Section 151-C:12 Validity of Certificates of Need; Compliance; Sanctions.
I. A certificate of need issued pursuant to this chapter shall expire upon failure to commence or complete the project authorized thereby within the time period specified in this section. The board's approval shall be terminated upon the expiration of such period, and the person proposing to offer or develop the new institutional health service shall be required to resubmit an application for certificate of need under RSA 151-C:8. In the event that only part of a project to offer or develop the new institutional health service has been commenced or completed within such period, the board's approval shall be terminated upon the expiration of such period solely with respect to the parts of the project which have not been commenced or completed. Project completion date requirements are as follows:
(a) Projects which solely involve the acquisition and installation of equipment must be completed within 2 years from the date of issuance of a certificate of need or certificate of exemption.
(b) In the case of construction projects, the following time periods apply:
(1) If the total estimated cost of the project is less than $ 1,000,000, the project must be commenced within one year of, and completed within 3 years of, the date of issuance of a certificate of need.
(2) If the total estimated cost of the project is greater than $1,000,000, then the project must be commenced within 18 months of, and completed within 5 years of, the date of issuance of a certificate of need.
(c) In the case of any plan for capital expenditures proposed by or on behalf of a health care facility, health maintenance organization, or health care provider under which a series of obligations for capital expenditures for discrete components of the plan is to be incurred over a period longer than one year, the board may allow up to 3 years following the date of approval for incurring such capital expenditures.
II. Pursuant to a showing of good cause by the person proposing the project, the board shall extend by 6 months the period for commencement. A maximum of 2 such extensions shall be allowed. Upon a showing of substantial, diligent progress and good cause by the person proposing the project, the board shall grant up to a maximum of 2 extensions of 6 months each for completion of the project. For purposes of this paragraph, ""good cause'' includes delay resulting from unpreventable or unexpected occurrences, such as emergency, strike, disaster, unforeseen shortage of materials or other reasonably unforeseeable event.
III. For the purposes of this chapter, a project shall be commenced if:
(a) The applicant has submitted to the board a certified copy of a written agreement executed between the applicant and a registered general contractor to construct and complete the project within a designated time schedule in accordance with final architectural plans and specifications; or
(b) The applicant has submitted evidence to the board that there has been construction work on the project to justify and require a progress payment by the applicant to the general contractor under the terms of the construction agreement, or, if the construction agreement does not require progress payments, then construction has progressed to the state at which an initial progress payment would otherwise be required in accordance with the usual and customary practices of the building industry.
IV. For purposes of this chapter, completion shall mean when the approved proposed project is sufficiently complete so that it becomes operational for the purpose for which the certificate of need was issued. A certificate of need shall be valid only for the designated scope of the project and for the premises and geographical area named in the application. A certificate of need granted for a project shall not be considered as an approval of that portion of the total actual cost of such a project which is in excess of the sum of: (a) the anticipated cost designated in the application; (b) an additional 15 percent of the total cost; and (c) cost increases clearly attributable to inflation.
IV-a. (a) Prior to completion of the proposed project, the board may require any applicant to file a change of scope when any documentation or other material submitted to the board indicates that:
(1) The nature, scope, or location of the project will differ substantially in the opinion of the board from those described in the application.
(2) The method of financing will differ substantially because the estimated capital expenditure will exceed that proposed in the application by 15 percent plus the inflation factor, as specified in RSA 151-C:12, IV.
(3) The identity of the applicant has changed.
(b) The board may waive the requirements of subparagraph (a)(1), (2) or (3), if it is determined that the proposed change in scope of the project is technical or otherwise insignificant.
V. All applicants receiving a certificate of need or a certificate of need with conditions shall file, at least semi-annually during the development stage and annually once the project is commenced, a report indicating that the project is in compliance with information provided in the application, and with the conditions outlined in the certificate of need. A report shall only be necessary for the first 5 years after completion of the project.
VI. Any applicant found not to be in reasonable compliance with any statement in their certificate of need application or with the conditions of the certificate of need shall be fined not more than 1/2 of one percent of the previous year's revenue minus contractual allowances or, in the case of a new facility, not more than 1/2 of one percent of the projected first year revenue minus contractual allowances.
VII. Funds collected under the provisions of this chapter shall be deposited in the general fund.
Source. 1985, 378:6. 1988, 275:16-19, eff. June 29, 1988.