1. (a) A notice of violation (NOV) is a notice issued to a system participant when the division finds that the system participant has committed an administrative violation and the division seeks to impose a sanction under the Act or division rules.

2. (b) A NOV shall be in writing and include:

   1. (1) the provision(s) of the Act, rule, order, or decision of the commissioner that the system participant violated;
   2. (2) a summary of the facts that establish that the violation(s) occurred;
   3. (3) a description of the proposed sanction that the division intends to impose;
   4. (4) the right to consent to the charge and the proposed sanction(s);
   5. (5) the right to request a hearing; and
   6. (6) other information about the rights, obligations, and procedures for requesting a hearing.
3. (c) The charged party shall file a written answer to the NOV not later than the twentieth day after the day the notice is received. The answer shall either consent to the proposed sanction, and remit the amount of the penalty, if any, or request a hearing by being filed with the commission's chief clerk of proceedings. If the charged party fails to respond to the NOV within 20 days of receipt of the notice, the division shall schedule a hearing at SOAH and provide notice of hearing to the charged party that meets the requirements of §148.5 of this title (relating to Notice of Hearing).
4. (d) A charged party that receives a notice of hearing under subsection (c) of this section shall, within 20 days of the date on which the notice of hearing is provided to the party, file a written answer or other responsive pleading. Such response shall be filed in accordance with 1 TAC §155.101 (relating to Filing Documents) and §155.103 (relating to Service of Documents on Parties).

5. (e) For purposes of this section, events described in paragraphs (1) or (2) of this subsection constitute a default on the part of a charged party who receives a notice of hearing under subsection (c) of this section:

   1. (1) failure of the charged party to file a written response as provided by subsection (d) of this section; or
   2. (2) failure of the charged party to appear in person or by legal representative on the day and at the time set for hearing in a contested case, regardless of whether a written response has been filed.
6. (f) In the event that a charged party defaults as described by subsection (e) of this section, the division may seek informal disposition by default by the entity having the final decision making power as permitted by Government Code §2001.056.
7. (g) For purposes of this subchapter, "disposition by default" shall mean the issuance of an order against the charged party in which the allegations against the party in the notice of hearing are deemed admitted as true, upon the offer of proof to the entity having the final decision making power that proper notice was provided to the defaulting party. For purposes of this section, proper notice means notice sufficient to meet the provisions of the Government Code §2001.051 and §2001.052 and §148.5 of this title (relating to Notice of Hearing).
8. (h) After informal disposition of a contested case by default, a charged party may file a written motion to set aside the default order and reopen the record. A motion by the charged party to set aside the default order and reopen the record shall be granted if the charged party establishes that the failure to file a written response or to attend the hearing was neither intentional nor the result of conscious indifference, and that such failure was due to a mistake or accident. A motion to set aside the default order and reopen the record shall be filed with the entity having the final decision making power.

Source Note:The provisions of this §180.8 adopted to be effective July 29, 1991, 16 TexReg 3941; amended to be effective December 4, 1995, 20 TexReg 9717; amended to be effective September 14, 2003, 28 TexReg 7711; amended to be effective January 9, 2011, 35 TexReg 11873.