Senate Bill 2915

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 57-117-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE MISSISSIPPI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MAY CERTIFY AN AREA AS A HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY ZONE IF THE FACILITY IS LOCATED IN A COUNTY IN WHICH IS LOCATED A FACILITY WITH A CERTIFICATE OF NEED FOR HOSPITAL BEDS OR IN WHICH CERTAIN UNIVERSITIES OR COLLEGES ARE LOCATED; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 57-117-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

57-117-5. (1) The MDA may certify an area as a health care industry zone if the following requirements are met:

(a) The area is located within:

(i) Three (3) contiguous counties which have certificates of need of more than three hundred seventy-five (375) acute care hospital beds; and/or

(ii) A county which has a hospital with a minimum capital investment of Two Hundred Fifty Million Dollars ($250,000,000.00) and for which construction is completed before July 1, 2017;

(b) The health care industry facility is located within a * * *~~five‑mile radius of~~ county in which is located:

(i) A facility with a certificate of need for hospital beds; and/or

(ii) A university or college that is:

1. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and awards degrees and/or trains workers for jobs in health care or pharmaceutical fields of study and/or work, and

2. Located along or near Mississippi Highway 67 within a master planned community as defined in Section 19-5-10; and

(c) The zoning of the local government unit, if applicable, allows the construction or operation in the proposed health care industry zone of the health care industry facility.

(2) A health care industry facility that engages in an activity for which a certificate of need is required must comply with the provisions of Section 41-7-191 in order to be certified as a qualified business.

(3) The MDA may adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations, in compliance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, as are necessary for the efficient and effective administration of this section in keeping with the purposes for which it is enacted.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.