§ 131E-8.  Sale of hospital facilities to nonprofit corporations.

(a) A municipality as defined in G.S. 131E-6(5) or hospital authority as defined in G.S. 131E-16(14), upon such terms and conditions as it deems wise, with or without monetary consideration, may sell or convey to a nonprofit corporation organized under Chapter 55A of the General Statutes any rights of ownership the municipality or hospital authority has in a hospital facility including the building, land and equipment associated with the hospital, if the nonprofit corporation is legally committed to continue to operate the facility as a community general hospital open to the general public, free of discrimination based upon race, creed, color, sex or national origin. The nonprofit corporation shall also agree, as a condition of the municipality or hospital authority's conveying ownership, to provide such services to indigent patients as the municipality or hospital authority and the nonprofit corporation shall agree. The nonprofit corporation shall further agree that should it fail to operate the facility as a community general hospital open to the general public or should the nonprofit corporation dissolve without a successor nonprofit corporation to carry out the terms and conditions of the agreement of conveyance, all ownership rights in the hospital facility, including the building, land and equipment associated with the hospital, shall revert to the municipality or hospital authority or successor entity originally conveying the hospital.

(b) When either general obligation bonds or revenue bonds issued for the benefit of the hospital to be conveyed are outstanding at the time of sale or conveyance, then the nonprofit corporation must agree to the following:

By the effective date of sale or conveyance, the nonprofit corporation shall place into an escrow fund money or direct obligations of, or obligations the principal of and interest on which, are unconditionally guaranteed by the United States of America (as approved by the Local Government Commission), the principal of and interest on which, when due and payable, will provide sufficient money to pay the principal of and the interest and redemption premium, if any, on all bonds then outstanding to the maturity date or dates of such bonds or to the date or dates specified for the redemption thereof. The nonprofit corporation shall furnish to the Local Government Commission such evidence as the Commission may require that the securities purchased will satisfy the requirements of this section. A hospital which has placed funds in escrow to retire outstanding general obligation or revenue bonds, as provided in this section, shall not be considered a public hospital, and G.S. 159-39(a)(3) shall be inapplicable to such hospitals.

(c) Any sale or conveyance under this section must be approved by the municipality or hospital authority by a resolution adopted at a regular meeting of the governing body on 10 days' public notice. Notice shall be given by publication describing the hospital facility to be conveyed, the proposed monetary consideration or lack thereof, and the governing body's intent to authorize the sale or conveyance.

(d) Neither G.S. 153A-176 nor Article 12 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes shall apply to sales or conveyances pursuant to this section.

(e) A sale or conveyance of substantially all the equipment is a sale or conveyance of hospital facility. (1983, c. 775, s. 1; 1989, c. 444.)