§ 750-I — Hearing on charges; decision

§ 750-i. Hearing on charges; decision. 1. No license shall be\nsuspended or revoked nor shall any fine or reprimand be imposed until\nafter a hearing had before an officer or employee of the department of\nstate designated for such purpose by the secretary of state, upon notice\nto the licensee of at least ten days. The notice shall be served either\npersonally or by certified mail and shall state the date and place of\nhearing and set forth the ground or grounds constituting the charges\nagainst the licensee. The licensee shall have the opportunity to be\nheard in his defense either in person or by counsel and may produce\nwitnesses and testify in his behalf. A stenographic record of the\nhearing shall be taken and preserved. Within ten days after a hearing a\nlicensee shall receive a stenographic record of the hearing upon payment\nof fifty percent of the cost of preparation of such record. The hearing\nmay be adjourned upon a showing of good cause at least five days before\nthe hearing, in writing, to a hearing officer. The person conducting the\nhearing shall make a written report of his findings and a recommendation\nto the secretary of state for decision. The secretary of state shall\nreview such findings and the recommendation and, after due deliberation,\nshall issue an order accepting, modifying or rejecting such\nrecommendation and dismissing the charges or suspending or revoking the\nlicense or in lieu thereof imposing a fine or reprimand upon the\nlicensee.\n 2. Any person who has had their application for a license rejected\nshall be entitled to a hearing before an officer or employee of the\ndepartment of state designated for such purpose by the secretary of\nstate, upon notice to such person of at least ten days. Notice shall be\nserved either personally or by certified mail and shall state the date\nand place of hearing and set forth the ground or grounds constituting\nthe rejection of such application for license. The applicant shall have\nthe opportunity to be heard in his or her defense either in person or by\ncounsel and may produce witnesses and testify on his or her own behalf.\nA stenographic record of the hearing shall be taken and preserved.\nWithin ten days after a hearing an applicant shall receive a\nstenographic record of the hearing upon payment of fifty percent of the\ncost of the preparation of such record. The hearing may be adjourned\nupon a showing of good cause at least five days before the hearing, in\nwriting, to a hearing officer. The person conducting the hearing shall\nmake a written report of his or her findings and a recommendation to the\nsecretary of state for decision. The secretary of state shall review\nsuch findings and the recommendation and, after due deliberation, shall\nissue an order accepting, modifying or rejecting such recommendation and\neither grant a license or reject the license application.\n 3. For the purpose of this article, the secretary of state or any\nofficer or employee of the department of state designated by him or her,\nmay administer oaths, take testimony, subpoena witnesses and compel the\nproduction of books, papers, records and documents deemed pertinent to\nthe subject of investigation.\n 4. Strict rules of evidence do not apply to hearings held pursuant to\nthis article.\n