Whenever a petition signed by not fewer than two hundred qualified electors of any county in this state shall be presented to the county commissioners of the particular county asking that a vote be taken on the question or proposition of constructing, purchasing, renovating, remodeling, equipping or re-equipping a county hospital or a county-municipal hospital and acquiring the land necessary therefor, setting forth in general terms the object of the petition and the amount of bonds asked to be voted for, it shall be the duty of the county commissioners of that county to which the petition may be presented, within ten days after the presentation, to call an election to be held within sixty days thereafter in that county, and to give notice of such election by publication once a week for at least three consecutive weeks in any newspaper published or of general circulation in the county, which notices shall set forth the time and place of holding the election, the hospital proposed to be purchased, constructed, renovated, remodeled, equipped or re-equipped and the land necessary to be acquired, and which bonds are to be voted for. After the defeat of any proposition once voted for, a second special election upon any question or proposition under the provisions of the Hospital Funding Act shall not be held for a term of two years, unless a petition requesting another election, containing the names of qualified electors of the county equal to ten percent of the vote cast for governor in the last preceding election and otherwise conforming to the requirements of this section, shall be presented to the county commissioners; provided, however, that in no event shall more than two elections upon any proposition or question under the Hospital Funding Act be held in any two-year period. A bond election as provided in this section also may be called by the county commissioners without any petition, after the county commissioners have adopted a resolution calling for such an election, which resolution shall set forth the object of the election and the amount of bonds to be issued.

History: 1941 Comp., § 15-5004, enacted by Laws 1947, ch. 148, § 4; 1953 Comp., § 15-48-4; 1978 Comp., § 4-48-3, recompiled as § 4-48B-6 by Laws 1981, ch. 83, § 6.

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.

Voters entitled to vote on question of hospital construction. — There is no basis for construction where the legislative language and intent make it plain that the voters are entitled to express their opinion upon "the question or proposition" and that the election called shall entitle them to vote upon whether "a hospital" is to be constructed or purchased. Carper v. Board of Cnty. Comm'rs, 1953-NMSC-022, 57 N.M. 137, 255 P.2d 673 (.

The language of this section leaves no doubt that the legislature regarded the construction of each hospital, with or without an isolation ward, as a separate and independent proposition. Carper v. Board of Cnty. Comm'rs, 1953-NMSC-022, 57 N.M. 137, 255 P.2d 673.

Petition by electors requesting that board of county commissioners submit to electors a proposal to build two hospitals with isolation wards within the same county, 35 miles apart, illegally joined two separate propositions as one question and was properly disapproved by the board of county commissioners. Kiddy v. Board of Cnty. Comm'rs, 1953-NMSC-023, 57 N.M. 145, 255 P.2d 678; Carper v. Board of Cnty. Comm'rs, 1953-NMSC-022, 57 N.M. 137, 255 P.2d 673.

Notice of election and ballot should present same proposition as presented by the petition. 1955 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 55-6101.

Variance between notice of election and actual use of bond proceeds. — Under the laws of the state of New Mexico, which require a specific procedure for notice of an election and holding of an election on a bond issue, any variance between the notice and the actual use of the funds would be fatal. 1953 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 53-5656.

The county commissioners, after having duly been presented with a petition for the erection of a county hospital and after having duly acted on the matter and published in accordance with law a notice of election upon this issue, may not then, prior to the election, consider splitting the proceeds of such bonded sums and erecting one hospital to be used by osteopaths and one hospital to be used by medical doctors. 1953 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 53-5656.