South Carolina General Assembly
120th Session, 2013-2014

Download This Bill in Microsoft Word format

A105, R112, H3971

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Stringer and Willis
Document Path: l:\council\bills\ggs\22560ac13.docx

Introduced in the House on April 17, 2013
Introduced in the Senate on April 23, 2013
Last Amended on May 23, 2013
Passed by the General Assembly on June 4, 2013
Governor's Action: June 13, 2013, Signed

Summary: Greenville Hospital Systems Board of Trustees

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   4/17/2013  House   Introduced, read first time, placed on calendar without 
                        reference (House Journal-page 13)
   4/18/2013  House   Read second time (House Journal-page 36)
   4/18/2013  House   Roll call Yeas-75  Nays-0 (House Journal-page 36)
   4/18/2013  House   Unanimous consent for third reading on next legislative 
                        day (House Journal-page 37)
   4/19/2013  House   Read third time and sent to Senate (House Journal-page 1)
   4/23/2013  Senate  Introduced, read first time, placed on local & 
                        uncontested calendar
   5/23/2013  Senate  Amended (Senate Journal-page 17)
   5/23/2013  Senate  Read second time (Senate Journal-page 17)
   5/24/2013          Scrivener's error corrected
   5/29/2013  Senate  Read third time and returned to House with amendments
    6/4/2013  House   Concurred in Senate amendment and enrolled 
                        (House Journal-page 27)
    6/4/2013  House   Roll call Yeas-95  Nays-0 (House Journal-page 27)
   6/11/2013          Ratified R 112
   6/13/2013          Signed By Governor
   6/21/2013          Effective date 06/13/13
   8/13/2013          Act No. 105

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

4/17/2013
4/17/2013-A
4/23/2013
5/23/2013
5/24/2013


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A105, R112, H3971)

AN ACT TO AMEND ACT 432 OF 1947, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE GREENVILLE HOSPITAL SYSTEM, SO AS TO, AMONG OTHER THINGS, RENAME THE SYSTEM THE GREENVILLE HEALTH SYSTEM; TO AUTHORIZE AN INCREASE IN BOARD MEMBERS UP TO SEVENTEEN, TO ESTABLISH PROCEDURES FOR EFFECTING SUCH INCREASE, TO REVISE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISTRICTS FROM WHICH MEMBERS MUST BE APPOINTED, TO FURTHER REVISE MEMBER RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS, TO REVISE TERMS FOR MEMBERS FROM SIX YEARS TO THREE YEARS, TO AUTHORIZE A MEMBER TO SERVE TWO TERMS, TO PROVIDE FOR STAGGERED TERMS, TO REVISE THE NOMINATION AND APPOINTMENT PROCESS, AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE BOARD IS COMMITTED TO MAINTAINING A DIVERSE BOARD; TO AUTHORIZE THE GREENVILLE HEALTH SYSTEM TO AMEND ITS NAME WITH INPUT FROM THE LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION, TO INCLUDE COMMUNITY AND PROFESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES ON BOARD COMMITTEES, TO FURTHER SPECIFY HEALTH PROFESSIONALS FOR WHOM TEACHING PROGRAMS MAY BE PROVIDED AND TO WHOM FACILITY REGULATIONS APPLY, TO FURTHER SPECIFY PROVIDING FREE SERVICES TO COMMUNITY RESIDENTS, TO CONTRACT DIRECTLY WITH INSURERS AND EMPLOYERS TO PROVIDE HEALTH CARE ON A POPULATION RISK OR AN EPISODIC BASIS, TO DELETE CERTAIN DISPOSAL OF PROPERTY PROVISIONS, TO CONDUCT INVESTIGATIONS INTO HEALTH CONDITIONS AND NEEDS, TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS WITH HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS FOR SHARING OR FURNISHING SERVICES AND FOR MANAGEMENT OF FACILITIES OR FOR REDUCING DUPLICATIVE SERVICES; TO FURTHER CLARIFY UNCONTESTABLE BOND PROVISIONS; TO FURTHER PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF THE GREENVILLE HEALTH SYSTEM POLICE DEPARTMENT; TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; TO CONFORM THE PROVISIONS OF ACT 432 WITH THE CHANGE IN THE SYSTEM'S NAME; AND TO REPEAL CERTAIN SECTIONS OF ACT 432 OF 1947 AND TO REPEAL ACT 1013 OF 1948, ACTS 555 AND 558 OF 1961, ACT 1286 OF 1966, AND ACT 744 OF 1967 ALL RELATING TO THE GREENVILLE HOSPITAL SYSTEM.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Greenville Hospital System renamed Greenville Health System, board composition and appointment procedures revised

SECTION    1.    Section 4 of Act 432 of 1947, as last amended by Act 379 of 2008, is further amended to read:

"Section    1.    (A)    For the purpose of operating and at all times maintaining adequate hospital facilities for the residents of Greenville County, including those residents in the City of Greenville and as otherwise provided by law, including, but not limited to, Section 44-7-78, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, there is established the Greenville Health System (formerly known as the Greenville Hospital System) which must be governed by a board of trustees selected pursuant to this section.

(B)(1)    The board of trustees shall consist of not fewer than twelve or more than seventeen members. A membership above twelve must be first requested by the board of trustees and then approved by the Greenville County Legislative Delegation. Members must be appointed by the Greenville County Legislative Delegation pursuant to this section. All members must be qualified electors. Members filling house district residency seats, as provided for in this subsection, must, at the time of their appointment and throughout their term of office, be residents of Greenville County residing in specified house districts that constitute a part of the specific house district residency seat. Six of the members must be considered as filling house district residency seats, with one seat being filled by a person residing in House District 17, 18, or 36; one residing in House District 10 or 19; one residing in House District 20 , 21, or 35; one residing in House District 22 or 24; one residing in House District 23 or 25; and one residing in House District 16, 27, or 28. The remaining members must be at large, at least four of whom must reside in Greenville County. Two of the members must reside in the City of Greenville, but no more than three of the members may reside in the city limits of a single municipality. Appointment of members who are residents of the City of Greenville must be submitted for review by the City of Greenville as provided in subsection (B)(3). Members shall represent all communities served by the Greenville Health System regardless of residency and shall make decisions in the best interest of the Greenville Health System as a whole and all those it serves.

(2)(a)    Except as provided for in subitem (c) and subsection (D), members shall serve terms of three years, which expire on October first of the appropriate year, and until their successors are appointed and qualify; however, under no circumstance may a member continue to serve longer than six months after the expiration of his term. If the Greenville County Legislative Delegation has not filled a seat within six months of the expiration of the term, the member serving in that seat shall cease serving and the seat is vacant until filled in accordance with this section. Members may not serve more than two terms, except that a member who fills a term of one year or less may be reappointed to serve two terms.

(b)    Vacancies must be filled in the manner of the original appointment for the unexpired portion of the term. Appointments must be filed in the office of the Clerk of Court for Greenville County, who shall certify their appointment to the Governor, who shall commission the member for the term provided.

(c)    Members appointed to fill a new seat on the board, if any, must be appointed for a term beginning October first, with the length of the initial term being of a duration that results in approximately one-third of the members of the board being appointed annually.

(3)    The board of trustees shall publicize vacancies, and recommendations may be made to the board from any individual, organization, or group. The board shall submit a nominee for each vacancy to the Greenville County Legislative Delegation. The board shall provide the legislative delegation with biographical information on nominees and must be available to discuss the recommendations and shall make each nominee available, if requested by the legislative delegation, to meet with the delegation. The legislative delegation with a quorum present and by majority-weighted vote shall vote to appoint a nominee for each vacancy. However, if after the board has submitted its initial nominee, the delegation requests an additional nominee, the board has one hundred twenty days to submit the additional nominee. If the board does not submit an additional nominee within one hundred twenty days of the request, the legislative delegation has sixty days to appoint a qualified member to fill the vacancy without considering nominations from the board. If the board does submit an additional nominee within the one hundred twenty days and the delegation by vote does not appoint the nominee, the delegation has sixty days to appoint a qualified member to fill the vacancy without considering the nominations from the board. An individual selected by the delegation who is a resident of the City of Greenville must be submitted by the legislative delegation to the City Council of the City of Greenville for concurrence, and the city council shall act timely on the request for concurrence. If the city council does not concur in the appointment, the board shall submit an additional nominee to the legislative delegation to fill the seat and the legislative delegation shall vote to appoint the nominee or request an additional nominee, and upon approval of the nominee shall submit that nominee to the City of Greenville for concurrence. The board is committed to maintaining a diverse board, believing that diversity is a source of strength and that the skills needed in building healthy communities can best be developed through exposure to widely diverse people, culture, ideas, and leadership. All recommendations, nominations, and appointments to the board shall take into account race, gender, expertise, and other qualifications as may be pertinent to service on the board so that members are mindful, to the greatest extent possible, of the needs of all segments of the population of Greenville County and those served by the Greenville Health System.

(C)(1)    The board shall elect from among its members a chairman, vice chairman, and secretary.

(2)    Members shall serve on the board of trustees without compensation.

(D)    Members shall continue to serve until their terms expire and until their successors are appointed and qualify."

Powers and duties

SECTION    2.    Section 5 of Act 432 of 1947, as last amended by Act 1285 of 1966, is further amended to read:

"Section    2.    The Greenville Health System is authorized and empowered to do all things necessary or convenient for the establishment and maintenance of adequate health care facilities for the communities it serves and, without limiting in any way the generality of the foregoing, is empowered to:

(1)    adopt and use a corporate seal;

(2)    amend its name as determined by the board of trustees after receiving input from the Greenville County Legislative Delegation;

(3)    adopt bylaws, rules, and regulations for the conduct of its business and expenditure of its funds, as it may deem advisable, including establishing committees of the board of trustees, which may include community and professional representatives;

(4)    operate the hospital conveyed to it by the City of Greenville, and such other hospitals, health care facilities, clinics, programs, and services as it may lease, acquire, construct, or develop;

(5)    acquire by gift, purchase, or otherwise, all kinds and descriptions of real and personal property;

(6)    accept gifts, grants, donations, devises, and bequests;

(7)    enlarge and improve any facility that it may acquire or construct;

(8)    adequately staff and equip any health care facility that it may operate;

(9)    provide and operate outpatient departments and services;

(10)    establish and operate clinics deemed necessary by the board of trustees to the health of the residents of Greenville County and the communities served;

(11)    provide teaching and instruction programs and schools for physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, pharmacists, case workers, administrators, and other persons;

(12)    employ personnel as may be necessary for its efficient operation;

(13)    establish and promulgate rates for the use of its services and facilities;

(14)    provide regulations concerning the use of its facilities and access to its programs and services, including rules governing the conduct of physicians, nurses, technicians, allied health professionals, social workers, and others while on duty or practicing their profession in its facilities and patients and visitors using its services and facilities; the determination of whether patients presented to the health system for treatment are subject for charity; and to fix compensation to be paid by patients and others utilizing its services;

(15)    provide free or discounted services for residents of the county and the communities it serves;

(16)    contract directly or in conjunction with insurers, employers, and individuals for the provision of health care services on a population risk or episodic basis and to expend the proceeds derived from these activities to support its programs and services;

(17)    determine the fiscal year upon which its affairs must be conducted;

(18)    expend any funds received in any manner, and the proceeds derived from issuance of bonds, to defray any costs incident to establishing, constructing, equipping, and maintaining its facilities and services;

(19)    apply to the federal government and state agencies and any other governmental agencies, industries, and philanthropic programs for a grant of monies to aid in providing any health care facility or program, conducting research, and providing health care services;

(20)    dispose of any property, real or personal, that it may possess;

(21)    conduct periodic investigations into hospital, medical, and health conditions and needs in Greenville County and the communities it serves;

(22)    exercise the power of eminent domain, in the manner provided by the general laws of the State of South Carolina for procedure by any county, municipality, or authority created by or organized under the laws of this State or by the Department of Transportation or by railroad corporations;

(23)    borrow money from banking or other lending institutions in such amounts and on such terms as the board may determine is for the best interest to the board for the operation of the hospital or for the acquisition of real or personal property or to enlarge or improve any hospital facilities and to secure such loan or loans by pledge of revenues;

(24)    enter into affiliation, cooperation, territorial management, joint operation, and other similar agreements with other providers for the:

(a)    sharing, dividing, allocating, or exclusive furnishing of services, referral of patients, management of facilities, and other similar activities; or

(b)    reducing or eliminating duplicative services in a market in order to improve quality or reduce cost; and

(25)    exercise all powers now or hereinafter granted to regional health service districts pursuant to Articles 15 and 16, Chapter 7, Title 44, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976."

Accountings and audits, petitions for additional hospital facilities

SECTION    3.    Section 6 of Act 432 of 1947 is amended to read:

"Section    3.    (A)    The board shall at all times keep full and accurate account of its actings and doings and of its receipts and expenditures, and at least once within four months following the close of its fiscal year, a complete audit of its affairs must be made by a qualified public accountant. Copies of the audit must be filed with the Clerk of Court for Greenville County, the Clerk of the City Council of the City of Greenville, and with the Secretary or Acting Secretary of the Greenville County Delegation to the General Assembly.

(B)    If a petition, containing the authentic signatures of more than ten percent of the qualified electors of any incorporated town or any district now in existence or hereafter created, lying wholly within Greenville County or partly within Greenville County and any adjoining county, asks the board to establish additional hospital facilities to be located in the town or district, the board promptly shall investigate the need of additional hospital facilities and if the board finds that such need exists, the board shall cause plans and specifications to be made for the type of facilities that the board determines is needed. If the town or district makes available to the board not less than fifty percent of the total of the estimated cost of the construction and equipment of such facilities, the board shall cause the facility to be promptly constructed, and upon its completion the facility must be operated as a part of its general hospital."

Bonds

SECTION    4.    Section 8 of Act 432 of 1947 is amended to read:

"Section    4.    All bonds, revenues, or general obligations issued pursuant to the provisions of this act are deemed incontestable and valid and binding obligations, according to their tenor and effect, notwithstanding the provisions of other statutes."

Greenville Health System police department powers and duties

SECTION    5.    An undesignated section of Act 432 of 1947, as added by Act 312 of 2010, is designated and amended to read:

"Section    5.    (A)(1)    The Greenville Health System may establish a police department and appoint and employ police and security officers to carry out the functions of the department. While on duty, uniformed police and security officers shall wear distinctive uniforms prescribed by the board of trustees or its designees.

(2)    The police officers must be commissioned as constables pursuant to Section 23-1-60, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, and take the oath of office prescribed by law and the State Constitution for those officers.

(3)    The jurisdiction of a police officer is limited to the grounds and streets and roads through and contiguous to the property of the Greenville Health System and not more than one hundred yards beyond its boundary.

(B)    While performing his duties, a Greenville Health System police officer has all the powers of municipal and county law enforcement officers to make arrests for both felonies and misdemeanors and possess all of the common law and statutory powers, privileges, and immunities of police officers. A Greenville Health System police officer shall:

(1)    preserve the peace, maintain order, and prevent unlawful use of force or violence or other unlawful conduct on the hospital grounds and protect all persons and property located there from injury, harm, and damage;

(2)    enforce and assist hospital officials in the enforcement of the laws of the State, county and municipal ordinances, and the lawful regulations of the institution and assist and cooperate with other law enforcement agencies and officers.

(C)    The jurisdiction of police officers of the Greenville Health System does not extend beyond the boundaries set by the provisions of subsection (A)(3), and these police officers may not arrest a person outside these boundaries. If the person leaves these boundaries, the police officer shall contact the appropriate law enforcement agency to effectuate an arrest.

(D)    Greenville Health System police officers may designate and operate emergency vehicles and patrol cars in the manner provided by law for municipal and county law enforcement officers. These regular assigned patrol vehicles or units must bear distinctive and conspicuous lettering and markings on the sides and rear of the vehicle which provide clear identification of the institution. The chief law enforcement executive for the Greenville Health System may designate unmarked vehicles assigned to administrative, special, or investigative duties which must be operated in the manner provided by law for municipal and county law enforcement officers.

(E)    The chief law enforcement executive or other appropriate official, with the approval of the board of trustees, shall establish within the police department a system of ranks and grades and a promotion policy to ensure efficient operation of the department and the establishment of responsibility within it.

(F)    The police department may install, maintain, and operate radio systems on radio frequencies under licenses issued by the Federal Communications Commission, or its successor.

(G)    It is unlawful for a person to:

(1)    falsely represent himself to be a Greenville Health System police officer or agent or an employee of its police department and to act upon this representation to arrest, detain, search, or question a person or the property of a person;

(2)    without the authority of the board of trustees, to wear the official uniform, insignia, badge, or identification of the Greenville Health System police department.

(H)    A person arrested by a Greenville Health System police or security officer must be processed in the manner in which a person arrested is processed by municipal and county law enforcement officers."

Acts repealed

SECTION    6.    Sections 2, 3, and 7 of Act 432 of 1947, Act 1013 of 1948, Acts 555 and 558 of 1961, Act 1286 of 1966, and Act 744 of 1967 are repealed.

Time effective

SECTION    7.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Ratified the 11th day of June, 2013.

Approved the 13th day of June, 2013.

__________


This web page was last updated on November 15, 2013 at 2:30 PM