1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to local government; amending the process to fill a vacancy on a hospital 
1.3 	district board; specifying when hospital board member officers are elected;
1.4 	amending Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 447.32, subdivisions 1, 6.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 447.32, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.7 		Subdivision 1.Terms of office. Each hospital district shall be governed by a 
1.8 	hospital board composed of one member elected from each city and town in the district 
1.9 	and one member elected at large. A member's term of office is four years commencing on 
1.10 	the first Monday in January and until a successor qualifies. At the first election, however, 
1.11 	members must be elected for terms set by the governing body calling the election, so 
1.12 	that half the terms, as nearly as may be, expire on the first Monday in January of the 
1.13 	next odd-numbered year and the remaining terms expire two years from that date. After 
1.14 	that, before a member's term expires, a new member shall be elected for a term of four 
1.15 	years from the expiration date.
1.16 	If a member dies, resigns, fails to qualify, or moves from the hospital district, a 
1.17 	vacancy is created. For a vacancy in a seat that represents a city or town, the governing 
1.18 	body of that city or town may appoint a successor. For a vacancy in an at-large seat, a 
1.19 	successor may be appointed by a majority of the remaining members of the board. The 
1.20 	successor shall hold office until the first Monday in January after the next regular hospital 
1.21 	district election. At the election a successor must be elected to fill the unexpired term.
1.22 	When an additional city or town is annexed to the district, in accordance with 
1.23 	section 447.36, its governing body shall by resolution appoint a member to the board. The 
1.24 	member shall hold office until the first Monday in January after the next regular hospital 
2.1 	district election. At the election a successor must be elected for a term of either two or 
2.2 	four years, to be set by the hospital board so that the number of members of the board 
2.3 	whose terms expire in any later year will not exceed one-half of the members plus one.

2.4 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 447.32, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
2.5 		Subd. 6.Officers' election. At ~~its~~the first regular meeting after ~~each~~the first Monday 
2.6 	in January following a regular election, the board shall elect one of their number as chair. 
2.7 	They shall also select a clerk and treasurer who may be members of the board or others. The 
2.8 	chair, clerk, and treasurer shall hold office at the pleasure of the board, subject to the terms 
2.9 	of any contract of employment that the board may enter into with the clerk or treasurer.