Section 22-21-271 Certificates of Need - Application Fees; Appropriation of Funds; Disposition of Fees.

(a) Each application for a certificate of need shall be accompanied by a fee of one percent of the estimated cost of the proposed cost of the new Institutional Health Service, or a maximum of twelve thousand dollars ($12,000) (indexed) per application. Provided, that the application fee shall be three-fourths of one percent of the estimated cost of the proposed new Institutional Health Service, or a maximum of eight thousand dollars ($8,000) if the applicant has had an average daily census comprised of 50 percent or more Medicaid patients within the last year prior to the filing of the application and a maximum of six thousand dollars ($6,000) if a rural hospital applicant has had an average daily census comprised of 30 percent or more Medicaid/Medicare patients within the last year prior to the filing of the application. The minimum fee shall be set by the SHPDA. Fees shall be used for the purpose of defraying the lawful operating expense of the certificate of need program conducted by the SHPDA and of the Statewide Health Coordinating Council. (b) Each request for an opinion from the State Agency as to whether a project is subject to review under this article shall be accompanied by a fee to be established by the SHPDA. (c) SHPDA, by rule approved by the Certificate of Need Review Board or the Statewide Health Coordinating Council, as applicable, may impose additional reasonable fees for any administrative filing by a health care provider for which a fee is not specified in this chapter, and for any non-routine data compilation or summary. Nothing in this subsection shall authorize SHPDA to impose a fee for the initial publication of any report or statistical update which it is required to publish under law or rule. (d) In addition to all other fees, SHPDA shall impose a temporary surcharge of two thousand dollars ($2,000) on each certificate of need application and three hundred dollars ($300) for each reviewability determination to defray expenses incurred in developing and implementing, by January 1, 2014, an online, searchable filing system for filings and orders in administrative proceedings and requests for reviewability or exemption determinations and related agency findings. The surcharge shall automatically terminate on the first day of the ninth month after certification to the CON Review Board by SHPDA’s Executive Director that the online filing system has been successfully implemented. (e) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated from the General Fund of the State of Alabama such amounts as may be necessary from time to time to defray the costs of administering this article over and above such fees as may be collected under this section. (f) Application fees collected under this article shall not be refundable. Fees collected under this article are hereby appropriated for the purposes stated in this article. (g) All fees collected under this article shall be retained in a separate fund for the purpose of enforcing and administering this article, and shall be disbursed as other funds of the state are disbursed.