§16-2D-16a. Transfer of appellate jurisdiction to Intermediate Court of Appeals.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, effective July 1, 2022:

(1) The Office of Judges may not review a decision of the authority, issued after June 30, 2022, in a certificate of need review. On or before September 30, 2022, the Office of Judges shall issue a final decision in, or otherwise dispose of, each and every appeal, pending before the Office of Judges, of a decision by the authority in a certificate of need review.

(2) An appeal of a final decision in a certificate of need review, issued by the authority after June 30, 2022, shall be made to the West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals, pursuant to the provisions governing the judicial review of contested administrative cases in §29A-5-1 et seq. of this code.

(b) If the Office of Judges does not issue a final decision or otherwise dispose of any appeal of a decision of the authority in a certificate of need review on or before September 30, 2022, the appeal shall be transferred to the Intermediate Court of Appeals, as provided in §29A-5-4 of this code. For any appeal transferred pursuant to this subsection, the Intermediate Court of Appeals shall adopt any existing records of evidence and proceedings in the Office of Judges, conduct further proceedings as it considers necessary, and issue a final decision or otherwise dispose of the case pursuant to the provisions governing the judicial review of contested administrative cases in §29A-5-1 et seq. of this code.