ENROLLED HB 1457, Engrossed 1 2003 Legislature
1
2	A bill to be entitled
3	An act relating to Halifax Hospital Medical Center,
4	Volusia County; codifying, reenacting, and amending the
5	charter of the Halifax Hospital Medical Center special tax
6	district; providing for boundaries of the district;
7	establishing a Board of Commissioners; providing for
8	membership and appointment; providing powers and duties of
9	the board; providing for meetings of the board;
10	authorizing the district to establish, construct, operate,
11	and maintain hospitals, medical facilities, and services;
12	providing that the district shall have the power of
13	eminent domain; authorizing the district to perform
14	certain functions in order to carry out the purposes of
15	the act; providing for the issuance of bonds and
16	procedures relating thereto; authorizing the district to
17	levy and collect certain taxes; authorizing officers of
18	the district to sign checks and warrants; providing
19	procedure for levy and collection of taxes; providing for
20	the payment of expenses; requiring the establishment of
21	revenue accounts; requiring the district to provide care
22	and services for the medically indigent; providing for
23	liberal construction; exempting property of the district
24	from taxation; requiring an annual financial audit of the
25	books and records of the district; providing for employee
26	benefits; providing for competitive bidding; providing an
27	alternative to bidding procedure; providing an exception;
28	authorizing the board to designate a direct-support
29	organization; providing for severability; repealing
30	chapters 79-577, 79-578, 84-539, 89-409, and 91-352, Laws
31	of Florida; providing an effective date.
32
33	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
34
35	Section 1. Pursuant to section 189.429, Florida Statutes,
36	this act constitutes the codification of all special acts
37	relating to the Halifax Hospital Medical Center special tax
38	district. It is the intent of the Legislature to provide a
39	single, comprehensive special act charter for said district,
40	including all current legislative authority granted to the
41	district by its several legislative enactments and any
42	additional authority granted by this act and chapter 189,
43	Florida Statutes, as they may be amended from time to time. It
44	is further the intent of this act to preserve all district
45	authority.
46	Section 2. Chapters 79-577, 79-578, 84-539, 89-409, and
47	91-352, Laws of Florida, relating to the Halifax Hospital
48	Medical Center special tax district are codified, reenacted,
49	amended, and repealed as herein provided.
50	Section 3. The charter for the Halifax Hospital Medical
51	Center special tax district is re-created and reenacted to read:
52	Section 1. A special tax district is hereby created to be
53	known as “Halifax Hospital Medical Center” in Volusia County,
54	Florida, which district shall include all of Volusia County
55	except those parts described below:
56
57	Beginning at the point of intersection of the main
58	channel of Mosquito Inlet and the Atlantic Ocean,
59	thence run Southeasterly with the shore of the
60	Atlantic Ocean to the point of intersection with the
61	South line of Township 19S, thence West with said
62	Township line to the Southwest corner of Section 34,
63	Township 19S, Range 33E, thence North to the Northwest
64	corner of Section 3, Township 19S, Range 33E, thence
65	West along the South line of Township 18S, Range 33E,
66	to the Southwest corner of said Township 18S, Range
67	33E, thence north with West line of Township 18S,
68	Range 33E, to the Northwest corner of said Township
69	18S, Range 33E, thence West along line between
70	Townships 17S and 18S to the Southwest corner of
71	Township 17S, Range 32E, thence along the Range line
72	between Ranges 31E and 32E North to the Northwest
73	corner of Township 17S, Range 32E, thence East along
74	the North line of Township 17S, Range 32E to the point
75	of intersection with the South fork of Spruce Creek,
76	thence Northerly and Easterly along Spruce Creek to
77	the point of intersection with the main channel of the
78	Halifax River, thence Southerly and Easterly along the
79	main channel of the Halifax River and the main channel
80	of Mosquito Inlet to the point of beginning. All the
81	above described property lying and being in County of
82	Volusia, State of Florida.
83
84	Commencing at a point on the East Shore of Lake George
85	where same is intersected by the Putnam-Volusia County
86	line and run Northeasterly with said line to be the
87	Southernmost point of Lake Crescent; thence East with
88	shore line of Lake Crescent to the mouth of Hawk
89	Creek; thence up said Creek to its intersection with
90	the East line of Range 28 East; run thence South with
91	said Range line (it being the Flagler-Volusia County
92	line) to the Northwest corner of Section 30, Township
93	14 South, Range 29 East; thence run East 12 miles to
94	the Northeast corner of Section 25, Township 14 South,
95	Range 30 East; thence run South two miles to the
96	Southeast corner of Township 14 South, Range 30 East;
97	thence run West along said Township line to the
98	Northeast corner of Township 15 South, Range 30 East;
99	thence run South with the range line between Ranges 30
100	and 31 East about six miles to the Southeast corner of
101	Township 15 South, Range 30 East, run thence East
102	along the North line of Township 16 South, Range 31
103	East about six miles to the Northeast corner of said
104	Township 16 South, Range 31 East; run thence South on
105	the range line between Ranges 31 and 32 East about
106	twelve miles to the Southeast corner of Township 17
107	South, Range 31 East; run thence East with the line
108	between Township 17 and 18 South to the Northeast
109	corner of Township 18 South, Range 32 East; run thence
110	South on the range line between Ranges 32 and 33 East
111	to the Southeast corner of Township 18 South, Range 32
112	East; run thence East on the line between Township 18
113	South, Range 33 East and Township 19 South, Range 33
114	East about three miles to the Northeast corner of
115	Section 4 of Township 19 South, Range 33 East. Run
116	thence South on the East line of Sections 4-9-16-21-28
117	and 33. Township 19 South, Range 33 East to the
118	Southeast corner of Section 33, Township 19, South
119	Range 33 East; run thence East on the line between
120	Township 19 South, Range 33 East and Township 20
121	South, Range 33 East to the Northeast corner of
122	Township 20 South, Range 33 East; run thence South on
123	the East line of Township 20 South, Range 33 East and
124	along the East line of Township 21 South, Range 33
125	East to the Southeast corner of Section 36, Township
126	21 South, Range 33 East, run thence West along a South
127	line of Township 21 South, Range 33 East to the
128	intersection of said Township line with the St. Johns
129	River; thence run down the St. Johns River in a
130	generally Northwesterly direction to Lake George and
131	with the East Shore line of said Lake George to the
132	place of beginning.
133
134	Section 2. (1) The governing body of the district shall
135	be a Board of Commissioners which shall consist of seven
136	members, each of whom shall be a resident of the district and
137	appointed by the Governor. Except with respect to those
138	appointees who shall be appointed to serve terms ending on the
139	dates specified herein, each commissioner shall be appointed for
140	a term of 4 years. The appointments which must be made with
141	respect to the four commissioners whose terms end in May of 1985
142	shall be made with two commissioners being appointed for terms
143	ending May 23, 1986, and two commissioners being appointed for
144	regular 4-year terms. With respect to the appointments which
145	must be made for the three commissioners whose terms end in May
146	1987, two commissioners shall be appointed for regular 4-year
147	terms and one commissioner shall be appointed for a term ending
148	May 23, 1988.
149	(2) The Governor may suspend a commissioner pursuant to
150	section 7, Article IV of the State Constitution. Each
151	commissioner shall give bond to the Governor conditioned on the
152	officer’s faithful performance of the duties of his or her
153	office, in the sum of $5,000, with a surety company approved by
154	the district and qualified to do business in Florida. The bond
155	shall be approved and filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court
156	of Volusia County. The premiums on each bond shall be paid by
157	the district.
158	Section 3. The district shall have all powers of a body
159	corporate, including, but not limited to, the power to sue and
160	be sued; to enter into contracts; to adopt and use a common
161	seal; to establish corporations pursuant to chapter 617, Florida
162	Statutes, under the control of the district; to enter into
163	capital or operating leases; and to acquire, purchase, hold,
164	lease, and convey such real and personal property as may be
165	proper or expedient to carry out the purposes of this act. The
166	district shall have the power to employ a chief executive
167	officer or such other agents and employees as it deems may be
168	advisable to operate and manage the district’s facilities; to
169	borrow money and issue notes, bonds, and other evidences of
170	indebtedness to carry out the provisions of this act; to foster
171	community redevelopment within the district through financial
172	contribution with the community redevelopment trust fund; and to
173	accept promissory notes and voluntary liens to evidence and
174	secure payment for health care services rendered to patients
175	whenever patients are unable to pay their bills in full when
176	payment is due.
177	Section 4. Four of the commissioners shall constitute a
178	quorum, but no action, except to recess or adjourn, shall be
179	effective unless four of the commissioners concur therein. The
180	Board of Commissioners shall keep true and accurate minutes and
181	records of all business transacted by it. The minutes, records,
182	and books of account shall at all reasonable times be open and
183	subject to inspection and copying by the public, pursuant to
184	section 119.07, Florida Statutes.
185	Section 5. The district may establish, construct, operate,
186	and maintain such hospitals, medical facilities, and other
187	health care facilities and services as are necessary. The
188	hospitals, medical facilities, and other health care facilities
189	and services shall be established, constructed, operated, and
190	maintained by the district for the preservation of the public
191	health, for the public good, and for the use of the public of
192	the district. Maintenance of such hospitals, medical facilities,
193	and other health care facilities and services in the district is
194	hereby found and declared to be a public purpose and necessary
195	for the general welfare of the residents of the district.
196	Section 6. The district shall have the power of eminent
197	domain, and it may condemn and acquire any real or personal
198	property within the district which the board may deem necessary
199	for the use of the district. The power of condemnation shall be
200	exercised in the same manner as is now or may be provided by
201	general law for the exercise of the power of eminent domain by
202	counties of the state, including the right to take possession
203	and title in advance of final judgment under the procedures set
204	forth in chapter 74, Florida Statutes.
205	Section 7. In order to carry out the purposes of this act:
206	(1) The district may borrow money and execute promissory
207	notes having a term of up to 7 years and may enter into credit
208	purchase agreements having a term of up to 7 years. The
209	district may determine with respect to such notes or credit
210	purchase agreements the initial principal amounts and may set
211	terms and rates of interest.
212	(2) The district may facilitate fair and consistent
213	delivery of health care services to indigent persons by charging
214	for indigent care services on the same sliding scale used by the
215	Volusia County Health Department.
216	(3) The district may form both not-for-profit and for-
217	profit corporations. The for-profit corporations may only
218	engage in health care-related activities. Only the not-for-
219	profit corporations may be capitalized by the district and
220	financially supported by the district. Neither the district nor
221	a not-for-profit corporation formed by the district may
222	capitalize for-profit corporations, but this shall not prohibit
223	the district or its not-for-profit corporations from entering
224	good faith agreements to receive from such for-profit
225	corporations services, goods, and facilities, as long as the
226	charge for such services, goods, and facilities is at fair
227	market value. The district shall not hold in its name corporate
228	stock issued by any for-profit corporation established by the
229	district, but the stock of such for-profit corporations may be
230	held by a not-for-profit corporation established by the district
231	or by a third party in trust for the district under a written
232	trust agreement.
233	(4) The not-for-profit corporations and the for-profit
234	corporations established by the district may be stockholders
235	which may enter into joint ventures and other cooperative
236	projects with third-party individuals and entities as long as:
237	(a) Any assets of the not-for-profit corporation which are
238	provided by the district are not liened, collateralized,
239	mortgaged, subject to a security interest, or otherwise put at
240	risk.
241	(b) The district’s credit is not pledged or lent to or for
242	the benefit of the joint venture or other cooperative projects.
243	(c) The district itself is not directly involved as a
244	shareholder, joint venturer, or partner. The fact that a
245	corporation established by the district is a shareholder, joint
246	venturer, or other type of participant in a business or
247	cooperative project shall not, alone, subject that business or
248	cooperative project to requirements of chapter 119, Florida
249	Statutes, or chapter 286, Florida Statutes.
250	(5) The district may issue tax anticipation notes and
251	neither validation proceedings nor referendum approval is
252	necessary with respect to tax anticipation notes with a maturity
253	date not more than 12 months after their date of issuance.
254	(6) The district shall maintain commercial insurance,
255	establish a risk retention program consisting of self-insurance
256	plans, or utilize a combination of commercial insurance and
257	self-insurance plans to protect against those risks of less
258	commonly insured against by businesses and organizations
259	carrying out the health care functions provided by the district.
260	Such commercial insurance and/or self-insurance plans shall be
261	in such amounts as deemed prudent under the circumstances by the
262	district’s insurance consultant. The district may develop a
263	risk retention program consisting of separate self-insurance
264	plans for the following risks: general liability, errors and
265	omissions, medical professional liability, including the
266	district’s “shared risk” of joint and several liability with
267	medical physicians, workers’ compensation, and employee medical
268	benefits.
269	(7) Each self-insurance plan established or sponsored by
270	the district shall be funded on an annual basis in an amount at
271	least equal to that sum jointly established by the hospital's
272	CEO and the district's insurance consultant as needed to
273	maintain the plan's solvency for the applicable plan year. In
274	making such determination, the insurance consultant and the CEO
275	shall include “incurred but not reported” claims in the reserves
276	against claims. The self-insurance plans within the risk
277	retention program may be established and funded utilizing a
278	single trust as long as the cost of risk for each self-insurance
279	plan is separately accounted for and reported. If necessary or
280	beneficial for legal or actuarial purposes, the separate self-
281	insurance plans within the risk retention program may be
282	established utilizing separate trusts or separate not-for-profit
283	corporations.
284	(8) Protecting the district and its assets through
285	commercial insurance or through a risk retention program
286	consisting of self-insurance plans or through a combination of
287	commercial insurance and self-insurance plans is an essential
288	governmental function. The fact that hospital employees, their
289	beneficiaries, or other third parties receive incidental
290	benefits as a result of the commercial insurance or self-
291	insurance plans purchased, established, or sponsored by the
292	district shall not be a basis for asserting such commercial
293	insurance or such plan within the risk retention program is not
294	primarily for the benefit of the district or is not an essential
295	governmental function as long as any third party receiving such
296	incidental benefit pays its fair and equitable share of the
297	district’s total costs for insuring or self-insuring the risks.
298	(9) Nothing herein shall be interpreted as prohibiting the
299	district from purchasing other commercial insurance or
300	establishing or sponsoring other self-insurance plans under its
301	risk retention program.
302	Section 8. (1) The district may, by resolution of the
303	board, authorize the issuance of bonds for the purposes set
304	forth in this act, and for the acquisition and development of
305	real property, including appurtenances, fixtures, and equipment,
306	and for major repairs or renovations to real property which
307	significantly extend its useful life or change its function, and
308	for any necessary operating capital outlay to furnish and
309	operate a new or improved facility. The bonds may be revenue
310	bonds payable from ad valorem taxes, or bonds payable from a
311	combination of the two; provided, however, that no bonds either
312	pledging the full faith and credit of the district, or pledging
313	the taxing power thereof, except refunding bonds issued at a
314	lower net average interest cost rate, shall be issued unless the
315	issuance has been approved in a referendum by a majority vote of
316	the electors of the district voting on the question. Nothing
317	herein shall limit any rights the district has or may have under
318	general law.
319	(2) Pursuant to resolution of the board, such bonds may:
320	(a) Be issued in either coupon or registered form or both.
321	(b) Have dates of maturity not exceeding 40 years after
322	the date of issuance.
323	(c) Bear interest at a rate to be determined by the board.
324	(d) Provide for registration of coupon bonds and
325	conversion and reconversion of bonds from coupon to registered
326	form or from registered form to coupon form.
327	(e) Provide for payment at maturity and redemption prior
328	to maturity at specified times and prices.
329	(f) Be payable at specified places within or without the
330	state.
331	(3) Bonds shall be signed by such officers of the board or
332	district as shall be required by resolution of the board. The
333	signatures may be manual or facsimile signatures, but at least
334	one of the signatures shall be a manual signature. The coupons
335	shall be signed with the facsimile signatures of such officials
336	of the board as the board shall determine. In case any officer
337	whose signature or facsimile of whose signature appears on any
338	bonds or coupons ceases to be such officer before delivery of
339	the bonds or coupons, his or her signature or facsimile
340	signature shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all
341	purposes as fully and to the same extent as if he or she had
342	remained in office until delivery.
343	(4) All bonds shall be exempt from all state, county, and
344	city taxation.
345	(5) All bonds issued pursuant to this act shall be and
346	have, and are hereby declared to be and have, all the qualities
347	and incidents of negotiable instruments under the Uniform
348	Commercial Code--Investment Securities Law of the state.
349	(6) The board may sell the bonds in such a manner and at
350	such prices as the board may determine to be in the best
351	interest of the district, but not, however, at less than 95
352	percent of par value.
353	(a) The bonds may be sold either at negotiated or public
354	sale as determined by the board to be in the best interest of
355	the district.
356	(b) If the bonds are to be sold at public sale:
357	1. Notice of the sale shall be published at least once at
358	least 10 days prior to the date of sale in one or more
359	newspapers or financial journals published within or without the
360	state and shall contain such terms as the board shall deem
361	advisable and proper under the circumstances; provided that if
362	no bids are received at the time and place called for by the
363	notice of sale, or if all bids received are rejected, the bonds
364	may again be offered for sale upon a shorter period of
365	reasonable notice provided for by resolution of the board.
366	2. All bids for the purchase of any bonds offered for sale
367	by the board shall be opened in public. Such bonds shall be
368	awarded by resolution of the board to the bidder offering to
369	purchase such bonds at the lowest net interest cost, such cost
370	to be determined by deducting the total amount of premium bid
371	from or adding the total amount of discount bid to the aggregate
372	amount of interest which will accrue on such bonds until their
373	respective maturities, without reference to any provisions for
374	prior redemption of such bonds.
375	3. No best bid from a reputable underwriter or team of
376	underwriters which bid conforms to the notice of sale may be
377	rejected unless all bids are rejected. If the bids rejected are
378	legally acceptable bids under the notice of sale, such bonds
379	shall not be sold thereafter except upon public sale after
380	publication of notice of sale as provided herein.
381	(7) No bonds shall be issued by the district unless the
382	face or reverse thereof contains a certificate, executed either
383	manually or with the facsimile signature of the secretary or
384	assistant secretary of the board or district, to the effect that
385	the issuance of such bonds has been approved under the
386	provisions of this act by the board. The certificate shall be
387	conclusive evidence as to approval of the issuance of such bonds
388	by the district and that the requirements of this act and all of
389	the laws relating to such bonds are in full compliance.
390	(8) The district, by resolution of its board, shall have
391	the authority to issue bond anticipation notes in the name of
392	the district in anticipation of the receipt of the proceeds of
393	the bonds in the same manner and subject to the same limitations
394	and conditions provided by section 215.431, Florida Statutes.
395	The rights and remedies which they would have if they were the
396	holders of the definitive bonds in anticipation of which they
397	are issued, and all of the covenants, agreements, or other
398	proceedings relating to the definitive bonds in anticipation of
399	which such bond anticipation notes are issued shall be a part of
400	the proceedings relating to the issuance of the notes as fully
401	and to the same extent as if incorporated verbatim herein.
402	(9) Prior to the preparation of definitive bonds, the
403	district, pursuant to resolution of its board, may issue interim
404	receipts or temporary bonds, with or without coupons,
405	exchangeable for definitive bonds when such bonds have been
406	executed and are available for delivery under such terms and
407	conditions as the board shall deem advisable. The resolution
408	may also provide for the replacement of any bonds which shall
409	become mutilated or be destroyed, stolen, or lost under such
410	terms and conditions as the board shall deem advisable.
411	(10) Bonds issued under the provisions of this act may be
412	validated in the manner provided in chapter 75, Florida
413	Statutes.
414	Section 9. (1) Prior to the issuance of full faith and
415	credit bonds, the Board of Commissioners shall determine the
416	amount which, in the opinion of the board, will be necessary to
417	be raised annually by taxation for the payment of the debt
418	service on all such outstanding bonds and all such bonds
419	proposed to be issued. Subject to the millage limitations
420	authorized by law, the district shall provide for the levy and
421	collection annually of a sufficient tax upon all the taxable
422	property in the district to make the debt service payments on
423	the bonds and debt service on notes, for expenses of operation,
424	maintenance, construction, improvements, and repair of the
425	hospitals or clinics, and for the payment of any indebtedness or
426	other necessary expenses in carrying out the business of the
427	district.
428	(2) The millage for the taxes assessed and levied against
429	the taxable property within the district for the payment of debt
430	service, including interest and principal of the bonds and notes
431	issued by the district and for the operation, maintenance,
432	improvement, and repair of the hospitals, medical facilities,
433	clinics, or outpatient facilities and services, including, but
434	not limited to, providing care to the indigent as provided in
435	this act, or for the payment of any outstanding indebtedness
436	authorized by this act, or for the payment of other necessary
437	expenses in carrying on and transacting the business of the
438	district, shall not exceed 4 mills on all the nonexempt property
439	within the district, unless authorized by law and approved by a
440	majority vote of the electors of the district voting on the
441	issue.
442	Section 10. The Board of Commissioners, the Chief
443	Executive Officer, and the Chief Fiscal Officer of the district
444	are hereby authorized to sign checks and warrants of the
445	district by facsimile signature and to use and employ facsimile
446	signature machines for that purpose. The stamping, printing, or
447	lithographing of facsimile signatures of the Chief Executive
448	Officer and Chief Fiscal Officer shall constitute sufficient
449	signatures in compliance with Florida Statutes as to the
450	withdrawal of district funds from a depository.
451	Section 11. The levy of the taxes authorized by any
452	provision of this act shall be pursuant to a resolution of the
453	board. Certified copies of the resolution executed in the name
454	of the board by its chair, under its corporate seal, shall be
455	made and delivered to the County Council of Volusia County, and
456	to the Department of Revenue in the same manner and within the
457	same time period as required of counties pursuant to general
458	law. The County Council of Volusia County shall require the
459	Director of the Finance Department of the county to collect the
460	amount of taxes so assessed or levied by the district upon the
461	nonexempt property in the district, at the rate of taxation as
462	fixed, levied, and adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the
463	district for the year and included in the warrant of the
464	Property Appraiser and attached to the assessment roll of taxes
465	for the county each year. The Director of the Finance
466	Department of Volusia County shall collect the tax as levied by
467	the district in the same manner as other taxes are collected,
468	and he or she shall remit the taxes collected to the district
469	within the time and in the manner prescribed by law for the
470	collection and handling of county taxes to the county
471	depository. All revenues so collected shall be held, used,
472	invested, and disbursed by the district as provided in this act
473	or as otherwise provided by law.
474	Section 12. The district is authorized to pay from the
475	funds of the district all expenses necessarily incurred in the
476	formation of the district and all other reasonable and necessary
477	expenses, including, but not limited to, those expenses of the
478	type normally incurred in the establishment, operation, repair,
479	maintenance, expansion, and diversification of a modern
480	integrated system for the delivery of health care services
481	consisting of hospitals, clinics, health maintenance
482	organizations, ambulatory care facilities, managed care
483	facilities, other alternative delivery systems, self-insurance,
484	risk retention programs, captive insurance companies, and
485	support organizations. This section shall not be construed to
486	restrict any of the powers vested in the district by any other
487	provision of this act or any provision of general law.
488	Section 13. (1) The district shall create two separate
489	revenue accounts. One account shall be the Ad Valorem Tax
490	Revenue Account which shall be a separate account into which all
491	ad valorem tax revenues are deposited, and the other account
492	shall be the General Revenue Account into which all other
493	district revenues are deposited.
494	(2) Each corporation established and controlled by the
495	district shall utilize a bookkeeping and financial management
496	system which identifies all of that corporation’s revenues
497	generated through operation of those assets which were obtained
498	with ad valorem tax revenues.
499	(3) Annually the board shall publish in a newspaper of
500	general circulation published in the district an audited
501	consolidated financial statement of the district and its
502	corporations. Such financial statements shall be prepared
503	according to generally accepted accounting principles, shall
504	specifically include a combined balance sheet and a combined
505	statement of revenues and expenses, and shall show a complete
506	statement of the financial conditions of the district as of the
507	end of the fiscal year.
508	Section 14. The hospitals, medical facilities, clinics,
509	and outpatient facilities established under this act or by a
510	not-for-profit corporation formed by the district shall provide
511	either independently or in cooperation with each other and/or in
512	cooperation with the Volusia County Public Health Care Unit an
513	appropriate location or locations for the delivery of quality
514	hospital care and related services and treatment to patients who
515	are determined according to criteria established by the board to
516	be medically indigent. Persons so determined to be medically
517	indigent shall receive such services at the locations
518	established by the district or by a not-for-profit corporation
519	formed by the district either for no charge or alternatively for
520	a reduced charge according to the same sliding scale used by the
521	Volusia County Health Department. Each hospital, medical
522	facility, clinic, and outpatient facility established under this
523	act shall collect such charges as the district may from time to
524	time establish for hospital care, outpatient care, and related
525	services and treatment. Except as is otherwise required by law
526	or by agreement with the Volusia County Health Department, the
527	district’s ad valorem tax revenues shall be used to fund medical
528	services to indigent persons only if such services are provided
529	at facilities owned by the district or at facilities in which
530	the district or a corporation established by the district holds
531	an ownership interest. The district may extend the use of
532	hospitals, clinics, and medical facilities of the district to
533	nonresidents upon such terms and conditions as the district may
534	from time to time by its rules provide. The medically indigent
535	residents of the district wherein such hospital and clinic are
536	located shall have priority to admission and outpatient
537	services.
538	Section 15. It is intended that the provisions of this act
539	shall be liberally construed in order to accomplish the purposes
540	of the act. Where strict construction of this act would result
541	in the defeat of the accomplishment of any of the purposes of
542	this act, and a liberal construction would permit or assist in
543	the accomplishment thereof, the liberal construction shall be
544	chosen.
545	Section 16. All property, real and personal, of the
546	Halifax Hospital Medical Center, a special tax district in
547	Volusia County, and all property, both real and personal, of the
548	Board of Commissioners of the special tax district are hereby
549	exempted from taxation pursuant to chapter 196, Florida
550	Statutes.
551	Section 17. The district shall provide for an annual
552	financial audit of its books and records in accordance with
553	section 218.39, Florida Statutes.
554	Section 18. The district is authorized to:
555	(1) Provide and pay all or any part of the insurance
556	expenses or premiums on its respective employees’ insurance or
557	self-insurance covering injuries received by such employees
558	after working hours or covering illness of such employees and
559	their dependents.
560	(2) Provide to employees and their dependents a discount
561	on the cost of drugs, laboratory, X-ray work, or other hospital
562	services.
563	(3) Provide and pay for employee benefits for group life
564	insurance on employees of the district.
565	(4) Provide such other fringe benefits to district
566	employees as it from time to time deems appropriate.
567	(5) Incur and pay reasonable expenditures for travel,
568	physician recruiting, employee recruiting, hospitality,
569	education, and marketing related to the furtherance of the
570	district’s objectives.
571	Section 19. (1) All purchases of supplies, commodities,
572	equipment, and materials as well as the leasing of equipment for
573	use in the operation and maintenance of the district, and all
574	contracts for work, construction, repair, or replacement of
575	buildings or other capital improvements to the district’s
576	property, the cost of which is in excess of $10,000, shall be
577	made or let by the district by contract to the lowest
578	responsible bidder according to the written specifications
579	previously prescribed therefor, and after publication in a
580	newspaper of general circulation within the district, 1 day a
581	week for 2 consecutive weeks, of an advertisement or notice
582	calling for or inviting such bids.
583	(2) As an alternative to the procedure prescribed in
584	subsection (1), whenever it reasonably appears to the Board of
585	Commissioners of the district that by reason of an emergency or
586	other unusual condition the compliance with the bidding
587	procedure prescribed in subsection (1) would be detrimental to
588	the interest of the district or its patients, or it appears to
589	the Board of Commissioners that such supplies, commodities,
590	equipment, and materials, and the leasing of equipment for the
591	use in the operation or maintenance of the district are
592	obtainable from only one source or supplier, the Board of
593	Commissioners of the district may by appropriate resolution
594	identify such emergency, unusual condition, or sole source
595	situation and authorize the purchase, lease agreement, or
596	contract without complying with the procedure prescribed in
597	subsection (1).
598	(3) The bidding requirements in subsection (1) shall not
599	apply to prosthetic devices, pacemakers, or other surgically
600	implanted devices or materials if the delay incident to
601	complying with such bidding requirements could adversely affect
602	patient care or could cause the patient to elect to have the
603	implant surgery performed at a private hospital which is not
604	bound by such bidding requirements.
605	(4) All contracts between the district and a third party
606	for construction, repair, or replacement of buildings,
607	structures, or other capital improvements owned and operated by
608	the district, the cost of which is in excess of $25,000, shall
609	be made or let to the lowest responsible bidder, unless:
610	(a) The construction is in conjunction with a design-build
611	project, in which case the district shall comply with section
612	287.055(9), Florida Statutes; or
613	(b) The lowest bidder refuses to enter into a contract
614	which prohibits the contractor from claiming delay damages, in
615	which case the district may contract with any qualified general
616	contractor for the district’s choice on the condition that the
617	contract with such contractor prohibits the contractor claiming
618	delay damages and the contract price does not exceed the bid
619	from the lowest responsible bidder by more than 5 percent.
620	Section 20. (1) The Board of Commissioners may designate
621	an organization as a Halifax Hospital Medical Center direct-
622	support organization to provide assistance, funding, and support
623	to the board in carrying out its powers and duties. For the
624	purposes of this section, “Halifax Hospital Medical Center
625	direct-support organization” means an organization which:
626	(a) Is a corporation not for profit which is incorporated
627	under chapter 617, Florida Statutes.
628	(b) Is organized and operated exclusively to receive,
629	hold, invest, and administer property and to make expenditures
630	to, or for the benefit of, Halifax Hospital Medical Center,
631	except that the organization may not receive funds from the
632	board by grant, gift, or contract unless specifically authorized
633	by the Legislature.
634	(c) Provides equal employment opportunities to all persons
635	regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or
636	religion.
637	(d) Has been specifically certified as a Halifax Hospital
638	Medical Center direct-support organization by a resolution
639	adopted by the Board of Commissioners.
640	(2) The Board of Commissioners shall prescribe, by rule,
641	procedures by which the Halifax Hospital Medical Center direct-
642	support organization is to be governed and any conditions with
643	which the organization must comply in order to use property,
644	facilities, or personal services of the district without charge.
645	“Personal services” include the services of full-time personnel
646	and the services of part-time personnel. The rules shall
647	provide:
648	(a) That the articles of incorporation and procedures for
649	the governance of the direct-support organization must be
650	approved by the board.
651	(b) That an annual budget must be submitted by the direct-
652	support organization to the board for approval.
653	(c) That the chair of the Board of Commissioners or his or
654	her designee must certify, after an annual financial and
655	performance review, that the direct-support organization is
656	operating in compliance with the provisions of the rules and in
657	a manner consistent with the goals of the board and in the best
658	interests of the state. Such certification shall be made to the
659	board annually and reported in the official minutes of a meeting
660	of the board.
661	(d) For procedures to be followed to revoke the
662	designation of the nonprofit organization as a direct-support
663	organization and for procedures for the reversion to the state
664	of funds held in trust by the direct-support organization if
665	such designation is revoked or, after notice of such revocation,
666	procedures for expenditure of such funds for purposes approved
667	by the board.
668	(e) That the fiscal year of the direct-support
669	organization begins on July 1 each year and ends on June 30 next
670	following.
671	(3) Before taking office, each member of the governing
672	board of the Halifax Hospital Medical Center direct-support
673	organization must be approved by the Board of Commissioners.
674	The chair of the Board of Commissioners, or a board member
675	designated by the chair, shall serve as a member of the
676	governing board and of the executive committee of the direct-
677	support organization.
678	(4) The Halifax Hospital Medical Center direct-support
679	organization shall provide for an annual financial and
680	compliance audit of its accounts and records, to be conducted by
681	an independent certified public accountant in accordance with
682	rules adopted by the Board of Commissioners. The annual audit
683	report shall include a management letter and shall be filed as a
684	public record with the district. The Board of Commissioners and
685	the Auditor General may request, and shall receive from the
686	direct-support organization or its auditor, any detail or
687	supplemental data which relates to the operation of the
688	organization.
689	(5) Meetings of the Halifax Hospital Medical Center
690	direct-support organization are public meetings and shall be
691	conducted in accordance with section 286.011, Florida Statutes.
692	Records of the direct-support organization, except for records
693	which identify donors or potential donors to the direct-support
694	organization and which shall be confidential, are public records
695	for the purposes of chapter 119, Florida Statutes. The
696	confidentiality of records which identify donors or potential
697	donors to the direct-support organization shall be maintained in
698	the auditor’s report.
699	Section 21. Nothing in this act may be interpreted or
700	construed as eliminating or limiting any right, power, or
701	authority which the district has under any other state law.
702	Section 4. If any provision of this act or the application
703	thereof to any person or circumstance is held inoperative,
704	unconstitutional, or invalid, it shall not affect other
705	provisions or applications of the act which can be given effect
706	without the invalid provision or application, and to this end
707	the provisions of this act are declared severable.
708	Section 5. Chapters 79-577, 79-578, 84-539, 89-409, and
709	91-352, Laws of Florida, are repealed.
710	Section 6. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
711