§ 130A-45.3. Powers and duties of authority board.
§ 130A‑45.3. Powers andduties of authority board.
(a) A public healthauthority shall have all the powers necessary or convenient to carry out thepurposes of this Part, including the following powers to:
(1) Protect and promotethe public health. The board shall have the authority to adopt rules necessaryfor that purpose.
(2) Construct, equip,operate, and maintain public health facilities.
(3) Use property ownedor controlled by the authority.
(4) Acquire real orpersonal property, including existing public health facilities, by purchase,grant, gift, devise, lease or, with the permission of the county commissioners,condemnation.
(5) Establish a feeschedule for services received from public health facilities and make servicesavailable regardless of ability to pay.
(6) Appoint a publichealth authority director to serve at the pleasure of the authority board.
(7) Establish a salaryplan which shall set the salaries for employees of the area authority.
(8) To adopt and enforcea professional reimbursement policy which may include the following provisions:(i) require that fees for the provision of services received directly under thesupervision of the public health authority shall be paid to the authority, (ii)prohibit employees of the public health authority from providing services on aprivate basis which require the use of the resources and facilities of thepublic health authority, and (iii) provide that employees may not accept dualcompensation and dual employment unless they have the written permission of thepublic health authority director.
(9) Delegate to itsagents or employees any powers or duties as it may deem appropriate.
(10) Employ its owncounsel and legal staff.
(11) Adopt, amend, andrepeal bylaws for the conduct of its business.
(12) Enter into contractsfor necessary supplies, equipment, or services for the operation of itsbusiness.
(13) Act as an agent forthe federal, State, or local government in connection with the acquisition,construction, operation, or management of a public health facility, or any partthereof.
(14) Insure the propertyor the operations of the authority against risks as the authority may deemadvisable.
(15) Sue and be sued.
(16) Accept donations ormoney, personal property, or real estate for the benefit of the authority andto take title to the same from any person, firm, corporation, or society.
(17) Appoint advisoryboards, committees, and councils composed of qualified and interested residentsof the authority service area to study, interpret, and advise the public healthauthority board.
(18) To purchase orfinance real or personal property in the manner provided for cities andcounties under G.S. 160A‑20.
(b) A public healthauthority shall have the power to establish and operate health care networksand may contract with or enter into any arrangement with other public healthauthorities or local health departments of this or other states, federal, orother public agencies, or with any person, private organization, or nonprofitcorporation or association for the provision of public health services,including managed health care activities; provided, however, that for thepurposes of this subsection only, a public health authority shall be permittedto and shall comply with the requirements of Article 67 of Chapter 58 of theGeneral Statutes to the extent that such requirements apply to the activitiesundertaken by the public health authority pursuant to this subsection. Thepublic health authority may pay for or contribute its share of the cost of anysuch contract or arrangement from revenues available for these purposes,including revenues arising from the provision of public health services.
(c) A public healthauthority may lease any public health facility, or part, to a nonprofitassociation on terms and conditions consistent with the purposes of this Part.The authority will determine the length of the lease. No lease executed underthis subsection shall be deemed to convey a freehold interest.
(d) A public healthauthority shall neither sell nor convey any rights of ownership the county hasin any public health facility, including the buildings, land, and equipmentassociated with the facility, to any corporation or other business entityoperated for profit, except that nothing herein shall prohibit the sale ofsurplus buildings, surplus land, or surplus equipment by an authority to anycorporation or other business entity operated for profit. For purposes of thissubsection, "surplus" means any building, land, or equipment which isnot required for use in the delivery of public health care services by a publichealth facility at the time of the sale or conveyance of ownership rights.
(e) A public healthauthority may lease any public health facility, or part, to any corporation,foreign or domestic, authorized to do business in North Carolina on terms andconditions consistent with the purposes of this Part and with G.S. 160A‑272.
(f) A public healthauthority may exercise any or all of the powers conferred upon it by this Part,either generally or with respect to any specific public health facility orfacilities, through or by designated agents, including any corporation orcorporations which are or shall be formed under the laws of this State.
(g) An authority maycontract to insure itself and any of its board members, agents, or employeesagainst liability for wrongful death or negligent or intentional damage toperson or property or against absolute liability for damage to person orproperty caused by an act or omission of the authority or of any of its boardmembers, agents, or employees when acting within the scope of their authorityand the course of their employment. The board shall determine what liabilitiesand what members, agents, and employees shall be covered by any insurancepurchased pursuant to this subsection.
Purchase of insurance pursuantto this subsection waives the authority's governmental immunity, to the extentof insurance coverage, for any act or omission occurring in the exercise of agovernmental function. Participation in a local government risk pool pursuantto Article 23 of Chapter 58 of the General Statutes shall be deemed to be thepurchase of insurance for the purposes of this section. By entering into aninsurance contract with the authority, an insurer waives any defense based uponthe governmental immunity of the authority.
(h) If an authority haswaived its governmental immunity pursuant to subsection (g) of this section,any person, or in the event of death, their personal representative, sustainingdamages as a result of an act or omission of the authority or any of its boardmembers, agents, or employees, occurring in the exercise of a governmentalfunction, may sue the authority for recovery of damages. To the extent of thecoverage of insurance purchased pursuant to subsection (g) of this section,governmental immunity may not be a defense to the action. Otherwise, however,the authority has all defenses available to private litigants in any actionbrought pursuant to this section without restriction, limitation, or othereffect, whether the defense arises from common law or by virtue of a statute.
Despite the purchase ofinsurance as authorized by subsection (g) of this section, the liability of anauthority for acts or omissions occurring in the exercise of governmentalfunctions does not attach unless the plaintiff waives the right to have allissues of law or fact relating to insurance in the action determined by a jury.The judge shall hear and determine these issues without resort to a jury, andthe jury shall be absent during any motion, argument, testimony, orannouncement of findings of fact or conclusions of law relating to these issuesunless the defendant requests a jury trial on them. (1997‑502, s. 1; 2007‑229,s. 2.)