127175
. (a) The office shall exempt from Sections 127210 to 127275,
inclusive, and shall issue a certificate of exemption for those
projects that were not previously subject to review under Section
127155 prior to the effective date of this section where the
applicant has shown and the office director has found all of the
following:
(1) The applicant has, prior to the effective date of this
section, committed or incurred a financial obligation, including any
obligation payable by force account, that is certified by a licensed
architect or engineer to be 10 percent of the cost of the total
project, or seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000), whichever is
less.
(2) The project cannot be terminated without substantial economic
loss to the applicant.
(3) Except with respect to projects set forth in subdivision (d)
of Section 127170, the project was commenced prior to the effective
date of this section and is being diligently pursued to completion.
(4) The applicant has filed a notice of the project with the
office on forms supplied by the office within 60 days of the
effective date of this section.
For the purposes of this subdivision, "project" shall mean any
project set forth in Section 127170, and the term "financial
obligation" shall include cost factors set forth in the definition of
"capital expenditure" in Section 127170.
Within 120 days of the effective date of this section, the office
shall determine in public hearing the applications that are entitled
to an exemption under this subdivision.
(b) In addition, the office shall exempt from Sections 127210 to
127275, inclusive, and shall issue a certificate of need for those
projects where the applicant has shown and the office director has
found one of the following:
(1) The project is necessary solely to replace health care
services that are no longer available at the facility because of a
disaster or other emergency.
(2) The project is solely for the purpose of complying with
requirements of law or regulations.
(3) The project was the subject of an application submitted to an
area health planning agency prior to the effective date of this
section. These applications shall be processed and decided in the
manner prescribed by this chapter as it existed immediately prior to
the operative date of this section, except that any petition for
appeal of a decision or lack of decision the area health planning
agency rendered after the effective date of this section shall be
made directly to the Advisory Health Council.
(4) The project is to add not more than 10 percent of licensed bed
capacity or 10 beds, whichever is less, to an existing general acute
care hospital, an existing acute psychiatric hospital, an existing
special hospital, an existing general acute care/rehabilitating
hospital, or an existing chemical dependency recovery hospital, where
the applicant has shown and the office director has found that:
(A) The applicant hospital has not been granted a certificate of
exemption pursuant to this provision or pursuant to Section 437.112,
as Section 437.112 existed on January 1, 1982, within the last
preceding 24 months.
(B) The applicant hospital has had an occupancy rate for the
classification of beds to be added, and for the facility as a whole,
for the preceding 12-month period, of not less than 85 percent.
(C) The facility is accessible to persons for whom the cost of
care is reimbursed under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of
Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. In the
case of an acute psychiatric hospital, the showing required by this
subparagraph shall be limited to those categories of patients for
whom acute psychiatric hospitals are eligible to receive
reimbursement under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part
3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(5) The project is to add not more than five beds to an existing
skilled nursing facility that is operated as a distinct part of a
primary health service hospital, as defined in Section 1339.9 that
participates in Medi-Cal programs, provided that all of the following
conditions exist:
(A) At the time of the application, the Statewide Health Facility
and Services Plan indicates a need for the proposed number of beds,
taking into account the number of approved beds in the health
facilities planning area where the project is located including beds
approved pursuant to this subdivision.
(B) The applicant skilled nursing facility has had at least a 95
percent occupancy rate for existing beds for the 12 months preceding
the submission of an application.
(C) The applicant facility has not been issued within the 12
months preceding application a citation for a class A violation or
more than one class B violation, as defined in Section 1424, that is
one of the following:
(i) Uncontested.
(ii) Contested, but not adjudicated.
(iii) Contested, but sustained upon adjudication.
In determining the current number of approved beds in the health
facilities planning area where the project is located, the office
shall count the number of beds for which applications for a
certificate of need have been deemed complete pursuant to Section
127220, before the effective date of the amendments to this section
enacted by the Statutes of 1983.
The project shall not require a capital expenditure that exceeds
ten thousand dollars ($10,000), and only one project may be approved
for a facility in a 12-month period. However, no facility shall
receive approval pursuant to this section for more than two projects.
The office shall annually adjust this capital expenditure threshold
to reflect changes in the cost of living as determined by the
Department of Finance, using 1981 as the base year.
Any certificate issued for projects shall expire if the applicant
does not complete the project within 12 months after issuance unless
the office, for good cause shown, extends the certificate.
(c) A certificate of exemption issued pursuant to this section or
Section 1268 shall, for all purposes, have the same effect as a
certificate of need issued pursuant to this chapter.