| (a) Notices of hearing, proposals for decision, and
all other rulings, orders, and actions by SOAH, TRS, or an administrative
law judge, as applicable, shall be served upon all parties or their
attorneys of record in person or at their last known address by mail.
Service by mail is complete upon deposit in the mail, properly addressed,
with postage prepaid if it is received by TRS within a timely manner
under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 5 and the sender provides adequate
proof of the mailing date. Service may also be accomplished by electronic
mail or facsimile transmission if all parties agree. In that case,
the sender shall retain the original of the document and file it upon
request with the administrative law judge or the executive director,
as applicable. Upon request, the sender has the burden of proving
the date and time of receipt of the document served by facsimile transmission
or electronic mail. Electronic mail may not be used with documents
produced pursuant to a discovery request. On motion by any party or
on its own motion, TRS may serve notice of a hearing on any person
whose interest in the subject matter will be directly affected by
the final decision in the case.
(b) All initial hearing notices shall include the following:
(1) a statement of time, place, and nature of the hearing;
(2) a statement of the legal authority and jurisdiction
under which the hearing is to be held;
(3) a reference to the particular sections of the statutes
and rules involved;
(4) a short, plain statement of the factual matters
asserted. If TRS or a party is unable to state the matters in detail
at the time the notice is served, the initial notice may be limited
to a statement of the issues involved. Thereafter, upon written application
filed not less than ten days before the date set for hearing, a more
definite and detailed statement must be furnished not less than seven
days prior to the date set for the hearing; and
(5) a statement that failure to appear at the prehearing
conference or any scheduled hearing may result in the following: the
facts alleged by TRS may be admitted as true; the relief requested
by TRS may be granted; petitioner's appeal may be denied; or petitioner's
appeal may be dismissed with prejudice for failure to prosecute the
claim; or any or all of the foregoing actions.
(c) After service of the initial notice, any party
wishing to raise issues or matters not set forth in the initial notice
must do so by filing a motion which sets forth such issues or matters
not less than 30 days before the date set for hearing. If the motion
is granted, the administrative law judge shall give notice, not less
than 20 days before the date of hearing, of the additional issues
and matters to be decided in the contested case.
(d) All other notices in a contested case shall set
forth only the additional issues and matters to be decided.
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| Source Note: The provisions of this §43.16 adopted to be effective April 20, 1988, 13 TexReg 1672; amended to be effective June 9, 1999, 24 TexReg 4249; amended to be effective March 12, 2003, 28 TexReg 2115; amended to be effective March 8, 2007, 32 TexReg 1095; amended to be effective April 1, 2011, 36 TexReg 2002; amended to be effective January 1, 2016, 40 TexReg 9730 |
