Alabama Administrative Code › Title 930 - ALABAMA STATE BOARD OF VETERINARY MEDICINE › Chapter 930-X-1 - GENERAL RULES › Section 930-X-1-.16 - Disciplinary Proceedings

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 9, June 28, 2024
(1)
			 Powers of the Board: The Board shall exercise the powers and perform the duties
			 conferred and imposed upon it under law including the power and duty to
			 consider and investigate any alleged ground for discipline or alleged
			 incapacity of any licensee or any other individual who falls under the
			 jurisdiction of this practice act; called to its attention or upon its own
			 motion, and may take such action with respect thereto as shall be appropriate
			 to effectuate its purposes as prescribed by law.
(2) Disqualification of Members of the Board.
(a) If for any reason a Board member
			 determines that personal bias or other factors make him or her unable to
			 conduct a hearing and perform all duties in an impartial manner, he or she
			 shall submit to the Board in writing, his or her reasons for
			 disqualification.
(b) If for any
			 reason any party in a contested case believes that a Board member is personally
			 biased or otherwise unable to conduct the hearing and perform all duties in an
			 impartial manner, the party may file a sworn, notarized affidavit with the
			 Board.
(c) The affidavit must state
			 all facts the party deems relevant to the disqualification of the Board
			 member.
(d) An affidavit of
			 disqualification will be considered timely if Filed before commencement of the
			 hearing. An otherwise untimely affidavit will be considered timely provided it
			 is Filed at the first opportunity after the party becomes aware of facts which
			 give rise to a reasonable belief that the Board member may be disqualified
			 under this rule.
(e) Procedure for
			 determining disqualification follows:
1. The
			 Board, with the advice of such assistants as it deems appropriate, shall decide
			 whether to disqualify the challenged individual;
2. The person whose disqualification is to be
			 determined will not participate in the decision but may be called upon to
			 furnish information to the Board;
3. A record of proceedings and the reasons
			 for decisions reached will be maintained as part of the contested case
			 record.
(f) If by reason
			 of personal interest, bias or like causes a Board member is disqualified after
			 the hearing has begun, a new hearing will be initiated if requested by the
			 party who Filed the affidavit of disqualification. Absent such a request, the
			 case will be resumed or continued provided a quorum is present.
(g) If for reasons other than personal
			 interest, bias, or like causes a Board member is unable to continue the
			 hearing, and a quorum is present, the hearing will be resumed except:
1. If continuation of the hearing would
			 result in substantial prejudice, for whatever reasons, to the rights of the
			 parties, either a new hearing will be initiated or the case will be dismissed
			 without prejudice.
(h)
			 If a member of the Board is unable to continue the hearing either by
			 disqualification or any other reason and the Board is unable to reach a quorum,
			 the Governor of the State of Alabama shall appoint as many ex-officio members
			 as is necessary to reach a quorum from a list of three persons submitted for
			 each place by the Alabama Veterinary Medical Association. Such ex-officio
			 members shall serve on the Board only for that hearing for which they were
			 appointed but may be reappointed for later hearings if necessary. The hearing
			 will be resumed except:
1. If oral testimony
			 has already been given, and it is determined by the new ex-officio members that
			 the viewing of such witness is an important element of the case, that part of
			 the testimony and evidence will be repeated.
2. If continuation of the hearing would
			 result in substantial prejudice, for whatever reasons, to the rights of the
			 parties, either a new hearing will be initiated or the case will be dismissed
			 without prejudice.
(i)
			 The determination of whether continuation of the case will result in
			 substantial prejudice is to be made by the Board.
(j) Notification of decisions of
			 disqualification, continuation of the hearing, re-hearing of a part or all of a
			 contested case, or dismissal of a case without prejudice, together with a
			 statement of reasons therefor, will be part of the record of the case, and
			 communicated to all parties promptly.