California Code of Regulations › Title 2 - Administration › Division 1 - Administrative Personnel › Chapter 1 - State Personnel Board › Subchapter 1.2 - Hearings and Appeals › Article 5 - Investigative Process › Section 55.2 - Investigatory Hearings

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a)
					 Failure of any party to proceed at the investigatory hearing shall be deemed a
					 withdrawal of the action or appeal, unless the investigatory hearing is
					 continued for good cause.
(b) The
					 investigatory hearing shall be calendared for no more than 6 hours. Each party
					 will be allotted a total of 3 hours to be allocated at that party's discretion
					 for presentation of its case, including examination and cross-examination of
					 witnesses, presentation of declarations, documentary evidence, and exhibits,
					 and presentation of arguments. While use of the time allotted is at each
					 party's discretion, the suggested format for the hearing is as follows: 10
					 minutes each for opening statements, 120 minutes each to call witnesses and
					 present declarations, documentary evidence and exhibits, 30 minutes each for
					 cross-examination of the opposing party's witnesses, and 20 minutes each for
					 closing arguments. The presiding officer is authorized to conduct a full
					 evidentiary hearing in an appeal defined in this regulation upon mutual
					 agreement of the parties or, upon motion by one of the parties, if the
					 presiding officer finds it in the interest of justice to do so.
(c) The presiding officer has discretion to
					 ask clarifying questions of the witnesses or the parties either during or at
					 the conclusion of each party's case-in-chief and has sole discretion to extend
					 additional time to each of the parties.
(d) The presiding officer is not bound by
					 common law/statutory rules of evidence or by technical or formal rules of
					 procedure, except as set forth herein, but shall conduct the investigatory
					 hearing in such a manner as necessary to reach a just and proper decision.
					 Relevant evidence may be admitted if it is the sort of evidence on which
					 responsible persons are accustomed to rely in the conduct of serious
					 affairs.
(e)
					 Declarations/affidavits made under penalty of perjury shall, at the discretion
					 of the presiding officer, be admissible even though they are technically
					 hearsay, and may be relied upon by the presiding officer to make a finding of
					 fact.
(f) The presiding officer
					 shall prepare a short-form proposed decision which would be forwarded to the
					 board within 30 days of the investigatory hearing. The decision shall include
					 enough information to allow the board to exercise its constitutional authority
					 to review disciplinary actions, such as (1) introduction; (2) factual
					 allegations sustained and not sustained, referring to the Notice of Adverse
					 Action; (3) legal causes, sustained and not sustained, referring to the Notice
					 of Adverse Action and any other applicable legal authority; (4) penalty
					 including brief references to any applicable legal authority; and (5) any
					 finding of fact that the presiding officer decides is necessary to
					 highlight.
(g) Absent board
					 rejection of the proposed decision, each case should be opened and closed in no
					 more than 180 days.
1.
						Renumbering of former section
						52.6 to new section
						55.2, including amendment of
						section heading, section and NOTE, filed 8-18-2010; operative 8-18-2010
						pursuant to Government Code section
						11343.4
						(Register 2010, No. 34).
2. Amendment of subsections (b)-(g) filed
						4-12-2013; operative 4-12-2013 pursuant to Government Code section
						11343.4(b)(3)
						(Register 2013, No. 15).
Note: Authority cited: Section
						  18701,
						  Government Code. Reference: Sections
						  18675,
						  19570 and
						  19576,
						  Government Code.