LAC 46:XXV.1023. Hearing Panels

A. After the board has selected its regular meeting dates for a calendar year, the chair shall designate a standard panel and limited panel for each regular meeting of the board. The panels so designated shall hear and decide all adjudicative hearings and compliance hearings docketed for that date unless necessary to comply with Subsection D of this Section. The chair shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that each panel is diverse. B. All adjudicative hearings take place before a standard panel; however, a respondent may request in writing to proceed before a limited panel. Upon receiving such request, the administrator will docket the adjudicative hearing before a limited panel. C. In the event one or more members of a hearing panel are not present for the hearing, the chair shall designate a board member to substitute for the assigned hearing panel member. If there are not enough qualified board members present to compose a standard panel, an adjudicative hearing may proceed before a limited panel only if the respondent consents or if the hearing is being conducted in default. If the respondent is present but does not consent, the adjudicative hearing shall be continued to the next available hearing date. D. When the respondent is a licensee, the hearing panel shall include a board member possessing the same credential as the respondent unless the members with the same credential are recused or this requirement is waived by respondent. If the panel assigned for the hearing date does not include a member possessing the same credential as the respondent, a panel member with a different credential shall be replaced by a member with the same credential as the respondent.