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Committee hears bill to move certificate-of-need notices from newspapers to agency website
Summary
Sen. Dave Fern presented Senate Bill 88 to the House Health and Human Services Committee, saying the agency bill would let the Department of Public Health and Human Services publish certificate-of-need letters of intent on the department website instead of requiring publication in a newspaper on the 10th of each month.
Sen. Dave Fern, D-Swan River, opened the hearing on Senate Bill 88 saying the proposal is an agency housekeeping bill requested by the Department of Public Health and Human Services to change how certificate-of-need letters of intent are published.
The bill would remove the requirement that the department publish a description of each letter of intent in a newspaper of general circulation on the 10th day of each month and instead allow publication exclusively on the department’s certificate-of-need website.
Why it matters: Certificate-of-need letters of intent notify the public before projects that require capital expenditures above statutory thresholds or additions of services or beds may begin. The department told the committee that changes in newspaper publication schedules around the state make it difficult to meet the statutory requirement on the 10th of the month.
Leslie Howe, Grama Support and Improvement Section Supervisor for the Office of Inspector General, testified the department is not able to comply with 55-3-025 of the Montana Code in many parts of the state because local newspapers no longer publish legal notices daily. Howe told the committee that publishing notices on the department’s certificate-of-need website would ensure consistent, timely public notice.
Fern said the measure had passed the Senate unanimously and urged a green vote in committee, characterizing the change as aligning state practice with how Montanans access information today.
No committee members offered opposing testimony during the hearing.
Ending: The committee closed the hearing after questions and stated no additional proponents, opponents or informational witnesses had signed up.
