This ordinance shall enact Chapter 27, or next in order, of the Code of the County of San Luis Obispo, State of California, and shall read as follows in Articles I and II.

This chapter shall be known as the San Luis Obispo General Hospital Ordinance.

The people of the County of San Luis Obispo, State of California, find and declare as follows:

(a) San Luis Obispo General Hospital has, for over 100 years, provided essential health care services to the residents of San Luis Obispo County.

(b) Throughout its history General Hospital has been a publicly run facility, owned by the residents of San Luis Obispo County, and operated on behalf of the residents of San Luis Obispo County by the County of San Luis Obispo.

(c) The employees of General Hospital have provided, and continue to provide quality health care services to the residents of San Luis Obispo County.

(d) General Hospital plays a unique and critical role in keeping the residents of San Luis Obispo County healthy by fulfilling the obligation to provide care to the indigent and underserved, to Medicare and Medi-Cal patients, and to all expectant mothers regardless of their ability to pay.

(e) Any decision to close, sell, lease or otherwise transfer the management of General Hospital will significantly and permanently impact the health care delivery system in San Luis Obispo County.

Therefore, the residents of San Luis Obispo County, as the owners of General Hospital including all its assets, both tangible and intangible, have the right to approve or disapprove any proposal to sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of these assets by a vote of the people.

The County of San Luis Obispo and General Hospital shall comply with all applicable local, state and federal laws and regulations to ensure access to the highest quality patient care for all residents of San Luis Obispo County without discrimination.

In accordance with General Hospital’s Mission Statement, adopted March 16, 1990, this initiative shall ensure that San Luis Obispo County General Hospital will continue to utilize all available resources to improve the health of the residents of San Luis Obispo County regardless of their ability to pay for these services in a manner that seeks to contain the growth of health care costs.

In addition to any other provision of law, before closing, leasing, selling, or in any way transferring the management of General Hospital, the Board of Supervisors must submit the question of such action to the voters of San Luis Obispo County at a regularly scheduled statewide election. To take effect, the proposed action must be approved by a majority of the voters. In conformity with existing law, the term "transferring the management" means transferring the direct responsibility for and control over the hospital enterprise from the Board of Supervisors to another entity, including, but not limited to, contracting out the management of the facility.

This article shall not apply to changing an area or changing the level of medical services unless such changes amount, solely or in aggregate, to a loss of services, either by elimination or by reduction, which then conflicts with the level of services required to fulfill the hospital’s Mission Statement, adopted March 16, 1990. If a proposed reduction or elimination of services conflicts with the hospital’s Mission Statement, including but not limited to, providing a 24-hour Basic Emergency Medicine Department, a Renal Dialysis Unit, an Inpatient Psychiatric Unit, a full service diagnostic Laboratory and X-Ray Unit, nursing services including a 24-hour medical-surgical and intensive-coronary care inpatient unit and a comprehensive obstetrics program specializing in high-risk deliveries, then, in addition to any other provision of law, the Board of Supervisors, before taking the action, shall submit the proposed action to the voters in conformity with this article.

The San Luis Obispo County Civil Service Ordinance, Chapter 2.40, as adopted shall govern personnel matters in order to establish an equitable and uniform procedure for the administration of General Hospital personnel.