Bill Text: MS HB922 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Certificate of need laws; revise various provisions of.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-17 - Referred To Public Health and Human Services;State Affairs [HB922 Detail]

Download: Mississippi-2025-HB922-Introduced.html

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MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2025 Regular Session

To: Public Health and Human Services; State Affairs

By: Representatives Zuber, Creekmore IV

House Bill 922

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 41-7-173 AND 41-7-191, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REMOVE CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY SERVICES AND FACILITIES, HOSPITAL-BASED END STAGE RENAL DISEASE FACILITIES, INTERMEDIATE CARE FACILITIES, INTERMEDIATE CARE FACILITIES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, PSYCHIATRIC RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT FACILITIES, MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING SERVICES, AND DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING SERVICES OF AN INVASIVE NATURE FROM THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE HEALTH CARE CERTIFICATE OF NEED LAW; TO INCREASE THE MINIMUM DOLLAR AMOUNTS OF CAPITAL EXPENDITURES AND MAJOR MEDICAL EQUIPMENT THAT REQUIRE THE ISSUANCE OF A CERTIFICATE OF NEED; TO AMEND SECTION 41-7-185, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DIRECT THE DEPARTMENT TO PREPARE A STATE HEALTH PLAN ANNUALLY USING THE MOST RECENT DATA AVAILABLE TO THE DEPARTMENT; TO AMEND SECTION 41-7-187, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROHIBIT THE DEPARTMENT FROM EXEMPTING ANY PERSON OR ENTITY FROM HAVING TO OBTAIN A CERTIFICATE OF NEED FOR ANY ACTIVITY THAT WOULD OTHERWISE REQUIRE THE ISSUANCE OF A CERTIFICATE OF NEED UNDER THE CERTIFICATE OF NEED LAWS; TO AMEND SECTION 41-7-193, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE RECIPIENTS OF CERTIFICATES OF NEED TO MAKE WRITTEN PROGRESS REPORTS OF THEIR PROJECTS AT LEAST EVERY SIX MONTHS AND AT COMPLETION; TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT SHALL MONITOR THE PROJECTS TO ASSURE COMPLIANCE WITH STATED POLICIES, STANDARDS AND APPROVED COSTS; TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT SHALL PERIODICALLY REVIEW THE HEALTH CARE FACILITY, EQUIPMENT OR SERVICE AUTHORIZED BY THE CERTIFICATE OF NEED TO ENSURE THAT THE FACILITY, EQUIPMENT OR SERVICE IS BEING USED OR OPERATED FOR THE PURPOSE THAT WAS STATED IN THE APPLICATION FOR THE CERTIFICATE OF NEED AND IN A MANNER CONSISTENT WITH THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE APPLICATION; TO AMEND SECTION 41-7-195, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT A CERTIFICATE OF NEED MAY BE EXTENDED FOR UP TO SIX MONTHS IN THOSE CASES WHERE THE APPLICANT SHOWS TO THE SATISFACTION OF THE DEPARTMENT THAT A GOOD FAITH EFFORT HAS BEEN MADE TOWARD COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT; TO PROVIDE THAT A CERTIFICATE OF NEED MAY BE EXTENDED ONLY ONE TIME FOR NOT MORE THAN SIX MONTHS; TO PROVIDE THAT AFTER THE END OF THE PERIOD OF THE EXTENSION, THE CERTIFICATE OF NEED SHALL EXPIRE, AND THE APPLICANT MUST APPLY FOR A NEW CERTIFICATE OF NEED; TO PROVIDE THAT A CERTIFICATE OF NEED SHALL BE REVOKED IF COMMENCEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION OR OTHER PREPARATION IS NOT SUBSTANTIALLY UNDERTAKEN DURING A VALID CERTIFICATE OF NEED PERIOD OR THE DEPARTMENT DETERMINES THE APPLICANT IS NOT MAKING A GOOD FAITH EFFORT TOWARD COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT; TO AMEND SECTION 41-7-201, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE PROCEDURE FOR APPEALS OF FINAL ORDERS OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH PERTAINING TO CERTIFICATES OF NEED; TO PROVIDE THAT SUCH APPEALS SHALL BE HEARD BY A SPECIAL CHANCERY JUDGE APPOINTED BY THE SUPREME COURT; TO PROVIDE THAT THE SUPREME COURT SHALL APPOINT THE SPECIAL CHANCERY JUDGE WITHIN FIFTEEN CALENDAR DAYS AFTER THE DATE THAT THE APPEAL IS FILED; TO PROVIDE THAT THE FINAL ORDER OF THE SPECIAL CHANCERY JUDGE SHALL BE THE FINAL DECISION IN THE CASE, AND NO FURTHER APPEAL SHALL BE ALLOWED FROM THAT FINAL ORDER; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 41-7-190, 41-7-197, 41-7-207 AND 41-7-209, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDE FOR LIMITATIONS ON OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BEDS, PROVIDE FOR HEARINGS DURING THE COURSE OF REVIEW BEFORE A HEARING OFFICER, PROVIDE A REVIEW PROCESS FOR EMERGENCY REPLACEMENT, AND PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; TO AMEND SECTION 9-1-105, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL CHANCERY JUDGES BY THE SUPREME COURT TO HEAR APPEALS OF CERTIFICATE OF NEED ORDERS; TO AMEND SECTION 41-3-15, 41-4-18 AND 41-7-188, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING PROVISIONS; TO AMEND SECTIONS 41-77-1, 41-77-5, 41-77-21, 41-77-23 AND 41-77-25, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DELETE ALL REFERENCES TO THE CERTIFICATE OF NEED LAW IN THE LICENSURE LAWS FOR BIRTHING CENTERS; TO REPEAL SECTION 41-7-202, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR A STAY OF PROCEEDINGS OF WRITTEN DECISIONS OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH PERTAINING TO CERTIFICATES OF NEED FOR CERTAIN HEALTH CARE FACILITIES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

     BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

     SECTION 1.  Section 41-7-173, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     41-7-173.  For the purposes of Section 41-7-171 et seq., the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein, unless the context otherwise requires:

          (a)  "Affected person" means (i) the applicant; (ii) a person residing within the geographic area to be served by the applicant's proposal; (iii) a person who regularly uses health care facilities or HMOs located in the geographic area of the proposal which provide similar service to that which is proposed; (iv) health care facilities and HMOs which have, prior to receipt of the application under review, formally indicated an intention to provide service similar to that of the proposal being considered at a future date; (v) third-party payers who reimburse health care facilities located in the geographical area of the proposal; or (vi) any agency that establishes rates for health care services or HMOs located in the geographic area of the proposal.

          (b)  "Certificate of need" means a written order of the State Department of Health setting forth the affirmative finding that a proposal in prescribed application form, sufficiently satisfies the plans, standards and criteria prescribed for such service or other project by Section 41-7-171 et seq., and by rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the State Department of Health.

          (c)  (i)  "Capital expenditure," when pertaining to defined major medical equipment, * * *shall means an expenditure which, under generally accepted accounting principles consistently applied, is not properly chargeable as an expense of operation and maintenance and which exceeds * * *One Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($1,500,000.00) Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000.00).  Each fiscal year, this amount shall be increased by the annual rate of inflation for the State of Mississippi as determined by the State Economist.

              (ii)  "Capital expenditure," when pertaining to other than major medical equipment, * * *shall means any expenditure which under generally accepted accounting principles consistently applied is not properly chargeable as an expense of operation and maintenance and which exceeds, for clinical health services, as defined in paragraph (k) below, * * *Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00) Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00), * * *adjusted for inflation as published by the State Department of Health or which exceeds, for nonclinical health services, as defined in paragraph (k) below, * * *Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00) Twenty Million Dollars ($20,000,000.00),adjusted for inflation as published by the State Department of Health.  Each fiscal year, the amounts in this subparagraph (ii) shall be increased by the annual rate of inflation for the State of Mississippi as determined by the State Economist.

              (iii)  A "capital expenditure" * * *shall includes the acquisition, whether by lease, sufferance, gift, devise, legacy, settlement of a trust or other means, of any facility or part thereof, or equipment for a facility, the expenditure for which would have been considered a capital expenditure if acquired by purchase.  Transactions which are separated in time but are planned to be undertaken within twelve (12) months of each other and are components of an overall plan for meeting patient care objectives shall, for purposes of this definition, be viewed in their entirety without regard to their timing.

              (iv)  In those instances where a health care facility or other provider of health services proposes to provide a service in which the capital expenditure for major medical equipment or other than major medical equipment or a combination of the two (2) may have been split between separate parties, the total capital expenditure required to provide the proposed service shall be considered in determining the necessity of certificate of need review and in determining the appropriate certificate of need review fee to be paid.  The capital expenditure associated with facilities and equipment to provide services in Mississippi shall be considered regardless of where the capital expenditure was made, in state or out of state, and regardless of the domicile of the party making the capital expenditure, in state or out of state.

          (d)  "Change of ownership" includes, but is not limited to, inter vivos gifts, purchases, transfers, lease arrangements, cash and/or stock transactions or other comparable arrangements whenever any person or entity acquires or controls a majority interest of an existing health care facility, and/or the change of ownership of major medical equipment, a health service, or an institutional health service.  Changes of ownership from partnerships, single proprietorships or corporations to another form of ownership are specifically included.  However, "change of ownership" shall not include any inherited interest acquired as a result of a testamentary instrument or under the laws of descent and distribution of the State of Mississippi.

          (e)  "Commencement of construction" means that all of the following have been completed with respect to a proposal or project proposing construction, renovating, remodeling or alteration:

              (i)  A legally binding written contract has been consummated by the proponent and a lawfully licensed contractor to construct and/or complete the intent of the proposal within a specified period of time in accordance with final architectural plans which have been approved by the licensing authority of the State Department of Health;

              (ii)  Any and all permits and/or approvals deemed lawfully necessary by all authorities with responsibility for such have been secured; and

              (iii)  Actual bona fide undertaking of the subject proposal has commenced, and a progress payment of at least one percent (1%) of the total cost price of the contract has been paid to the contractor by the proponent, and the requirements of this paragraph (e) have been certified to in writing by the State Department of Health.

     Force account expenditures, such as deposits, securities, bonds, et cetera, may, in the discretion of the State Department of Health, be excluded from any or all of the provisions of defined commencement of construction.

          (f)  "Consumer" means an individual who is not a provider of health care as defined in paragraph (q) of this section.

          (g)  "Develop," when used in connection with health services, means to undertake those activities which, on their completion, will result in the offering of a new institutional health service or the incurring of a financial obligation as defined under applicable state law in relation to the offering of such services.

          (h)  "Health care facility" includes hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, * * *chemical dependency hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, end-stage renal disease (ESRD) facilities, including freestanding hemodialysis units, intermediate care facilities, ambulatory surgical facilities, * * *intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities, home health agencies, * * *psychiatric residential treatment facilities, pediatric skilled nursing facilities, long-term care hospitals, comprehensive medical rehabilitation facilities, including facilities owned or operated by the state or a political subdivision or instrumentality of the state, but does not include Christian Science sanatoriums operated or listed and certified by the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Massachusetts.  This definition shall not apply to facilities for the private practice, either independently or by incorporated medical groups, of physicians, dentists or health care professionals except where such facilities are an integral part of an institutional health service.  The various health care facilities listed in this paragraph shall be defined as follows:

              (i)  "Hospital" means an institution which is primarily engaged in providing to inpatients, by or under the supervision of physicians, diagnostic services and therapeutic services for medical diagnosis, treatment and care of injured, disabled or sick persons, or rehabilitation services for the rehabilitation of injured, disabled or sick persons.  Such term does not include psychiatric hospitals.

              (ii)  "Psychiatric hospital" means an institution which is primarily engaged in providing to inpatients, by or under the supervision of a physician, psychiatric services for the diagnosis and treatment of persons with mental illness.

              (iii)  * * *"Chemical dependency hospital" means an institution which is primarily engaged in providing to inpatients, by or under the supervision of a physician, medical and related services for the diagnosis and treatment of chemical dependency such as alcohol and drug abuse. [Deleted]

              (iv)  "Skilled nursing facility" means an institution or a distinct part of an institution which is primarily engaged in providing to inpatients skilled nursing care and related services for patients who require medical or nursing care or rehabilitation services for the rehabilitation of injured, disabled or sick persons.

              (v)  "End-stage renal disease (ESRD) facilities" means kidney disease treatment centers that are not hospital-based facilities, which includes freestanding hemodialysis units and limited care facilities.

     The term "limited care facility" generally refers to an off‑hospital‑premises a facility, regardless of whether it is provider or nonprovider operated, which is engaged primarily in furnishing maintenance hemodialysis services to stabilized patients.  The term "hospital-based facility," unless otherwise defined in federal regulations for the Medicare program, means that the:

                   (i)  Facility and hospital are subject to the bylaws and operating decisions of a common governing board that has final administrative responsibility;

                   (ii)  Facility's director or administrator is under the supervision of the hospital's chief executive officer and reports through him or her to the governing board;

                   (iii)  Facility personnel policies and practice conform to those of the governing board;

                   (iv)  Administrative functions of the facility are integrated with those of the hospital; and

                   (v)  Facility and hospital are financially integrated, as evidenced by the cost report.

     If the definition of "hospital-based facility" in federal regulations for the Medicare program differs from this definition, the term has the meaning as defined in federal regulations.

              (vi)  * * *"Intermediate care facility" means an institution which provides, on a regular basis, health‑related care and services to individuals who do not require the degree of care and treatment which a hospital or skilled nursing facility is designed to provide, but who, because of their mental or physical condition, require health‑related care and services (above the level of room and board). [Deleted]

              (vii)  "Ambulatory surgical facility" means a facility primarily organized or established for the purpose of performing surgery for outpatients and is a separate identifiable legal entity from any other health care facility.  Such term does not include the offices of private physicians or dentists, whether for individual or group practice, and does not include any abortion facility as defined in Section 41-75-1(f).

              (viii)  * * *"Intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities" means an intermediate care facility that provides health or rehabilitative services in a planned program of activities to persons with an intellectual disability, also including, but not limited to, cerebral palsy and other conditions covered by the Federal Developmentally Disabled Assistance and Bill of Rights Act, Public Law 94‑103. [Deleted]

              (ix)  "Home health agency" means a public or privately owned agency or organization, or a subdivision of such an agency or organization, properly authorized to conduct business in Mississippi, which is primarily engaged in providing to individuals at the written direction of a licensed physician, in the individual's place of residence, skilled nursing services provided by or under the supervision of a registered nurse licensed to practice in Mississippi, and one or more of the following services or items:

                   1.  Physical, occupational or speech therapy;

                   2.  Medical social services;

                   3.  Part-time or intermittent services of a home health aide;

                   4.  Other services as approved by the licensing agency for home health agencies;

                   5.  Medical supplies, other than drugs and biologicals, and the use of medical appliances; or

                   6.  Medical services provided by an intern or resident-in-training at a hospital under a teaching program of such hospital.

     Further, all skilled nursing services and those services listed in items 1 through 4 of this subparagraph (ix) must be provided directly by the licensed home health agency.  For purposes of this subparagraph, "directly" means either through an agency employee or by an arrangement with another individual not defined as a health care facility.

     This subparagraph (ix) shall not apply to health care facilities which had contracts for the above services with a home health agency on January 1, 1990.

              (x)  * * *"Psychiatric residential treatment facility" means any nonhospital establishment with permanent licensed facilities which provides a twenty‑four‑hour program of care by qualified therapists, including, but not limited to, duly licensed mental health professionals, psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists and licensed certified social workers, for emotionally disturbed children and adolescents referred to such facility by a court, local school district or by the Department of Human Services, who are not in an acute phase of illness requiring the services of a psychiatric hospital, and are in need of such restorative treatment services.  For purposes of this subparagraph, the term "emotionally disturbed" means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree, which adversely affects educational performance:

    1.  An inability to learn which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory or health factors;

    2.  An inability to build or maintain satisfactory relationships with peers and teachers;

    3.  Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances;

    4.  A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression; or

    5.  A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.  An establishment furnishing primarily domiciliary care is not within this definition. [Deleted]

              (xi)  "Pediatric skilled nursing facility" means an institution or a distinct part of an institution that is primarily engaged in providing to inpatients skilled nursing care and related services for persons under twenty-one (21) years of age who require medical or nursing care or rehabilitation services for the rehabilitation of injured, disabled or sick persons.

              (xii)  "Long-term care hospital" means a freestanding, Medicare-certified hospital that has an average length of inpatient stay greater than twenty-five (25) days, which is primarily engaged in providing chronic or long-term medical care to patients who do not require more than three (3) hours of rehabilitation or comprehensive rehabilitation per day, and has a transfer agreement with an acute care medical center and a comprehensive medical rehabilitation facility.  Long-term care hospitals shall not use rehabilitation, comprehensive medical rehabilitation, medical rehabilitation, sub-acute rehabilitation, nursing home, skilled nursing facility or sub-acute care facility in association with its name.

              (xiii)  "Comprehensive medical rehabilitation facility" means a hospital or hospital unit that is licensed and/or certified as a comprehensive medical rehabilitation facility which provides specialized programs that are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities and supervised by a physician board certified or board eligible in physiatry or other doctor of medicine or osteopathy with at least two (2) years of training in the medical direction of a comprehensive rehabilitation program that:

                   1.  Includes evaluation and treatment of individuals with physical disabilities;

                   2.  Emphasizes education and training of individuals with disabilities;

                   3.  Incorporates at least the following core disciplines:

                        a.  Physical Therapy;

                        b.  Occupational Therapy;

                        c.  Speech and Language Therapy;

                        d.  Rehabilitation Nursing; and

                   4.  Incorporates at least three (3) of the following disciplines:

                        a.  Psychology;

                        b.  Audiology;

                        c.  Respiratory Therapy;

                        d.  Therapeutic Recreation;

                        e.  Orthotics;

                        f.  Prosthetics;

                        g.  Special Education;

                        h.  Vocational Rehabilitation;

                        i.  Psychotherapy;

                        j.  Social Work;

                        k.  Rehabilitation Engineering.

     These specialized programs include, but are not limited to:  spinal cord injury programs, head injury programs and infant and early childhood development programs.

          (i)  "Health maintenance organization" or "HMO" means a public or private organization organized under the laws of this state or the federal government which:

              (i)  Provides or otherwise makes available to enrolled participants health care services, including substantially the following basic health care services:  usual physician services, hospitalization, laboratory, x-ray, emergency and preventive services, and out-of-area coverage;

              (ii)  Is compensated (except for copayments) for the provision of the basic health care services listed in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph to enrolled participants on a predetermined basis; and

              (iii)  Provides physician services primarily:

                   1.  Directly through physicians who are either employees or partners of such organization; or

                   2.  Through arrangements with individual physicians or one or more groups of physicians (organized on a group practice or individual practice basis).

          (j)  "Health service area" means a geographic area of the state designated in the State Health Plan as the area to be used in planning for specified health facilities and services and to be used when considering certificate of need applications to provide health facilities and services.

          (k)  "Health services" means clinically related (i.e., diagnostic, treatment or rehabilitative) services and includes * * *alcohol, drug abuse, mental health and home health care services.  "Clinical health services" shall only include those activities which contemplate any change in the existing bed complement of any health care facility through the addition or conversion of any beds, under Section 41-7-191(1)(c) or propose to offer any health services if those services have not been provided on a regular basis by the proposed provider of such services within the period of twelve (12) months prior to the time such services would be offered, under Section 41-7-191(1)(d).  "Nonclinical health services" shall be all other services which do not involve any change in the existing bed complement or offering health services as described above.  "Health services" does not include medical and related services for the diagnosis and treatment of chemical dependency such as alcohol and drug abuse.

          (l)  "Institutional health services" shall mean health services provided in or through health care facilities and shall include the entities in or through which such services are provided.

          (m)  "Major medical equipment" means medical equipment designed for providing medical or any health-related service which costs in excess of * * *One Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($1,500,000.00) Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000.00).  Each fiscal year, this amount shall be increased by the annual rate of inflation for the State of Mississippi as determined by the State Economist.  However, this definition shall not be applicable to clinical laboratories if they are determined by the State Department of Health to be independent of any physician's office, hospital or other health care facility or otherwise not so defined by federal or state law, or rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

          (n)  "State Department of Health" or "department" shall mean the state agency created under Section 41-3-15, which shall be considered to be the State Health Planning and Development Agency, as defined in paragraph (u) of this section.

          (o)  "Offer," when used in connection with health services, means that it has been determined by the State Department of Health that the health care facility is capable of providing specified health services.

          (p)  "Person" means an individual, a trust or estate, partnership, corporation (including associations, joint-stock companies and insurance companies), the state or a political subdivision or instrumentality of the state.

          (q)  "Provider" shall mean any person who is a provider or representative of a provider of health care services requiring a certificate of need under Section 41-7-171 et seq., or who has any financial or indirect interest in any provider of services.

          (r)  "Radiation therapy services" means the treatment of cancer and other diseases using ionizing radiation of either high energy photons (x-rays or gamma rays) or charged particles (electrons, protons or heavy nuclei).  However, for purposes of a certificate of need, radiation therapy services shall not include low energy, superficial, external beam x-ray treatment of superficial skin lesions.

          (s)  "Secretary" means the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and any officer or employee of the Department of Health and Human Services to whom the authority involved has been delegated.

          (t)  "State Health Plan" means the sole and official statewide health plan for Mississippi which identifies priority state health needs and establishes standards and criteria for health-related activities which require certificate of need review in compliance with Section 41-7-191.

          (u)  "State Health Planning and Development Agency" means the agency of state government designated to perform health planning and resource development programs for the State of Mississippi.

     SECTION 2.  Section 41-7-185, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     41-7-185.  In carrying out its functions under Section 41-7-171 et seq., the State Department of Health is * * *hereby empowered to:

          (a)  Make applications for and accept funds from the secretary and other federal and state agencies and to receive and administer such other funds for the planning or provision of health facilities or health care as are appropriate to the accomplishment of the purposes of Section 41-7-171 et seq. * * *;, and to contract with the secretary to accept funds to administer planning activities on the community, regional or state level;

          (b)  With the approval of the secretary, delegate to or contract with any mutually agreeable department, division or agency of the state, the federal government, or any political subdivision of either, or any private corporation, organization or association chartered by the Secretary of State of Mississippi, authority for administering any programs, duties or functions provided for in Section 41-7-171 * * *, et seq.;

          (c)  Prescribe and promulgate such reasonable rules and regulations as may be necessary to the implementation of the purposes of Section 41-7-171 * * *, et seq., complying with Section * * *25‑43‑1, 25-43-1.101 et seq.;

          (d)  Require providers of institutional health services and home health care services provided through a home health agency and any other provider of health care requiring a certificate of need to submit or make available statistical information or such other information requested by the State Department of Health, but not information that would constitute an unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy of any individual person or place the provider in jeopardy of legal action by a third party;

          (e)  Conduct such other hearing or hearings in addition to those provided for in Section 41-7-197, and enter such further order or orders, and with approval of the Governor enter into such agreement or agreements with the secretary as may be reasonably necessary to the realization by the people of Mississippi of the full benefits of Acts of Congress;

          (f)  In its discretion, contract with the secretary, or terminate any such contract, for the administration of the provisions, programs, duties and functions of Section 1122 of Public Law 92-603; but the State Department of Health shall not be relieved of matters of accountability, obligation or responsibility that accrued to the department by virtue of prior contracts and/or statutes;

          (g)  Prepare * * *, review at least triennially, annually, and revise * * *, as necessary, a State Health Plan, as defined in Section 41-7-173, using the most recent data available to the department, which shall be approved by the Governor before it becomes effective.

     SECTION 3.  Section 41-7-187, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     41-7-187.  The State Department of Health is hereby authorized to develop and implement a statewide health certificate of need program.  The State Department of Health is authorized and empowered to adopt by rule and regulation:

          (a)  Criteria, standards and plans to be used in evaluating applications for certificates of need;

          (b)  Effective standards to determine when a person, facility or organization must apply for a certificate of need; however, the department shall not be authorized to exempt any person or entity from having to obtain a certificate of need for any activity that would otherwise require the issuance of a certificate of need under Section 41-7-171 et seq.;

          (c)  Standards to determine when a change of ownership has occurred or will occur; and

          (d)  Review procedures for conducting reviews of applications for certificates of need.

     SECTION 4.  Section 41-7-188, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     41-7-188.  (1)  The State Department of Health is hereby authorized and empowered to assess fees for reviewing applications for certificates of need.  The State Department of Health shall promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary to effectuate the intent of this section in keeping with the standards hereinbelow:

          (a)  The fees assessed shall be uniform to all applicants.

          (b)  The fees assessed shall be nonrefundable.

          (c)  The fee shall be five-tenths of one percent (.5 of 1%) of the amount of a proposed capital expenditure.

          (d)  The minimum fee shall not be less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) regardless of the amount of the proposed capital expenditure, and the maximum fee permitted shall not exceed Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), regardless of category.

          (e)  No application shall be deemed complete for the review process until such required fee is received by the State Department of Health.

          (f)  The required fee shall be paid to the State Department of Health and may be paid by check, draft * * *or, money order, or electronic payment.

          (g)  There shall be no filing fee requirement for any application submitted by an agency, department, institution or facility which is operated, owned by and/or controlled by the State of Mississippi and which received operating and/or capital expenditure funds solely by appropriations from the Legislature of the state.

          (h)  There shall be no filing fee requirement for any health-care facility submitting an application for repairs or renovations determined by the State Department of Health in writing, to be necessary in order to avoid revocation of license and/or loss of certification for participation in the Medicaid and/or Medicare programs.  Any proposed expenditure in excess of the amount determined by the State Department of Health to be necessary to accomplish the stated purposes shall be subject to the fee requirements of this section.

     (2)  The revenue derived from the fees imposed in subsection (1) of this section shall be deposited by the State Department of Health in a special fund, hereby which is created in the State Treasury, which is earmarked for use by the State Department of Health in conducting its health planning and certificate of need review activities.  It is the intent of the Legislature that the health planning and certificate of need programs be continued for the protection of the individuals within the state requiring health care.

     (3)  The State Department of Health is authorized and empowered to assess fees for reviewing applications for certificates of authority for health maintenance organizations and for the issuance and renewal of such certificates of authority.  The fees assessed shall be uniform to all applicants and to all holders of certificates of authority, and shall be nonrefundable.  The fees for applications, original certificates of authority and renewals of certificates of authority shall not exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) each.  The revenues derived from the fees assessed under this subsection shall be deposited by the department in a special fund hereby created in the State Treasury, which is earmarked for the use of the department in its regulation of the operation of health maintenance organizations.

     SECTION 5.  Section 41-7-190, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

     41-7-190.  No corporation, foreign or domestic, partnership, individual(s) or association of such entities or of persons whatsoever, or any combination thereof, shall own, possess or exercise control over, in any manner, more than twenty percent (20%) of the beds in health care facilities defined in Section 41-7-173(h)(iv) and (vi) in the defined health service area of the State of Mississippi.

     Health care facilities owned, operated or under control of the United States government, the state government or political subdivision of either are excluded from the limitation of this section.

     SECTION 6.  Section 41-7-191, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     41-7-191.  (1)  No person shall engage in any of the following activities without obtaining the required certificate of need:

          (a)  The construction, development or other establishment of a new health care facility, which establishment shall include the reopening of a health care facility that has ceased to operate for a period of sixty (60) months or more;

          (b)  The relocation of a health care facility or portion thereof, or major medical equipment, unless such relocation of a health care facility or portion thereof, or major medical equipment, which does not involve a capital expenditure by or on behalf of a health care facility, is within five thousand two hundred eighty (5,280) feet from the main entrance of the health care facility;

          (c)  Any change in the existing bed complement of any health care facility through the addition or conversion of any beds or the alteration, modernizing or refurbishing of any unit or department in which the beds may be located; however, if a health care facility has voluntarily delicensed some of its existing bed complement, it may later relicense some or all of its delicensed beds without the necessity of having to acquire a certificate of need.  The State Department of Health shall maintain a record of the delicensing health care facility and its voluntarily delicensed beds and continue counting those beds as part of the state's total bed count for health care planning purposes.  If a health care facility that has voluntarily delicensed some of its beds later desires to relicense some or all of its voluntarily delicensed beds, it shall notify the State Department of Health of its intent to increase the number of its licensed beds.  The State Department of Health shall survey the health care facility within thirty (30) days of that notice and, if appropriate, issue the health care facility a new license reflecting the new contingent of beds.  However, in no event may a health care facility that has voluntarily delicensed some of its beds be reissued a license to operate beds in excess of its bed count before the voluntary delicensure of some of its beds without seeking certificate of need approval;

          (d)  Offering of the following health services if those services have not been provided on a regular basis by the proposed provider of such services within the period of twelve (12) months prior to the time such services would be offered:

              (i)  Open-heart surgery services;

              (ii)  Cardiac catheterization services;

              (iii)  Comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation services;

              (iv)  Licensed psychiatric services;

              (v)  * * *Licensed chemical dependency services; [Deleted]

              (vi)  Radiation therapy services;

              (vii)  * * *Diagnostic imaging services of an invasive nature, i.e. invasive digital angiography; [Deleted]

              (viii)  Nursing home care as defined in * * *subparagraphs subparagraph (iv) * * *, (vi) and (viii) of Section 41-7-173(h);

              (ix)  Home health services;

              (x)  Swing-bed services;

              (xi)  Ambulatory surgical services;

              (xii)  * * *Magnetic resonance imaging services; [Deleted]

              (xiii)  [Deleted]

              (xiv)  Long-term care hospital services;

              (xv)  Positron emission tomography (PET) services;

          (e)  The relocation of one or more health services from one physical facility or site to another physical facility or site, unless such relocation, which does not involve a capital expenditure by or on behalf of a health care facility, (i) is to a physical facility or site within five thousand two hundred eighty (5,280) feet from the main entrance of the health care facility where the health care service is located, or (ii) is the result of an order of a court of appropriate jurisdiction or a result of pending litigation in such court, or by order of the State Department of Health, or by order of any other agency or legal entity of the state, the federal government, or any political subdivision of either, whose order is also approved by the State Department of Health;

          (f)  The acquisition or otherwise control of any major medical equipment for the provision of medical services; however, (i) the acquisition of any major medical equipment used only for research purposes, and (ii) the acquisition of major medical equipment to replace medical equipment for which a facility is already providing medical services and for which the State Department of Health has been notified before the date of such acquisition shall be exempt from this paragraph; an acquisition for less than fair market value must be reviewed, if the acquisition at fair market value would be subject to review;

          (g)  Changes of ownership of existing health care facilities in which a notice of intent is not filed with the State Department of Health at least thirty (30) days prior to the date such change of ownership occurs, or a change in services or bed capacity as prescribed in paragraph (c) or (d) of this subsection as a result of the change of ownership; an acquisition for less than fair market value must be reviewed, if the acquisition at fair market value would be subject to review;

          (h)  The change of ownership of any health care facility defined in * * *subparagraphs subparagraph (iv) * * *, (vi) and (viii) of Section 41-7-173(h), in which a notice of intent as described in paragraph (g) has not been filed and if the Executive Director, Division of Medicaid, Office of the Governor, has not certified in writing that there will be no increase in allowable costs to Medicaid from revaluation of the assets or from increased interest and depreciation as a result of the proposed change of ownership;

          (i)  Any activity described in paragraphs (a) through (h) if undertaken by any person if that same activity would require certificate of need approval if undertaken by a health care facility;

          (j)  Any capital expenditure or deferred capital expenditure by or on behalf of a health care facility not covered by paragraphs (a) through (h);

          (k)  The contracting of a health care facility as defined in subparagraphs (i) through (viii) of Section 41-7-173(h) to establish a home office, subunit, or branch office in the space operated as a health care facility through a formal arrangement with an existing health care facility as defined in subparagraph (ix) of Section 41-7-173(h);

          (l)  The replacement or relocation of a health care facility designated as a critical access hospital shall be exempt from subsection (1) of this section so long as the critical access hospital complies with all applicable federal law and regulations regarding such replacement or relocation;

          (m)  Reopening a health care facility that has ceased to operate for a period of sixty (60) months or more, which reopening requires a certificate of need for the establishment of a new health care facility.

     (2)  The State Department of Health shall not grant approval for or issue a certificate of need to any person proposing the new construction of, addition to, or expansion of any health care facility defined in * * *subparagraphs subparagraph (iv) (skilled nursing facility) * * *and (vi) (intermediate care facility) of Section 41-7-173(h) or the conversion of vacant hospital beds to provide skilled * * *or intermediate nursing home care, except as hereinafter authorized:

          (a)  The department may issue a certificate of need to any person proposing the new construction of any health care facility defined in subparagraphs (iv) and (vi) of Section 41-7-173(h) as part of a life care retirement facility, in any county bordering on the Gulf of Mexico in which is located a National Aeronautics and Space Administration facility, not to exceed forty (40) beds.  From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the health care facility that were authorized under this paragraph (a).

          (b)  The department may issue certificates of need in Harrison County to provide skilled nursing home care for Alzheimer's disease patients and other patients, not to exceed one hundred fifty (150) beds.  From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the nursing facilities that were authorized under this paragraph (b).

          (c)  The department may issue a certificate of need for the addition to or expansion of any skilled nursing facility that is part of an existing continuing care retirement community located in Madison County, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the skilled nursing facility will not at any time participate in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) or admit or keep any patients in the skilled nursing facility who are participating in the Medicaid program.  This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the skilled nursing facility, if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need.  Agreement that the skilled nursing facility will not participate in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this paragraph (c), and if such skilled nursing facility at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the facility, participates in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any patients in the facility who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the skilled nursing facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need.  The total number of beds that may be authorized under the authority of this paragraph (c) shall not exceed sixty (60) beds.

          (d)  The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need to any hospital located in DeSoto County for the new construction of a skilled nursing facility, not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) beds, in DeSoto County.  From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the nursing facility that were authorized under this paragraph (d).

          (e)  The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need for the construction of a nursing facility or the conversion of beds to nursing facility beds at a personal care facility for the elderly in Lowndes County that is owned and operated by a Mississippi nonprofit corporation, not to exceed sixty (60) beds.  From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the nursing facility that were authorized under this paragraph (e).

          (f)  The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need for conversion of a county hospital facility in Itawamba County to a nursing facility, not to exceed sixty (60) beds, including any necessary construction, renovation or expansion.  From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the nursing facility that were authorized under this paragraph (f).

          (g)  The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need for the construction or expansion of nursing facility beds or the conversion of other beds to nursing facility beds in either Hinds, Madison or Rankin County, not to exceed sixty (60) beds.  From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the nursing facility that were authorized under this paragraph (g).

          (h)  The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need for the construction or expansion of nursing facility beds or the conversion of other beds to nursing facility beds in either Hancock, Harrison or Jackson County, not to exceed sixty (60) beds.  From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the facility that were authorized under this paragraph (h).

          (i)  The department may issue a certificate of need for the new construction of a skilled nursing facility in Leake County, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the skilled nursing facility will not at any time participate in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) or admit or keep any patients in the skilled nursing facility who are participating in the Medicaid program.  This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the skilled nursing facility, if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need.  Agreement that the skilled nursing facility will not participate in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this paragraph (i), and if such skilled nursing facility at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the facility, participates in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any patients in the facility who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the skilled nursing facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need.  The provision of Section 41-7-193(1) regarding substantial compliance of the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan is waived for the purposes of this paragraph.  The total number of nursing facility beds that may be authorized by any certificate of need issued under this paragraph (i) shall not exceed sixty (60) beds.  If the skilled nursing facility authorized by the certificate of need issued under this paragraph is not constructed and fully operational within eighteen (18) months after July 1, 1994, the State Department of Health, after a hearing complying with due process, shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall not issue a license for the skilled nursing facility at any time after the expiration of the eighteen-month period.

          (j)  The department may issue certificates of need to allow any existing freestanding long-term care facility in Tishomingo County and Hancock County that on July 1, 1995, is licensed with fewer than sixty (60) beds.  For the purposes of this paragraph (j), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived.  From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the long-term care facilities that were authorized under this paragraph (j).

          (k)  The department may issue a certificate of need for the construction of a nursing facility at a continuing care retirement community in Lowndes County.  The total number of beds that may be authorized under the authority of this paragraph (k) shall not exceed sixty (60) beds.  From and after July 1, 2001, the prohibition on the facility participating in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) that was a condition of issuance of the certificate of need under this paragraph (k) shall be revised as follows:  The nursing facility may participate in the Medicaid program from and after July 1, 2001, if the owner of the facility on July 1, 2001, agrees in writing that no more than thirty (30) of the beds at the facility will be certified for participation in the Medicaid program, and that no claim will be submitted for Medicaid reimbursement for more than thirty (30) patients in the facility in any month or for any patient in the facility who is in a bed that is not Medicaid-certified.  This written agreement by the owner of the facility shall be a condition of licensure of the facility, and the agreement shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the facility if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after July 1, 2001.  After this written agreement is executed, the Division of Medicaid and the State Department of Health shall not certify more than thirty (30) of the beds in the facility for participation in the Medicaid program.  If the facility violates the terms of the written agreement by admitting or keeping in the facility on a regular or continuing basis more than thirty (30) patients who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the license of the facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has violated the written agreement.

          (l)  Provided that funds are specifically appropriated therefor by the Legislature, the department may issue a certificate of need to a rehabilitation hospital in Hinds County for the construction of a sixty-bed long-term care nursing facility dedicated to the care and treatment of persons with severe disabilities including persons with spinal cord and closed-head injuries and ventilator dependent patients.  The provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) regarding substantial compliance with projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived for the purpose of this paragraph.

          (m)  The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need to a county-owned hospital in the Second Judicial District of Panola County for the conversion of not more than seventy-two (72) hospital beds to nursing facility beds, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that none of the beds at the nursing facility will be certified for participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.), and that no claim will be submitted for Medicaid reimbursement in the nursing facility in any day or for any patient in the nursing facility.  This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be a condition of the issuance of the certificate of need under this paragraph, and the agreement shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the nursing facility if the ownership of the nursing facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need.  After this written agreement is executed, the Division of Medicaid and the State Department of Health shall not certify any of the beds in the nursing facility for participation in the Medicaid program.  If the nursing facility violates the terms of the written agreement by admitting or keeping in the nursing facility on a regular or continuing basis any patients who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the license of the nursing facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the nursing facility has violated the condition upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement.  If the certificate of need authorized under this paragraph is not issued within twelve (12) months after July 1, 2001, the department shall deny the application for the certificate of need and shall not issue the certificate of need at any time after the twelve-month period, unless the issuance is contested.  If the certificate of need is issued and substantial construction of the nursing facility beds has not commenced within eighteen (18) months after July 1, 2001, the State Department of Health, after a hearing complying with due process, shall revoke the certificate of need if it is still outstanding, and the department shall not issue a license for the nursing facility at any time after the eighteen-month period.  However, if the issuance of the certificate of need is contested, the department shall require substantial construction of the nursing facility beds within six (6) months after final adjudication on the issuance of the certificate of need.

          (n)  The department may issue a certificate of need for the new construction, addition or conversion of skilled nursing facility beds in Madison County, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the skilled nursing facility will not at any time participate in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) or admit or keep any patients in the skilled nursing facility who are participating in the Medicaid program.  This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the skilled nursing facility, if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need.  Agreement that the skilled nursing facility will not participate in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this paragraph (n), and if such skilled nursing facility at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the facility, participates in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any patients in the facility who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the skilled nursing facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need.  The total number of nursing facility beds that may be authorized by any certificate of need issued under this paragraph (n) shall not exceed sixty (60) beds.  If the certificate of need authorized under this paragraph is not issued within twelve (12) months after July 1, 1998, the department shall deny the application for the certificate of need and shall not issue the certificate of need at any time after the twelve-month period, unless the issuance is contested.  If the certificate of need is issued and substantial construction of the nursing facility beds has not commenced within eighteen (18) months after July 1, 1998, the State Department of Health, after a hearing complying with due process, shall revoke the certificate of need if it is still outstanding, and the department shall not issue a license for the nursing facility at any time after the eighteen-month period.  However, if the issuance of the certificate of need is contested, the department shall require substantial construction of the nursing facility beds within six (6) months after final adjudication on the issuance of the certificate of need.

          (o)  The department may issue a certificate of need for the new construction, addition or conversion of skilled nursing facility beds in Leake County, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the skilled nursing facility will not at any time participate in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) or admit or keep any patients in the skilled nursing facility who are participating in the Medicaid program.  This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the skilled nursing facility, if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need.  Agreement that the skilled nursing facility will not participate in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this paragraph (o), and if such skilled nursing facility at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the facility, participates in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any patients in the facility who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the skilled nursing facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need.  The total number of nursing facility beds that may be authorized by any certificate of need issued under this paragraph (o) shall not exceed sixty (60) beds.  If the certificate of need authorized under this paragraph is not issued within twelve (12) months after July 1, 2001, the department shall deny the application for the certificate of need and shall not issue the certificate of need at any time after the twelve-month period, unless the issuance is contested.  If the certificate of need is issued and substantial construction of the nursing facility beds has not commenced within eighteen (18) months after July 1, 2001, the State Department of Health, after a hearing complying with due process, shall revoke the certificate of need if it is still outstanding, and the department shall not issue a license for the nursing facility at any time after the eighteen-month period.  However, if the issuance of the certificate of need is contested, the department shall require substantial construction of the nursing facility beds within six (6) months after final adjudication on the issuance of the certificate of need.

          (p)  The department may issue a certificate of need for the construction of a municipally owned nursing facility within the Town of Belmont in Tishomingo County, not to exceed sixty (60) beds, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the skilled nursing facility will not at any time participate in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) or admit or keep any patients in the skilled nursing facility who are participating in the Medicaid program.  This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the skilled nursing facility, if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need.  Agreement that the skilled nursing facility will not participate in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this paragraph (p), and if such skilled nursing facility at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the facility, participates in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any patients in the facility who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the skilled nursing facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need.  The provision of Section 41-7-193(1) regarding substantial compliance of the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan is waived for the purposes of this paragraph.  If the certificate of need authorized under this paragraph is not issued within twelve (12) months after July 1, 1998, the department shall deny the application for the certificate of need and shall not issue the certificate of need at any time after the twelve-month period, unless the issuance is contested.  If the certificate of need is issued and substantial construction of the nursing facility beds has not commenced within eighteen (18) months after July 1, 1998, the State Department of Health, after a hearing complying with due process, shall revoke the certificate of need if it is still outstanding, and the department shall not issue a license for the nursing facility at any time after the eighteen-month period.  However, if the issuance of the certificate of need is contested, the department shall require substantial construction of the nursing facility beds within six (6) months after final adjudication on the issuance of the certificate of need.

          (q)  (i)  Beginning on July 1, 1999, the State Department of Health shall issue certificates of need during each of the next four (4) fiscal years for the construction or expansion of nursing facility beds or the conversion of other beds to nursing facility beds in each county in the state having a need for fifty (50) or more additional nursing facility beds, as shown in the fiscal year 1999 State Health Plan, in the manner provided in this paragraph (q).  The total number of nursing facility beds that may be authorized by any certificate of need authorized under this paragraph (q) shall not exceed sixty (60) beds.

              (ii)  Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (v), during each of the next four (4) fiscal years, the department shall issue six (6) certificates of need for new nursing facility beds, as follows:  During fiscal years 2000, 2001 and 2002, one (1) certificate of need shall be issued for new nursing facility beds in the county in each of the four (4) Long-Term Care Planning Districts designated in the fiscal year 1999 State Health Plan that has the highest need in the district for those beds; and two (2) certificates of need shall be issued for new nursing facility beds in the two (2) counties from the state at large that have the highest need in the state for those beds, when considering the need on a statewide basis and without regard to the Long-Term Care Planning Districts in which the counties are located.  During fiscal year 2003, one (1) certificate of need shall be issued for new nursing facility beds in any county having a need for fifty (50) or more additional nursing facility beds, as shown in the fiscal year 1999 State Health Plan, that has not received a certificate of need under this paragraph (q) during the three (3) previous fiscal years.  During fiscal year 2000, in addition to the six (6) certificates of need authorized in this subparagraph, the department also shall issue a certificate of need for new nursing facility beds in Amite County and a certificate of need for new nursing facility beds in Carroll County.

              (iii)  Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (v), the certificate of need issued under subparagraph (ii) for nursing facility beds in each Long-Term Care Planning District during each fiscal year shall first be available for nursing facility beds in the county in the district having the highest need for those beds, as shown in the fiscal year 1999 State Health Plan.  If there are no applications for a certificate of need for nursing facility beds in the county having the highest need for those beds by the date specified by the department, then the certificate of need shall be available for nursing facility beds in other counties in the district in descending order of the need for those beds, from the county with the second highest need to the county with the lowest need, until an application is received for nursing facility beds in an eligible county in the district.

              (iv)  Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (v), the certificate of need issued under subparagraph (ii) for nursing facility beds in the two (2) counties from the state at large during each fiscal year shall first be available for nursing facility beds in the two (2) counties that have the highest need in the state for those beds, as shown in the fiscal year 1999 State Health Plan, when considering the need on a statewide basis and without regard to the Long-Term Care Planning Districts in which the counties are located.  If there are no applications for a certificate of need for nursing facility beds in either of the two (2) counties having the highest need for those beds on a statewide basis by the date specified by the department, then the certificate of need shall be available for nursing facility beds in other counties from the state at large in descending order of the need for those beds on a statewide basis, from the county with the second highest need to the county with the lowest need, until an application is received for nursing facility beds in an eligible county from the state at large.

              (v)  If a certificate of need is authorized to be issued under this paragraph (q) for nursing facility beds in a county on the basis of the need in the Long-Term Care Planning District during any fiscal year of the four-year period, a certificate of need shall not also be available under this paragraph (q) for additional nursing facility beds in that county on the basis of the need in the state at large, and that county shall be excluded in determining which counties have the highest need for nursing facility beds in the state at large for that fiscal year.  After a certificate of need has been issued under this paragraph (q) for nursing facility beds in a county during any fiscal year of the four-year period, a certificate of need shall not be available again under this paragraph (q) for additional nursing facility beds in that county during the four-year period, and that county shall be excluded in determining which counties have the highest need for nursing facility beds in succeeding fiscal years.

              (vi)  If more than one (1) application is made for a certificate of need for nursing home facility beds available under this paragraph (q), in Yalobusha, Newton or Tallahatchie County, and one (1) of the applicants is a county-owned hospital located in the county where the nursing facility beds are available, the department shall give priority to the county-owned hospital in granting the certificate of need if the following conditions are met:

                   1.  The county-owned hospital fully meets all applicable criteria and standards required to obtain a certificate of need for the nursing facility beds; and

                   2.  The county-owned hospital's qualifications for the certificate of need, as shown in its application and as determined by the department, are at least equal to the qualifications of the other applicants for the certificate of need.

          (r)  (i)  Beginning on July 1, 1999, the State Department of Health shall issue certificates of need during each of the next two (2) fiscal years for the construction or expansion of nursing facility beds or the conversion of other beds to nursing facility beds in each of the four (4) Long-Term Care Planning Districts designated in the fiscal year 1999 State Health Plan, to provide care exclusively to patients with Alzheimer's disease.

              (ii)  Not more than twenty (20) beds may be authorized by any certificate of need issued under this paragraph (r), and not more than a total of sixty (60) beds may be authorized in any Long-Term Care Planning District by all certificates of need issued under this paragraph (r).  However, the total number of beds that may be authorized by all certificates of need issued under this paragraph (r) during any fiscal year shall not exceed one hundred twenty (120) beds, and the total number of beds that may be authorized in any Long-Term Care Planning District during any fiscal year shall not exceed forty (40) beds.  Of the certificates of need that are issued for each Long-Term Care Planning District during the next two (2) fiscal years, at least one (1) shall be issued for beds in the northern part of the district, at least one (1) shall be issued for beds in the central part of the district, and at least one (1) shall be issued for beds in the southern part of the district.

              (iii)  The State Department of Health, in consultation with the Department of Mental Health and the Division of Medicaid, shall develop and prescribe the staffing levels, space requirements and other standards and requirements that must be met with regard to the nursing facility beds authorized under this paragraph (r) to provide care exclusively to patients with Alzheimer's disease.

          (s)  The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need to a nonprofit skilled nursing facility using the Green House model of skilled nursing care and located in Yazoo City, Yazoo County, Mississippi, for the construction, expansion or conversion of not more than nineteen (19) nursing facility beds.  For purposes of this paragraph (s), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan and the provisions of Section 41-7-197 requiring a formal certificate of need hearing process are waived.  There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program for the person receiving the certificate of need authorized under this paragraph (s).

          (t)  The State Department of Health shall issue certificates of need to the owner of a nursing facility in operation at the time of Hurricane Katrina in Hancock County that was not operational on December 31, 2005, because of damage sustained from Hurricane Katrina to authorize the following:  (i) the construction of a new nursing facility in Harrison County; (ii) the relocation of forty-nine (49) nursing facility beds from the Hancock County facility to the new Harrison County facility; (iii) the establishment of not more than twenty (20) non-Medicaid nursing facility beds at the Hancock County facility; and (iv) the establishment of not more than twenty (20) non-Medicaid beds at the new Harrison County facility.  The certificates of need that authorize the non-Medicaid nursing facility beds under subparagraphs (iii) and (iv) of this paragraph (t) shall be subject to the following conditions:  The owner of the Hancock County facility and the new Harrison County facility must agree in writing that no more than fifty (50) of the beds at the Hancock County facility and no more than forty-nine (49) of the beds at the Harrison County facility will be certified for participation in the Medicaid program, and that no claim will be submitted for Medicaid reimbursement for more than fifty (50) patients in the Hancock County facility in any month, or for more than forty-nine (49) patients in the Harrison County facility in any month, or for any patient in either facility who is in a bed that is not Medicaid-certified.  This written agreement by the owner of the nursing facilities shall be a condition of the issuance of the certificates of need under this paragraph (t), and the agreement shall be fully binding on any later owner or owners of either facility if the ownership of either facility is transferred at any time after the certificates of need are issued.  After this written agreement is executed, the Division of Medicaid and the State Department of Health shall not certify more than fifty (50) of the beds at the Hancock County facility or more than forty-nine (49) of the beds at the Harrison County facility for participation in the Medicaid program.  If the Hancock County facility violates the terms of the written agreement by admitting or keeping in the facility on a regular or continuing basis more than fifty (50) patients who are participating in the Medicaid program, or if the Harrison County facility violates the terms of the written agreement by admitting or keeping in the facility on a regular or continuing basis more than forty-nine (49) patients who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the license of the facility that is in violation of the agreement, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has violated the agreement.

          (u)  The State Department of Health shall issue a certificate of need to a nonprofit venture for the establishment, construction and operation of a skilled nursing facility of not more than sixty (60) beds to provide skilled nursing care for ventilator dependent or otherwise medically dependent pediatric patients who require medical and nursing care or rehabilitation services to be located in a county in which an academic medical center and a children's hospital are located, and for any construction and for the acquisition of equipment related to those beds.  The facility shall be authorized to keep such ventilator dependent or otherwise medically dependent pediatric patients beyond age twenty-one (21) in accordance with regulations of the State Board of Health.  For purposes of this paragraph (u), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived, and the provisions of Section 41-7-197 requiring a formal certificate of need hearing process are waived.  The beds authorized by this paragraph shall be counted as pediatric skilled nursing facility beds for health planning purposes under Section 41-7-171 et seq.  There shall be no prohibition of or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program for the person receiving the certificate of need authorized by this paragraph.

     (3)  * * *The State Department of Health may grant approval for and issue certificates of need to any person proposing the new construction of, addition to, conversion of beds of or expansion of any health care facility defined in subparagraph (x) (psychiatric residential treatment facility) of Section 41‑7‑173(h).  The total number of beds which may be authorized by such certificates of need shall not exceed three hundred thirty‑four (334) beds for the entire state.

  (a)  Of the total number of beds authorized under this subsection, the department shall issue a certificate of need to a privately owned psychiatric residential treatment facility in Simpson County for the conversion of sixteen (16) intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ICF‑IID) beds to psychiatric residential treatment facility beds, provided that facility agrees in writing that the facility shall give priority for the use of those sixteen (16) beds to Mississippi residents who are presently being treated in out‑of‑state facilities.

  (b)  Of the total number of beds authorized under this subsection, the department may issue a certificate or certificates of need for the construction or expansion of psychiatric residential treatment facility beds or the conversion of other beds to psychiatric residential treatment facility beds in Warren County, not to exceed sixty (60) psychiatric residential treatment facility beds, provided that the facility agrees in writing that no more than thirty (30) of the beds at the psychiatric residential treatment facility will be certified for participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43‑13‑101 et seq.) for the use of any patients other than those who are participating only in the Medicaid program of another state, and that no claim will be submitted to the Division of Medicaid for Medicaid reimbursement for more than thirty (30) patients in the psychiatric residential treatment facility in any day or for any patient in the psychiatric residential treatment facility who is in a bed that is not Medicaid‑certified.  This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be a condition of the issuance of the certificate of need under this paragraph, and the agreement shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the psychiatric residential treatment facility if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need.  After this written agreement is executed, the Division of Medicaid and the State Department of Health shall not certify more than thirty (30) of the beds in the psychiatric residential treatment facility for participation in the Medicaid program for the use of any patients other than those who are participating only in the Medicaid program of another state.  If the psychiatric residential treatment facility violates the terms of the written agreement by admitting or keeping in the facility on a regular or continuing basis more than thirty (30) patients who are participating in the Mississippi Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the license of the facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has violated the condition upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement.

The State Department of Health, on or before July 1, 2002, shall transfer the certificate of need authorized under the authority of this paragraph (b), or reissue the certificate of need if it has expired, to River Region Health System.

  (c)  Of the total number of beds authorized under this subsection, the department shall issue a certificate of need to a hospital currently operating Medicaid‑certified acute psychiatric beds for adolescents in DeSoto County, for the establishment of a forty‑bed psychiatric residential treatment facility in DeSoto County, provided that the hospital agrees in writing (i) that the hospital shall give priority for the use of those forty (40) beds to Mississippi residents who are presently being treated in out‑of‑state facilities, and (ii) that no more than fifteen (15) of the beds at the psychiatric residential treatment facility will be certified for participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43‑13‑101 et seq.), and that no claim will be submitted for Medicaid reimbursement for more than fifteen (15) patients in the psychiatric residential treatment facility in any day or for any patient in the psychiatric residential treatment facility who is in a bed that is not Medicaid‑certified.  This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be a condition of the issuance of the certificate of need under this paragraph, and the agreement shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the psychiatric residential treatment facility if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need.  After this written agreement is executed, the Division of Medicaid and the State Department of Health shall not certify more than fifteen (15) of the beds in the psychiatric residential treatment facility for participation in the Medicaid program.  If the psychiatric residential treatment facility violates the terms of the written agreement by admitting or keeping in the facility on a regular or continuing basis more than fifteen (15) patients who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the license of the facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has violated the condition upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement.

  (d)  Of the total number of beds authorized under this subsection, the department may issue a certificate or certificates of need for the construction or expansion of psychiatric residential treatment facility beds or the conversion of other beds to psychiatric treatment facility beds, not to exceed thirty (30) psychiatric residential treatment facility beds, in either Alcorn, Tishomingo, Prentiss, Lee, Itawamba, Monroe, Chickasaw, Pontotoc, Calhoun, Lafayette, Union, Benton or Tippah County.

  (e)  Of the total number of beds authorized under this subsection (3) the department shall issue a certificate of need to a privately owned, nonprofit psychiatric residential treatment facility in Hinds County for an eight‑bed expansion of the facility, provided that the facility agrees in writing that the facility shall give priority for the use of those eight (8) beds to Mississippi residents who are presently being treated in out‑of‑state facilities.

  (f)  The department shall issue a certificate of need to a one‑hundred‑thirty‑four‑bed specialty hospital located on twenty‑nine and forty‑four one‑hundredths (29.44) commercial acres at 5900 Highway 39 North in Meridian (Lauderdale County), Mississippi, for the addition, construction or expansion of child/adolescent psychiatric residential treatment facility beds in Lauderdale County.  As a condition of issuance of the certificate of need under this paragraph, the facility shall give priority in admissions to the child/adolescent psychiatric residential treatment facility beds authorized under this paragraph to patients who otherwise would require out‑of‑state placement.  The Division of Medicaid, in conjunction with the Department of Human Services, shall furnish the facility a list of all out‑of‑state patients on a quarterly basis.  Furthermore, notice shall also be provided to the parent, custodial parent or guardian of each out‑of‑state patient notifying them of the priority status granted by this paragraph.  For purposes of this paragraph, the provisions of Section 41‑7‑193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived.  The total number of child/adolescent psychiatric residential treatment facility beds that may be authorized under the authority of this paragraph shall be sixty (60) beds.  There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43‑13‑101 et seq.) for the person receiving the certificate of need authorized under this paragraph or for the beds converted pursuant to the authority of that certificate of need. [Deleted]

     (4)  (a)  From and after * * *March 25, 2021 July 1, 2025, the department may issue a certificate of need to any person for the new construction of any hospital * * *, or psychiatric hospital * * *or chemical dependency hospital that will contain any child/adolescent psychiatric * * *or child/adolescent chemical dependency beds, or for the conversion of any other health care facility to a hospital * * *, or psychiatric hospital * * *or chemical dependency hospital that will contain any child/adolescent psychiatric * * *or child/adolescent chemical dependency beds.  There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the person(s) receiving the certificate(s) of need authorized under this paragraph (a) or for the beds converted pursuant to the authority of that certificate of need.  In issuing any new certificate of need for any child/adolescent psychiatric * * *or child/adolescent chemical dependency beds, either by new construction or conversion of beds of another category, the department shall give preference to beds which will be located in an area of the state which does not have such beds located in it, and to a location more than sixty-five (65) miles from existing beds.  Upon receiving 2020 census data, the department may amend the State Health Plan regarding child/adolescent psychiatric * * *and child/adolescent chemical dependency beds to reflect the need based on new census data.

              (i)  [Deleted]

              (ii)  * * *The department may issue a certificate of need for the conversion of existing beds in a county hospital in Choctaw County from acute care beds to child/adolescent chemical dependency beds.  For purposes of this subparagraph (ii), the provisions of Section 41‑7‑193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived.  The total number of beds that may be authorized under authority of this subparagraph shall not exceed twenty (20) beds.  There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43‑13‑101 et seq.) for the hospital receiving the certificate of need authorized under this subparagraph or for the beds converted pursuant to the authority of that certificate of need. [Deleted]

              (iii)  The department may issue a certificate or certificates of need for the construction or expansion of child/adolescent psychiatric beds or the conversion of other beds to child/adolescent psychiatric beds in Warren County.  For purposes of this subparagraph (iii), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived.  The total number of beds that may be authorized under the authority of this subparagraph shall not exceed twenty (20) beds.  There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the person receiving the certificate of need authorized under this subparagraph or for the beds converted pursuant to the authority of that certificate of need.

     If by January 1, 2002, there has been no significant commencement of construction of the beds authorized under this subparagraph (iii), or no significant action taken to convert existing beds to the beds authorized under this subparagraph, then the certificate of need that was previously issued under this subparagraph shall expire.  If the previously issued certificate of need expires, the department may accept applications for issuance of another certificate of need for the beds authorized under this subparagraph, and may issue a certificate of need to authorize the construction, expansion or conversion of the beds authorized under this subparagraph.

              (iv)  The department shall issue a certificate of need to the Region 7 Mental Health/Retardation Commission for the construction or expansion of child/adolescent psychiatric beds or the conversion of other beds to child/adolescent psychiatric beds in any of the counties served by the commission.  For purposes of this subparagraph (iv), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived.  The total number of beds that may be authorized under the authority of this subparagraph shall not exceed twenty (20) beds.  There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the person receiving the certificate of need authorized under this subparagraph or for the beds converted pursuant to the authority of that certificate of need.

              (v)  The department may issue a certificate of need to any county hospital located in Leflore County for the construction or expansion of adult psychiatric beds or the conversion of other beds to adult psychiatric beds, not to exceed twenty (20) beds, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the adult psychiatric beds will not at any time be certified for participation in the Medicaid program and that the hospital will not admit or keep any patients who are participating in the Medicaid program in any of such adult psychiatric beds.  This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the hospital if the ownership of the hospital is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need.  Agreement that the adult psychiatric beds will not be certified for participation in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this subparagraph (v), and if such hospital at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the hospital, has any of such adult psychiatric beds certified for participation in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any Medicaid patients in such adult psychiatric beds, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the hospital at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the hospital has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this subparagraph and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need.

              (vi)  The department may issue a certificate or certificates of need for the expansion of child psychiatric beds or the conversion of other beds to child psychiatric beds at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.  For purposes of this subparagraph (vi), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived.  The total number of beds that may be authorized under the authority of this subparagraph shall not exceed fifteen (15) beds.  There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the hospital receiving the certificate of need authorized under this subparagraph or for the beds converted pursuant to the authority of that certificate of need.

          (b)  From and after July 1, * * *1990 2025, no hospital * * *, or psychiatric hospital * * *or chemical dependency hospital shall be authorized to add any child/adolescent psychiatric * * *or child/adolescent chemical dependency beds or convert any beds of another category to child/adolescent psychiatric * * *or child/adolescent chemical dependency beds without a certificate of need under the authority of subsection (1)(c) and subsection (4)(a) of this section.

     (5)  The department may issue a certificate of need to a county hospital in Winston County for the conversion of fifteen (15) acute care beds to geriatric psychiatric care beds.

     (6)  The State Department of Health shall issue a certificate of need to a Mississippi corporation qualified to manage a long-term care hospital as defined in Section 41-7-173(h)(xii) in Harrison County, not to exceed eighty (80) beds, including any necessary renovation or construction required for licensure and certification, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the long-term care hospital will not at any time participate in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) or admit or keep any patients in the long-term care hospital who are participating in the Medicaid program.  This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the long-term care hospital, if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need.  Agreement that the long-term care hospital will not participate in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this subsection (6), and if such long-term care hospital at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the facility, participates in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any patients in the facility who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the long-term care hospital, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this subsection and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need.  For purposes of this subsection, the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived.

     (7)  The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need to any hospital in the state to utilize a portion of its beds for the "swing-bed" concept.  Any such hospital must be in conformance with the federal regulations regarding such swing-bed concept at the time it submits its application for a certificate of need to the State Department of Health, except that such hospital may have more licensed beds or a higher average daily census (ADC) than the maximum number specified in federal regulations for participation in the swing-bed program.  Any hospital meeting all federal requirements for participation in the swing-bed program which receives such certificate of need shall render services provided under the swing-bed concept to any patient eligible for Medicare (Title XVIII of the Social Security Act) who is certified by a physician to be in need of such services, and no such hospital shall permit any patient who is eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare or eligible only for Medicaid to stay in the swing beds of the hospital for more than thirty (30) days per admission unless the hospital receives prior approval for such patient from the Division of Medicaid, Office of the Governor.  Any hospital having more licensed beds or a higher average daily census (ADC) than the maximum number specified in federal regulations for participation in the swing-bed program which receives such certificate of need shall develop a procedure to ensure that before a patient is allowed to stay in the swing beds of the hospital, there are no vacant nursing home beds available for that patient located within a fifty-mile radius of the hospital.  When any such hospital has a patient staying in the swing beds of the hospital and the hospital receives notice from a nursing home located within such radius that there is a vacant bed available for that patient, the hospital shall transfer the patient to the nursing home within a reasonable time after receipt of the notice.  Any hospital which is subject to the requirements of the two (2) preceding sentences of this subsection may be suspended from participation in the swing-bed program for a reasonable period of time by the State Department of Health if the department, after a hearing complying with due process, determines that the hospital has failed to comply with any of those requirements.

     (8)  * * *The Department of Health shall not grant approval for or issue a certificate of need to any person proposing the new construction of, addition to or expansion of a health care facility as defined in subparagraph (viii) of Section 41‑7‑173(h), except as hereinafter provided:  The department may issue a certificate of need to a nonprofit corporation located in Madison County, Mississippi, for the construction, expansion or conversion of not more than twenty (20) beds in a community living program for developmentally disabled adults in a facility as defined in subparagraph (viii) of Section 41‑7‑173(h).  For purposes of this subsection (8), the provisions of Section 41‑7‑193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan and the provisions of Section 41‑7‑197 requiring a formal certificate of need hearing process are waived.  There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program for the person receiving the certificate of need authorized under this subsection (8). [Deleted]

     (9)  The Department of Health shall not grant approval for or issue a certificate of need to any person proposing the establishment of, or expansion of the currently approved territory of, or the contracting to establish a home office, subunit or branch office within the space operated as a health care facility as defined in Section 41-7-173(h)(i) through (viii) by a health care facility as defined in subparagraph (ix) of Section 41-7-173(h).

     (10)  Health care facilities owned and/or operated by the state or its agencies are exempt from the restraints in this section against issuance of a certificate of need if such addition or expansion consists of repairing or renovation necessary to comply with the state licensure law.  This exception shall not apply to the new construction of any building by such state facility.  This exception shall not apply to any health care facilities owned and/or operated by counties, municipalities, districts, unincorporated areas, other defined persons, or any combination thereof.

     (11)  The new construction, renovation or expansion of or addition to any health care facility defined in subparagraph (ii) (psychiatric hospital) * * *, and subparagraph (iv) (skilled nursing facility), * * *subparagraph (vi) (intermediate care facility), subparagraph (viii) (intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities) and subparagraph (x) (psychiatric residential treatment facility) of Section 41-7-173(h) which is owned by the State of Mississippi and under the direction and control of the State Department of Mental Health, and the addition of new beds or the conversion of beds from one category to another in any such defined health care facility which is owned by the State of Mississippi and under the direction and control of the State Department of Mental Health, shall not require the issuance of a certificate of need under Section 41-7-171 et seq., notwithstanding any provision in Section 41-7-171 et seq. to the contrary.

     (12)  The new construction, renovation or expansion of or addition to any veterans homes or domiciliaries for eligible veterans of the State of Mississippi as authorized under Section 35-1-19 shall not require the issuance of a certificate of need, notwithstanding any provision in Section 41-7-171 et seq. to the contrary.

     (13)  The repair or the rebuilding of an existing, operating health care facility that sustained significant damage from a natural disaster that occurred after April 15, 2014, in an area that is proclaimed a disaster area or subject to a state of emergency by the Governor or by the President of the United States shall be exempt from all of the requirements of the Mississippi Certificate of Need Law (Section 41-7-171 et seq.) and any and all rules and regulations promulgated under that law, subject to the following conditions:

          (a)  The repair or the rebuilding of any such damaged health care facility must be within one (1) mile of the pre-disaster location of the campus of the damaged health care facility, except that any temporary post-disaster health care facility operating location may be within five (5) miles of the pre-disaster location of the damaged health care facility;

          (b)  The repair or the rebuilding of the damaged health care facility (i) does not increase or change the complement of its bed capacity that it had before the Governor's or the President's proclamation, (ii) does not increase or change its levels and types of health care services that it provided before the Governor's or the President's proclamation, and (iii) does not rebuild in a different county; however, this paragraph does not restrict or prevent a health care facility from decreasing its bed capacity that it had before the Governor's or the President's proclamation, or from decreasing the levels of or decreasing or eliminating the types of health care services that it provided before the Governor's or the President's proclamation, when the damaged health care facility is repaired or rebuilt;

          (c)  The exemption from Certificate of Need Law provided under this subsection (13) is valid for only five (5) years from the date of the Governor's or the President's proclamation.  If actual construction has not begun within that five-year period, the exemption provided under this subsection is inapplicable; and

          (d)  The Division of Health Facilities Licensure and Certification of the State Department of Health shall provide the same oversight for the repair or the rebuilding of the damaged health care facility that it provides to all health care facility construction projects in the state.

     For the purposes of this subsection (13), "significant damage" to a health care facility means damage to the health care facility requiring an expenditure of at least One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00).

     (14)  The State Department of Health shall issue a certificate of need to any hospital which is currently licensed for two hundred fifty (250) or more acute care beds and is located in any general hospital service area not having a comprehensive cancer center, for the establishment and equipping of such a center which provides facilities and services for outpatient radiation oncology therapy, outpatient medical oncology therapy, and appropriate support services including the provision of radiation therapy services.  The provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) regarding substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived for the purpose of this subsection.

     (15)  The State Department of Health may authorize the transfer of hospital beds, not to exceed sixty (60) beds, from the North Panola Community Hospital to the South Panola Community Hospital.  The authorization for the transfer of those beds shall be exempt from the certificate of need review process.

     (16)  The State Department of Health shall issue any certificates of need necessary for Mississippi State University and a public or private health care provider to jointly acquire and operate a linear accelerator and a magnetic resonance imaging unit.  Those certificates of need shall cover all capital expenditures related to the project between Mississippi State University and the health care provider, including, but not limited to, the acquisition of the linear accelerator, the magnetic resonance imaging unit and other radiological modalities; the offering of linear accelerator and magnetic resonance imaging services; and the cost of construction of facilities in which to locate these services.  The linear accelerator and the magnetic resonance imaging unit shall be (a) located in the City of Starkville, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi; (b) operated jointly by Mississippi State University and the public or private health care provider selected by Mississippi State University through a request for proposals (RFP) process in which Mississippi State University selects, and the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning approves, the health care provider that makes the best overall proposal; (c) available to Mississippi State University for research purposes two-thirds (2/3) of the time that the linear accelerator and magnetic resonance imaging unit are operational; and (d) available to the public or private health care provider selected by Mississippi State University and approved by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning one-third (1/3) of the time for clinical, diagnostic and treatment purposes.  For purposes of this subsection, the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived.

     (17)  The State Department of Health shall issue a certificate of need for the construction of an acute care hospital in Kemper County, not to exceed twenty-five (25) beds, which shall be named the "John C. Stennis Memorial Hospital."  In issuing the certificate of need under this subsection, the department shall give priority to a hospital located in Lauderdale County that has two hundred fifteen (215) beds.  For purposes of this subsection, the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan and the provisions of Section 41-7-197 requiring a formal certificate of need hearing process are waived.  There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the person or entity receiving the certificate of need authorized under this subsection or for the beds constructed under the authority of that certificate of need.

     (18)  The planning, design, construction, renovation, addition, furnishing and equipping of a clinical research unit at any health care facility defined in Section 41-7-173(h) that is under the direction and control of the University of Mississippi Medical Center and located in Jackson, Mississippi, and the addition of new beds or the conversion of beds from one (1) category to another in any such clinical research unit, shall not require the issuance of a certificate of need under Section 41-7-171 et seq., notwithstanding any provision in Section 41-7-171 et seq. to the contrary.

     (19)  [Repealed]

     (20)  Nothing in this section or in any other provision of Section 41-7-171 et seq. shall prevent any nursing facility from designating an appropriate number of existing beds in the facility as beds for providing care exclusively to patients with Alzheimer's disease.

     (21)  Nothing in this section or any other provision of Section 41-7-171 et seq. shall prevent any health care facility from the new construction, renovation, conversion or expansion of new beds in the facility designated as intensive care units, negative pressure rooms, or isolation rooms pursuant to the provisions of Sections 41-14-1 through 41-14-11, or Section 41-14-31.  For purposes of this subsection, the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan and the provisions of Section 41-7-197 requiring a formal certificate of need hearing process are waived.

     SECTION 7.  Section 41-7-193, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     41-7-193.  (1)  No person may enter into any financing arrangement or commitment for financing a new institutional health service or any other project requiring a certificate of need unless such certificate has been granted for such purpose.  A certificate of need shall not be granted or issued to any person for any proposal, cause or reason, unless the proposal has been reviewed for consistency with the specifications and the criteria established by the State Department of Health and substantially complies with the projection of need as reported in the state health plan in effect at the time the application for the proposal was submitted.

     (2)  An application for a certificate of need for an institutional health service, medical equipment or any proposal requiring a certificate of need shall specify the time, within that granted, such shall be functional or operational according to a time schedule submitted with the application.  Each certificate of need shall specify the maximum amount of capital expenditure that may be obligated.  The State Department of Health shall periodically review the progress and time schedule of any person issued or granted a certificate of need for any purpose. Recipients of certificates of need shall make written progress reports of their projects at least every six (6) months and at completion.  The department shall monitor the projects to assure compliance with stated policies, standards (including life safety, construction and licensure), and approved costs.  The department shall also periodically review the health care facility, equipment or service authorized by the certificate of need to ensure that the facility, equipment or service is being used or operated for the purpose that was stated in the application for the certificate of need and in a manner consistent with the information provided in the application.  The recipient of the certificate of need shall provide the department with such information as necessary to enable the department to properly conduct such reviews.

     (3)  An application for a certificate of need may be filed at any time with the department after the applicant has given the department fifteen (15) days' written notice of its intent to apply for a certificate of need.  The department shall not delay review of an application.  The department shall make its recommendation approving or disapproving a complete application within forty-five (45) days of the date the application was filed or within fifteen (15) days of receipt of any requested information, whichever is later, * * *said the request to be made by the department within fifteen (15) days of the filing of the application.

     SECTION 8.  Section 41-7-195, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     41-7-195.  (1)  A certificate of need shall be valid only for the defined scope, physical location and person named in the application.  A certificate of need shall not be transferable or assignable nor shall a project or capital expenditure project be transferred from one person to another, except with the approval of the State Department of Health.  A certificate of need shall be valid for the period of time specified therein.

     (2)  A certificate of need shall be issued for a period of twelve (12) months, or such other lesser period as specified by the State Department of Health.

     (3)  The State Department of Health may define by regulation, not to exceed six (6) months, the time for which a certificate of need may be extended in those cases where the applicant shows to the satisfaction of the department that a good faith effort has been made toward completion of the project.  A certificate of need may be extended only one (1) time for not more than six (6) months.  After the end of the period of the extension, the certificate of need shall expire, and the applicant must apply for a new certificate of need.

     (4)  If commencement of construction or other preparation is not substantially undertaken during a valid certificate of need period or the State Department of Health determines the applicant is not making a good faith effort * * *to obligate such approved expenditure, the State Department of Health shall have the right to withdraw, revoke or rescind toward completion of the project, the certificate of need shall be revoked.

     (5)  The State Department of Health may approve or disapprove a proposal for a certificate of need as originally presented in final form, or it may approve a certificate of need by a modification, by reduction only, of such proposal provided the proponent agrees to such modification.

     SECTION 9.  Section 41-7-197, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

     41-7-197.  (1)  The State Department of Health shall adopt and utilize procedures for conducting certificate of need reviews. Such procedures shall include, inter alia, the following:  (a) written notification to the applicant; (b) written notification to health care facilities in the same health service area as the proposed service; (c) written notification to other persons who prior to the receipt of the application have filed a formal notice of intent to provide the proposed services in the same service area; and (d) notification to members of the public who reside in the service area where the service is proposed, which may be provided through newspapers or public information channels.

     (2)  All notices provided shall include, inter alia, the following:  (a) the proposed schedule for the review; (b) written notification of the period within which a public hearing during the course of the review may be requested in writing by one or more affected persons, such request to be made within ten (10) days of the department's staff recommendation for approval or disapproval of an application; and (c) the manner in which notification will be provided of the time and place of any hearing so requested.  Any such hearing shall be commenced by an independent hearing officer designated by the State Department of Health within sixty (60) days of the filing of the hearing request unless all parties to the hearing agree to extend the time for the commencement of the hearing.  At such hearing, the hearing officer and any person affected by the proposal being reviewed may conduct reasonable questioning of persons who make relevant factual allegations concerning the proposal.  The hearing officer shall require that all persons be sworn before they may offer any testimony at the hearing, and the hearing officer is authorized to administer oaths.  Any person so choosing may be represented by counsel at the hearing.  A record of the hearing shall be made, which shall consist of a transcript of all testimony received, all documents and other material introduced by any interested person, the staff report and recommendation and such other material as the hearing officer considers relevant, including his own recommendation, which he shall make, after reviewing, studying and analyzing the evidence presented during the hearing, within a reasonable period of time after the hearing is closed, which in no event shall exceed forty-five (45) days.  The completed record shall be certified to the State Health Officer, who shall consider only the record in making his decision, and shall not consider any evidence or material which is not included therein.  All final decisions regarding the issuance of a certificate of need shall be made by the State Health Officer.  The State Health Officer shall make his or her written findings and issue his or her order after reviewing said record.  The findings and decision of the State Health Officer shall not be deferred to any later date.

     (3)  Unless a hearing is held, if review by the State Department of Health concerning the issuance of a certificate of need is not complete with a final decision issued by the State Health Officer within the time specified by rule or regulation, which shall not exceed ninety (90) days from the filing of the application for a certificate of need, the proponent of the proposal may, within thirty (30) days after the expiration of the specified time for review, commence such legal action as is necessary, in the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County or in the chancery court of the county in which the service or facility is proposed to be provided, to compel the State Health Officer to issue written findings and written order approving or disapproving the proposal in question.

     SECTION 10.  Section 41-7-201, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     41-7-201.  * * *(1)  The provisions of this subsection (1) shall apply to any party appealing any final order of the State Department of Health pertaining to a certificate of need for a home health agency, as defined in Section 41‑7‑173(h)(ix):

  (a)  In addition to other remedies now available at law or in equity, any party aggrieved by any such final order of the State Department of Health shall have the right of appeal to the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, which appeal must be filed within thirty (30) days after the date of the final order.  Provided, however, that any appeal of an order disapproving an application for such a certificate of need may be made to the chancery court of the county where the proposed construction, expansion or alteration was to be located or the new service or purpose of the capital expenditure was to be located.  Such appeal must be filed in accordance with the thirty (30) days for filing as heretofore provided.  Any appeal shall state briefly the nature of the proceedings before the State Department of Health and shall specify the order complained of.  Any appeal shall state briefly the nature of the proceedings before the State Department of Health and shall specify the order complained of.  Any person whose rights may be materially affected by the action of the State Department of Health may appear and become a party or the court may, upon motion, order that any such person, organization or entity be joined as a necessary party.

  (b)  Upon the filing of such an appeal, the clerk of the chancery court shall serve notice thereof upon the State Department of Health, whereupon the State Department of Health shall, within thirty (30) days or within such additional time as the court may by order for cause allow from the service of such notice, certify to the chancery court the record in the case, which records shall include a transcript of all testimony, together with all exhibits or copies thereof, all pleadings, proceedings, orders, findings and opinions entered in the case; provided, however, that the parties and the State Department of Health may stipulate that a specified portion only of the record shall be certified to the court as the record on appeal.

  (c)  The court may dispose of the appeal in termtime or vacation and may sustain or dismiss the appeal, modify or vacate the order complained of, in whole or in part, as the case may be; but in case the order is wholly or partly vacated, the court may also, in its discretion, remand the matter to the State Department of Health for such further proceedings, not inconsistent with the court's order, as, in the opinion of the court, justice may require.  The order shall not be vacated or set aside, either in whole or in part, except for errors of law, unless the court finds that the order of the State Department of Health is not supported by substantial evidence, is contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence, is in excess of the statutory authority or jurisdiction of the State Department of Health, or violates any vested constitutional rights of any party involved in the appeal.  Provided, however, an order of the chancery court reversing the denial of a certificate of need by the State Department of Health shall not entitle the applicant to effectuate the certificate of need until either:

   (i)  Such order of the chancery court has become final and has not been appealed to the Supreme Court; or

   (ii)  The Supreme Court has entered a final order affirming the chancery court.

  (d)  Appeals in accordance with law may be had to the Supreme Court of the State of Mississippi from any final judgment of the chancery court.

     ( * * *21)  The provisions of this * * *subsection (2) section shall apply to any party appealing any final order of the State Department of Health pertaining to a certificate of need * * * for any health care facility as defined in Section 41‑7‑173(h), with the exception of any home health agency as defined in Section 41‑7‑173(h)(ix):.

     ( * * *a2)  There shall be a "stay of proceedings" of any final order issued by the State Department of Health pertaining to the issuance of a certificate of need for the establishment, construction, expansion or replacement of a health care facility for a period of thirty (30) calendar days from the date of the order, if an existing provider located in the same service area where the health care facility is or will be located has requested a hearing during the course of review in opposition to the issuance of the certificate of need.  The stay of proceedings shall expire at the termination of thirty (30) calendar days; however, no construction, renovation or other capital expenditure that is the subject of the order shall be undertaken, no license to operate any facility that is the subject of the order shall be issued by the licensing agency, and no certification to participate in the Title XVII or Title XIX programs of the Social Security Act shall be granted, until all statutory appeals have been exhausted or the time for such appeals has expired.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the filing of an appeal from a final order of the State Department of Health * * *or the chancery court for the issuance of a certificate of need shall not prevent the purchase of medical equipment or development or offering of institutional health services granted in a certificate of need issued by the State Department of Health.

     ( * * *b3)  In addition to other remedies now available at law or in equity, any party aggrieved by such final order of the State Department of Health shall have the right of appeal to * * *the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi a special chancery judge appointed by the Supreme Court, which appeal must be filed with the Supreme Court within twenty (20) calendar days after the date of the final order. * * *  Provided, however, that any appeal of an order disapproving an application for such a certificate of need may be made to the chancery court of the county where the proposed construction, expansion or alteration was to be located or the new service or purpose of the capital expenditure was to be located.  Such appeal must be filed in accordance with the twenty (20) days for filing as heretofore provided.  Any appeal shall state briefly the nature of the proceedings before the State Department of Health and shall specify the order complained of.  The Supreme Court shall appoint the special chancery judge in accordance with the provisions of Section 9-1-105 within fifteen (15) calendar days after the date that the appeal is filed.  The appeal shall be held in one (1) of the courtrooms of the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi.

     ( * * *c4)  Upon the filing of such an appeal, the Clerk of the * * *chancery Supreme Court shall serve notice thereof upon the State Department of Health, * * *whereupon after which the State Department of Health shall * * *, certify the record in the case to the special chancery judge within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of the filing of the appeal * * *, certify to the chancery court or within such time as the special chancery judge may, by order for cause, allow from the service of such notice. The certified record in the case * * *, which records shall include a transcript of all testimony, together with all exhibits or copies thereof, all proceedings, orders, findings and opinions entered in the case; * * *provided, however, * * *that the parties and the State Department of Health may stipulate that a specified portion only of the record shall be certified to the * * *court special chancery judge as the record on appeal.  The * * *chancery court shall give preference to any such appeal from a final order by the State Department of Health in a certificate of need proceeding, and special chancery judge shall render a final order regarding such appeal no later than one hundred twenty (120) calendar days from the date of the final order by the State Department of Health.  If the * * *chancery court special chancery judge has not rendered a final order within this one-hundred-twenty-day period, then the final order of the State Department of Health shall be deemed to have been affirmed by the * * *chancery court special chancery judge * * *, and any party to the appeal shall have the right to appeal from the chancery court to the Supreme Court on the record certified by the State Department of Health as otherwise provided in paragraph (g) of this subsection.  In the event the chancery court has not rendered a final order within the one‑hundred‑twenty‑day period and an appeal is made to the Supreme Court as provided herein, the Supreme Court shall remand the case to the chancery court to make an award of costs, fees, reasonable expenses and attorney's fees incurred in favor of appellee payable by the appellant(s) should the Supreme Court affirm the order of the State Department of Health. The final order of the special chancery judge, or the deemed affirmation of the final order of the State Department of Health, shall be the final decision in the case, and no further appeal shall be allowed from that final order or deemed affirmation.

     ( * * *d5)  Any appeal of a final order by the State Department of Health in a certificate of need proceeding shall require the giving of a bond by the appellant(s) sufficient to secure the appellee against the loss of costs, fees, expenses and attorney's fees incurred in defense of the appeal, approved by the * * *chancery Supreme Court within five (5) calendar days of the date of filing the appeal.

     ( * * *e6)  No new or additional evidence shall be introduced in the appeal to the * * *chancery court special chancery judge but the case shall be determined upon the record certified to the * * *court special chancery judge.

     ( * * *f7)  The * * *court may dispose of the appeal in termtime or vacation and special chancery judge may sustain or dismiss the appeal, modify or vacate the order complained of in whole or in part and may make an award of costs, fees, expenses and attorney's fees, as the case may be * * *; but In case the order is wholly or partly vacated, the * * *court special chancery judge may also, in * * *its his or her discretion, remand the matter to the State Department of Health for such further proceedings, not inconsistent with the * * *court's judge's order, as, in the opinion of the * * *court judge, justice may require.  The * * *court special chancery judge, as part of the final order, shall make an award of costs, fees, reasonable expenses and attorney's fees incurred in favor of appellee payable by the appellant(s) * * *should if the court affirms the order of the State Department of Health.  The order shall not be vacated or set aside, either in whole or in part, except for errors of law, unless the * * *court special chancery judge finds that the order of the State Department of Health is not supported by substantial evidence, is contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence, is in excess of the statutory authority or jurisdiction of the State Department of Health, or violates any vested constitutional rights of any party involved in the appeal.  * * *Provided, however, an order of the chancery court reversing the denial of a certificate of need by the State Department of Health shall not entitle the applicant to effectuate the certificate of need until either:

 * * *  (i)  Such order of the chancery court has become final and has not been appealed to the Supreme Court; or

   (ii)  The Supreme Court has entered a final order affirming the chancery court.

          (g)  Appeals in accordance with law may be had to the Supreme Court of the State of Mississippi from any final judgment of the chancery court.  The Supreme Court must give preference and conduct an expedited judicial review of an appeal of a final order of the chancery court relating to a certificate of need proceeding and must render a final order regarding the appeal no later than one hundred twenty (120) days from the date the final order by the chancery court is certified to the Supreme Court.  The Supreme Court shall consider such appeals in an expeditious manner without regard to position on the court docket.

     ( * * *h8)  Within thirty (30) calendar days from the date of * * *a final order by the Supreme Court or a final order of the * * *chancery court not appealed to the Supreme Court special chancery judge that modifies or wholly or partly vacates the final order of the State Department of Health granting a certificate of need, the State Department of Health shall issue another order in conformity with the final order of the * * *Supreme Court, or the final order of the chancery court not appealed to the Supreme Court special chancery judge.

     SECTION 11.  Section 41-7-207, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

     41-7-207.  Notwithstanding any other provisions of Sections 41-7-171 through 41-7-209, except when the owner of a damaged health care facility applies to repair or rebuild the facility in accordance with the provisions of Section 41-7-191(13), when the need for any emergency replacement occurs, the certificate of need review process shall be expedited by promulgation of administrative procedures for expenditures necessary to alleviate an emergency condition and restore health care access.  Emergency replacement means the replacement, and/or a necessary relocation, of all or the damaged part of the facilities or equipment the replacement of which is not exempt from certificate of need review under the medical equipment replacement exemption provided in Section 41-7-191(1)(f), without which the operation of the facility and the health and safety of patients would be immediately jeopardized and health care access would be denied to such patients.  Expenditures under this section shall be limited to the replacement of those necessary facilities or equipment, the loss of which constitutes an emergency; however, in the case of the destruction or major damage to a health care facility, the department shall be authorized to issue a certificate of need to address the current and future health care needs of the community, including, but not limited to, the expansion of the health care facility and/or the relocation of the health care facility.  In exercising the authority granted in this section, the department may waive all or part of the required certificate of need application fee for any application filed under this section if the expenditure would create a further hardship or undue burden on the health care facility.

     SECTION 12.  Section 41-7-209, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

     41-7-209.  (1)  Any person or entity violating the provisions of Sections 41-7-171 through 41-7-209, or regulations promulgated thereunder, by not obtaining a certificate of need, by deviating from the provisions of a certificate of need, or by refusing or failing to cooperate with the State Department of Health in its exercise or execution of its functions, responsibilities and powers shall be subject to the following:

          (a)  Revocation of the license of a health care facility or a designated section, component or bed service thereof, or revocation of the license of any other person for which the State Department of Health is the licensing agency.  If the State Department of Health lacks jurisdiction to revoke the license of such person, the State Health Officer shall recommend and show cause to the appropriate licensing agency that such license should be revoked;

          (b)  Nonlicensure by the State Department of Health of a specific or designated bed service offered by the entity or person;

          (c)  Nonlicensure by the State Department of Health where infractions occur concerning the acquisition or control of major medical equipment;

          (d)  Revoking, rescinding or withdrawing a certificate of need previously issued.

     (2)  Violations of Sections 41-7-171 through 41-7-209, or any rules or regulations promulgated in furtherance thereof by intent, fraud, deceit, unlawful design, willful and/or deliberate misrepresentation, or by careless, negligent or incautious disregard for such statutes or rules and regulations, either by persons acting individually or in concert with others, shall constitute a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($l,000.00) for each such offense. Each day of continuing violation shall be considered a separate offense.  The venue for prosecution of any such violation shall be in any county of the state wherein any such violation, or portion thereof, occurred.

     (3)  The Attorney General, upon certification by the State Health Officer, shall seek injunctive relief in a court of proper jurisdiction to prevent violations of Sections 41-7-171 through 41-7-209 or any rules or regulations promulgated in furtherance of Sections 41-7-171 through 41-7-209 in cases where other administrative penalties and legal sanctions imposed have failed to prevent or cause a discontinuance of any such violation.

     (4)  Major third party payers, public or private, shall be notified of any violation or infraction under this section and shall be requested to take such appropriate punitive action as is provided by law.

     SECTION 13.  Section 9-1-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     9-1-105.  (1)  Whenever any judicial officer is unwilling or unable to hear a case or unable to hold or attend any of the courts at the time and place required by law by reason of the physical disability or sickness of such judicial officer, by reason of the absence of such judicial officer from the state, by reason of the disqualification of such judicial officer pursuant to the provision of Section 165, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, or any provision of the Code of Judicial Conduct, or for any other reason, the Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court, with the advice and consent of a majority of the justices of the Mississippi Supreme Court, may appoint a person as a special judge to hear the case or attend and hold a court.

     (2)  Upon the request of the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, the senior judge of a chancery or circuit court district, the senior judge of a county court, or upon his own motion, the Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court, with the advice and consent of a majority of the justices of the Mississippi Supreme Court, shall have the authority to appoint a special judge to serve on a temporary basis in a circuit, chancery or county court in the event of an emergency or overcrowded docket.  It shall be the duty of any special judge so appointed to assist the court to which he is assigned in the disposition of causes so pending in such court for whatever period of time is designated by the Chief Justice.  The Chief Justice, in his discretion, may appoint the special judge to hear particular cases, a particular type of case, or a particular portion of the court's docket.

     (3)  When an appeal is taken from a final order of the State Department of Health pertaining to a certificate of need under Section 41-7-201, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, with the advice and consent of a majority of the justices of the Supreme Court, shall appoint a person as a special chancery judge to hear the appeal within fifteen (15) calendar days after the date that the appeal is filed with the Supreme Court, as provided in Section 41-7-201.  The Supreme Court shall not appoint a person as the special chancery judge (a) if the person is a resident of the county of any of the parties to the appeal, or (b) if the person is a currently sitting judge or retired judge and the health care facility, equipment, or service or capital expenditure that is the subject of the certificate of need is located or to be located in the county or judicial district in which the judge serves or in which the retired judge previously served.

     (4)  When a vacancy exists for any of the reasons enumerated in Section 9-1-103, the vacancy has not been filled within seven (7) days by an appointment by the Governor, and there is a pending cause or are pending causes in the court where the vacancy exists that in the interests of justice and in the orderly dispatch of the court's business require the appointment of a special judge, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, with the advice and consent of a majority of the justices of the Mississippi Supreme Court, may appoint a qualified person as a special judge to fill the vacancy until the Governor makes his appointment and such appointee has taken the oath of office.

     ( * * *45)  If the Chief Justice pursuant to this section shall make an appointment within the authority vested in the Governor by reason of Section 165, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, the Governor may at his election appoint a person to so serve.  In the event that the Governor makes such an appointment, any appointment made by the Chief Justice pursuant to this section shall be void and of no further force or effect from the date of the Governor's appointment.

     ( * * *56)  When a judicial officer is unwilling or unable to hear a case or unable or unwilling to hold court for a period of time not to exceed two (2) weeks, the trial judge or judges of the affected district or county and other trial judges may agree among themselves regarding the appointment of a person for such case or such limited period of time.  The trial judges shall submit a notice to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court informing him of their appointment.  If the Chief Justice does not appoint another person to serve as special judge within seven (7) days after receipt of such notice, the person designated in such order shall be deemed appointed.

     ( * * *67)  A person appointed to serve as a special judge may be any currently sitting or retired chancery, circuit or county court judge, Court of Appeals judge or Supreme Court Justice, or any other person possessing the qualifications of the judicial office for which the appointment is made; however, a judge or justice who was retired from service at the polls shall not be eligible for appointment as a special judge in the district in which he served prior to his defeat.

     ( * * *78)  Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this section, the need for an appointment pursuant to this section may be certified to the Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court by any attorney in good standing or other officer of the court.

     ( * * *89)  The order appointing a person as a special judge pursuant to this section shall describe as specifically as possible the duration of the appointment.

     ( * * *910)  A special judge appointed pursuant to this section shall take the oath of office, if necessary, and shall, for the duration of his appointment, enjoy the full power and authority of the office to which he is appointed.

     ( * * *1011)  Any currently sitting justice or judge appointed as a special judge under this section shall receive no additional compensation for his or her service as special judge.  Any other person appointed as a special judge hereunder shall, for the period of his service, receive compensation from the state for each day's service a sum equal to 1/260ths of the current salary in effect for the judicial office; however, no retired chancery, circuit or county court judge, retired Court of Appeals judge or any retired Supreme Court Justice appointed as a special judge pursuant to this section may, during any fiscal year, receive compensation in excess of fifty percent (50%) of the current salary in effect for a chancery or circuit court judge.  Any person appointed as a special judge shall be reimbursed for travel expenses incurred in the performance of the official duties to which he may be appointed hereunder in the same manner as other public officials and employees as provided by Section 25-3-41, Mississippi Code of 1972.

     ( * * *1112)  If any person appointed as such special judge is receiving retirement benefits by virtue of the provisions of the Public Employees' Retirement Law of 1952, appearing as Sections 25-11-1 through 25-11-139, * * *Mississippi Code of 1972, such benefits shall not be reduced in any sum whatsoever because of such service, nor shall any sum be deducted as contributions toward retirement under * * *said that law.

     ( * * *1213)  The Supreme Court shall have authority to prescribe rules and regulations reasonably necessary to implement and give effect to the provisions of this section.

     ( * * *1314)  Nothing in this section shall abrogate the right of attorneys engaged in a case to agree upon a member of the bar to preside in a case pursuant to Section 165 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890.

     ( * * *1415)  The Supreme Court shall prepare the necessary payroll for special judges appointed pursuant to this section and shall submit such payroll to the Department of Finance and Administration.

     ( * * *1516)  Special judges appointed pursuant to this section shall direct requests for reimbursement for travel expenses authorized pursuant to this section to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court shall submit such requests to the Department of Finance and Administration.  The Supreme Court shall have the power to adopt rules and regulations regarding the administration of travel expenses authorized pursuant to this section.

     SECTION 14.  Section 41-3-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     41-3-15.  (1)  (a)  There shall be a State Department of Health.

          (b)  The State Board of Health shall have the following powers and duties:

              (i)  To formulate the policy of the State Department of Health regarding public health matters within the jurisdiction of the department;

              (ii)  To adopt, modify, repeal and promulgate, after due notice and hearing, and enforce rules and regulations implementing or effectuating the powers and duties of the department under any and all statutes within the department's jurisdiction, and as the board may deem necessary;

              (iii)  To apply for, receive, accept and expend any federal or state funds or contributions, gifts, trusts, devises, bequests, grants, endowments or funds from any other source or transfers of property of any kind;

              (iv)  To enter into, and to authorize the executive officer to execute contracts, grants and cooperative agreements with any federal or state agency or subdivision thereof, or any public or private institution located inside or outside the State of Mississippi, or any person, corporation or association in connection with carrying out the provisions of this chapter, if it finds those actions to be in the public interest and the contracts or agreements do not have a financial cost that exceeds the amounts appropriated for those purposes by the Legislature;

              (v)  To appoint, upon recommendation of the Executive Officer of the State Department of Health, a Director of Internal Audit who shall be either a Certified Public Accountant or Certified Internal Auditor, and whose employment shall be continued at the discretion of the board, and who shall report directly to the board, or its designee; and

              (vi)  To discharge such other duties, responsibilities and powers as are necessary to implement the provisions of this chapter.

          (c)  The Executive Officer of the State Department of Health shall have the following powers and duties:

              (i)  To administer the policies of the State Board of Health within the authority granted by the board;

              (ii)  To supervise and direct all administrative and technical activities of the department, except that the department's internal auditor shall be subject to the sole supervision and direction of the board;

              (iii)  To organize the administrative units of the department in accordance with the plan adopted by the board and, with board approval, alter the organizational plan and reassign responsibilities as he or she may deem necessary to carry out the policies of the board;

              (iv)  To coordinate the activities of the various offices of the department;

              (v)  To employ, subject to regulations of the State Personnel Board, qualified professional personnel in the subject matter or fields of each office, and such other technical and clerical staff as may be required for the operation of the department.  The executive officer shall be the appointing authority for the department, and shall have the power to delegate the authority to appoint or dismiss employees to appropriate subordinates, subject to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board;

              (vi)  To recommend to the board such studies and investigations as he or she may deem appropriate, and to carry out the approved recommendations in conjunction with the various offices;

              (vii)  To prepare and deliver to the Legislature and the Governor on or before January 1 of each year, and at such other times as may be required by the Legislature or Governor, a full report of the work of the department and the offices thereof, including a detailed statement of expenditures of the department and any recommendations the board may have;

              (viii)  To prepare and deliver to the Chairmen of the Public Health and Welfare/Human Services Committees of the Senate and House on or before January 1 of each year, a plan for monitoring infant mortality in Mississippi and a full report of the work of the department on reducing Mississippi's infant mortality and morbidity rates and improving the status of maternal and infant health; and

              (ix)  To enter into contracts, grants and cooperative agreements with any federal or state agency or subdivision thereof, or any public or private institution located inside or outside the State of Mississippi, or any person, corporation or association in connection with carrying out the provisions of this chapter, if he or she finds those actions to be in the public interest and the contracts or agreements do not have a financial cost that exceeds the amounts appropriated for those purposes by the Legislature.  Each contract or agreement entered into by the executive officer shall be submitted to the board before its next meeting.

     (2)  The State Board of Health shall have the authority to establish an Office of Rural Health within the department.  The duties and responsibilities of this office shall include the following:

          (a)  To collect and evaluate data on rural health conditions and needs;

          (b)  To engage in policy analysis, policy development and economic impact studies with regard to rural health issues;

          (c)  To develop and implement plans and provide technical assistance to enable community health systems to respond to various changes in their circumstances;

          (d)  To plan and assist in professional recruitment and retention of medical professionals and assistants; and

          (e)  To establish information clearinghouses to improve access to and sharing of rural health care information.

     (3)  The State Board of Health shall have general supervision of the health interests of the people of the state and to exercise the rights, powers and duties of those acts which it is authorized by law to enforce.

     (4)  The State Board of Health shall have authority:

          (a)  To make investigations and inquiries with respect to the causes of disease and death, and to investigate the effect of environment, including conditions of employment and other conditions that may affect health, and to make such other investigations as it may deem necessary for the preservation and improvement of health.

          (b)  To make such sanitary investigations as it may, from time to time, deem necessary for the protection and improvement of health and to investigate nuisance questions that affect the security of life and health within the state.

          (c)  To direct and control sanitary and quarantine measures for dealing with all diseases within the state possible to suppress same and prevent their spread.

          (d)  To obtain, collect and preserve such information relative to mortality, morbidity, disease and health as may be useful in the discharge of its duties or may contribute to the prevention of disease or the promotion of health in this state.

          (e)  To charge and collect reasonable fees for health services, including immunizations, inspections and related activities, and the board shall charge fees for those services; however, if it is determined that a person receiving services is unable to pay the total fee, the board shall collect any amount that the person is able to pay.  Any increase in the fees charged by the board under this paragraph shall be in accordance with the provisions of Section 41-3-65.

          (f)  (i)  To establish standards for, issue permits and exercise control over, any cafes, restaurants, food or drink stands, sandwich manufacturing establishments, and all other establishments, other than churches, church-related and private schools, and other nonprofit or charitable organizations, where food or drink is regularly prepared, handled and served for pay; and

              (ii)  To require that a permit be obtained from the Department of Health before those persons begin operation.  If any such person fails to obtain the permit required in this subparagraph (ii), the State Board of Health, after due notice and opportunity for a hearing, may impose a monetary penalty not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for each violation.  However, the department is not authorized to impose a monetary penalty against any person whose gross annual prepared food sales are less than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00).  Money collected by the board under this subparagraph (ii) shall be deposited to the credit of the State General Fund of the State Treasury.

          (g)  To promulgate rules and regulations and exercise control over the production and sale of milk pursuant to the provisions of Sections 75-31-41 through 75-31-49.

          (h)  On presentation of proper authority, to enter into and inspect any public place or building where the State Health Officer or his representative deems it necessary and proper to enter for the discovery and suppression of disease and for the enforcement of any health or sanitary laws and regulations in the state.

          (i)  To conduct investigations, inquiries and hearings, and to issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of books and records at any hearing when authorized and required by statute to be conducted by the State Health Officer or the State Board of Health.

          (j)  To promulgate rules and regulations, and to collect data and information, on (i) the delivery of services through the practice of telemedicine; and (ii) the use of electronic records for the delivery of telemedicine services.

          (k)  To enforce and regulate domestic and imported fish as authorized under Section 69-7-601 et seq.

     (5)  (a)  The State Board of Health shall have the authority, in its discretion, to establish programs to promote the public health, to be administered by the State Department of Health. Specifically, those programs may include, but shall not be limited to, programs in the following areas:

              (i)  Maternal and child health;

              (ii)  Family planning;

              (iii)  Pediatric services;

              (iv)  Services to crippled and disabled children;

              (v)  Control of communicable and noncommunicable disease;

              (vi)  Chronic disease;

              (vii)  Accidental deaths and injuries;

              (viii)  Child care licensure;

              (ix)  Radiological health;

              (x)  Dental health;

              (xi)  Milk sanitation;

              (xii)  Occupational safety and health;

              (xiii)  Food, vector control and general sanitation;

              (xiv)  Protection of drinking water;

              (xv)  Sanitation in food handling establishments open to the public;

              (xvi)  Registration of births and deaths and other vital events;

              (xvii)  Such public health programs and services as may be assigned to the State Board of Health by the Legislature or by executive order; and

              (xviii)  Regulation of domestic and imported fish for human consumption.

          (b)  [Deleted]

          (c)  The State Department of Health may undertake such technical programs and activities as may be required for the support and operation of those programs, including maintaining physical, chemical, bacteriological and radiological laboratories, and may make such diagnostic tests for diseases and tests for the evaluation of health hazards as may be deemed necessary for the protection of the people of the state.

     (6)  (a)  The State Board of Health shall administer the local governments and rural water systems improvements loan program in accordance with the provisions of Section 41-3-16.

          (b)  The State Board of Health shall have authority:

              (i)  To enter into capitalization grant agreements with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, or any successor agency thereto;

              (ii)  To accept capitalization grant awards made under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended;

              (iii)  To provide annual reports and audits to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, as may be required by federal capitalization grant agreements; and

              (iv)  To establish and collect fees to defray the reasonable costs of administering the revolving fund or emergency fund if the State Board of Health determines that those costs will exceed the limitations established in the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended.  The administration fees may be included in loan amounts to loan recipients for the purpose of facilitating payment to the board; however, those fees may not exceed five percent (5%) of the loan amount.

     (7)  [Deleted]

     (8)  Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, the State Department of Health shall have the following specific powers:  The State Department of Health is authorized to issue a license to an existing home health agency for the transfer of a county from that agency to another existing home health agency, and to charge a fee for reviewing and making a determination on the application for such transfer not to exceed one-half (1/2) of the authorized fee assessed for the original application for the home health agency, with the revenue to be deposited by the State Department of Health into the special fund created under Section 41-7-188.

     (9)  [Deleted]

     (10)  * * *Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, the State Department of Health shall have the following specific powers:  The State Department of Health is authorized to extend and renew any certificate of need that has expired, and to charge a fee for reviewing and making a determination on the application for such action not to exceed one‑half (1/2) of the authorized fee assessed for the original application for the certificate of need, with the revenue to be deposited by the State Department of Health into the special fund created under Section 41‑7‑188. [Deleted]

     (11)  Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, the State Department of Health shall have the following specific powers:  The State Department of Health is authorized and empowered, to revoke, immediately, the license and require closure of any institution for the aged or infirm, including any other remedy less than closure to protect the health and safety of the residents of said institution or the health and safety of the general public.

     (12)  Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, the State Department of Health shall have the following specific powers:  The State Department of Health is authorized and empowered, to require the temporary detainment of individuals for disease control purposes based upon violation of any order of the State Health Officer, as provided in Section 41-23-5.  For the purpose of enforcing such orders of the State Health Officer, persons employed by the department as investigators shall have general arrest powers.  All law enforcement officers are authorized and directed to assist in the enforcement of such orders of the State Health Officer.

     (13)  Additionally, the State Board of Health and the State Health Officer each are authorized and directed to study the status of health care, in its broadest sense, throughout the state.  The study should include challenges such as access to care; the cost of care; indigent care; providing health care to the incarcerated; the availability of health care workers, paraprofessionals, and professionals; the effects of unhealthy lifestyle choices; the consequences of health care facilities locating in affluent and urban areas to the detriment of less affluent areas, small towns, and rural areas; and negative trends which may cause ill effects if they continue.  The study shall also include opportunities to improve health care, such as greater coordination among state agencies, local governments, and other entities which provide various types of health care; methods of increasing the health care workforce; and methods to increase the location of health care facilities in distressed areas, rural areas, and small towns.  All state agencies, the Legislative Budget Office and the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) are directed to assist the department in developing this study.  This provision does not by itself grant any additional power to the State Board of Health or the State Health Officer to require any entity to operate differently.  It does, however, empower and direct them to obtain information and make recommendations, and it does require all entities to cooperate with the board and health officer as they seek information.

     SECTION 15.  Section 41-4-18, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     41-4-18.  (1)  Notwithstanding * * *Section 41‑7‑191(11) and Section 41‑7‑171 et seq. or any other section of law, the Department of Mental Health shall have the authority to contract with private and/or public entities to transfer beds within intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities owned and operated by the Department of Mental Health to locations owned and operated by private and/or public entities for the purpose of serving individuals with intellectual disabilities in the settings most appropriate to meet their needs.

     (2)  Any license granted to the Department of Mental Health by the Department of Health for the operation of transferred intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities beds shall remain in the name of the Department of Mental Health * * * and shall not be transferred into the name of the contractor unless the contractor has received the appropriate certificates of need.

     SECTION 16.  Section 41-77-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     41-77-1.  For purposes of this chapter:

          (a)  "Birthing center" * * *shall means a publicly or privately owned facility, place or institution constructed, renovated, leased or otherwise established where nonemergency births are planned to occur away from the mother's usual residence following a documented period of prenatal care for a normal uncomplicated pregnancy which has been determined to be low risk through a formal risk scoring examination.  Care provided in a birthing center shall be provided by a licensed physician, or certified nurse midwife, and a registered nurse.  Services provided in a birthing center shall be limited in the following manner:  (i) surgical services shall be limited to those normally performed during uncomplicated childbirth, such as episiotomy and repair, and shall not include operative obstetrics or caesarean sections; (ii) labor shall not be inhibited, stimulated or augmented with chemical agents during the first or second stage of labor; (iii) systemic analgesia may be administered and local anesthesia for pudental block and episiotomy repair may be performed.  General and conductive anesthesia shall not be administered at birthing centers; (iv) patients shall not remain in the facility in excess of twenty-four (24) hours.

     Hospitals are excluded from the definition of a "birthing center" unless they choose to and are qualified to designate a portion or part of the hospital as a birthing center, and nothing herein shall be construed as referring to the usual service provided the pregnant female in the obstetric-gynecology service of an acute care hospital.  Such facility or center, as heretofore stated, shall include the offices of physicians in private practice alone or in groups of two (2) or more; and such facility or center rendering service to pregnant female persons, as stated heretofore and by the rules and regulations promulgated by the licensing agency in furtherance thereof, shall be deemed to be a "birthing center" whether using a similar or different name.  Such center or facility if in any manner is deemed to be or considered to be operated or owned by a hospital or a hospital holding leasing or management company, for profit or not for profit, is required to comply with all birthing center standards governing a "hospital affiliated" birthing center as adopted by the licensing authority.

          (b)  "Hospital affiliated" birthing center * * *shall means a separate and distinct unit of a hospital or a building owned, leased, rented or utilized by a hospital and located in the same county as the hospital for the purpose of providing the service of a "birthing center."  Such center or facility is not required to be licensed separately, and may operate under the license issued to the hospital if it is in compliance with Section 41-9-1 et seq., where applicable, and the rules and regulations promulgated by the licensing agency in furtherance thereof.

          (c)  "Freestanding" birthing center * * *shall means a separate and distinct facility or center or a separate and distinct organized unit of a hospital or other * * * defined persons (Section 41‑7‑173(q)) entity for the purpose of performing the service of a "birthing center."  Such facility or center must be separately licensed and must comply with all licensing standards promulgated by the licensing agency by virtue of this chapter.  Further, such facility or center must be a separate, identifiable entity and must be physically, administratively and financially independent from other operations of any hospital or other health care facility or service and shall maintain a separate and required staff, including administrative staff. * * *  Further, any "birthing center" licensed as a "freestanding" center shall not become a component of any hospital or other health care facility without securing a "certificate of need."

          (d)  "Licensing agency" * * *shall means the State Department of Health.

     SECTION 17.  Section 41-77-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     41-77-5.  No person * * *as defined in Section 41‑7‑173(q), Mississippi Code of 1972 or other entity, acting severally or jointly with any other person or entity, shall establish, conduct or maintain a "birthing center" in this state without a license under this chapter.

     SECTION 18.  Section 41-77-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     41-77-21.  Any applicant or licensee aggrieved by the decision of the licensing agency after a hearing may, within thirty (30) days after the mailing or serving of notice of the decision as provided in Section 43-11-11, * * *Mississippi Code of 1972, file a notice of appeal to the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County or in the chancery court of the county in which the institution is located or proposed to be located.  * * *If such notice of appeal is filed, it shall comply with Section 41‑7‑201(2), (3) and (4), Mississippi Code of 1972. Thereupon, the licensing agency shall * * *, within the time and in the manner prescribed in Section 41‑7‑201(2), certify and file with the court a copy of the record and decision, including the transcript of the hearings in which the decision is based.  No new or additional evidence shall be introduced in court; the case shall be determined upon the record certified to the court.  The court may sustain or dismiss the appeal, modify or vacate the order complained of in whole or in part, as the case may be; but in case the order is wholly or partly vacated, the court may also, in its discretion, remand the matter to the licensing agency for such further proceedings, not inconsistent with the court's order, as, in the opinion of the court, justice may require.  The order may not be vacated or set aside, either in whole or in part, except for errors of law, unless the court finds that the order of the licensing agency is not supported by substantial evidence, is contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence, is in excess of the statutory authority or jurisdiction of the licensing agency, or violates any vested constitutional rights of any party involved in the appeal.  Pending final disposition of the matter, the status quo of the applicant or licensee shall be preserved, except as the court otherwise orders in the public interest.  Rules with respect to court costs in other cases in chancery shall apply equally to cases hereunder.  Appeals in accordance with law may be had to the Supreme Court of the State of Mississippi from any final judgment of the chancery court.

     SECTION 19.  Section 41-77-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     41-77-23.  Any person or persons or other entity or entities establishing, managing or operating a "birthing center" or conducting the business of a "birthing center" without the required license, or which otherwise violate any of the provisions of this chapter * * * or the Mississippi Health Care Commission Law of 1979, as amended, or the rules, regulations or standards promulgated in furtherance of any law in which the * * *commission licensing agency has authority therefor, shall be subject to the following penalties and sanctions * * *of Section 41‑7‑209, Mississippi Code of 1972.:

          (a)  Revocation of the license of the birthing center or a designated section, component or service thereof; or

          (b)  Nonlicensure of a specific or designated service offered by the birthing center.

     In addition, any violation of any provision of this chapter or any rules or regulations promulgated in furtherance thereof by intent, fraud, deceit, unlawful design, willful and/or deliberate misrepresentation, or by careless, negligent or incautious disregard for such statutes or rules and regulations, either by persons acting individually or in concert with others, shall constitute a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for each such offense.  Each day of continuing violation shall be considered a separate offense.  The venue for prosecution of any such violation shall be in any county of the state in which any such violation, or portion thereof, occurred.

     SECTION 20.  Section 41-77-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     41-77-25.  Upon receipt of an application for license and the license fee, the licensing agency shall issue a license if the applicant and the institutional facilities meet the requirements established under this chapter * * * and the requirements of Section 41‑7‑173 et seq., where determined by the licensing agency to be applicable.  A license, unless suspended or revoked, shall be renewable annually upon payment of a renewal fee of Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00), which shall be paid to the licensing agency, and upon filing by the licensee and approval by the licensing agency of an annual report upon such uniform dates and containing such information in such form as the licensing agency requires.  Any increase in the fee charged by the licensing agency under this section shall be in accordance with the provisions of Section 41-3-65.  Each license shall be issued only for the premises and person or persons named in the application and shall not be transferable or assignable.  Licenses shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the licensed premises.

     SECTION 21.  Section 41-7-202, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides for a stay of proceedings of written decisions of the State Department of Health pertaining to certificates of need for certain health care facilities, is repealed.

     SECTION 22.  This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2025.

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