Venice Hma, LLC D/b/a Venice Regional Medical Center, Appellant v. Sarasota County, Appellee; Sarasota…

Summary

The Court held that Sarasota County's indigent-care reimbursement provision does not grant an unconstitutional privilege to a private corporation because it applies equally to all public and private hospitals in Sarasota County. The Court rejected the argument that hospitals elsewhere in Florida must receive the same benefit, reasoning that a local law necessarily operates within a defined locality and that the relevant comparison is among hospitals in Sarasota County. It also rejected the challenge based on Sarasota County's home-rule powers and reversed the Second District's decision. Lawson, J., dissenting, would have affirmed because the reimbursement is a financial privilege granted to private corporations by special law.