Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Board
action. A copy of the final decision or order shall be delivered or mailed to
any party and to the attorney of record.
(b) Recorded. All final decisions and orders
of the Board shall be in writing and shall be signed by the president,
vice-president, or secretary and reported in the minutes of the meeting. A
final order shall include findings of fact and conclusions of law, separately
stated.
(c) Imminent peril. If the
Board finds that imminent peril to the public's health, safety, or welfare
requires immediate effect of a final decision or order in a contested case, it
shall recite the finding in the decision or order as well as the fact that the
decision or order is final and effective on the date rendered, in which event
the decision or order is final and appealable on the date rendered and no
motion for rehearing is required as a prerequisite for appeal.
(d) Changes to findings of fact and
conclusions of law.
(1) Reasons to change
findings of fact and conclusions of law. The Board is charged by the
legislature to protect the public interest, is an independent agency of the
executive branch of the government of the State of Texas, and is the primary
means of licensing, regulating and disciplining veterinarians, licensed
veterinary technicians, and equine dental providers. Therefore, to ensure that
sound veterinary medical principles govern the decisions of the Board, it is
the policy of the Board to change a finding of fact or conclusion of law or to
vacate or modify any proposed order of an ALJ only when the Board determines:
(A) that the ALJ did not properly apply or
interpret applicable law, Board rules, written policies, or prior
administrative decisions;
(B) that
a prior administrative decision on which the ALJ relied is incorrect or should
be changed; or
(C) that a technical
error in a finding of fact should be changed.
(2) Recommendations regarding the appropriate
sanction. Section 801.456(a) of the Veterinary Licensing Act requires that,
after receiving the ALJ's findings of fact and conclusions of law, the Board
may determine that a violation occurred and impose an administrative penalty.
The Board interprets this requirement as imposing on the Board the
responsibility of assessing the proper sanction. While the Board welcomes the
recommendations of ALJs regarding the appropriate sanction, the Board does not
consider the findings of fact and conclusions of law to be appropriate for
stating such recommendations. Therefore, sanction recommendations in the form
of findings of fact and conclusions of law are considered to be an improper
application of applicable law and these rules.
(3) Changes stated in final order. If the
Board modifies, amends, or changes the ALJ's proposed findings of fact or
conclusions of law, an order shall be prepared reflecting the specific reason
and legal basis for each change made.
(e) Administrative finality. A final order or
Board decision is administratively final:
(1)
upon a finding of imminent peril to the public's health, safety or welfare, as
outlined in subsection (c) of this section;
(2) when no motion for rehearing has been
filed within 20 days after the date the final order or Board decision is
entered; or
(3) when a timely
motion for rehearing is filed and the motion for rehearing is denied by Board
order or operation of law as outlined in §
575.9 of
this title (relating to Motions for Rehearing).
