The Board encourages negotiated settlements because they eliminate the need for costly administrative hearings. To this end, the Board has adopted Disciplinary Guidelines which are designed to set forth the Board's penalty standards. The ALJ utilizes the Board's Disciplinary Guidelines in formulating a recommendation. The proposed decision is distributed to the Board members for a vote. If the Board votes to non-adopt the proposed decision, the hearing transcript is then circulated among Board members, along with written arguments from the defense counsel and the Board's counsel, and the Board issues its own Final Decision.
Final Decisions are a matter of public record and are available upon written request.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the time frame involved in the disciplinary process, from the time a complaint is originally received by the Board until a final decision is rendered, generally takes a minimum of at least two years. However, you should be aware that as a licensing agency the Board only has jurisdiction to take disciplinary action against its licensees. In certain circumstances, however, the Board will investigate allegations of unlicensed practice, and, if sufficient evidence is found, will forward this information to the local District Attorney's Office for criminal prosecution. Applicants for licensure, interns and trainees may also be engaged in unlicensed practice. In those cases, the Board will investigate and pursue appropriate administrative action.