The director of health shall administer a state certificate of need program in accordance with sections 3702.51 to 3702.62 of the Revised Code and rules adopted under those sections. Administration of the program shall include both a standard review process and an expedited review process.

(A) The director shall issue rulings on whether a particular proposed project is a reviewable activity. The director shall issue a ruling not later than forty-five days after receiving a request for a ruling accompanied by the information needed to make the ruling, except that if an expedited review is requested, the ruling shall be issued not later than thirty days after receiving the request for a ruling accompanied by the information needed to make the ruling. If the director does not issue a ruling in the required time, the project shall be considered to have been ruled not a reviewable activity.

(B)

(1) Each application for a certificate of need shall be submitted to the director on forms and in the manner prescribed by the director. An application for which expedited review is requested must meet the same requirements as all other applications.

Each application shall include a plan for obligating the capital expenditures or implementing the proposed project on a timely basis in accordance with section 3702.524 of the Revised Code. Each application shall also include all other information required by rules adopted under division (B) of section 3702.57 of the Revised Code.

(2) Each application shall be accompanied by the application fee established in rules adopted under division (G) of section 3702.57 of the Revised Code. Application fees received by the director under this division shall be deposited into the state treasury to the credit of the certificate of need fund, which is hereby created. The director shall use the fund only to pay the costs of administering sections 3702.11 to 3702.20, 3702.30, and 3702.51 to 3702.62 of the Revised Code and rules adopted under those sections. An application fee is nonrefundable unless the director determines that the application cannot be accepted.

(3) The director shall review applications for certificates of need. As part of a review, the director shall determine whether an application is complete. The director shall not consider an application to be complete unless the application meets all criteria for a complete application specified in rules adopted under section 3702.57 of the Revised Code. For an application being considered under the standard review process, the director shall mail to the applicant a written notice that the application is complete, or a written request for additional information, not later than thirty days after receiving an application or a response to an earlier request for information. For an application for which expedited review is requested, the director's notice or request shall be mailed not later than fourteen days after the director receives the application or a response to an earlier request for information. Except as provided in section 3702.522 of the Revised Code, the director shall not make more than two requests for additional information. For either the standard or expedited review process, the director shall make a final determination regarding an application's completeness and issue a notice of the determination not later than one hundred eighty days after the date the director received the initial application.

The director's determination that an application is not complete is final and not subject to appeal.

(4) Except as necessary to comply with a subpoena issued under division (F) of this section, after a notice of completeness has been received, no person shall make revisions to information that was submitted to the director before the director mailed the notice of completeness or knowingly discuss in person or by telephone the merits of the application with the director. A person may supplement an application after a notice of completeness has been received by submitting clarifying information to the director.

(C) All of the following apply to the process of granting or denying a certificate of need:

(1) If the project proposed in a certificate of need application meets all of the applicable certificate of need criteria for approval under sections 3702.51 to 3702.62 of the Revised Code and the rules adopted under those sections, the director shall grant a certificate of need for all or part of the project that is the subject of the application by the applicable deadline specified in division (C)(4) of this section or any extension of it under division (C)(5) of this section.

(2) The director's grant of a certificate of need does not affect, and sets no precedent for, the director's decision to grant or deny other applications for similar reviewable activities.

(3) Any affected person may submit written comments regarding an application. The director shall consider all written comments received by the forty-fifth day after the application is submitted to the director, except that to be considered in an expedited review, written comments must be received by the twenty-first day after the application is submitted.

(4) Except as provided in division (C)(5) of this section, the director shall grant or deny certificate of need applications not later than sixty days after mailing the notice of completeness unless the application is receiving expedited review. If the application is receiving expedited review, the director shall grant or deny the application not later than forty-five days after mailing the notice of completeness.

(5) Except as provided in division (C)(6) of this section, the director or the applicant may extend the deadline prescribed in division (C)(4) of this section once, for no longer than thirty days, by written notice before the end of the deadline prescribed by division (C)(4) of this section. An extension by the director under division (C)(5) of this section shall apply to all applications that are in comparative review.

(6) No applicant in a comparative review may extend the deadline specified in division (C)(4) of this section.

(7) If the director does not grant or deny the certificate by the applicable deadline specified in division (C)(4) of this section or any extension of it under division (C)(5) of this section, the certificate shall be considered to have been granted.

(8) In granting a certificate of need, the director shall specify as the maximum capital expenditure the certificate holder may obligate under the certificate a figure equal to one hundred ten per cent of the approved project cost.

(9) In granting a certificate of need, the director may grant the certificate with conditions that must be met by the holder of the certificate.

(D) When a certificate of need is granted for a project under which beds are to be relocated, upon completion of the project for which the certificate of need was granted a number of beds equal to the number of beds relocated shall cease to be operated in the long-term care facility from which they are relocated, except that the beds may continue to be operated for not more than fifteen days to allow relocation of residents to the facility to which the beds have been relocated. Notwithstanding section 3721.03 of the Revised Code, if the relocated beds are in a home licensed under Chapter 3721. of the Revised Code, the facility's license is automatically reduced by the number of beds relocated effective fifteen days after the beds are relocated. If the beds are in a facility that is certified as a skilled nursing facility or nursing facility under Title XVIII or XIX of the "Social Security Act," the certification for the beds shall be surrendered. If the beds are registered under section 3701.07 of the Revised Code as skilled nursing beds or long-term care beds, the director shall remove the beds from registration not later than fifteen days after the beds are relocated.

(E) During the period beginning with the granting of a certificate of need and ending five years after implementation of the reviewable activity for which the certificate was granted, the director shall monitor the activities of the person granted the certificate to determine whether the reviewable activity is conducted in substantial accordance with the certificate. A reviewable activity shall not be determined to be not in substantial accordance with the certificate of need solely because of either of the following:

(1) A decrease in bed capacity;

(2) A change in the owner or operator of the facility unless any of the circumstances specified in division (B) of section 3702.59 of the Revised Code apply to the new owner or operator.

(F) When reviewing applications for certificates of need, considering appeals under section 3702.60 of the Revised Code, or monitoring activities of persons granted certificates of need, the director may issue and enforce, in the manner provided in section 119.09 of the Revised Code, subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum to compel a person to testify and produce documents relevant to review of the application, consideration of the appeal, or monitoring of the activities. In addition, the director or the director's designee may visit the sites where the activities are or will be conducted.

(G) The director may withdraw certificates of need.

(H) All long-term care facilities shall submit to the director, upon request, any information prescribed by rules adopted under division (H) of section 3702.57 of the Revised Code that is necessary to conduct reviews of certificate of need applications and to develop criteria for reviews.

(I) Any decision to grant or deny a certificate of need shall consider the special needs and circumstances resulting from moral and ethical values and the free exercise of religious rights of long-term care facilities administered by religious organizations, and the special needs and circumstances of inner city and rural communities.

Amended by 133rd General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 166, §101.01, eff. 10/17/2019.

Amended by 132nd General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 49, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2017.

Amended by 130th General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 483, §101.01, eff. 9/15/2014.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.127, HB 487, §101.01, eff. 9/10/2012.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.28, HB 153, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2011.

Amended by 128th General AssemblyFile No.9, HB 1, §101.01, eff. 10/16/2009.

Effective Date: 06-30-1999; 2007 HB119 09-29-2007

Related Legislative Provision: See 133rd General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 166, §737.50.