§ 58-65-133.  Creation and operation of foundation.

(a) Creation. - A Foundation shall be created to receive the fair market value of the corporation as provided in G.S. 58-65-132(a)(7) when the corporation converts.

(b) Purpose. - The charitable purpose of the Foundation shall be to promote the health of the people of North Carolina. For a period of 10 years from the effective date of the conversion, the Foundation may not, without the consent of the Attorney General, establish or operate any entity licensed pursuant to Chapter 58 of the General Statutes that would compete with the new corporation or any of its subsidiaries.

(c) Board of Directors. - The initial board of directors of the foundation shall consist of 11 members appointed by the Attorney General from a list of nominees recommended pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. The Attorney General shall stagger the terms of the initial appointees so that six members serve two-year terms and five members serve four-year terms. The board shall fill a vacancy in an initial term. Their successors shall be chosen by the board of directors of the Foundation in accordance with the bylaws of the Foundation and shall serve four-year terms. No member may serve more than two consecutive full terms nor more than 10 consecutive years. The Foundation may increase or decrease the size of the board in accordance with its bylaws, provided that the board shall have no fewer than nine directors and no more than 15 directors and that a decrease in size does not eliminate the then current term of any director.

(d) Advisory Committee. - An advisory committee shall be formed to (i) develop, subject to the approval of the Attorney General, the criteria for selection of the Foundation's initial board of directors and (ii) nominate candidates for the initial board of directors. The advisory committee shall be comprised of the following 11 members: three representatives of the business community selected by the North Carolina Chamber, three representatives of the public and private medical school community selected by The University of North Carolina Board of Governors, three representatives of private foundations and other nonprofit organizations selected by the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits, a representative of NCHA, Inc., and a representative of the North Carolina Medical Society. After receiving a copy of the proposed plan of conversion, the Attorney General shall immediately notify these organizations, and the advisory committee shall be constituted within 45 days thereafter.

The advisory committee's criteria shall ensure an open recruitment process for the directors. The advisory committee shall nominate 22 residents of North Carolina for the 11 positions to be filled by the Attorney General. The Attorney General shall retain an independent executive recruiting firm or firms to assist the advisory committee in its work.

(e) Foundation and New Corporation Independent. - The Foundation and its directors, officers, and employees shall be and remain independent of the new corporation and its affiliates. No director, officer, or employee of the Foundation shall serve as a director, officer, or employee of the new corporation or any of its affiliates. No director, officer, or employee of the new corporation or any of its affiliates shall serve as a director, officer, or employee of the Foundation. This subsection shall no longer apply after (i) 10 years following the effective date of the conversion or (ii) the divestment by the Foundation of at least ninety-five percent (95%) of the stock of the new corporation received pursuant to G.S. 58-65-132(a)(7)a. and subsection (a) of this section, whichever occurs later.

(f) Voting and Stock Registration Agreement. - The Foundation and the new corporation shall operate under a voting agreement and a stock registration agreement, approved by the Commissioner and the Attorney General, that provides at a minimum for the following:

(1) The Foundation will vote the common stock in the new corporation for directors of the new corporation nominated by the board of directors of the new corporation to the extent provided by the terms of the voting agreement.

(2) The voting restrictions will not apply to common stock of the new corporation sold by the Foundation.

(3) The board of directors of the new corporation will determine the timing of any initial public offering of the new corporation's common stock, either by the new corporation or by the Foundation, and the Foundation shall have demand registration rights and optional "piggy-back" or "incidental" registration rights in connection with any offerings of the new corporation's common stock by the new corporation, on the terms and conditions set forth in a stock registration agreement and agreed upon by the new corporation and the Foundation and approved by the Commissioner and the Attorney General.

(4) The voting agreement may contain additional terms, including (i) voting and ownership restrictions with regard to the common stock of the new corporation and (ii) provisions for the voting or registration for sale of any common stock to be issued to the Foundation by the new corporation.

(g) Costs. - The corporation shall pay the reasonable expenses of the advisory committee and executive search firm and the costs of any consultants, experts, or other professional advisors retained by the Attorney General incident to review under this section.

(h) Attorney General's Approval. - Before the Commissioner approves a plan of conversion pursuant to G.S. 58-65-132, the Attorney General, on behalf of the public and charitable interests in this State, must approve the determination relating to the fair market value of the corporation under G.S. 58-65-132(a)(7), the articles of incorporation and bylaws of the foundation, and all proposed agreements between the new corporation and the Foundation, including stock voting or registration agreements. The Attorney General may seek advice on these matters from consultants, investment bankers, and other professional advisors engaged by the Commissioner or Attorney General incident to review of the plan. The proposed articles of incorporation of the Foundation shall provide for all of the following:

(1) State that the Foundation is organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes and for the promotion of social welfare.

(2) State that no part of the net earnings of the Foundation shall inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.

(3) State that the Foundation shall not engage in any political campaign activity or the making of political contributions.

(4) Prohibit the Foundation from paying or incurring any amount that, if paid by an organization classified as a "private foundation" under section 509(a) of the Code, would constitute a "taxable expenditure" as defined by sections 4945(d)(1) and (2) of the Code.

(5) Prohibit the Foundation from engaging in any self-dealing for the benefit of its directors, officers, or employees.

(6) Provide for an ongoing community advisory committee to offer broad public input to the Foundation concerning its operations and activities.

(7) Provide that the Foundation, after its first three years of operation, will pay out the lesser of (i) "qualifying distributions" of "distributable amounts," as defined in section 4942 of the Code, as if the Foundation were classified as a private Foundation subject to the distribution requirements, but not the taxes imposed, under that section or (ii) substantially all of its income, less qualifying expenses. In no event shall the Foundation be required to invade its corpus to meet the distribution requirements under this subdivision.

(8) State that provisions in the articles of incorporation that are either required by this subdivision or designated by the Attorney General cannot be amended without the prior written approval of the Attorney General.

Within 120 days of the end of its fiscal year, the Foundation shall provide the Attorney General, the Commissioner, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate its State and federal tax returns for the preceding fiscal year. The tax returns shall be made available for public inspection. (1998-3, s. 2; 1998-217, s. 56; 2009-570, s. 8(b).)