Unless a referendum petition is filed as provided in this act, a hospital authority board by ordinance adopted by the affirmative vote of a majority of its members may authorize and issue bonds and provide for such matters necessary or desirable with respect thereto and to insure the security of any bonds issued hereunder without submitting the question thereof to the electors of the authority. Bonds shall be authorized by the hospital authority board by resolution. If, within 60 days from the publication of a notice of intent to issue the bonds, a petition, signed by not less than 10% or 15,000 of the registered electors, whichever is less, residing within the member cities, villages and townships of the authority, shall have been filed with the secretary of the authority requesting a referendum election upon the question of the issuance of the bonds, then the same shall not be issued unless the issuance thereof shall have been approved by a majority of the electors of the authority member cities, villages and townships qualified to vote and voting thereon at a general or special election. The notice shall be directed to the electors and tax payers of the authority and of the member cities, villages and townships and other interested parties, and shall be published in a newspaper which has general circulation in the territory included in the authority, and which is determined by the hospital authority board to be the newspaper reaching the largest number of persons to whom the notice is directed and shall state the maximum amount of bonds to be issued, the purpose thereof, source of payment and right of referendum thereon, and such other information as the hospital authority board shall determine to be necessary to adequately inform the electors and tax payers of the nature of the issue. If a referendum petition is filed with the secretary of the authority, the hospital authority board shall adopt a resolution establishing the date of the referendum election which shall be not less than 60 days after the adoption of such resolution. The secretary of the authority shall, within 5 days after the adoption of such resolution, transmit a certified copy thereof to the clerk of each city, village or township which is a member of the authority. The clerk of each member city, village or township shall forthwith take all steps necessary to provide for an election in accordance with the resolution so passed at which election the question of issuing the bonds shall be submitted. The election shall be conducted in the same manner as elections are required to be conducted in the member cities, villages or townships under the provisions of the general election law. Where any part or all of a village belonging to the authority is located in a township belonging to the authority, the township election shall include that part of the village located in it and the village shall not be required to hold such an election except in that portion of the village not located in the township belonging to the authority. The election in each member city, village and township shall be canvassed in the manner required by the general election law and the results thereof shall be certified to the hospital authority board within 5 days after the date of the election. The hospital authority board shall compile and tabulate the vote as received from the member cities, villages and townships and certify the election by resolution upon the records of the authority, and a majority of the total valid votes cast in the referendum election voting “yes” on the question submitted shall constitute an approval. Any special election called in accordance with this section shall not be included in any statutory or charter limitation as to the number of special elections to be called within any period of time. Signatures on any referendum petition shall be verified by some person or persons, under oath, as to actual signatures of the persons whose names are affixed thereto. Each referendum petition shall state the city, village or township in which it is circulated and be signed by registered electors from such member city, village or township, and any signatures on the petition from a different city, village or township shall be invalid. The secretary of the authority shall deliver the petitions to the clerks of the member cities, villages and townships who shall verify the same against their registration records and the secretary of the authority shall reject signatures of those persons signing the petition who are not registered electors of the member city, village or township of the authority. The number of registered electors in the member cities, villages and townships of the authority shall be determined by the cities’, villages’ and townships’ registration books. A resolution adopted pursuant to this act shall become effective upon its adoption unless otherwise specified therein. The resolution shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting of the hospital authority board as soon as practicable after its passage, which recording shall be authenticated by the signatures of the chairman and secretary of the hospital authority board. The resolution shall be published once in a newspaper of general circulation within the boundaries of the hospital authority. This section constitutes the sole requirements with respect to the adoption and publication of the resolution.