Title 7, Title 7

The purpose of this part is to authorize the establishment of public hospital districts which shall have power to supply hospital facilities and services and health care facilities and services to residents of districts and, as herein authorized, to others.

As used in this part, unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions apply: (1) "Hospital facilities" means a hospital or a hospital-related facility, including outpatient centers for primary care, outpatient centers for surgical services, rehabilitation facilit…

Proceedings for creation of a hospital district shall be initiated by a petition signed by not less than 30% of the qualified electors of the proposed hospital district who are taxpayers upon property within the proposed hospital district and whose names appear on the last-comple…

(1) The petition may consist of one sheet or several sheets, identical in form and fastened together after being circulated and signed so as to form a single, complete petition before being delivered to the county clerk and recorder. The petition must give the post-office address…

The complete petition, addressed to the board of county commissioners of the county in which the proposed district is situated, must be filed with the county clerk and recorder, who shall, within 15 days, carefully examine the petition and the county records showing the qualifica…

(1) The county clerk and recorder shall present the petition and the clerk's certificate to the board of county commissioners at its first meeting held after the clerk has attached the certificate. (2) The board shall carefully examine the petition, and if it is found that the pe…

A notice of the hearing required by 7-34-2106 shall be published as provided in 7-1-2121.

At the time fixed for said hearing, the board shall hear all competent and relevant testimony offered in support of or in opposition to said petition and the creation of such district. Said hearing may be adjourned from time to time for the determination of said facts or hearing …

The board of county commissioners, upon completion of the hearing provided for in 7-34-2106 through 7-34-2108, shall proceed by resolution to refer the question of the creation of such district to the persons qualified to vote on such proposition.

(1) The board of county commissioners in its resolution may make changes in the boundaries of the proposed district that it considers advisable, without including any additional lands not described in the petition, and it shall call an election on the question of the creation of …

A public hospital district may contain the entire territory embraced within a county or any portion or subdivision thereof.

At the election on the creation of a district, the ballot must contain the words "Hospital district -- Yes" and "Hospital district -- No".

Only qualified electors residing within the proposed hospital district may vote on the question of the creation of the hospital district.

(1) In the event that a majority of the votes cast are in favor of the creation and establishment of said hospital district, the board of county commissioners shall, within 10 days after the election, certify such result by resolution and proceed with the organization of such dis…

(1) A hospital district must be governed and managed by a board of three or five trustees, elected by the registered electors residing in the district. The number of trustees on the board and, if the number is set at five, the initial terms of two trustees must be fixed by the by…

(1) All elections of trustees must be conducted in accordance with Title 13, chapter 1, part 5. (2) The first board of trustees must be elected at the election under 7-34-2110 on whether to create the district, subject to voter approval of the district. (3) If there are no candid…

(1) The trustees elected for the first board shall serve for terms: (a) commencing upon their being elected and qualified; and (b) terminating 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively, from the first district meeting following their election and until their respective successors are elect…

The trustees at their first meeting shall adopt bylaws for the government and management of the district and shall appoint a qualified person to serve as clerk of the said board, who may or may not be one of their number.

The trustees shall serve without pay.

A vacancy upon the board of trustees occurring during the term of office of a trustee or in the office of clerk must be filled by appointment by the remaining members, and the appointee shall serve until the next ensuing election for trustees.

A hospital district has all powers necessary and convenient to the acquisition, betterment, operation, maintenance, and administration of hospital facilities that its board of trustees considers necessary and expedient. In addition to the general grant of powers, a hospital distr…

Such a hospital district must admit persons to its facilities without regard to race, color, or sex, as defined in 1-1-209. Such obligation shall not prevent the board of trustees of such hospital district from establishing reasonable minimum rates for hospital quarters, services…

(1) (a) A hospital district may borrow money by the issuance of its bonds to provide funds for payment of part or all of the cost of acquisition, furnishing, equipment, improvement, extension, and betterment of hospital facilities and to provide an adequate working capital for a …

The board of hospital trustees shall annually present their budget to the board of county commissioners at the regular budget meetings as prescribed by law and therewith certify the amount of money necessary and proper for the ensuing year.

Subject to 15-10-420, the board of county commissioners shall, annually at the time of levying county taxes, fix and levy a tax on the taxable value of all taxable property within the hospital district clearly sufficient to raise the amount certified by the board of hospital trus…

(1) The procedures for the collection of the tax shall be in accordance with the existing laws of Montana. (2) The funds collected under the tax levy shall be held by the county treasurer, who shall be, ex officio, the treasurer for the hospital district, and such treasurer shall…

(1) A hospital district may establish a capital replacement fund. The fund may be used only for the replacement of property, plant facilities, or equipment. The cost of such capital equipment must exceed $5,000 and have a life expectancy of 5 years or more. (2) A capital replacem…

The boundaries of any such public hospital district may be altered and outlying districts may be annexed from territory contiguous thereto in the following manner.

A petition signed by 10% or more of the freeholders within the territory proposed to be annexed or by a majority of such freeholders if there are less than 25 residing within the area proposed to be annexed, designating the boundaries of such contiguous territory proposed to be a…

(1) At the first regular meeting after the presentation of said petition, said board of county commissioners shall cause notice of said petition to be published as provided in 7-1-2121 prior to the date fixed by said board for the hearing of said petition, which date shall be not…

Said board of county commissioners shall have the power, by order entered on its minutes: (1) to grant said petition either in whole or in part; (2) to alter the boundaries of said public hospital district; and (3) to annex thereto all or such portion of said area or territory de…

The annexed territory shall become and be a part of such public hospital district on the date fixed in the order of annexation and shall be subject to the taxes authorized by this part, including taxes for any preexisting indebtedness, together with the preexisting area of said d…

(1) Any portion of a public hospital district may be withdrawn therefrom, as provided in 7-34-2156 through 7-34-2160, upon receipt of a petition signed by 51% or more of the taxpayers residing in and owning property within the area desired to be withdrawn from any public hospital…

(1) The board of county commissioners shall, upon the filing of such a petition, fix a time for the hearing of such withdrawal petition, which time shall not be more than 4 weeks after the receipt thereof. (2) Any interested person may appear at said hearing and present objection…

(1) The board shall consider the petition and all objections thereto, pass upon the merits thereof, and make its order in accordance therewith. (2) Such order is subject to review by the district court of the county, and appeal may be taken from the final judgment of such distric…

Any withdrawal shall be effective as of January 1 following the issuance of the withdrawal order.

All taxable property within the withdrawn area shall remain subject to taxation for any bonded indebtedness of the hospital district existing as of the effective date of the withdrawal to the same extent as it would have been subject if not withdrawn.

At any time after 5 years from the date any public hospital district is created, such district may be dissolved upon presentation to the board of county commissioners of a petition signed by at least 51% of the owners of property lying within such district as shown by the last-co…

Upon the filing of the petition, the board of county commissioners shall set a time for hearing the petition and shall publish a notice of the hearing as provided in 7-1-2121.

The commissioners shall enter upon their minutes an order dissolving such district if, upon the hearing provided for in 7-34-2162, the commissioners find: (1) such petition to be sufficient; (2) that the district is not indebted in any amount beyond funds immediately available to…

The order of dissolution shall be filed of record, and the dissolution shall be effective for all purposes 6 months after the date of filing said order of dissolution, provided that at or before such time the board of trustees of said district certifies to the board of county com…

Hospital district boundaries may be altered due to an inability to access public services as provided in Title 7, chapter 2, part 61.

(1) The board of county commissioners has jurisdiction and power, under the limitations and restrictions prescribed by law, to erect, furnish, equip, expand, improve, and maintain health care facilities and to provide health care services in those facilities as permitted by law. …

The board of county commissioners may create a commission for the management of health care facilities, as provided in 7-8-2103.

A county health care facility may be used to provide health care services.

(1) The board of county commissioners may, under the limitations and restrictions prescribed by law, lease county buildings, equipment, furniture, and fixtures for health care facility purposes, with full power of lessor except as limited in this section, upon the terms and condi…