1. (a) The state, any university, any governmental entity, and any public corporation is hereby authorized to give, transfer, convey, or sell to any authority or a university affiliate, with or without consideration:

   1. (1) Any of its health care facilities and other properties, real or personal, and any funds and assets, tangible or intangible, relative to the ownership or operation of any such health care facilities, including any certificates of need, assurances of need, or other similar rights appertaining or ancillary thereto, irrespective of whether they have been exercised.
   2. (2) Any taxes, revenues, or funds owned or controlled by it.
   3. (3) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as allowing an authority or university affiliate to be exempt from compliance with all applicable laws and regulations of the State Certificate of Need program and the Alabama State Health Planning and Development Agency.
2. (b) The state, any governmental entity, any university, or any public corporation may pledge its full faith and credit to or for the benefit of an authority or a university affiliate or may pledge any revenues that it is legally entitled to pledge to or for the benefit of an authority or university affiliate.
3. (c) An authority or university affiliate shall constitute a hospital corporation as that term is used in Title 22, Chapter 21, Article 4, Division 2, and any county otherwise authorized to do so may designate any authority or university affiliate as the agency of that county to acquire, construct, equip, operate, and maintain public hospital facilities in that county. The authority shall, if so designated, receive the proceeds from any special public hospital tax available in that county.

(Act 2016-201, §17.)