Section 34-27-37

Disciplinary action - Procedure in action.

(a) An action against an accused shall begin by serving the accused either personally or by certified mail with a copy of the formal complaint against him. The accused shall be given at least 15 days' notice of the time, date and place of hearing. If the commission refuses to license an applicant, notice of the refusal shall be given to the applicant, and he may, within 15 days after delivery of the notice, file a request for a hearing. The applicant or accused shall have an opportunity to be heard in person or by counsel, to offer testimony in his behalf and to examine witnesses. Hearings shall be held in the county in which the applicant resides or in which the accused maintains his principal place of business, unless the applicant or accused agrees to be heard in another county. If the accused does not maintain his place of business in Alabama, then the hearing shall be held in his county of residence. If the accused neither resides or maintains a place of business in Alabama, the hearing shall be held in Montgomery County. At hearings, all witnesses shall be sworn by a member of the commission, the executive director, the assistant executive director, or a hearing officer. The commission shall render a written order within 30 days from the final date of hearing. If the matter alleged in the complaint is the subject of an action pending in any court, the commission may withhold rendering or implementing its order pending disposition of the court action.

(b) The commission may issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of records and documents, either at the instance of the commission or the accused. The process issued by the commission shall extend to all parts of the state, and such process shall be served by a person designated by the commission or by mailing the process by certified mail. A subpoenaed witness who appears in a proceeding before the commission shall receive fees, mileage and expense allowances as authorized by the commission. All fees, mileage and expense payments shall be taxed against the party or parties subpoenaing the witness.

(c) If in a proceeding before the commission, a subpoenaed witness fails or refuses to attend or refuses to testify or fails or refuses to produce subpoenaed documents or records, his attendance and testimony or the production of the documents and records shall be enforced by any circuit court of this state, in the same manner as the attendance and testimony of witnesses is enforced in civil cases.

(d) An accused, applicant or other party to a case heard by the commission who is aggrieved by a final decision, may file an application for rehearing specifying grounds for relief within 30 days of receiving notice of the decision.

An application for rehearing does not modify the effective date of the decision and is appropriate only if the final decision is:

(1) In violation of constitutional or statutory provisions;

(2) In excess of the statutory authority of the commission;

(3) In violation of a commission rule;

(4) Made upon unlawful procedure;

(5) Affected by other error of law;

(6) Clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record; or

(7) Unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious or characterized by an abuse of discretion or a clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion.

Within 30 days from the filing of the application for rehearing the commission shall set a hearing date on the application, or shall enter an order without a hearing, or shall grant or deny the application. If the applicant is granted a rehearing, the commission will schedule a rehearing as soon as practicable. If the commission does not enter an order within 30 days from the filing of the application for rehearing, the application shall be deemed to be denied.

(Acts 1951, No. 422, p. 745, §13; Acts 1963, No. 290, p. 734, §1; Acts 1971, No. 2485, p. 3966, §13; Acts 1971, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 310, p. 4599, §1; Acts 1975, No. 563, p. 1276, §1; Acts 1978, No. 654, p. 932, §1; Acts 1983, No. 83-516, p. 781, §1; Acts 1985, No. 85-750, p. 1204, §1; Acts 1988, No. 88-214, p. 315, §3.)