§323D-43 Certificates of need. (a) No person, public or private, nonprofit or for profit, shall:
(1) Construct, expand, alter, convert, develop, initiate, or modify a health care facility or health care services in the State that requires a total capital expenditure in excess of the expenditure minimum; or
(2) Substantially modify or increase the scope or type of health service rendered; or
(3) Increase, decrease, or change the class of usage of the bed complement of a health care facility, or relocate beds from one physical facility or site to another,
unless a certificate of need therefor has first been issued by the state agency.
(b) No certificate of need shall be issued unless the state agency has determined that:
(1) There is a public need for the facility or the service; and
(2) The cost of the facility or service will not be unreasonable in the light of the benefits it will provide and its impact on health care costs.
(c) The state agency may adopt criteria for certificate of need review which are consistent with this section. Such criteria may include but are not limited to need, cost, quality, accessibility, availability, and acceptability.
Each decision of the state agency to issue a certificate of need shall, except in an emergency situation that poses a threat to public health, be consistent with the state health services and facilities plan in effect under section 323D-15. Each certificate of need issued shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of issuance unless the period is extended for good cause by the state agency and expenditures for the project shall not exceed the maximum amount of the expenditures approved in the certificate of need. [L 1975, c 159, pt of §2; am L 1977, c 178, pt of §2; am L 1980, c 75, §12; am L 1982, c 245, §5; am L 1984, c 267, §9; am L 1987, c 270, §11; am L 1997, c 336, §8]