1. (a) All final decisions and orders of the board shall be made during a public meeting duly noticed pursuant to the chapter 551 of the Government Code (relating to Open Meetings). The board's decisions and orders shall be in writing and reported in the minutes of the meeting. A final order of the board shall include findings of fact and conclusions of law, separately stated.
2. (b) A copy of the final decision or order of the board shall be delivered or mailed to all parties or, if represented by counsel, to their attorney of record.

3. (c) It is the policy of the board to change a finding of fact or conclusion of law or to vacate or modify any proposed order of an ALJ when the proposed order is:

   1. (1) erroneous;
   2. (2) against the weight of the evidence;
   3. (3) based on unsound accounting principles or auditing standards;
   4. (4) based on insufficient review of the evidence;
   5. (5) not sufficient to protect the public interest;
   6. (6) not sufficient to adequately allow rehabilitation of the licensee;
   7. (7) an infringement on the board's discretion to determine the board's policies; or
   8. (8) to correct a technical error.
4. (d) If the board modifies, amends, or changes the ALJ's recommended order, an order shall be prepared reflecting the board's changes and the board's specific reasons and legal basis for the changes.

5. (e) A final order or board decision is administratively final when:

   1. (1) there is no filing of a timely motion for rehearing, upon the expiration of 20 days from the date the final order or board decision is entered; or
   2. (2) a timely motion for rehearing is filed and the motion for rehearing is denied by board order or operation of law.
6. (f) The board shall make the final decision in all disciplinary matters, including the assessment of sanctions.
7. (g) Interpretive comment. Section 2001.058 of the Administrative Procedure Act provides the standards that a governmental agency must follow in changing a recommendation of an Administrative Law Judge of the State Office of Administrative Hearings. Case law makes it clear that the standards must be strictly adhered to in order to be valid. The above language addresses the required standards.

Source Note:The provisions of this §519.72 adopted to be effective June 9, 2004, 29 TexReg 5634; amended to be effective February 15, 2007, 32 TexReg 530.