Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A.
Assessment. As part of a decision, consent order, or other agreed order, the
board may require a respondent to pay all costs of the board proceedings. If
costs are assessed in a consent or other agreed order, the amount shall be
stated in the order.
B. Special
Definition. Costs of the Proceedings-for the purposes of this
rule, shall mean a reasonable charge to meet all obligations incurred by the
board in the performance of its duties, including but not limited to
investigators', stenographers', and attorney fees, witness fees and expenses,
and the per diem and expenses of the members of the board's hearing
panel.
C. Notice. Notice of the
application of this Section shall be provided to a respondent with the written
notice of filing of an administrative complaint, pursuant to 9905.
D. Timing; Content; Service; Scope and
Limitations; Exceptions and Requests for Modification; Disposition. Statements
of Costs shall be processed as follows:
1.
Timing. A statement of costs shall be compiled by the board within 20 days from
the date on which the board's decision is served on the respondent.
2. Content. A statement of costs must state
with particularity the nature and amount of the costs assessed. The statement
must be signed and certify that all reasonable attempts have been made to
ensure the statement's accuracy.
3.
Service. A statement of costs shall be served on respondent by regular and
certified mail at the last known address on file with the board not later than
20 days from the date on which the board's decision is served on the
respondent.
4. Scope and
Limitations. A statement of costs shall be assessed in any decision following
an administrative hearing, in which a respondent is found guilty of a violation
of a law or rule administered by the board. The statement shall include those
costs actually incurred by the board from the time of filing of an
administrative complaint until the issuance of a final decision or order;
provided, however, and except as provided below, that such costs shall not
exceed for a respondent:
a. physician, the sum
of $75,000;
b. allied health care
practitioner, as to whom the board is authorized by law to assess the costs of
the proceeding, the sum of $25,000.
5. Exceptions; Requests for Modification.
Within 20 days of the date of service of the statement of costs:
a. the respondent may file an exception to,
or submit a request for modification of, a statement of costs. Each such
exception or request shall be accompanied by a concise statement of the grounds
on which the exception or request is based and any supporting legal or other
authority. Within 10 days of such filing or submission, a response may be filed
by the complainant;
b. the
complainant may request an assessment of costs above the amounts specified
above. Such a request shall be made only when the complainant contends a
respondent unreasonably increased the costs of the proceedings by activities
undertaken to harass or create undue burden, or by the repetitive, unduly
burdensome, or unwarranted filing of meritless motions or discovery requests.
Within 10 days of the filing of such a request, a response may be filed by the
respondent.
6.
Disposition of Exceptions and Requests for Modification. Upon timely filing:
a. an exception or request shall be referred
to the presiding officer of the hearing panel with respect to the proceeding
for a ruling. The presiding officer, in his or her discretion, may refer an
exception or request to the entire hearing panel which considered the case for
disposition, and any party aggrieved by the ruling of a presiding officer may
request, within 10 days of receipt of the ruling, that the exception or request
be reconsidered by the entire panel which heard the case;
b. the matter shall be ordinarily be decided
on by the presiding officer or the hearing panel, as the case may be, on the
papers filed, without hearing. On the written request of respondent or
complainant, however, and on demonstration that there are good grounds
therefor, the presiding officer may grant opportunity for hearing by oral
argument;
c. the president of the
board or presiding officer of the hearing panel, as the case may be, may
delegate the task of ruling on such exceptions or request to the board's
independent legal counsel appointed pursuant to §9921D, who is independent of
complaint counsel and who has not participated in the investigation or
prosecution of the case.
E. Payment of Costs and Expenses; Periodic
Payment Plan; Waiver
1. A statement of costs
must be satisfied within 30 days of receipt unless the statement of costs
provides otherwise or the respondent enters into a periodic payment plan with
the board's compliance officer assigned to the matter or with another
individual designated by the board.
2. The board's compliance officer or designee
may enter into an agreement with a respondent for a reasonable periodic payment
plan if the respondent demonstrates in writing the present inability to pay
such costs or provides other satisfactory cause to support the
request.
3. A respondent may ask
the board to review an adverse determination by its compliance officer or
designee regarding specific conditions for a periodic payment plan. Such review
shall be conducted in accordance with
§9935.D 6
F. Fine. As part of a decision,
consent order, or other agreed order, the board may require the payment of a
fine; provided, however, that such fine shall not exceed, as to a respondent:
a. physician, the sum of $5,000;
b. allied health care practitioner, the
amount authorized by law, but in no event more than $5,000.
G. Waiver; Adjustment. A statement
of costs or amount of a fine, or both, may be waived or reduced by the board,
in its discretion, in whole or part, upon a request submitted in writing that
evidences to the board's satisfaction a significant medical, physical,
financial or similar extenuating circumstance precluding the individual's
payment of costs or fine or where it appears to the board in the interests of
justice to do so.
H. Failure to
Comply with Assessment of Costs or Fine. A respondent who fails to timely pay a
statement of costs or fine, or who fails to comply with the terms of a periodic
payment plan, shall be notified of non-compliance by first class and certified
mail at his or her last known address on file with the board. A respondent's
failure to comply with such notice within 30 days of mailing may provide a
basis for further action by the board.
I. Nothing in this Section shall delay,
suspend, extend, or otherwise affect the time authorized by law within which a
respondent may file a petition for judicial review of a final decision or order
issued by the board.
AUTHORITY
NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
37:1261-1292, 37:1270,
37:1285.
