Chapter 12

 

Procedures for Disciplinary Matters

 

 

Section 1. Authority. These rules are promulgated under the Commission's authority under Wyoming Statute §§ 33-48-101(g), 33-48-111, and 16-63-103(j)(i).

 

Section 2.  The Commission may take disciplinary action for the following:

 

(a) Licensee violating the Act or rules; or

 

(b) Licensee violating a Commission order.

 

Section 3. Complaint Review and Disciplinary Investigation.

 

(a) Complaints that a licensee has violated the Act or the Commission's rules shall be submitted to the Commission. Commission staff may initiate complaints.

 

(b) After receiving a complaint or initiating a complaint, Commission staff shall assign the complaint to an Investigation Committee (IC) for investigation.

 

(c) After reviewing and investigating the complaint, the IC may recommend that the Commission:

 

(i) Dismiss the complaint;

 

(ii) Summarily suspend a license;

 

(iii) Approve a settlement agreement; or

 

(iv) Discipline the licensee, including revoking or suspending the license.

 

Section 4. Summary Suspension.

 

(a) An IC may recommend that the Commission summarily suspend a license at any time when the IC or Commission staff believes emergency action to suspend the license is necessary to protect the public health, safety, or welfare

 

(b) The IC shall notify the licensee of its intent to recommend summary suspension. The Notice of Intent shall contain:

 

(i) A copy of the complaint, if any;

 

(ii) A description of the grounds for the summary suspension recommendation; and

(iii) Notice that an expedited summary suspension proceeding shall be set at the earliest opportunity a quorum of Commission members may be assembled.

 

(c) When the date and time of the summary suspension hearing is set, the Commission staff shall notify the licensee of the date and time of the proceeding by mailing written notice and emailing electronic notice to the licensee's mailing and email addresses.

 

(d) The scope of the expedited summary suspension proceeding shall be limited to a presentation of the information the IC believes warrants summary suspension and any information the licensee may present on his or her behalf.

 

(e) Hearing Format.

 

(i) The IC shall describe the allegations that it believes warrant emergency action against the licensee.

 

(ii) The IC shall present information that demonstrates probable cause that the allegations are true.

 

(iii) The IC shall explain why the emergency action is necessary to public health, safety, or welfare.

 

(iv) The licensee, if present, may present any information demonstrating that the allegations are not true or that, even if the allegations are true, emergency action is not necessary to protect the public health, safety, or welfare.

 

(f) The Commission may order summary suspension if it concludes that probable cause exists that the allegations are true and that emergency action is necessary to protect the public health, safety, or welfare. The Commission shall incorporate a finding to that effect in its order granting summary suspension.

 

(g) No summary suspension shall be effective until the Commission has adopted a written order incorporating the reasons justifying its decision.

 

(h) The Commission shall enter a written order granting or denying summary suspension at the summary suspension proceeding or within seven days after the proceeding. The Commission shall send the order to the licensee by U.S. mail and by email.

 

(i)                 Post-Deprivation Hearing.

 

(i) A licensee may request a post-deprivation hearing within ten days from the date the summary suspension order is entered.

 

(ii) If a licensee requests a post-deprivation hearing, the Commission shall conduct it within 30 days of the licensee's request and notify the licensee of the date, time, and location of the hearing.

(iii) Post-deprivation hearings shall be conducted in the same manner as summary suspension proceedings as articulated in Section 4(e) of this chapter. The sole issue before the Commission at a post-deprivation hearing shall be whether the IC's allegations imperatively require emergency action to protect the public health, safety, and welfare. The Commission shall affirm its decision to summarily suspend a license, and issue a written order to that effect, if it concludes that the IC has proven the allegations by a preponderance of the evidence and that the allegations imperatively require emergency action to protect the public health, safety, or welfare.

 

(j) Unless earlier terminated by the Commission or a petition for discipline is filed under Section 6 of this chapter, summary suspensions shall lapse 180 days after the written order granting summary suspension is entered under subsection (h) of this section.

 

Section 5. Surrender in Lieu of Discipline and Licenses Issued in Error.

 

(a) A licensee may petition the Commission, in writing, to voluntarily surrender a license in lieu of discipline.

 

(i) The IC shall recommend that the Commission approve or deny the petition.

 

(ii) The Commission may approve or deny the petition.

 

(b) If Commission staff has reason to believe that a license has been issued despite an applicant not meeting licensure requirements and:

 

(i) If Commission Staff has issued the license and the Commission has not ratified its issuance, the license shall be rescinded and the matter shall be referred to an ARC.

 

(ii) If Commission Staff has issued the license and the Commission has ratified its issuance, the matter shall be referred to an IC.

 

(A) The IC may petition the Commission to revoke the license according to the procedures outlined in Section 6 of this chapter and may seek summary suspension.

 

(B) A revocation solely for the reasons specified this subsection shall not be considered license discipline. Nothing in this subsection prohibits discipline or application denial for a licensee's conduct.

 

(C) A licensee may surrender the license at issue under this provision in lieu of a hearing before the Commission without Commission approval.

 

Section 6.  Hearing Procedure.

 

(a) There shall be a presumption of lawful service of a Notice of Intent, Petition, Notice of Hearing, or any other communication required by these rules if sent by U.S. mail to the address the licensee most recently supplied to the Commission.

 

(b) The IC shall notify the licensee of its intent to file a petition for disciplinary action. The Notice of Intent shall:

 

(i) Include a brief description of the facts or conduct that warrant the intended action;

 

(ii) Include a description of the nature of the discipline the IC intends to seek; and

 

(iii) Provide the licensee no less than 30 days to show that the licensee has complied with all lawful license requirements.

 

(c) The IC shall initiate proceedings for disciplinary action by filing a Petition with the Commission office and serving a copy upon the licensee to the last known address of the licensee by regular U.S. mail.

 

(d) A licensee may respond to the Petition by filing an Answer admitting or denying the allegations in the Petition or by filing a dispositive motion.

 

(e) A licensee shall respond to a Petition within (20) days from the date the Petition is filed with the Commission office or, if the licensee files a dispositive motion, from the date the dispositive motion is decided by entry of a written order. Failure to respond to the Petition within this time may result in a default judgment.

 

(f) When a petition for disciplinary action is filed, the Commission or a hearing officer appointed by the Commission shall begin a contested case proceeding. Commission staff or the hearing officer shall serve a Notice of Hearing, with the Petition attached, on the applicant at least 30 days before the hearing. The notice of hearing shall contain:

 

(i) The legal authority for the Petition and statement of the Commission's jurisdiction;

 

(ii) The facts justifying the disciplinary action sought;

 

(iii) The statutory provisions or Commission rules the licensee is alleged to have violated;

 

(iv) The time, place, and nature of the hearing; and

 

(v) Notice of the burden and standard of proof.

 

(g) If a licensee fails to timely answer the allegations in a Petition or appear at a noticed hearing, and upon the IC's motion, the Commission may enter default against the licensee. In entering default, the Commission may:

 

(i) Order that the factual allegations in the Petition are to be taken as true for the purposes of the hearing;

 

(ii) Order that the licensee may not present evidence on some or all issues in the matter; or

 

(iii) Any other relief the Commission determines is just.

 

(h) The Commission may set aside an entry of default for good cause.

 

(i) Any hearing officer appointed by the Commission shall preside over the contested case proceeding and shall conduct the proceeding according to the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act and Chapter 2 of the Office of Administrative Hearings rules as incorporated by reference in Section 8.

 

(j) The IC shall bear the burden to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the licensee violated the Commission's practice act or the Commission's rules.

 

(k) The Commission may resolve a discipline matter by:

 

(i) Resolving a dispositive motion in either party's favor;

 

(ii) Accepting a settlement agreed on by both parties;

 

(iii) Granting a licensee's petition for voluntary surrender in lieu of discipline under Section 5(a) of this Chapter;

 

(iv) Conducting a contested case hearing. Following the hearing and the Commission's deliberation, the Commission may, as applicable:

 

(A) Find no violation of the Commission's practice act or rules and therefore impose no discipline on the licensee;

 

(B) Find that the licensee has violated the Commission's practice act or rules and revoke or suspend a license.

 

(l) The Commission shall issue a written decision or order. The decision or order shall be sent by U.S. Mail to the licensee and the licensee's attorney or representative, if any.

 

(m) Commission action is effective on the date that the Commission approves the written decision or order and it is entered into the administrative record.

 

(n) Written Commission decisions or orders are final agency action subject to judicial review according to the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act and the Wyoming Rules of Appellate Procedure.

 

Section 7.  Petition for Modifying Conditions or Restrictions.

 

(a) A licensee may petition the Commission to modify any conditions or restrictions on his or her license. The licensee shall submit a written petition for modification to the Commission office.

 

(i) The petition for modification shall include evidence demonstrating:

Compliance with all previously entered Commission orders;

 

(ii) That the modification is consistent with any treatment plan or medical orders, if applicable; and

 

(iii) That the modification will ensure the public is adequately protected.

 

(b) The IC assigned the matter shall review the petition and shall recommend that the Commission either grant or deny the petition within 30 days of the Commission office receiving the petition.

 

(c) Commission Consideration.

 

(i) The Commission shall consider the petition and the IC's recommendation at its earliest convenience.

 

(ii) The Commission may approve or deny the petition for modification.

 

Section 8.  Incorporation by Reference.

 

(a) The Commission hereby incorporates by reference the following uniform rules:

Chapter 2 - Uniform Rules for Contested Case Practice and Procedure, adopted by the Office of Administrative Hearings and effective on July 20, 2017, found at  http://mmarules.wyo.gov.

 

(b)  For these rules incorporated by reference:

 

(i) The Commission has determined that incorporation of the full text in these rules would be cumbersome or inefficient given the length and nature of the rules;

 

(ii) The incorporation by reference does not include any later amendments or editions of the incorporated matter beyond the applicable date identified in subsection (a) of this section; and

 

(iii) The incorporated rules are maintained at the Commission's office and are available for public inspection and copying at that same location.