653—9.17 (147,148) Denial of licensure.
	   9.17(1) Preliminary notice of denial. Prior to the denial of licensure to an applicant, the board shall issue a preliminary notice of denial that shall be sent to the applicant by regular, first-class mail at the address provided by the applicant. The preliminary notice of denial is a public record and shall cite the factual and legal basis for denying the application, notify the applicant of the appeal process, and specify the date upon which the denial will become final if it is not appealed.
	   9.17(2) Appeal procedure. An applicant who has received a preliminary notice of denial may appeal the denial and request a hearing on the issues related to the preliminary notice of denial by serving a request for hearing upon the executive director not more than 30 calendar days following the date when the preliminary notice of denial was mailed. The applicant’s current address shall be provided in the request for hearing. The request is deemed filed on the date it is received in the board office. If the request is received with a USPS nonmetered postmark, the board shall consider the postmark date as the date the request is filed. The request shall specify the factual or legal errors and that the applicant desires an evidentiary hearing, and may provide additional written information or documents in support of licensure.
	   9.17(3) Hearing. If an applicant appeals the preliminary notice of denial and requests a hearing, the hearing shall be a contested case and subsequent proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with 653—25.30(17A).
	      a.    	 License denial hearings are contested cases open to the public.
	      b.    	 Either party may request issuance of a protective order in the event privileged or confidential information is submitted into evidence.
	      c.    	 Evidence supporting the denial of the license may be presented by an assistant attorney general.
	      d.    	 While each party shall have the burden of establishing the affirmative of matters asserted, the applicant shall have the ultimate burden of persuasion as to the applicant’s qualification for licensure.
	      e.    	 The board, after a hearing on license denial, may grant or deny the application for licensure. The board shall state the reasons for its decision and may grant the license, grant the license with restrictions or deny the license. The final decision is a public record.
	      f.    	 Judicial review of a final order of the board denying licensure, or issuing a license with restrictions, may be sought in accordance with the provisions of Iowa Code section 17A.19, which are applicable to judicial review of any agency’s final decision in a contested case.
	   9.17(4) Finality. If an applicant does not appeal a preliminary notice of denial in accordance with 9.17(2), the preliminary notice of denial automatically becomes final. A final denial of an application for licensure is a public record.
	   9.17(5) Failure to pursue appeal. If an applicant appeals a preliminary notice of denial in accordance with 9.17(2), but the applicant fails to pursue that appeal to a final decision within one year from the date of the preliminary notice of denial, the board may dismiss the appeal. The appeal may be dismissed only after the board sends a written notice by first-class mail to the applicant at the applicant’s last-known address. The notice shall state that the appeal will be dismissed and the preliminary notice of denial will become final if the applicant does not contact the board to schedule the appeal hearing within 30 days of the date the letter is mailed from the board office. Upon dismissal of an appeal, the preliminary notice of denial becomes final. A final denial of an application for licensure under this rule is a public record.
[ARC 7756B, IAB 5/6/09, effective 6/10/09; ARC 8554B, IAB 3/10/10, effective 4/14/10]