Appropriation to first accredited medical school.

(1) Subject to the provisions hereinafter set forth, the Legislature shall provide an annual appropriation to the first accredited medical school. Payments of moneys from such appropriation shall be made semiannually at the beginning of the first and third quarters.

(2) In order for a medical school to qualify under this section and to be entitled to the benefits herein, such medical school:

(a) Must be primarily operated and established to offer, afford, and render a medical education to residents of the state qualifying for admission to such institution;

(b) Must be operated by a municipality or county of this state, or by a nonprofit organization heretofore or hereafter established exclusively for educational purposes;

(c) Must, upon the formation and establishment of an accredited medical school, transmit and file with the Department of Education documentary proof evidencing the facts that such institution has been certified and approved by the council on medical education and hospitals of the American Medical Association and has adequately met the requirements of that council in regard to its administrative facilities, administrative plant, clinical facilities, curriculum, and all other such requirements as may be necessary to qualify with the council as a recognized, approved, and accredited medical school;

(d) Must certify to the Department of Education the name, address, and educational history of each student approved and accepted for enrollment in such institution for the ensuing school year; and

(e) Must have in place an operating agreement with a government-owned hospital that is located in the same county as the medical school and that is a statutory teaching hospital as defined in s. 408.07(46). The operating agreement must provide for the medical school to maintain the same level of affiliation with the hospital, including the level of services to indigent and charity care patients served by the hospital, which was in place in the prior fiscal year. Each year, documentation demonstrating that an operating agreement is in effect shall be submitted jointly to the Department of Education by the hospital and the medical school prior to the payment of moneys from the annual appropriation.

(3) The Department of Education shall, within 60 days of the receipt of the student enrollment of the medical school, pay to the school, each year, the amount appropriated for students accepted and approved for enrollment in such medical institution, provided each medical student is a legal resident of the state or, if the student is not of legal age, his or her parents or legal guardian are residents of the state at the time of the student’s acceptance and approval as a medical student. In the event a student resigns or is dismissed from such medical institution for any reason whatsoever before the end of a school year, then the medical institution shall, within 30 days from such dismissal or resignation, remit to the state, through the Department of Education, a pro rata amount of the sum before paid by the state to the medical institution, which amount is to be computed by dividing the total number of days in the school year into the sum paid for that student and multiplying the result by the total number of days remaining in such school year after such resignation or dismissal.

(4) Such institution is prohibited from expending any of the sums received under the terms of this section for any purposes whatsoever, except for the operation and maintenance of a medical school and for medical research. The institution is further prohibited from expending any sums received under the terms of this section for the construction or erection of any buildings of any kind, nature, or description or for the maintenance and operation of a hospital in any form or manner whatsoever.