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 Texas 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) The board may change a finding of fact or conclusion of law made by the ALJ, or may vacate or modify an order issued by the ALJ, only if the board determines:

   1. (1) that the ALJ did not properly apply or interpret applicable law, agency rules, written policies provided to the ALJ with a written statement of applicable rules or policies, or prior administrative decisions;
   2. (2) that a prior administrative decision on which the ALJ relied is incorrect or should be changed; or
   3. (3) that a technical error in a finding of fact should be changed.
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 reason 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 APA provides the standards that a governmental agency must follow in changing a recommendation of an ALJ of SOAH. 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; amended to be effective June 11, 2008, 33 TexReg 4505; amended to be effective February 9, 2012, 37 TexReg 495.