by James C. Sherlock

Versailles Hall of Mirrors
In Versailles’ Hall of Mirrors, everything is reflected hundreds of times.
The mirrors were also a commercial. They represented an effort of Louis XIV to establish for France monopolies on the production of luxury goods.
Virginia’s Certificate of Public Need (COPN) law and regulations represent a similar structure.
Everything in the process reflects back on itself. Those reflections both reinforce the structure and cement monopolies. Though it represents the intrigue of Versailles, COPN lacks beauty and grace. But, in another similarity, neither Louis nor Virginia’s General Assembly tried to represent the interests of the people in these enterprises.
This essay will help explain how COPN works. It would be shorter if the tentacles of COPN were not so completely enveloping and self-reinforcing. This is in its entirety both legal and a scandal, as with much else in Virginia politics.
Two recent COPN decisions affect my home area of South Hampton Roads. Those cases pointed to the systemic roadblocks to successfully challenging Sentara Healthcare’s dominance here which will never be surmounted while COPN stands as is. Continue reading