                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PURPOSE; ONE OR MORE LOCALITIES MAY CREATE AUTHORITY; ADVERTISEMENT AND NOTICE
OF HEARING (§ 32.1-122.10:001)

A. Communities lack the ability to coordinate, across jurisdictions, health
partnership efforts between local governments and private providers of health
care services, which leads to duplicative and inefficient services. Such
public/private partnerships could (i) encourage the use of service delivery that
otherwise might have required government funding or programs; (ii) allow
governments to fully participate in such partnerships; (iii) maximize the
willingness of individuals, agencies and private organizations to lend their
expertise to help satisfy community needs; (iv) allow innovative funding
mechanisms to leverage public funds; (v) allow appropriate information sharing
to ensure the adequacy and quality of services delivered; (vi) provide liability
protection for volunteers providing services under programs sponsored or
approved by the authority; (vii) provide a mechanism to ensure that services
provided in the community are necessary, appropriate, and provided by trained
and supervised persons; and (viii) allow volunteers and others to focus their
energies to achieve community health improvement. Health care services include,
but are not limited to, treatment of and education about acute and chronic
diseases, wellness and prevention activities that promote the health of
communities, and access to services and activities.

B. The governing body of a locality may by ordinance or resolution, or the
governing bodies of two or more localities may by concurrent ordinances or
resolutions or by agreement, create a local health partnership authority which
shall have as its purpose developing partnerships between public and private
providers. The ordinance, resolution or agreement creating the authority shall
not be adopted or approved until a public hearing has been held on the question
of its adoption or approval. The authority shall be a public body politic and
corporate.

C. The governing body of each participating locality shall cause to be
advertised at least one time in a newspaper of general circulation in such
locality a copy of the ordinance, resolution or agreement creating the
authority, or a descriptive summary of the ordinance, resolution or agreement
and a reference to the place where a copy of such ordinance, resolution or
agreement can be obtained, and notice of the day, not less than 30 days after
publication of the advertisement, on which a public hearing will be held on the
ordinance, resolution or agreement.

D. No authority created pursuant to this article shall be exempt from any of the
provisions of the Certificate of Public Need laws and regulations of the
Commonwealth.

E. No authority created pursuant to this article shall be allowed to issue bonds
or other form of indebtedness.

F. Any authority created pursuant to this article shall report on programmatic
initiatives on an annual basis to the Joint Commission on Health Care.

HISTORY: 2001, c. 671; 2003, cc. 63, 70.