Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. Purpose. The
Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs (GOEA) shall provide an opportunity for a
hearing and issue a written decision to service providers or applicants to
provide services whose application under an area plan is denied or whose
contract is terminated or not renewed.
B. Right to a Hearing. Any service provider
or applicant to provide services whose application under an area plan is denied
or whose contract is terminated or not renewed, except as provided in 45 CFR
Part 74, Subpart M, may request a hearing by GOEA on such action after all
hearing procedures of the area agency on aging (AAA) have been
exhausted.
C. Request for Hearing
1. A petitioner must request the hearing from
GOEA within 30 days following receipt of the AAA's final action
letter.
2. The request for the
hearing shall be in writing and must state with specificity all grounds upon
which petitioner refutes the basis of the action. The notice must include:
a. a copy of the AAA's action
letter;
b. the dates of all
relevant actions;
c. the names of
individuals and organizations involved in the action appealed;
d. a citation of any provision of the Older
Americans Act or accompanying regulations believed to have been violated by the
AAA in taking the action appealed; and
e. a certified copy of the resolution by
which, or of minutes of the meeting at which, the petitioner's governing body
authorized the appeal; and
f.
designation of one or more persons to represent it during the appeal, both by
majority vote of a quorum of the governing body.
D. Submission of Hearing
1. The AAA, upon written request from GOEA,
shall furnish copies of the following documents to the GOEA:
a. the minutes of the meeting of the AAA's
governing body at which the subject action was considered and taken;
b. the minutes of the meeting of the AAA's
advisory council at which the subject action was considered and
recommended;
c. area agency
memoranda, staff reports, and evaluations relevant to the action
appealed;
d. the criteria used in
awarding the contract involved in the hearing; and
e. the petitioner's application for the
contract involved in the hearing.
2. No additional evidence may be admitted on
the hearing unless the director of GOEA requests it or schedules an evidentiary
hearing under
§1271
E
E. Evidentiary Hearing
1. If the director of GOEA determines that a
hearing involves a dispute as to a material fact the resolution of which would
be materially assisted by oral testimony, he/she may schedule a hearing to take
testimony. The director shall provide all parties at least 10 working days
notice of the date, place, and time of the hearing. Said notice shall be sent
by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested. The notice shall
include a statement that with agreement of all affected parties, hearings may
be conducted by telephone conference or other electronic means.
2. The director may serve as the hearing
examiner, or may appoint an impartial hearing examiner to preside at the
hearing. The hearing examiner shall have the powers described in
§1267
F
3. The rules of evidence
described in
§1267.
G shall apply to an evidentiary hearing under
this Section.
4. The hearing
examiner shall make a record of the evidentiary hearing in accordance with
§1267
M
5. The rules pertaining to
evidence, ex parte consultations, depositions, hearings and transcripts shall
be as provided in Subsections G, H, I, J, and K of §1267,
respectively.
F. Final
Decision
1. The director shall decide all
hearings under this rule but may direct a GOEA employee to make an initial
review and recommend a decision.
2.
The director shall decide the hearing solely on the basis of the record. The
director shall not substitute his/her judgment for that of the AAA as to the
weight of the evidence on matters committed to the AAA's discretion. The
director shall affirm the action heard unless it is unlawful, arbitrary, or not
reasonably supported by substantial evidence in the record.
3. The director shall render a final decision
on the hearing in writing within 120 days after receipt of the notice of
appeal. The director shall send a copy of the final decision to each party by
registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, within three days after
it is rendered.
G.
Rehearing. Procedures for rehearing and appeal shall be governed by
R.S.
49:959 and 965.
H. Record. The record for the hearing under
this rule shall consist of the material listed in
§1267.
M
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with OAA Section
307(a)(5)
