(a) The Board’s Executive Committee shall meet to receive information on a complaint indicating that a licensee's continued practice may constitute a continuing or imminent threat to the public welfare. At the conclusion of the meeting, if the EDC concludes that the licensee's continued practice would constitute a continuing or imminent threat to the public welfare, the Executive Committee shall suspend the licensee's license for a temporary, stated period of time.     
      (b) In accordance with the APA, §2001.081, the determination of the Executive Committee may be based not only on evidence admissible under the Texas Rules of Evidence, but may be based on information of a type on which a reasonably prudent person commonly relies in the conduct of the person's affairs.     
      (c) In receiving information on which to base its determination of a continuing threat to the public welfare, the Executive Committee may accept the testimony of witnesses by telephone.     
      (d) The Executive Committee and the Board’s Enforcement Committee may receive testimony and evidence in oral or written form. Written statements may be sworn or unsworn. The committee members may question witnesses at the members' discretion. Evidence or information that is clearly irrelevant, unreliable, or unduly inflammatory will not be considered.     
      (e) The Executive Committee may suspend a license under this section without notice or a hearing on the complaint, provided the Enforcement Committee shall meet in an informal conference within 14 days of the date of suspension, to determine if formal disciplinary proceedings should be initiated against the licensee. The licensee must receive notice of the conference at least 72 hours prior to the conference.     
      (f) Following the informal conference, the Enforcement Committee shall take one of the following actions:      
        (1) Lift the temporary suspension and reinstate the license without conditions.       
        (2) Negotiate with the licensee an agreed settlement order that will lift the suspension, continue the suspension, or impose other sanctions as appropriate. The agreed order would be presented to the next available Board meeting for adoption.       
        (3) Prepare a notice of hearing setting out the details of the complaint and recommended sanctions, and forward the notice of hearing to the State Office of Administrative Hearings for setting of an administrative hearing. Following the hearing, the administrative law judge will prepare a proposal for decision for adoption, in the form of an order, by the Board.       
      (g) If the Enforcement Committee determines that a notice of hearing shall be forwarded to the State Office of Administrative Hearings for an administrative hearing, that hearing must occur no later than the 60th day after the date the Executive Committee first ordered the temporary suspension, in accordance with §801.409 of the Texas Occupations Code.     
     Source Note:        The provisions of this §575.35 adopted to be effective July 13, 2008, 33 TexReg 5528; amended to be effective August 1, 2010, 35 TexReg 6539; amended to be effective June 20, 2012, 37 TexReg 4428; amended to be effective May 4, 2014, 39 TexReg 3430; amended to be effective May 4, 2015, 40 TexReg 2421; amended to be effective November 12, 2017, 42 TexReg 6183