Assembly Bill No. 667

Assembly Bill No. 667-Committee on Health and Human Services

CHAPTER

628

AN ACT relating to county hospital districts; making certain technical changes required to carry out the provisions of Assembly Bill No. 600 of this session; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

[Approved July 16, 1997]

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. Chapter 450 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto the provisions set forth as sections 2, 3 and 4 of this act:
Sec. 2. 1. If a hospital district created pursuant to NRS 450.550 to 450.700, inclusive, includes territory within more than one county, the board of trustees of the hospital district must consist of three members of the board of county commissioners that created the district and:
(a) Three members of the board of county commissioners of each county other than the county of the board of county commissioners that created the district, if the portion of the county included in the district is two-thirds or more of the total area of the county;
(b) Two members of the board of county commissioners of each county other than the county of the board of county commissioners that created the district, if the portion of the county included in the district is more than one-third of the total area of the county but less than two-thirds of the total area of the county; or
(c) One member of the board of county commissioners of each county other than the county of the board of county commissioners that created the district, if the portion of the county included in the district is one-third or less of the total amount of the area of the county.
2. Each member of the board of trustees appointed pursuant to this section must be appointed by the board of county commissioners of which he is a member.
3. The term of office of the members of the board of trustees is 3 years.
4. A member who ceases to be a member of the board of county commissioners that appointed him ceases to be a member of the board of trustees.
5. Any vacancy must be filled for the unexpired term by the board of county commissioners that appointed the member who created the vacancy.
Sec. 3. For the purposes of NRS 422.382, if a hospital district created pursuant to NRS 450.550 to 450.700, inclusive, includes territory within more than one county, the board of county commissioners of the county in which the hospital is located shall be deemed to be the local government responsible for transferring payments of money to the department of human resources for treatment of medically indigent patients pursuant to the provisions of that section.
Sec. 4. The board of trustees, with the approval of the board of county commissioners, if the board of county commissioners is not the board of hospital trustees, or, if the district in which the hospital is located includes territory within more than one county, with the approval of the board of county commissioners of each of those counties, may, by resolution:
1. Mortgage or pledge the personal property of the hospital, including accounts receivable, and enter into agreements for the sale and leasing back to the hospital of its personal property to provide security for acquiring money for the operation of the hospital; and
2. Acquire real property for the expansion of the hospital by entering into a contract for purchase of a type and duration and on such terms as the governing body determines, including a contract secured by a mortgage or other security interest in the real property.
Sec. 5. NRS 450.255 is hereby amended to read as follows:
450.255The board of trustees of a county [or district] hospital, with the approval of the board of county commissioners , if the board of county commissioners is not the board of hospital trustees, may, by resolution:
1. Mortgage or pledge the personal property of the hospital, including accounts receivable, and enter into agreements for the sale and leasing back to the hospital of its personal property [in order] to provide security for acquiring money for the operation of the hospital; and
2. Acquire real property for the expansion of the hospital by entering into a contract for purchase of a type and duration and on such terms as the governing body determines, including a contract secured by a mortgage or other security interest in the real property.
Sec. 6. NRS 450.550 is hereby amended to read as follows:
450.550As used in NRS 450.550 to 450.700, inclusive, and sections 2, 3, and 4 of this act, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Board of trustees" means:
(a) A board of hospital trustees [elected] :
(1) Elected pursuant to NRS 450.620; or
(2) Appointed pursuant to section 2 of this act; or
(b) [The] A board of county commissioners , if [an ordinance has been enacted] that board enacts an ordinance which provides that the board of county commissioners is, ex officio, the board of hospital trustees.
2. "District hospital" means a hospital constructed, maintained and governed pursuant to NRS 450.550 to 450.700, inclusive.
Sec. 7. NRS 450.560 is hereby amended to read as follows:
450.560 1.The board of county commissioners of any county may of its own motion establish a hospital district [or districts in such county] in the manner prescribed in NRS 450.550 to 450.700, inclusive. [Such power] The establishment of a hospital district is in addition to any other powers granted to a board of county commissioners pursuant to NRS 450.010 to 450.510, inclusive.
2. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a hospital district specified in subsection 1 may include territory within more than one county. If the establishment of such a district is proposed by a board of county commissioners, the district may be established only if the board of county commissioners of each county included within the district, other than the county of the board of county commissioners that proposes to establish the district, adopts a resolution approving the establishment of the district.
Sec. 8. NRS 450.570 is hereby amended to read as follows:
450.570The notice of intent to [exercise such power shall:
1. Be headed "Notice of the proposed formation of hospital district in ................ County (stating] establish a hospital district must:
1. State the name of the proposed district and the name of the county or counties in which the proposed district is located . [)."]
2. State the [fact that the board of county commissioners of the county has fixed the] time and place [(which shall be stated in the notice)] fixed by the board of county commissioners for a hearing on the [matter of the formation of a county hospital] proposed establishment of the district.
3. Describe the territory or [shall] specify the exterior boundaries of the territory proposed to be [organized into a hospital] included within the district, which boundaries, so far as practicable, [shall] must be the centerlines of highways.
4. Be published once a week for 2 successive weeks [prior to] before the time fixed for the hearing in [the] a newspaper designated by the board of county commissioners.
Sec. 9. NRS 450.580 is hereby amended to read as follows:
450.5801. At or before the time fixed for the hearing of the [matter, or at any time prior thereto,] proposed establishment of a hospital district, any person interested may file [with the clerk of the board] written objections to the [formation] establishment of the district [.] with the clerk of the board of county commissioners that proposes to establish the district.
2. At the [time fixed for the hearing, or to which the hearing may be adjourned,] hearing, the board of county commissioners shall hear [the] and consider any objections filed [, if any, and pass upon the same.] pursuant to subsection 1.
3. The board may [, in its discretion, sustain any or all of the] :
(a) Sustain any objections filed [and may change] pursuant to subsection 1;
(b) Change or alter the boundaries of [such] the proposed district to conform to the [needs] requirements of the district ; and [to exclude therefrom]
(c) Exclude from the district any land that will not be benefited by the [formation of such a] establishment of the district.
Sec. 10. NRS 450.590 is hereby amended to read as follows:
450.5901. [When] Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, if 25 percent or more of the holders of title or evidence of title to lands lying within the proposed district, whose names appear as such upon the last county assessment roll, present a petition to the board of county commissioners of the county in which the land lies, setting forth the exterior boundaries of the proposed district and asking that the district so described be [formed into] established within a county hospital district [under] pursuant to the provisions of NRS 450.550 to 450.700, inclusive, the board of county commissioners shall [pass] adopt a resolution declaring the [board's intention to form or organize such territory into] intention of the board to include the territory within a county hospital district, naming the district and describing its exterior boundaries.
2. The resolution [shall:] must:
(a) Fix a time and place for the hearing of the [matter] proposed establishment of the district not less than 30 days after its adoption.
(b) Direct the clerk of the board of county commissioners to publish [the] :
(1) The notice of intention of the board of county commissioners to [form such] establish the county hospital district [, and of the] ; and
(2) The time and place fixed for the hearing . [, and shall designate that publication shall be in some]
(c) Designate that the notice must be published in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county and circulated in the proposed county hospital district, or if there is no newspaper so published and circulated , then in [some] a newspaper of general circulation circulated in the proposed district.
3. The provisions of this section do not apply to a proposed hospital district if it includes territory within more than one county.
Sec. 11. NRS 450.620 is hereby amended to read as follows:
450.6201. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2 [,] and section 2 of this act, if a hospital district is created pursuant to NRS 450.550 to 450.700, inclusive, the board of county commissioners shall provide by ordinance for:
(a) The number of members of the board of trustees [who shall govern the hospital;
(b) Their] ;
(b) The term of office [,] of the trustees, which must not exceed 4 years; and
(c) The times and manner of [their election,] the election of the trustees, which must be nonpartisan.
2. [The] If a hospital district specified in subsection 1 does not include territory within more than one county, the board of county commissioners may enact an ordinance providing that the board of county commissioners is, ex officio, the board of hospital trustees of the district hospital. If such an ordinance is enacted in a county:
(a) The county commissioners shall serve as the hospital trustees of the district hospital during their terms of office as county commissioners; and
(b) If hospital trustees have been elected pursuant to subsection 1, the term of office of each hospital trustee of the district hospital who is serving in that capacity on the effective date of the ordinance is terminated as of the effective date of the ordinance.
3. A board of county commissioners shall not enact an ordinance pursuant to subsection 2 unless it determines that:
(a) The county has fully funded its indigent care account created pursuant to NRS 428.010;
(b) The county has fulfilled its duty to reimburse the hospital for indigent care provided to qualified indigent patients; and
(c) During the previous calendar year:
(1) At least one of the hospital's accounts payable was more than 90 days in arrears;
(2) The hospital failed to fulfill its statutory financial obligations, [such as] including the payment of taxes, premiums for industrial insurance or contributions to the public employees' retirement system;
(3) One or more of the conditions relating to financial emergencies set forth in subsection 1 of NRS 354.685 existed at the hospital; or
(4) The hospital received notice from the Federal Government or the State of Nevada that the certification or [licensure] license of the hospital was in imminent jeopardy of being revoked because the hospital had not carried out a previously established plan of action to correct previously noted deficiencies found by the regulatory body.
Sec. 12. NRS 450.660 is hereby amended to read as follows:
450.6601. At the time of making the levy of county taxes for that year, [the boards of county commissioners] each board of trustees shall levy a tax sufficient, together with the revenue which will result from application of the rate to the net proceeds of minerals, to raise the amount so budgeted upon [all property, both] any real and personal [,] property that is subject to taxation within the boundaries of the district. Any tax levied on interstate or intercounty telephone lines, power lines and other public utility lines [as authorized in] pursuant to this section must be based upon valuations as established by the Nevada tax commission pursuant to the provisions of NRS 361.315 to 361.330, inclusive.
2. When levied, the tax must be [entered] :
(a) Entered upon the assessment rolls of each county that is included within the district; and [collected]
(b) Collected in the same manner as state and county taxes.
3. When the tax is collected it must be [placed] :
(a) Placed in the treasury of the county in which the district hospital is located;
(b) Credited to [the credit of] the current expense fund of the district [, and must be used] ; and
(c) Used only for the purpose for which it was raised.
Sec. 13. NRS 450.665 is hereby amended to read as follows:
450.6651. The board of trustees may borrow money and incur or assume indebtedness on behalf of the county hospital district if the total amount of [all such] the indebtedness, excluding revenue bonds and other securities constituting special obligations which are not debts, does not exceed an amount equal to 10 percent of the total of the last assessed valuation of taxable property, excluding motor vehicles, located within the district.
2. The board of trustees shall not borrow money or issue securities to evidence such borrowing until the board has obtained the approval of the:
(a) Debt management commission; and
(b) Board of county commissioners,
of [the] each county in which the hospital district is located.
Sec. 14. NRS 450.700 is hereby amended to read as follows:
450.7001. The board of [county commissioners of the county in which a district hospital is located] trustees may determine whether patients presented to the district hospital for treatment are subjects of charity. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 439B.330, the board of [county commissioners] trustees shall establish [by ordinance] the criteria and procedures to be used in the determination of eligibility for medical care as medical indigents or subjects of charity.
2. The board of trustees shall fix the charges for treatment of those persons who are able to pay for [it, as the board deems just and proper.] the treatment. The receipts [therefor] for those charges must be paid to the county treasurer of the county in which the district hospital is located and credited by him to the fund for the district.
Sec. 15. This act becomes effective upon passage and approval.
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