(a) During any budget year, the board of any hospital is hereby authorized to issue no-fund warrants for the purpose of raising money for financing any insufficiency in the operation and maintenance budget of the hospital during such year and is hereby authorized to expend such money for such purposes. In no case shall the amount of no-fund warrants issued under this section exceed the amount deemed necessary for such purposes. Warrants issued under this section shall be issued, registered, redeemed and shall bear interest in the manner and be in the form prescribed by Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 79-2940 and amendments thereto.

Prior to the issuance of any no-fund warrants under the authority of this section, the board shall cause to be published once in a newspaper of general circulation within the taxing district of the hospital a notice of the intention of the board to issue such no-fund warrants. If within 60 days after the publication of such notice, a petition requesting an election on the question of the issuance of the no-fund warrants signed by not less than 5% of the qualified electors residing within the taxing district is filed with the county election officer of the county in which the greater portion of the taxing district of the hospital is located, the board shall be required to submit the question of the issuance of such no-fund warrants at an election held under the provisions of the general bond law.

(b) Whenever no-fund warrants are issued under the authority of this section, the board each year shall make a tax levy, in addition to the tax levy authorized under Kan. Stat. Ann. § 80-2516, sufficient to pay not less than 25% of the total amount of the warrants issued under this section and the interest thereon until all of the warrants and the interest thereon has been paid. If there is money available from the operation of the hospital over and above the amount needed for the adopted budget, such money shall be used to pay for such warrants and the interest thereon, and the tax levy shall be only the difference, if any, between the money available to pay for such warrants and the interest thereon each year and the amount of the warrants and interest thereon to be paid each year.