The burden of proof shall be on the appellant. Appellants or applicants shall proceed first with their cases before the hearing officer in the order determined by the hearing officer, and the department, if a party, shall proceed last. In the event of a consolidated hearing on applications which were joined for comparative review pursuant to subsection (f) of Code Section 31-6-43, the hearing officer shall have the same powers specified for the department in subsection (f) of Code Section 31-6-43 to order the issuance of no certificate of need or one or more certificates of need.
Such final decision shall be the final department decision for purposes of Chapter 13 of Title 50, the 'Georgia Administrative Procedure Act.' The appeals process provided by this Code section shall be the administrative remedy only for decisions made by the department pursuant to Code Section 31-6-43which involve the approval or denial of applications for certificates of need.
OCGA § 31-6-44