1. (a) Upon receipt of a pleading which is intended to institute a proceeding before the department and complies with this chapter as to form and content, the hearings clerk shall docket the same as a pending proceeding, number it in accordance with any established docket numbering system of the department, and assign an administrative law judge to the action. If the action is to be referred to SOAH for hearing, the action shall be referred to SOAH in accordance with the joint memorandum of understanding between the department and SOAH.
2. (b) Upon the receipt of a request for setting of a hearing on a docketed case, the hearings clerk shall, in coordination with the administrative law judge assigned to the case, set a hearing date and prepare the notice of hearing. If the case has been referred to SOAH for hearing, the setting of the hearing and preparation and mailing of the notice of hearing shall be done in accordance with the joint memorandum of understanding between the department and SOAH.
3. (c) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the notice of hearing shall be issued by the administrative law judge and served on parties as provided at §1.5 of this title (relating to Filing and Service of Documents).
4. (d) The notice of hearing shall comply with the provisions of the Administrative Procedure and Texas Register Act, §2001.052.
5. (e) Except upon a showing of good cause, all contested case hearings in which the department is a party shall be held at the offices of SOAH located in Austin. For cases heard by the department under the Texas Agriculture Code (the Code), Chapter 103, the location of hearings shall be provided in the Code, §103.006. A party may request a change of location by sending a written request stating the reasons compelling such a change to the administrative law judge assigned to the case. Any such request shall conform with the requirements of these rules and shall be served upon parties in accordance with §1.5 of this title (relating to Filing and Service of Documents).

Source Note:The provisions of this §1.13 adopted to be effective January 18, 1991, 16 TexReg 113; amended to be effective August 3, 1993, 18 TexReg 4747; amended to be effective August 23, 1996, 21 TexReg 7656.