Section 131071 Of Article 1. General Provisions From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 112. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 1.
131071
. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whenever the
department is authorized or required by statute, regulation, the due
process provisions of the 14th amendment to the United States
Constitution, and of subdivision (a) of Section 7 of Article I of the
California Constitution, or required by contract, to conduct an
adjudicative hearing leading to a final decision of the director or
the department, all of the following shall apply:
(a) The proceeding shall be conducted pursuant to the
administrative adjudication provisions of Chapter 4.5 (commencing
with Section 11400) and Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of
Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, except as
specified in this section.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 11502 of the Government Code, whenever
the department conducts a hearing under Chapter 4.5 (commencing with
Section 11400) or Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part
1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the hearing shall
be conducted before an administrative law judge selected by the
department and assigned to a hearing office that complies with the
procedural requirements of Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section
11400) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(c) (1) Notwithstanding Section 11508 of the Government Code,
whenever the department conducts a hearing under Chapter 4.5
(commencing with Section 11400) or Chapter 5 (commencing with Section
11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code,
the time and place of the hearing shall be determined by the staff
assigned to the hearing office hearing the matter, except as provided
in paragraph (2) or unless the department by regulation specifies
otherwise.
(2) Formal hearings requested by health facilities shall be held
in the City of Sacramento.
(d) (1) Unless otherwise specified in this section, the following
sections of the Government Code shall apply to any adjudicative
hearing conducted by the department only if the department has not,
by regulation, specified an alternative procedure for the particular
type of hearing at issue: Section 11503 relating to accusations,
Section 11504 relating to statements of issues, Section 11505
relating to the contents of the statement to respondent, Section
11506 relating to the notice of defense, Section 11507.6 relating to
discovery rights and procedures, Section 11508 relating to the time
and place of hearings, and Section 11516 relating to amendment of
accusations.
(2) Any alternative procedure specified by the department in
accordance with this subdivision shall conform to the purpose of the
Government Code provision it replaces insofar as it is possible to do
so consistent with the specific procedural requirements applicable
to the type of hearing at issue.
(3) Any alternative procedures adopted by the department under
this subdivision shall not diminish the amount of notice given of the
issues to be heard by the department or deprive appellants of the
right to discovery suitable to the particular proceedings. Except as
specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c), modifications of
timeframes or of the place of hearing made by regulation shall not
lengthen timeframes within which the department is required to act
nor require hearings to be held at a greater distance from the
appellant's place of residence or business than is the case under the
otherwise applicable Government Code provision.
(e) The specific timelines specified in Section 11517 of the
Government Code shall not apply to any adjudicative hearing conducted
by the department to the extent that the department has, by
regulation, specified different timelines for the particular type of
hearing at issue.
(f) In the case of any adjudicative hearing conducted by the
department, "transcript," as used in subdivision (c) of Section 11517
of the Government Code, shall be deemed to include any alternative
form of recordation of the oral proceedings, including, but not
limited to, an audiotape.
(g) Pursuant to Section 11415.50 of the Government Code, the
department may, by regulation, provide for any appropriate informal
procedure to be used for an informal level of review that does not
itself lead to a final decision of the department or the director.
The procedures specified in Article 10 (commencing with Section
11445.10) of Chapter 4.5 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code shall not apply to the informal level of review.
Informal conferences concerning appeals by health facilities may be
held in the Cities of Sacramento or Los Angeles.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any adjudicative
hearing conducted by the department that is conducted pursuant to a
federal statutory or regulatory requirement that contains specific
procedures may be conducted pursuant to those procedures to the
extent they are inconsistent with the procedures specified in this
section.
(i) Nothing in this section shall supersede express provisions of
law that apply to any hearing that is not adjudicative in nature or
that does not involve due process rights specific to an individual or
specific individuals, as opposed to the general public or a segment
of the general public.
(j) The regulations of the former State Department of Health
Services pertaining to adjudicative hearings pursuant to Section
100171 shall apply to the department until the department adopts
regulations superseding those regulations. The department may enter
into an interagency agreement with the State Department of Health
Care Services to have the hearing office of the State Department of
Health Care Services conduct adjudicative hearings on behalf of the
department in accordance with this section.