[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 45, Volume 4]
[Revised as of October 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 45CFR1606.8]

[Page 384-385]
 
                        TITLE 45--PUBLIC WELFARE
 
                 CHAPTER XVI--LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION
 
PART 1606_TERMINATION AND DEBARMENT PROCEDURES; RECOMPETITION--Table of 
 
Sec.  1606.8  Hearing.

    (a) The recipient may make written request for a hearing within 30 
days of its receipt of the preliminary determination or within 15 days 
of receipt of the written determination issued by the designated 
employee after the conclusion of the informal conference.
    (b) Within 10 days after receipt of a request for a hearing, the 
Corporation shall notify the recipient in writing of the date, time and 
place of the hearing and the names of the hearing officer and of the 
attorney who will represent the Corporation. The time, date and location 
of the hearing may be changed upon agreement of the Corporation and the 
recipient.
    (c) A hearing officer shall be appointed by the President or 
designee and may be an employee of the Corporation. The hearing officer 
shall not have been involved in the current termination or debarment 
action and the President or designee shall determine that the person is 
qualified to preside over the hearing as an impartial decision maker. An 
impartial decision maker is a person who has not formed a prejudgment on 
the case and does not have a pecuniary interest or personal bias in the 
outcome of the proceeding.
    (d) The hearing shall be scheduled to commence at the earliest 
appropriate date, ordinarily not later than 30 days after the notice 
required by paragraph (b) of this section.
    (e) The hearing officer shall preside over and conduct a full and 
fair hearing, avoid delay, maintain order, and insure that a record 
sufficient for full disclosure of the facts and issues is maintained.
    (f) The hearing shall be open to the public unless, for good cause 
and the

[[Page 385]]

interests of justice, the hearing officer determines otherwise.
    (g) The Corporation and the recipient shall be entitled to be 
represented by counsel or by another person.
    (h) At the hearing, the Corporation and the recipient each may 
present its case by oral or documentary evidence, conduct examination 
and cross-examination of witnesses, examine any documents submitted, and 
submit rebuttal evidence.
    (i) The hearing officer shall not be bound by the technical rules of 
evidence and may make any procedural or evidentiary ruling that may help 
to insure full disclosure of the facts, to maintain order, or to avoid 
delay. Irrelevant, immaterial, repetitious or unduly prejudicial matter 
may be excluded.
    (j) Official notice may be taken of published policies, rules, 
regulations, guidelines, and instructions of the Corporation, of any 
matter of which judicial notice may be taken in a Federal court, or of 
any other matter whose existence, authenticity, or accuracy is not open 
to serious question.
    (k) A stenographic or electronic record shall be made in a manner 
determined by the hearing officer, and a copy shall be made available to 
the recipient at no cost.
    (l) The Corporation shall have the initial burden to show grounds 
for a termination or debarment. The burden of persuasion shall then 
shift to the recipient to show by a preponderance of evidence on the 
record that its funds should not be terminated or that it should not be 
disbarred.