| 7. It instructs the Department of Health and Human Services |
| to review the existing hearing process provided in the laws |
| governing certificates of need to determine whether that process |
| ensures that the Commissioner of Health and Human Services has |
| all the information needed to make a fair and accurate |
| determination of whether each project proposed for certification |
| meets the needs of Maine citizens. It directs the Department of |
| Health and Human Services to conduct the review described and |
| then report its findings and any proposed changes to the law to |
| the joint standing committee of the Legislature having |
| jurisdiction over health and human services matters no later than |
| January 1, 2006. It also requires that the department, by |
| January 1, 2006, review and make recommendations regarding the |
| certificate of need program's staffing needs and fee structure, |
| including comparisons to other states, and report its findings to |
| the joint standing committee of the Legislature having |
| jurisdiction over health and human services matters. |