(a) Pending use for the purpose for which received, each hospital authority created by and under this article is authorized and empowered to invest all moneys or any part thereof received through the issuance and sale of revenue certificates of the authority in any securities which are legal investments or which are provided for in the trust indenture securing such certificates or other legal investments; provided, however, that such investments shall be used at all times while held, or upon sale, for the purposes for which the money was originally received and no other. Contributions or gifts received by any authority shall be invested as provided by the terms of the contribution or gift or in the absence thereof as determined by the authority.
(b) In addition to the authorized investments in subsection (a) of this Code section and in Code Section 36-83-4, hospital authorities that have ceased to own or operate medical facilities for a minimum of seven years, have paid off all bonded indebtedness and outstanding short-term or long-term debt obligations, and hold more than $20 million in funds for charitable health care purposes may invest a maximum of 30 percent of their funds in the following:
(1) Shares of mutual funds registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended; and
(2) Commingled funds and collective investment funds maintained by state chartered banks or trust companies or regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency of the United States Department of the Treasury, including common and group trusts, and, to the extent the funds are invested in such collective investment funds, the funds shall adopt the terms of the instruments establishing any group trust in accordance with applicable United States Internal Revenue Service Revenue Rulings.