A. There may be created special hospital districts within any county of this state for the purpose of constructing, acquiring, operating and maintaining one or more public hospital facilities for the benefit of the inhabitants of the district.

B. All counties shall have the power to enter into agreements with one or more other counties to create special hospital districts composed of all or a portion of each county which is a party to the agreement, but no district so created shall include within its territory any territory already included in another special hospital district. In any case, no county shall include the same territory in more than one special hospital district. Such agreement shall provide for generation of funds necessary for establishment and operation of a public hospital facility and for a plan of dissolution. Plans for the dissolution of the special hospital district must provide for the payment of all district debts and liabilities and for the distributing of all remaining assets to the county or counties in which the special hospital district lies.

C. A county may enter into an agreement with the board of trustees of an existing special hospital district to permit all or a portion of the county to become a subdistrict of the special hospital district, after certification of a petition and election as required in Sections 4-48A-4 and 4-48A-5 NMSA 1978. A member of the board of trustees shall be elected from the new subdistrict in the manner provided by law and shall be added to the board of trustees until the next regularly scheduled election, at which time a board member shall be elected as provided in Section 4-48A-6 NMSA 1978.

History: 1978 Comp., § 4-48A-3, enacted by Laws 1978, ch. 29, § 3; 1981, ch. 84, § 2; 1983, ch. 84, § 1.