New Hampshire Code of Administrative Rules
Plc - Executive Director, Office of Professional Licensure and Certification
Chapter Plc 200 - PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
Part Plc 205 - SETTLEMENT PROCEDURES; NON-DISCIPLINARY REMEDIAL ACTIONS
Section Plc 205.04 - Consent Orders; Review of Proposed Settlement Terms

Universal Citation: NH Admin Rules Plc 205.04

Current through Register No. 12, March 21, 2024

(a) If a disciplinary proceeding is initiated and discussions between the prosecutor and the respondent result in an agreement on the facts that constitute the basis for sanction(s) and on the appropriate sanction(s), including but not limited to diversion to a treatment program, voluntary surrender, limitations on the scope of practice, or suspension, the agreement shall be written as a proposed settlement agreement and presented to the regulatory authority for review, as required by RSA 310-A:1-k, III.

(b) If the regulatory authority has questions about the proposed settlement, such as whether the terms are appropriate or whether the respondent understands them, the regulatory authority shall conduct a hearing on the proposed settlement agreement in the same manner and under the same conditions as a prehearing conference.

(c) If the regulatory authority agrees with the terms of the proposed settlement agreement, the regulatory authority shall:

(1) Approve the settlement agreement and issue it as a consent order of the regulatory authority, if the matter did not arise from a complaint; or

(2) If the matter did arise from a complaint, approve the settlement agreement and issue it as a provisional consent order, then proceed in accordance with (d)-(g), below.

(d) To provide the opportunity for comment required by RSA 310-A:1-k, III, if the matter resulted from a complaint, the regulatory authority shall notify the complainant of:

(1) The terms on which the matter is proposed to be resolved; and

(2) The deadline for submitting written comments on the proposed terms, which shall be no sooner than 14 days from the date of the notice.

(e) If notice is provided to a complainant pursuant to (d), above, and no comments are received from the complainant, the consent order shall become final 30 days after issuance under (c)(2), above.

(f) If comments are received from the complainant, the presiding officer shall review the comments and:

(1) If the comments indicate the complainant's agreement with the terms or if the comments do not demonstrate potential fundamental flaws or errors in the proposed terms, approve the proposed settlement agreement, resulting in the consent order becoming final 30 days after issuance under (c)(2), above; or

(2) If the comments demonstrate potential fundamental flaws or errors in the proposed terms, present the comments to the regulatory authority for review, resulting in the consent order not becoming final automatically, provided that for purposes of this section, "fundamental flaws or errors" means mistakes of law or of material fact that, if corrected, would result in the proposed terms being unacceptable given the nature and severity of the actual underlying violation(s).

(g) After reviewing comments received pursuant to (f)(2), above, the regulatory authority shall:

(1) Affirm the provisional consent order, if it determines after further review that no fundamental flaws or errors are present, resulting in the consent order becoming effective as of its confirmation; or

(2) Revoke the provisional consent order and schedule the matter for an adjudicative hearing, if it determines after further review that there are fundamental flaws or errors in the terms.

(h) If the regulatory authority to which comments are submitted pursuant to (f)(2), above, revokes the provisional consent order as a result of the comments and schedules the matter for an adjudicative hearing, the terms of the proposed settlement agreement and provisional consent order shall not be made part of any record and the respondent shall not be bound by any terms of the proposed settlement agreement or provisional consent order.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New Hampshire may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.