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D.C. Municipal Regulations (Last Updated: September 13, 2017) |
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Title 22. HEALTH |
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SubTilte 22-C. MEDICAL MARIJUANA |
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Chapter 22-C60. DIRECTOR APPROVAL PROCEDURES |
Section 22-C6001. DIRECTOR FINAL DECISIONS AND JUDICIAL REVIEW
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6001.1Denial by the Director of an application or renewal application for any registration under this subtitle shall be deemed a final Department action.
6001.2 An initial applicant whose Letter of Intent was not accepted by the Department, who submitted an application that was determined to be non-responsive, or that received a score of less than one hundred fifty (150) by the panel prior to the ANC review, may seek review of the Director’s final decision in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia within twenty (20) days after receipt of the notice or twenty (20) days after August 12, 2011, whichever is later. The review shall be an on the record review of the decision, and not a de novo review.
6001.3 An initial applicant who has been denied registration for a dispensary or cultivation center, provided that the applicant received a score of one hundred fifty (150) or more by the panel prior to the ANC review, may file a request with OAH for a protest hearing of that denial within ten (10) days after service of the notice of denial (receipt required for proof of delivery).
6001.4 A request for a protest hearing under § 6001.3 means a written objection by an unsuccessful applicant for a registration for a dispensary or cultivation center.
6001.5The written objection shall include a clear and concise statement of the legal and factual grounds of the protest, including copies of relevant documents, citations to statutes, or regulations claimed to be violated.
6001.6Upon receipt of a request for a protest hearing, the OAH shall notify the Department which shall no later than sixty (60) calendar days after service of the notification, file a report with the OAH, and serve the same upon the protester at the address listed in the protestor’s application by first class U.S. mail postage prepaid, and upon the applicant whose registration is in jeopardy pursuant to § 6002, which shall include:
(a) The application submitted by the protester;
(b) The applications that were selected by the department instead of the protester;
(c) Tabulation sheets or proposal selection reports, evaluation reports, workpapers, and scoring sheets prepared by the panel;
(d) The basis of the Director’s decision to adopt or reject the panel’s final proposed selections, including consideration of the ANC comments;
(e) The Department’s position and defense for each ground of the protest, including the facts, legal principles, and precedents supporting its position;
(f) Notice to the applicant whose registration is in jeopardy of the applicant’s right to be joined as a party in the action; and
(g) Any other documents and exhibits that are relevant to the protest.
6001.7 The applicant whose registration is in jeopardy pursuant to § 6002, may at the applicant’s option, seek to be joined as a party to the action.
6001.8 An applicant that requests to be joined as a party to the action pursuant to § 6001.7 of this subtitle shall be permitted to join in the action if:
(a) The applicant files with OAH a request to join within fifteen (15) calendar days after receipt of the Department’s Report and Notice of the Action; and
(b) The applicant claims an interest relating to the subject of the action and is so situated that the disposition of the action in the applicant’s absence may impair or impede the person's ability to protect that interest.
6001.9 Within fifteen (15) calendar days after service of the Department’s Report, the protester may file with the OAH a response, which shall state the protester’s factual and legal agreement or opposition to the Department’s Report and serve the same on the Department and upon any applicant that has sought to be joined as a party, (an intervenor).
6001.10Any intervenor who wishes to file a response to the Department’s Report and the protestor’s response shall do so within fifteen (15) calendar days of service of the protestor’s response or of the order granting intervention, whichever is later.
6001.11Any protest hearing shall be a review of the record materials filed by the Department and shall not be a contested case hearing.
6001.12Upon receipt of any protester’s response within the allotted time, or if no response has been filed and the allotted time has expired, the OAH shall render a decision upholding or denying the protest within a reasonable time not to exceed ninety (90) days after the filing of the Department’s Report. OAH shall deny the protest unless the protestor shows that the Department’s decision was arbitrary and capricious or otherwise not in accordance with the law.
6001.13If a protest is denied, the protester may seek review of the OAH’s final decision in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia within twenty (20) days after the date on which the final decision was issued, which review shall be an on the record review of the decision of the OAH, and not a de novo review.
6001.14If the OAH upholds the protest, the Department shall conduct a new review process of the protester’s application and the lowest ranked successful applicant selected by the Director. If the basis of a successful protest is that another applicant, or applicants, was improperly ranked, the new review process shall also include that applicant(s).
6001.15A registrant that has been denied the renewal of a registration for a dispensary or cultivation center may file a request for a hearing with OAH within thirty (30) days after service of the notice of denial by delivering, within thirty (30) days of service of the notice, a certified letter addressed to OAH containing a request for a hearing or hand delivery of same to OAH (receipt required for proof of delivery);
6001.16 The decision rendered by the Office of Administrative Hearings in a matter filed pursuant to § 6001.15 shall be the Final Order in the matter, and that either party may seek review of OAH’s decision by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals in accordance with the District of Columbia Administrative Procedures Act, D.C. Official Code §§ 2-501- 2-511 (2011 Repl.).
6001.17The timely filing of a request for review in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, a protest, or a petition for review to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals shall not stay the decision of the Director or prohibit the Director from issuing registrations to the selected applicants.