Be it further enacted, That this Act shall take effect from and after its passage, the public welfare requiring it.
Passed: March 13, 1961.
JAMES L. BOMAR,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Wm. D. BAIRD,
Speaker of the Senate.
Approved: March 15, 1961.
BUFORD ELLINGTON,
Governor.
This is to certify that according to the official records on file in this office, House Bill Number 816, which is Chapter Number 223 of the Private Acts of 1961, was properly ratified and approved and is therefore operative and in effect in accordance with its provisions.
JOE C. CARR,
Secretary of State
RELATED ACT
PAGE
Priv. Acts 1999, ch. 49
"Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority"
PRIVATE ACTS, 1999
CHAPTER NO. 49
HOUSE BILL NO. 1984
By Representative Hargrove
Substituted for: Senate Bill No. 1987
By Senator Burks
An Act to establish the Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority and to amend Chapter 223 of the Private Acts of 1961; as subsequently amended by various private acts, including Chapter 61 of the Private Acts of 1995; Chapter
209 of the Private Acts of 1996 and Chapter 14 of the Private Acts of 1997; and any other acts amendatory thereto, relative to the Cookeville Regional Medical Center.
WHEREAS, Cookeville Regional Medical Center was established as part of the Charter of the City of Cookeville pursuant to Chapter 223 of the Private Acts of 1961 of the Private Acts of 1995, Chapter 209 of the Private Acts of 1996, and Chapter 14 of the Private Acts of 1997; and
WHEREAS, Chapter 223 of the Private Acts of 1961, as subsequently amended, established a Board of Trustees for Cookeville Regional Medical Center, the powers and duties for such Board of Trustees, terms of offices and elections of successors for such Board of Trustees, and other powers relative to the operation of Cookeville Regional Hospital and related facilities; and
WHEREAS, significant changes in the delivery of health care have occurred since the establishment of Cookeville Regional Medical Center and its Board of Trustees; and
WHEREAS, the organization of the Board of Trustees of Cookeville Regional Medical Center as part of the Cookeville City Charter creates constraints on the authority and operations of such Board of Trustees so as to preclude it from responding to the changes in the delivery of health care; and
WHEREAS, the General Assembly finds that the operations of Cookeville Regional Medical Center and related facilities will be enhanced if its Board of Trustees is reconstituted as a private act hospital authority as that term is used in 1996 Tenn. Pub. Acts, Ch. 778, the Private Act Hospital Authority Act of 1996; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of this act is to reconstitute the Board of Trustees of Cookeville Regional Medical Center as the Board of Trustees of the Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority, such to have the powers granted to private act hospital authorities under the Private Act Hospital Authority Act of 1996; now, therefore,
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. There is hereby created the Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority established for the purpose of operating Cookeville Regional Hospital and all other hospital, clinical and health care facilities related thereto.
SECTION 2. Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority is a private act hospital authority as that term is used in 1996 Tenn. Pub. Acts, Ch. 778, the Private Act Hospital Authority Act of 1996. All hospital, clinical and health care facilities operated and controlled by the Board of Trustees of Cookeville Regional Medical Center, as set forth in the City Charter of Cookeville as of the effective date of this act, shall hereinafter be operated and controlled by the Board of Trustees of Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority. The Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority shall have the right to use the name of Cookeville Regional Medical Center, Cookeville Regional Hospital and any other names adopted by its Board of Trustees.
In exercising its rights, powers and obligations pursuant to Chapter 778 of the Public Acts of 1996 and Chapter 49 of the Private Acts of 1999, Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority:
(1) Shall not borrow money in its own name without prior approval of a majority vote of the Cookeville City Council; and
(2) Shall not purchase real property without the prior approval by a majority vote of the Cookeville City Council.
All real property purchased by the Authority shall be titled to the City of Cookeville. [As amended by Priv. Acts 2000, ch. 115, § 1]
SECTION 3. The Board of Trustees of the Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority shall be composed of nine (9) persons as set forth herein.
Upon approval of the local governing body, as set forth in section 17 below, he initial Board of Trustees of Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority shall be the same persons who are the Board of Trustees of Cookeville Regional Medical Center upon such date. The terms of the additional Board of Trustees of Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority shall continue until the respective dates of expiration that would have been applicable under the Charter of the City of Cookeville in the absence of this Act. Thereafter, the election and terms of offices shall be as set forth herein. [As amended by Priv. Acts 2000, ch. 115, §
SECTION 4. Subject to sections 5 and 11, and other provisions relative to removal from office, the term of office for members of the Board of Trustees shall be for seven (7) years, and no member shall serve more than one (1) full term without a three (3) year break. One (1) trustee shall be a member of the active medical staff of Cookeville Regional Medical Center who will serve a seven (7) year term, one (1) trustee shall be the person who is holding the office of Mayor of the City of the Cookeville, or the mayor's designee from the city council, who shall serve during the mayor's term of office, and one (1) trustee shall be the person holding the position of Chief of Staff of Cookeville Regional Medical Center, who shall serve during the chief of staff's term of office. The terms of office of all members of the Board of Trustees of Cookeville Regional Medical Center, except the Mayor of the City of Cookeville and the hospital Chief of Staff, shall expire on July 31 of the year in which their term of office ends, and each new trustee shall take office on August 1 after the election for trustees. The membership of the Board of Trustees of Cookeville Regional Medical Center shall at no time include more than three (3) physicians and no more than four (4) licensed health care providers. If a physician or a licensed health care provider is elected mayor of the City of Cookeville, and the membership of the Board of Trustees already includes three (3) physicians or four (4) licensed health care providers, the mayor shall appoint another city councilman to serve as the mayor's designee. [As replaced by Priv. Acts 2007, ch. 31, § 1, as amended by Priv. Acts 2011, ch. 24, § 1]
SECTION 5. Annually the Cookeville City Council shall elect for a seven (7) year term, in the manner hereinafter provided, a successor to that member of the Board of Trustees whose term shall have expired. No action on the part of the Cookeville City Council need be taken to replace or name a successor to the board upon a change in the office of mayor or chief of staff, for the new mayor and chief of staff shall automatically become an exofficio member of said Board of Trustees. Members of said board, except members of the medical staff of Cookeville Regional Medical Center, shall be residents of the City of Cookeville. A trustee whose term has expired shall continue to serve until his or her successor shall have been elected in the manner herein provided. In the event of death or resignation of a trustee prior to the expiration of his or her term, his or her successor shall be elected for the unexpired term in the same manner as the deceased or retiring trustee was elected, and shall take office upon election. Such successor trustee shall be eligible for re-election for a full term. Any member of the Board of Trustees can be removed from the board by a unanimous vote of the other members of the Board of Trustees.
SECTION 6. The Cookeville City Council shall nominate and elect the successor trustee or trustees by a majority vote of its members. The trustee position of the medical staff physician shall be nominated by the hospital medical staff and presented to the city council for confirmation no later than thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of the term of the trustee. The city council shall elect the physician nominated by the medical staff or a physician nominated by a city councilman no later than July 31 of the year in which the current physician's term ends. [As replaced by Priv. Acts 2007, ch. 31, § 2]
SECTION 7. The Board of Trustees shall hold regular meetings on a date or dates which it shall establish. Called meetings may be held at any time upon two (2) days written notice, on call of the chairman or of any three (3) members of the said board, provided that members may waive notice of call of any meetings. The proceedings of all meetings shall be recorded in an official minute book which shall be a public record. Five (5) of the members of the said Board of Trustees shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and any action taken at a meeting of the board shall be by a majority vote, a quorum being present. As soon as practicable, the Board of Trustees shall promulgate and record on permanent record the rules under which it will operate.
SECTION 8. The Board of Trustees shall meet as soon as possible after the effective date of this act and after the election required under section 5 for the purpose of (1) electing one of its members as chairman, (2) electing one of its members as secretary, (3) selecting a person to serve as administrator, who shall also serve as the treasurer of the board, and who shall execute bond for the faithful performance of his said duties as treasurer and administrator, in an amount to be fixed and determined by said board, said bond to be approved by said board.
SECTION 9. The Board of Trustees shall have the responsibility and authority to control and operate the hospital, clinical and health care facilities described herein; to receive all revenues derived from such facilities, and any donations or grants; and to disburse all such monies to discharge the financial obligations related to the facilities described in this act and otherwise as determined by the Board of Trustees; to exercise the powers granted to private act hospital authorities under 1996 Tenn. Pub. Acts Ch. 778; to make contracts for goods and services; to establish policies, rules and regulations governing the operation of the said hospital, its uses and management; and to define the duties and establish the compensation of the administrator; to regulate admissions to the said hospital, clinical and health care facilities and establish reasonable rates and charges for the services rendered by such facilities; and to collect and receipt for the same. All monies of the authority shall be disbursed in accordance with the rules and regulations adopted and determined by the Board of Trustees, by check signed by the facility administrator. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the authority of the Board of Trustees to enter into joint ownership arrangements with other providers relative to health care facilities shall be limited to those health care facilities that are located on the campus of Cookeville Regional Medical Center.
For purposes of this Act, the campus of Cookeville Regional Medical Center shall include all real property owned by the City of Cookeville and on which are located hospital, clinical or health care facilities. [As amended by Priv. Acts 2000, ch. 115, § 3]
SECTION 10. The Board of Trustees shall act as an advisory board to the City of Cookeville concerning extensions and enlargements of hospital, clinical and health care facility buildings or improvement of facilities requiring alterations to such buildings, and shall recommend to the Cookeville City Council such extensions, alterations or enlargements of buildings, or additional buildings as from time to time may be necessary for the purpose of providing adequate and reasonable health care services to the areas served by said facilities.
SECTION 11. The Board of Trustees shall annually prepare and submit to the Cookeville City Council, through the city manager, a budget for the hospital, clinical and health care facilities. Said budget shall be for the city's fiscal year, shall be submitted on or before a date fixed by the Cookeville City Council, and shall contain such pertinent information as is prescribed in the Cookeville City Charter. Said budget shall become effective only upon approval of the Cookeville City Council, in the manner provided by the Cookeville City Charter.
Said budget may be amended from time to time, in the manner provided in the Cookeville City Charter.
In the event said budget is exceeded without approval of the Cookeville City Council, the entire Board of Trustees or any member thereof may be removed within the discretion of the Cookeville City Council upon a vote of four (4) of the members of said council; in which event the respective terms of any members of the Board of Trustees who shall be so removed shall be immediately filled by the Cookeville City Council, whereupon the newly constituted Board of Trustees shall immediately resume their responsibilities as herein provided.
SECTION 12. The Board of Trustees shall prepare and submit to the Cookeville City Council financial statements and other reports as may be required by said council. The Cookeville City Council shall have authority to inquire into the operation of the hospital facilities and to this end empowered to have access to and examine the business records of said hospital facilities during regular business hours.
SECTION 13. No member of the Board of Trustees shall sell merchandise or contract for services with the Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority, or in any way engage in financial transactions with said authority, directly or indirectly, except as provided herein, nor shall an employee of the City of Cookeville, except as provided in sections 4 and 14 of this act, or an employee of the Cookeville Regional Medical Center be eligible to serve on the Board of Trustees of Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority. Professional services agreements between Cookeville Regional Medical Center and members of its medical staff to provide medical director services or to provide medical services at Cookeville Regional Medical Center for patients served by the hospital shall not be considered to be contracts for services within the meaning of this section. [As amended by Priv. Acts 2011, ch. 24, § 2]
SECTION 14. The administrator, assistant administrator, and the heads or directors of all departments shall be entitled to seats on the board, but shall have no vote therein. The administrator shall have the right to take part in all the discussions of all matters coming before the Board of Trustees, and the heads and directors of all departments shall be entitled to take part in all discussions of the Board of Trustees relating to their respective offices, departments or agencies.
SECTION 15. (a) A referendum of the voters of the City of Cookeville approving the sale, leasing or other transfer of the assets, buildings and real property of the hospital and clinical facilities owned by the City of Cookeville, including the facilities known as Cookeville Regional Medical Center, is required prior to such sale, leasing or transfer by the Cookeville City Council except as follows:
(1) The Board of Trustees of the Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority by majority vote of its membership adopts a resolution that finds and declares:
(A) that an emergency exists in the operation of such facility because of its rapidly deteriorating financial condition and inability to meet current cash requirements, debts payable, or lacks adequate operating capital;
(B) that the continued operation of the hospital is not economically feasible;
(C) that the continued operation of such facility will adversely affect the financial stability of the city; and
(2) After a public hearing, the Cookeville City Council by unanimous vote of its membership approves the recommendations of the Board of Trustees of the Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority; or
(3) (A) The Board of Trustees of the Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority by majority vote of its membership adopts a resolution that finds and declares that part of the buildings and real property of such facilities is no longer needed by the Board of Trustees for the operation of such hospital and clinical facilities; that such buildings and property are surplus; and that the board recommends to the Cookeville City Council that such property be sold, leased or transferred by the City of Cookeville; and
(B) After a public hearing, the Cookeville City Council by unanimous vote of its membership, approves the recommendations of the Board of Trustees of the Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority of either the sale or lease of such portion of the property.
(b) A referendum required by this section shall be held at any General Election or City Election or may be held at a special election called for such purpose. The ballots used in such election shall have printed on them the substance of the proposed sale or lease or the proposed disposal of such hospital or real property and the voters shall vote for or against its approval.
(c) The provisions of this section do not apply to the disposal of personal property of such hospital and clinical facilities which is obsolete, surplus or unusable and such personal property shall be disposed of in accordance with a policy established by the board.
The provisions of this section do not apply to transfers from the city of Cookeville to the Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority for the purposes of effectuating this act.
The property and assets that may be transferred by the City of Cookeville to the Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority pursuant to this Act are limited to working capital, including cash, accounts receivable and future revenues. The City of Cookeville is authorized to take necessary action to enable the Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority to:
(1) Continue without diminution, retirement benefits through the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System for those persons employed at the Cookeville Regional Medical Center as of the date the Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority became operational who are participants in the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System;
(2) Continue participation in the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System or to adopt alternative retirement plans for persons employed at Cookeville Regional Medical Center after the Cookeville Regional Medical Center becomes operational.
Any alternative retirement plan adopted by the Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority shall contain provisions permitting employees who are participants in the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System to elect to participate in such alternative retirement plan instead of the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System.
(d) In the event of the sale, lease or other transfer of the assets, building and real property constituting Cookeville Regional Medical Center, such sale, lease or transfer shall also include all of the assets and rights owned by Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority; provided, such sale, lease or other transfer transaction shall require the purchaser, lessor or other transferee to assume all debt for which the Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority is obligated. Upon occurrence of sale, lease or other transfer as described herein, Cookeville Regional Medical Center Authority shall cease to exist as of the date of such sale, lease or other transfer and it shall have no further rights, powers or obligations.
[As amended by Priv. Acts 2000, ch. 115, §§ 4 and 5]
State of Tennessee
Private Chapter 67
House Bill 3867
By Representative Ryan Williams
Substituted for: Senate Bill No. 3797
By Senator Burks
AN ACT to amend Chapter 223 of the Private Acts of 1961; and any other acts amendatory thereto, relative to Cookeville.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Chapter 223 of the Private Acts of 1961; and any other acts amendatory thereto, is amended by deleting Section 14.05 of Article XIV in its entirety and substituting instead the following:
Section 14.05. Conflicts of Interest. Tennessee Code Annotated Sections 12-4-101, 6-54-107 and 6-54-108, as subsequently amended, shall be effective in Cookeville, Tennessee, the same as if said sections were copied herein verbatim.
SECTION 2. The act shall have no effect unless it is approved by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the legislative body of the City of Cookeville. Its approval or nonapproval shall be proclaimed by the presiding officer of the City of Cookeville and certified to the secretary of state.
SECTION 3. For the purpose of approving or rejecting the provisions of this act, it shall be effective upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it. For all other purposes, it shall become effective as provided in Section 2.
HOUSE BILL NO. 3867
PASSED: APRIL 23, 2012
Beth Harwell
BETH HARWELL,
SPEAKER HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Ron Ramsey
RON RAMSEY
SPEAKER OF THE SENATE
APPROVED this 10th day of May 2012
Bill Haslam
BILL HASLAM, GOVERNOR