48 | Revenue Code; |
| 49 | (c) Provide for the orderly transition of the operation |
| 50 | and management of such facilities; |
| 51 | (d) Provide for the return of such facility to the county, |
| 52 | municipality, or district upon the termination of such lease, |
| 53 | contract, or agreement; and |
| 54 | (e) Provide for the continued treatment of indigent |
| 55 | patients pursuant to the Florida Health Care Responsibility Act |
| 56 | and pursuant to chapter 87-92, Laws of Florida. |
| 57 | (3) Any sale, lease, or contract entered into pursuant to |
| 58 | this section prior to the effective date of this act must have |
| 59 | complied with the requirements of subsection (2) in effect at |
| 60 | the time of the sale, lease, or contract. It is the intent of |
| 61 | the Legislature that this section does not impose any further |
| 62 | requirements with respect to the formation of any for-profit or |
| 63 | not-for-profit Florida corporation, the composition of the board |
| 64 | of directors of any Florida corporation, or the manner in which |
| 65 | control of the hospital is transferred to the Florida |
| 66 | corporation. |
| 67 | (4) In the event the governing board of a county, |
| 68 | district, or municipal hospital elects to sell or lease the |
| 69 | hospital, the board shall: |
| 70 | (a) Negotiate the terms of the sale or lease with a for- |
| 71 | profit or not-for-profit Florida corporation and publicly |
| 72 | advertise the meeting at which the proposed sale or lease will |
| 73 | be considered by the governing board of the hospital in |
| 74 | accordance with s. 286.0105; or |
| 75 | (b) Publicly advertise the offer to accept proposals in |
| 76 | accordance with s. 255.0525 and receive proposals from all |
| 77 | interested and qualified purchasers. |
| 78 |
|
| 79 | Any sale must be for fair market value, and any sale or lease |
| 80 | must comply with all applicable state and federal antitrust |
| 81 | laws. |
| 82 | (5) In the event a hospital operated by a for-profit or |
| 83 | not-for-profit Florida corporation receives annually more than |
| 84 | $100,000 in revenues from the county, district, or municipality |
| 85 | that owns the hospital, the Florida corporation must be |
| 86 | accountable to the county, district, or municipality with |
| 87 | respect to the manner in which the funds are expended by either: |
| 88 | (a) Having the revenues subject to annual appropriations |
| 89 | by the county, district, or municipality; or |
| 90 | (b) Where there is a contract to provide revenues to the |
| 91 | hospital, the term of which is longer than 12 months, the |
| 92 | governing board of the county, district, or municipality must be |
| 93 | able to modify the contract upon 12 months notice to the |
| 94 | hospital. |
| 95 |
|
| 96 | A not-for-profit corporation that is subject to this subsection |
| 97 | and that does not currently comply with the accountability |
| 98 | requirements in this subsection shall have 12 months after the |
| 99 | effective date of this act to modify any contracts with the |
| 100 | county, district, or municipality in a manner that is consistent |
| 101 | with this subsection. |
| 102 | (6) Unless otherwise expressly stated in the lease |
| 103 | documents, the transaction involving the sale or lease of a |
| 104 | hospital shall not be construed as: |
| 105 | (a) A transfer of a governmental function from the county, |
| 106 | district, or municipality to the private purchaser or lessee; |
| 107 | (b) Constituting a financial interest of the public lessor |
| 108 | in the private lessee; or |
| 109 | (c) Making a private lessee an integral part of the public |
| 110 | lessor's decisionmaking process. |
| 111 | (7) The lessee of a hospital, under pursuant to this |
| 112 | section or any special act of the Legislature, operating under a |
| 113 | lease is shall not be construed to be "acting on behalf of" the |
| 114 | lessor as that term is used in statute, unless the lease |
| 115 | document expressly provides to the contrary. |
| 116 | (8) Unless otherwise expressly stated in the sale |
| 117 | documents, the transaction involving the sale of a hospital |
| 118 | shall not be construed as: |
| 119 | (a) A transfer of a governmental function from the county, |
| 120 | district, or municipality to the private purchaser; |
| 121 | (b) Constituting a financial interest of the public seller |
| 122 | in the private purchaser; or |
| 123 | (c) Making a private purchaser an integral part of the |
| 124 | public seller's decisionmaking process. |
| 125 | (9)(a) The purchaser of a hospital, under this section or |
| 126 | any special act of the Legislature, operating after a sale of |
| 127 | the hospital is not "acting on behalf of" the seller as that |
| 128 | term is used in statute, unless the sale document expressly |
| 129 | provides to the contrary. |
| 130 | (b) The purchaser of a hospital, under this section or any |
| 131 | special act of the Legislature, operating after a sale of the |
| 132 | hospital shall not be construed as an "agency" within the |
| 133 | meaning of s. 119.011(2), unless the sale document expressly |
| 134 | provides to the contrary. |
| 135 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |