HBA-JLV, RKM H.B. 182 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 182 By: Turner, Bob Ways and Means 7/17/2001 Enrolled BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In 1986, the legislature authorized the establishment of a Sutton County Hospital District with a tax cap of 10 cents per $100 of land valuation, as approved by the local electorate. The board of the hospital district took over the management of Lillian M. Hudspeth Memorial Hospital and Nursing Home in 1987. The hospital operated as a nonprofit institution by the trustees of the original Hudspeth Hospital Corporation since 1951. The corporation had exhausted its resources and could no longer fund the operation of the hospital. During the same period, Sutton County was experiencing an oil and gas boom and the 10 cents cap was sufficient to run the hospital and nursing home. Over the years, Sutton County taxable values have eroded due to the depletion of its natural gas reserves. The legislature has since increased the hospital district's tax cap to 35 cents per $100 of land valuation. With the tax base continuing to diminish and with the increasing cost of medical care, the tax cap could be reached within the next two or three years. Increasing the tax cap to the maximum rate allowed by law allows the hospital district to raise the rate, through a local referendum, whenever it becomes necessary to keep the hospital open. House Bill 182 increases the amount of the Sutton County Hospital District's maximum tax rate from 35 to 75 cents on each $100 of valuation on all taxable property in the district. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 182 amends law to increase the amount of the Sutton County Hospital District's maximum tax rate from 35 to 75 cents on each $100 of valuation on all taxable property in the district for which the board is authorized to order an election. EFFECTIVE DATE June 11, 2001.