Jan 24, 2009

Proposed Outline of Administrative Rules promulgated by the Maine Board of Corrections. Certificate of Needs Process for the construction, renovation, or expansion of Correctional, Detention or Holding facilities in the State of Maine.

I.  Authority of the Maine Board of Corrections: MRSA Title 34-A Section 1803, subsection 4. Certificate of Need, and subsection 9. Appeals.

Certificate of Need: Subsection 4: The board shall review and may approve any future public or private construction project. The board shall establish a certificate of need process used for the review and approval of any public or private capital correctional construction projects. The board shall adopt rules governing the procedures related to the certificate of need process and financing alternatives. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are major substantive rules as defined in MRSA Title 5, Chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.

Appeals: Subsection 9. Only the department or a county aggravated by a final decision of the board is entitled to judicial review pursuant to MRSA Title 5, section 1101. Such review must be limited to errors of law.

II.  Definitions:

III.  Purpose of a Certificate of Need (CON)

IV.  Application Process

  1. Applicant to file a Letter of Intent to submit a CON to the BOC of the proposed project.
  2. Applicant name, address, contact information;
  3. Description of proposed project to be submitted and mission anticipated within Unified Correctional System;
  4. Anticipated date CON will be submitted to the BOC.
  5. Anticipated cost to conduct preliminary planning necessary to submit a project CON.
  6. Source of funding to conduct preliminary planning to develop and submit project CON.
  7. CON Application
  8. Applicants name, address, and contact information;
  9. Applicants authority to submit CON on behalf of;
  10. Representative official(s) of State, County, Municipal, or Private entity.
  11. Description of proposed Project
  12. Description of the propose project mission within Maine’s Unified Correctional System
  13. Mission within UCS
  14. Benefits of proposed project to UCS
  15. Efficiencies anticipated to be gained by the proposed project
  16. Evidence based practices adopted by the proposed project
  17. Correctional service area to be served
  18. Service area to be served
  19. Regional area, state, county, municipal, private
  20. Type of facility, unit, or specialty program being proposed
  21. Correctional
  22. Detention, short-term, long-term
  23. Holding, 72 hour, 12 hour, 6 hour
  24. Re-Entry
  25. Specialty
  26. Description of the need for the proposed project
  27. Problem and needs statement
  28. Data and Information demonstrating need
  29. Correctional population data of area proposed to be served
  30. Existing population data
  31. Projected population data
  32. Condition and capacity of existing facilities and services to meet need in compliance correctional jail standards and evidence based practices
  33. Facility
  34. Program
  35. Special need
  36. Alternatives taken or explored to meet need
  37. Alternatives to incarceration
  38. Pre-trial services
  39. Contracts for services
  40. Proposed Project Projected Cost Estimate
  41. Design & construction documents
  42. Bidding process/services
  43. Design/Bid, Build
  44. Design/Build
  45. Other
  46. Construction Management
  47. Capital Construction Cost estimates
  48. Construction
  49. Land
  50. Site, utilities
  51. Building
  52. Equipment
  53. Fixed Furnishing, fixtures
  54. Communication, IT
  55. Facility Transition and Activation
  56. Project Financing Options
  57. General Fund Budget
  58. Bond
  59. Correctional Facilities Authority
  60. Certificate of Participation
  61. Lease Purchase
  62. BOC Investment Fund
  63. Other
  64. Fiscal Year Operational and Program Cost
  65. Personnel
  66. Contractual
  67. Commodities
  68. Debt services
  69. Proposed operational and program funding source(s)
  70. Property tax cap
  71. Investment funds
  72. State General Fund
  73. Grants, Other

V.  CON Process

  1. Submission of CON application to BOC and Working Group
  2. Working Group
  3. Assigns review of CON to Inventory/Needs Sub-Committee
  4. Review for completeness and accuracy
  5. Provide technical assistance to applicant
  6. Forwards recommendation(s) to the Working Group
  7. Working Group
  8. Meets with applicant to reviews and discuss final CON
  9. Forwards final CON to BOC
  10. Schedules, within 30 days, a public hearing by the board for applicant to present CON
  11. BOC conducts public hearing on the CON
  12. Applicant presents CON to the BOC
  13. BOC reviews and discuss CON with applicant
  14. BOC hears Work Group and Needs/Inventory Sub-Committee Input
  15. BOC takes public comment
  16. BOC renders Decision within 30 days of the public hearing based on their review, public hearing and merits of the proposal
  17. BOC Approves and issues a CON
  18. Approves with modification or conditions
  19. Applicant accepts modification or conditions
  20. Board issues CON with modification or conditions
  21. BOC denies issuing CON to applicant and states reason/justification.
  22. Appeal Process
  23. BOC notification of applicant’s right to judicial review in Superior Court of the board’s final decision.
  24. Applicant appeal process
  25. Judicial review in Superior Court (Title 5, section 1101)
  26. Limited to errors in law; and
  27. (Need/Inventory subcommittee recommends the statue be revised to include appeals based on the “merits of the proposal”)

VI.  In the case of board approval of the CON, the board and applicant determine and pursue project funding options.

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