§ 22 §335 — Approval; record

This section applies to determinations by the commissioner under this chapter.
1.
Basis for decision.
Based solely on a review of the record maintained under subsection 6, the commissioner shall approve an application for a certificate of need if the commissioner determines that the project:
1-A.
Competitive review.
The commissioner may review applications on a competitive basis if the applications propose the same or similar services.
2.
Communications.
Staff of the department with responsibility for the certificate of need program may meet with, or otherwise communicate with, any person who is not a department employee and who wants to provide information to be considered in connection with an application for a certificate of need.
3.
Limited communications.
All communications regarding any letter of intent or application with the commissioner or with department staff responsible for the certificate of need program from any person who is not a department employee that the department staff reasonably believes is intended to influence the analyses relating to or the decision regarding an application for certificate of need must be made part of the record described in subsection 5‑A. If such communications are not in written form or part of public meetings, these communications must be noted in writing by the commissioner or by department staff and that notation must be made part of the application record.
4.
Decision.
The commissioner's decision must be in writing and must contain appropriate references to the record. If the application is denied, the decision must specifically address comments received and made part of the record that favor granting the application. If the application is approved, the decision must specifically address comments received and made part of the record that favor denial of the application.
5.
Record.
5-A.
Record.
The record created by the department in the course of its review of an application must contain the following:
6.
Maintenance of the record.
The record created pursuant to subsection 5‑A first opens on the day the department receives a certificate of need application. From that day, all of the record is a public record. The letter of intent becomes a public record upon the receipt of the letter and is available for review from the date of receipt. Any person may examine all or part of the public record and purchase copies of any or all of that record during the normal business hours of the department.
7.
Expanded review process; approval.
Except as provided in section 334‑A, subsection 2‑B with respect to emergency nursing facility projects, section 336 with respect to the simplified review process and subsection 9 of this section with respect to emergency certificates of need, the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee in the case of a simplified review under section 336 or an emergency review, shall issue a certificate of need if the commissioner or the commissioner's designee determines and makes specific written findings regarding that determination that:
8.
Conditional approvals.
The commissioner may grant an application subject to conditions that relate to the criteria for approval of the application.
9.
Emergency certificate of need.
Upon the written or oral request of an applicant asserting that an emergency situation exists, the department shall immediately determine whether an emergency situation exists and upon finding that an emergency situation does exist shall issue a certificate of need for a project necessary on account of the emergency situation. The scope of the certificate of need may not exceed that which is necessary to remedy or otherwise effectively address the emergency situation. The certificate of need may be subject to conditions consistent with the purpose of this Act that do not interfere with the applicant's ability to respond effectively to the emergency.

Legislative History

PL 2001, c. 664, §2 (NEW). PL 2003, c. 469, §§C8-12 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 514, §1 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 369, §§7,8 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 440, §§14-19 (AMD). PL 2009, c. 383, §8 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 90, Pt. J, §§5, 6 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 213, §3 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 424, Pt. B, §15 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 424, Pt. E, §1 (AFF). PL 2011, c. 648, §§6-11 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 424, Pt. A, §10 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 424, Pt. B, §9 (AMD). PL 2023, c. 343, §§2-5 (AMD).