Section 401.17. Prohibited communications with the Department—statement of policy

(a) After the conclusion of a public meeting on a Certificate of Need application held under section 704(b) of the act (35 P. S. § 448.104(b)), there may be no ex parte contacts with the Department.

(b) For purposes of this section, an ex parte contact is communication between the following individuals and any member of the Department exercising any responsibility for the applicant:

(1) The applicant for a Certificate of Need.

(2) A person acting on behalf of the applicant.

(3) A person who supports or opposes the granting of a Certificate of Need.

(c) The Department will not accept telephone calls from any of the individuals listed in subsection (b)(1)—(3) after the public meeting, unless that call consists only of a request for a status report. A ‘‘status report’’ consists of a statement of the progress of the review of a Certificate of Need application. Communication regarding the substantive elements of a Certificate of Need application is not a status report.

(d) At the conclusion of the public meeting, the meeting officer will announce a schedule during which communications and responses to those communications will be received by the Department and the date upon which the record will be closed. After the public meeting, the Department will not accept written communications from the individuals listed in subsection (b)(1)—(3), unless the document indicates that copies have been sent to those persons who attended the public meeting. If no notation is made on the document, it will be returned by the Department to the sender and will not be considered by the Department in its review of the project nor will it become part of the official file.

(e) If a public meeting is not held, there may be no ex parte contacts with the Department after the time has expired for interested persons to request a public meeting as set forth in section 704(b) of the act. After that date, the individuals listed in subsection (b)(1)—(3) may not contact the Department, except for requests for a status report.

The provisions of this § 401.17 adopted December 2, 1994, effective December 3, 1994, 24 Pa.B. 5993.