(a) Hearings shall be presided over and conducted by a Hearing Officer designated by the secretary.
(b) The standard of proof to be applied by the Hearing Officer shall be the preponderance of the evidence.
(c) Hearings may be conducted by telephone, at the discretion of the Hearing Officer.
(d) The decision of the Hearing Officer shall be in writing. It may be handwritten.
(e) The decision shall be issued within 30 days after the conclusion of the hearing and may be issued orally at the conclusion of the hearing subject to written confirmation.
(f) The written decision shall be served on the respondent either by personal service, facsimile transmission, or email.
(g) The Hearing Officer's decision shall be effective immediately upon first articulation under subsection (e) and shall be final and not appealable to the secretary or any other officer of the Department.
(h) The owner may challenge the Hearing Officer's decision by filing a writ of administrative mandamus in the appropriate court pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.5.
(i) Hearings shall be recorded.
Credits
Note: Authority cited: Sections 407, 14502, 14651 and 14651.5, Food and Agricultural Code; and Section 11400.20, Government Code. Reference: Sections 14653, 14655, 14681 and 14682, Food and Agricultural Code; and Sections 11425.50 and 11445.10, Government Code.
1. New section filed 2-28-2012; operative 3-29-2012 (Register 2012, No. 9).
2. Amendment of subsection (f) filed 9-12-2013; operative 1-1-2014 (Register 2013, No. 37).
3. Amendment of section and Note filed 4-13-2020; operative 4-13-2020 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2020, No. 16).
This database is current through 5/10/24 Register 2024, No. 19.
Cal. Admin. Code tit. 3, § 2322.3, 3 CA ADC § 2322.3
