All counties shall have the following powers:

A. to purchase, own, maintain and operate hospitals;

B. to purchase the land necessary to construct hospitals;

C. to control and regulate county hospitals;

D. to construct county hospitals;

E. to issue general obligation bonds and revenue bonds in the manner provided in the Hospital Funding Act for the construction, purchase, renovation, remodeling, equipping or re-equipping of a county hospital or a jointly owned county-municipal hospital and purchasing the land necessary therefor or for any combination of the foregoing purposes;

F. to charge for hospital services rendered and to reduce any charge made for care of a patient in whole or part when the charges are determined to be disputed in good faith or uncollectible;

G. to lease a hospital to any person, corporation or association for the operation and maintenance of the hospital upon terms and conditions as the county commissioners may determine;

H. to contract with the state, another county or counties, the federal government or its agencies, another political subdivision or a public or private corporation, organization or association for the care of the sick of the county;

I. to receive all funds appropriated from whatever source or paid by or on behalf of any patient of the hospital;

J. notwithstanding any other provision of law, to enter into leases, management or operating contracts, health care facilities contracts and other agreements authorized by the Hospital Funding Act for periods in excess of one year; provided that:

(1) the contract, lease or agreement may be terminated by the county without cause upon one hundred eighty days' notice after the first three years of the contract; and

(2) Paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not apply during the portion of a lease term in which a lessee is obligated under the lease to make debt service payments on revenue bonds that finance all or part of the hospital or equipment for the hospital;

K. to authorize the hospital governing board of a county hospital to exercise all powers that the county is granted by the Hospital Funding Act except the powers to issue bonds, call a mill levy election and levy the annual assessments for the mill levy authorized by the Hospital Funding Act;

L. to enter into a health care facilities contract with one or more hospitals that agree to provide facilities to the sick of the county;

M. to call a mill levy election as authorized by the Hospital Funding Act and to collect and distribute the proceeds of the mill levy pursuant to that act;

N. to distribute the proceeds of the mill levy authorized by the Hospital Funding Act to one or more county hospitals and one or more contracting hospitals or any combination thereof that provide facilities for the sick of the county, whether located within or without the county wherein the mill levy is collected;

O. to accept grants for constructing, equipping, operating and maintaining a county hospital;

P. to enter into an agreement with a municipality for constructing, equipping, operating and maintaining a jointly owned county-municipal hospital;

Q. to enter into an agreement with another county or counties, another county or counties and another political subdivision, an agency of the federal government or any other person, corporation, organization or association that provides that the parties to the agreement shall join together or form a legal entity for the purpose of making some or all purchases necessary for the operation of public hospitals or public and private hospitals subject to provisions of or exemptions from the Procurement Code [13-1-28 to 13-1-199 NMSA 1978];

R. to enter into an agreement with another county or counties, another political subdivision, an agency of the federal government or any other person, corporation, organization or association that provides that parties to the agreement shall join together or form a legal entity for the purpose of creating a network of health care providers or jointly operating a common health care service, subject to provisions of or exemptions from the Procurement Code;

S. to expend public money to recruit health care personnel to serve the sick of the county; and

T. to perform any other act or adopt any regulation necessary or expedient to carry out the provisions of the Hospital Funding Act.

History: 1941 Comp., § 15-5001, enacted by Laws 1947, ch. 148, § 1; 1953 Comp., § 15-48-1; 1978 Comp., § 4-48-1, recompiled as § 4-48B-5 by Laws 1981, ch. 83, § 5; 1993, ch. 355, § 1; 1998, ch. 69, § 2; 2001, ch. 291, § 7.

Cross references. — For bonds for courthouses, jails, bridges, hospitals and libraries, see 4-49-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.

For constitutional restrictions on county indebtedness, see N.M. Const., art. IX, § 10.

For joint county-municipal hospitals, see 3-44-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.

For provision by counties of ambulance service, see 5-1-1 NMSA 1978.

For the Tort Claims Act, see 41-4-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.

The 2001 amendment, effective June 15, 2001, added Subsection J(2).

The 1998 amendment, effective May 20, 1998, rewrote Subsection Q, added Subsection R, and redesignated the following subsections accordingly.

The 1993 amendment, effective June 18, 1993, added the language beginning "and to reduce" in Subsection F.

Power to operate hospital. — Board of county commissioners is empowered to operate hospital at public expense or to avail itself of lease method. Akopiantz v. Board of County Comm'rs, 1958-NMSC-122, 65 N.M. 125, 333 P.2d 611.

Constitutionality of use of bond proceeds. — Use of bond moneys for purchase of hospital site and for equipping the building was granted by implication under N.M. Const., art. IX, § 10. Board of Cnty. Comm'rs v. McCulloh, 1948-NMSC-028, 52 N.M. 210, 195 P.2d 1005.

Statutory requirements. — The Hospital Funding Act does not prohibit placing mill levy proceeds, subject to a county election, in escrow for future use in the performance of a health care facilities contract or require that a physical facility be in existence at the time a health care facilities contract is executed. Cordova v. Valencia Cnty. Bd. of Comm'rs, 2010-NMCA-039, 148 N.M. 460, 237 P.3d 762, cert. denied, 2010-NMCERT-004, 148 N.M. 572, 240 P.3d 659.

Contract valid. — Where the county entered into a health care facilities contract with a nonprofit corporation that did not have an existing and operating hospital facility within the county; and the contract provided for capital expenditures and construction costs of a hospital to be paid for by revenue bond financing with an independent party; the escrow of mill levy proceeds for hospital operations for the period of the contract; the transfer to the nonprofit corporation of mill levy proceeds upon completion of the construction of the hospital to be used for the operation and maintenance of the hospital, but not for capital expenditures or construction costs; the termination of the contract without cause after the first three years of the contract upon 180 days notice, unless the nonprofit corporation was obligated to make debt service payments on revenue bonds; and the termination of the contract if the mill levy proceeds were used for any purpose other than the operation and maintenance of the hospital, the county did not exceed its authority under the Hospital Funding Act. Cordova v. Valencia Cnty. Bd. of Comm'rs, 2010-NMCA-039, 148 N.M. 460, 237 P.3d 762, cert. denied, 2010-NMCERT-004, 148 N.M. 572, 240 P.3d 659.

"Purchase". — Word "purchase" does not include or intend to allow a lease of property. A purchase of property involves a transfer of ownership and a passing of title. 1953 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 53-5784.

Contract for outpatient clinic. — County was authorized to enter into a contract with a private, for-profit group to provide a daytime, outpatient clinic in the county, but the county could not sign the proposed contract until it chose a clinic pursuant to the Procurement Code (13-1-28 NMSA 1978 et seq.). 1987 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 87-74.

Procedure for issuance and sale of bonds under former 4-48-1 to 4-48-9 NMSA 1978. 1947 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 47-5067.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 40A Am. Jur. 2d Hospitals and Asylums §§ 4, 51; 56 Am. Jur. 2d Municipal Corporations, Counties, and Other Political Subdivisions § 502. 64 Am. Jur. 2d Public Securities and Obligations §§ 1 to 8.

Immunity from liability for damages in tort of state or govenmental unit or agency in operating hospital, 25 A.L.R.2d 203.

Liability for wrongful autopsy, 18 A.L.R.4th 858.

20 C.J.S. Counties §§ 39, 150, 181.

41 C.J.S. Hospitals § 6.