- (a) Unless precluded by law, informal disposition may be made of any contested case by stipulation, agreed settlement, consent order, default, or dismissal.
- (b) Prior to the imposition of disciplinary sanction(s) against a license, the licensee shall be offered an opportunity to attend an informal conference and show compliance with all requirements of law, in accordance with §2001.054(c) of the Administrative Procedure Act.
- (c) Informal conferences shall be attended by the executive director/secretary or designated representative, legal counsel of the agency or an attorney employed by the office of the attorney general, and other representative(s) of the agency as the executive director/secretary and legal counsel may deem necessary for proper conduct of the conference. The licensee and/or the licensee's authorized representative(s) may attend the informal conference and shall be provided an opportunity to be heard.
- (d) In any case where charges are based upon information provided by a person (complainant) who filed a complaint with the board, the complainant may attend the informal conference, unless the proceedings are confidential under §§564.002 and 564.003 of the Texas Pharmacy Act or other applicable law. A complainant who chooses to attend an informal conference shall be provided an opportunity to be heard with regard to charges based upon the information provided by the complainant. Nothing herein requires a complainant to attend an informal conference.
- (e) Informal conferences shall not be deemed meetings of the board and no formal record of the proceedings at such conferences shall be made or maintained.
- (f) Any proposed consent order shall be presented to the board for its review. At the conclusion of its review, the board shall approve or disapprove the proposed consent order. Should the board approve the proposed consent order, the appropriate notation shall be made in minutes of the board and the proposed consent order shall be entered as an official action of the board. Should the board disapprove the proposed consent order, the matter shall be scheduled for public hearing.
Source Note:The provisions of this §281.22 adopted to be effective December 30, 1998, 23 TexReg 13073; amended to be effective December 27, 2000, 25 TexReg 12689.