FL H0477

Requires each hospital district with taxing authority to place a reauthorization referendum on the ballot by July 1, 2016, and every 10 years thereafter, asking voters to approve a property tax not to exceed 2 mills to fund indigent care.

Terminates a hospital district's taxing authority effective January 1 if voters reject the reauthorization referendum, though the governing board may maintain the district without taxing authority or dissolve it with assets and liabilities allocated per Florida Statutes s. 189.076(2).

Allows a county to delay termination by one year if it places an expanded referendum question on the ballot asking voters countywide to approve a tax not exceeding 2 mills for indigent care before December 31 of the subsequent year.

Requires counties to obtain an appraisal of assets and economic analysis for public hospitals not making operating profit for 3 of 5 consecutive years, with analysis ensuring 100 percent of net lease or sale proceeds fund indigent care and ad valorem revenues are added annually to an endowment.

Specifies that hospital districts may only levy property tax with voter approval via referendum and requires a contingent authorization ballot question for districts seeking to levy taxes after government-subsidized health care coverage becomes available; directs taxes from hospital taxing districts in community redevelopment areas to be paid to the hospital district rather than the redevelopment area.