Section 6-19-101 - Legislative declaration(1) The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that all licensed and certified hospitals provide a service to the public by making health-care services available to the communities they serve.(2) Furthermore, for purposes of the attorney general's authority over the transfer of nonprofit hospital assets, all nonprofit hospitals shall be deemed to hold all of their assets in trust, and those assets shall be deemed to be dedicated to the specific charitable purposes set forth in the articles of incorporation or other organic documents of the nonprofit entities that hold them in trust. The public is the beneficiary of this trust. Nonprofit hospitals have a substantial and beneficial effect on the provision of health care to the people of Colorado, providing as part of their charitable purposes uncompensated care to the uninsured or underinsured and including, but not limited to, providing moneys and support for health-related research and education or other community benefits. The general assembly also finds that transfers of the assets of nonprofit hospitals to the for-profit sector may directly affect the character and extent of the charitable use of those assets or the proceeds from the assets. The public also has an interest in knowing that the transfer of the assets of a nonprofit hospital, or the proceeds from the assets, preserves, to the extent practicable, their charitable purpose. The general assembly believes it is in the best interest of the public to ensure that the public interest is fully protected whenever the assets of a hospital are transferred to a for-profit entity except in the ordinary course of business.(3) The general assembly further finds and declares that all transfers of hospital assets or control have the potential to impact the communities they serve. This article is intended to protect the public interest, to assure that nonprofit assets of hospitals are preserved to serve the charitable purposes to which they were dedicated, and to provide the public notice of all transfers of assets of hospitals that constitute covered transitions as defined in this article and shall be construed with these purposes in mind.(4) The general assembly further finds and declares that the addition of the factors to be considered in relation to the term "material change" in section 6-19-203(1) is intended to clarify the provisions of this article.L. 98: Entire article added, p. 520, § 1, effective April 30. L. 2008: (4) added, p. 1342, § 1, effective August 5.