131E-42. Hearing and determination.

(a) After receipt of a petition for the creation of a hospital district that meets the requirements of G.S. 131E-41(a) and that has been approved by the county board of commissioners, the North Carolina Medical Care Commission shall give notice of a hearing on the creation of a hospital district. The notice of hearing shall be posted at the county courthouse door and at three public places within the proposed district. In addition, notice of hearing shall be published at least once for three successive weeks in a newspaper circulating in the proposed district. The notice of hearing shall specify:

(1) The date of hearing which shall not be earlier than 20 days after the first posting and publication of notice;

(2) The location of the hearing, which shall be within the county in which the proposed district would be located; and

(3) That any interested person may appear and be heard at the hearing.

(b) At the time and place specified in the notice of hearing, the North Carolina Medical Care Commission, or its designee, shall hear all interested persons, and, if necessary, adjourn and reconvene at a later time.

(c) After the hearing, the North Carolina Medical Care Commission shall determine if it is in the public interest and beneficial to the residents of the area to create a hospital district, and, if it is, shall adopt a resolution creating the hospital district. The resolution shall define the area to be included in the hospital district. The area shall either be the one described in the petition or a part of that area. However, no municipality, in whole or in part, shall be included in a hospital district unless the governing body of the municipality shall have approved by resolution the inclusion and shall have filed a certified copy of the resolution with the North Carolina Medical Care Commission.

(d) Each hospital district shall be designated by the North Carolina Medical Care Commission as the "______ Hospital District of ______ County," inserting in the blank spaces a name identifying the locality and the name of the county.

(e) The North Carolina Medical Care Commission shall give notice of the creation of a hospital district. The notice shall be published at least once for two successive weeks in the newspaper in which the notice of hearing required by G.S. 131E-42(a) was published. A notice substantially in the following form, the blanks first being properly filled in, with the printed or written signature of the executive secretary of the North Carolina Medical Care Commission appended, shall be published with the resolution: