In 1981, the State Health Planning and Development Agency, a division of the Georgia Dept. of Human Resources began evaluating all proposals for new or expanded health care services or facilities in Georgia to determine that the service or facility is needed and to prevent unnecessary duplication. In 1999, the Certificate of Need or CON program was transferred to the Division of Health Planning in the newly created Dept. of Community Health. Pre-1981 files in this series concern the granting of funds under the federal Hill-Burton Act for hospital construction and modernization. Regulatory Project files or CON files include applications and supporting documentation; the decision of the agency; and follow-up documentation. All applications are assigned a project file number. Certificates are valid for one year. If an application is denied, the individual project file includes the recommendation from the health planning agency with reasons for the denial. Files include appeals, which may be filed by the applicant if an application is denied or by competitors if an application is granted.