§1064.1. Hospital Service District No. 1 of Terrebonne Parish; sale or lease of hospital

A.(1) Sale of hospital. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the sale of Terrebonne General Medical Center, hereinafter the "hospital", by Hospital Service District No. 1 of Terrebonne Parish, hereinafter the "district", shall be in accordance with the provisions of this Subsection. The provisions of this Subsection shall apply to the sale of the hospital pursuant to authority granted by R.S. 33:4341 and R.S. 46:1053(M) and any other authority granted by law.

(2) In order to be eligible for consideration by the board of commissioners of the district, hereinafter the "district governing authority", an offer for the purchase of the hospital shall meet all of the following requirements:

(a) The offer shall be in writing and shall be signed by the person or entity making the offer.

(b) The offer shall contain a complete and detailed statement of all terms and provisions of the sale and shall identify the offeror by giving the full name, address, and type of business entity of the offeror.

(c) The offer shall be accompanied by a certified check for one hundred thousand dollars, as a guaranty of good faith, which check shall be forfeited to the district if the proposed sale is approved but the proponent does not consummate the sale.

(3) When an offer is submitted to the district governing authority in accordance with Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, the affirmative vote of not less than two-thirds of the full membership of the district governing authority shall be required for the district governing authority to accept the offer, which acceptance shall be conditioned upon the approval of the parish governing authority and the voters of the district as provided for in this Subsection. If the district governing authority so votes to accept the offer, it shall recommend the sale of the hospital to the governing authority of the parish for approval. The district governing authority may convene in executive session to consider an offer if the district governing authority determines that such consideration is part of its strategic marketing plan and therefore an executive session is authorized by R.S. 46:1073.

(4) When an offer is submitted to the parish governing authority in accordance with Paragraph (3) of this Subsection, the following shall apply:

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 42:11 et seq. or any other law to the contrary, the parish governing authority may convene in executive session for the sole purpose of considering the approval of the acceptance of the offer.

(b) The parish governing authority shall not vote to place a proposition on the ballot until the parish governing authority holds a public hearing on the question. If an executive session is held pursuant to Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, the public hearing shall be held no sooner than two weeks after the first such executive session on the question.

(c) The question of acceptance of the offer shall not be submitted to the district voters pursuant to Subparagraph (d) of this Paragraph unless submission is approved by vote of not less than two-thirds of the full membership of the parish governing authority.

(d) If the parish governing authority votes in the affirmative to approve the acceptance of the offer by not less than two-thirds of its full membership, the parish governing authority shall submit a proposition to approve the sale of the hospital to the voters of the district in an election held for that purpose.

(5) The district shall sell the hospital in accordance with the offer only if the proposed sale is approved by a majority of the qualified electors of the district voting on the proposition at an election held for that purpose and conducted in accordance with the Louisiana Election Code and at which election voter turnout in the district is not less than fifty percent of the registered voters.

B.(1) Lease of hospital. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no lease of the controlling interest of the hospital by the district shall be authorized unless all of the provisions of this Subsection have been complied with.

(2) In order to be eligible for consideration by the district governing authority, an offer for the lease of the controlling interest of the hospital shall meet all of the following requirements:

(a) The offer shall be in writing and shall be signed by the person or entity making the offer.

(b) The offer shall contain a complete and detailed statement of all terms and provisions of the lease and shall identify the offeror by giving the full name, address, and type of business entity of the offeror.

(c) The offer shall be accompanied by a certified check for one hundred thousand dollars as a guaranty of good faith, which check shall be forfeited to the district if the proposed lease is approved but the proponent does not consummate the lease.

(3) When an offer is submitted to the district governing authority in accordance with Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, the affirmative vote of not less than two-thirds of the full membership of the district governing authority shall be required for the district governing authority to accept the offer, which acceptance shall be conditioned upon the approval of the governing authority of the parish as provided for in this Subsection. If the district governing authority so votes to recommend acceptance of the offer, it shall recommend the lease to the governing authority of the parish for approval. The district governing authority may convene in executive session to consider the offer if the district governing authority determines that such consideration is part of its strategic marketing plan and therefore an executive session is authorized by R.S. 46:1073.

(4) When an offer is submitted to the parish governing authority for approval in accordance with Paragraph (3) of this Subsection, the following procedures shall be followed:

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 42:11 et seq. or any other law to the contrary, the parish governing authority may convene in executive session for the sole purpose of considering the approval of the offer.

(b) The parish governing authority shall not vote to approve a proposition for the lease of the controlling interest of the hospital until it holds a public hearing on the question. If an executive session is held pursuant to Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, the public hearing shall be held no sooner than two weeks after the first such executive session on the matter.

(c) The acceptance by the district of the offer to lease the hospital shall not be approved by the parish governing authority unless the approval is concurred in by a majority of the full membership of the parish governing authority.

(5) The provisions of this Subsection shall not apply to the lease of property by the district which constitutes less than the controlling interest of the hospital, and shall not apply to the lease of incidental property for the provision of incidental, integral, or supplemental functions such as treatment modalities, food services, or concession areas, nor shall it preclude the lease of medical office buildings and facilities associated with such buildings pursuant to and in accordance with R.S. 46:1074.

C.(1) Proceeds. All proceeds from a sale or lease of Terrebonne General Medical Center shall be placed in a permanent endowment trust. The proceeds of the sale or lease shall constitute the principal of such trust and shall remain permanently endowed, in perpetuity, and shall not be removed from trust for any purpose except by a two-thirds vote of the district governing authority and a two-thirds vote of the parish governing authority to purchase Terrebonne General Medical Center or to build a hospital or medical center consistent with the objects and purposes of the hospital service district as set forth in R.S. 46:1051 et seq.

(2) The endowed sale or lease proceeds described in Paragraph (1) shall constitute the principal of the trust, and the sole principal beneficiary of such trust shall be Hospital Service District No. 1 of Terrebonne Parish. All income which accrues on such principal during the first four years following the sale or lease of Terrebonne General Medical Center shall be added to the principal, or corpus, of the trust and shall be endowed and disposed of only in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph (1).

(3) Beginning with the fifth year of the existence of the trust and every year thereafter twenty-five percent of all income earned by the endowed principal shall be added to the endowed principal of the trust.

(4)(a) Beginning with the fifth year of the existence of the trust, and every year thereafter, the district governing authority acting as a board of trustees for the endowment trust may expend available funds for projects and undertakings within the hospital service district which are consistent with the objects and purposes of the district as set forth in R.S. 46:1051 et seq.

(b) The district governing authority, with a two-thirds vote, may expend up to five percent of available revenues for emergencies affecting the parish governing authority, the parish school board, the Terrebonne Parish Levee and Conservation District, or any levee district with jurisdiction completely within the parish if such expenditure is pursuant to a cooperative endeavor between the district governing authority and the appropriate political subdivision.

(c) Any available funds not used for stated purposes within three years shall be returned to the endowment fund and added to the principal of the trust.

Acts 1997, No. 1083, §2.