Kern County Hospital Authority.

Existing law authorizes the board of supervisors of certain counties to establish a hospital authority for the management, administration, and control of certain medical facilities. This bill would authorize the board of supervisors of the County of Kern to establish, by ordinance, the Kern County Hospital Authority to manage, administer, and control the Kern Medical Center and for the operation of additional programs, clinics and other facilities, care organizations, physician practice plans, and delivery systems that may be affiliated or consolidated with the medical center. The bill would also authorize the establishment of the authority to negotiate and enter into contracts to provide or arrange, or provide directly, on a fee-for-service, capitated, or other basis, health care services to specified individuals. The bill would require the board of supervisors, in the enabling ordinance, to establish the terms and conditions of the transfers to the authority from the county, which includes, among other things, any transfer of real and personal property. The bill would require the authority to be governed by a board of governors, and would require the board of supervisors, in the enabling ordinance, to specify, among other things, the number of members and composition of membership of the board of governors and the qualifications of members. The bill would grant to the authority, among other powers, the duties, privileges, immunities, rights, liabilities, and limitations of a local unit of government within the state. The bill would specify that the transfer to the authority of the management, administration, and control of the medical center does not affect the eligibility of the county for, but authorizes the authority to participate in and receive, various sources of funding, as specified, including various Medi-Cal programs. The bill would require the board of supervisors to adopt, and the authority to implement, a personnel transition plan that requires specified actions, including ongoing communication to employees and recognized employee organizations regarding the impact of the transition on certain existing employees and employee classifications. The bill would authorize the board of supervisors to find and declare that the authority ceases to exist, and in that event, the bill would require the board of supervisors to provide for the disposition of the authority's assets, obligations, and liabilities, as specified. Existing law, the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937, authorizes counties to establish retirement systems, as specified, in order to provide pension benefits to county, city, and district employees. Existing law defines a district for these purposes as a district, formed under the laws of the state, located wholly or partially within the county other than a school district. This bill would include the authority within the definition of district and would authorize employees of the authority to participate in the Kern County Employees' Retirement Association, as specified. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 31468 of the Government Code proposed by SB 673 that would become operative if this bill and SB 673 are both enacted and this bill is enacted last.