§16-2D-16. Appeal of certificate of need a decision.

(a) An applicant or an affected person may appeal the authority’s final decision in a certificate of need review to the Office of Judges. The request shall be received within thirty days after the date of the authority’s decision.  The appeal hearing shall commence within thirty days of receipt of the request.

(b) The Office of Judges shall conduct its proceedings in conformance with the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure for trial courts of record and the local rules for use in the civil courts of Kanawha County and shall review appeals in accordance with the provisions governing the judicial review of contested administrative cases in article five, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.

(c) The decision of the Office of Judges shall be made in writing within forty-five days after the conclusion of the hearing.

(d) The written findings of the Office of Judges shall be sent to the person who requested the appeal, to the person proposing the proposed health service and to the authority, and shall be made available by the authority to others upon request.

(e) The decision of the Office of Judges shall be considered the final decision of the authority; however, the Office of Judges may remand the matter to the authority for further action or consideration.

(f) Upon the entry of a final decision by the Office of Judges, an affected person may within thirty days after the date of the decision of the Office of Judges make an appeal in the circuit court of Kanawha County. The decision of the Office of Judges shall be reviewed by the circuit court in accordance with the provisions for the judicial review of administrative decisions contained in article five, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.