Relating to certain hearings conducted by the State Office of Administrative Hearings.

Contracts

• Outside Counsel Engagement Letters: Amend agreements with defense counsel handling traffic and licensure cases. Insert a clause requiring adherence to the Transportation Code 5-day continuance rule to prevent malpractice or inadvertent license forfeiture.
• TPA Agreements: For businesses using Third-Party Administrators for workers' compensation, verify their hearing calendars reflect that the Department of Insurance MOU is no longer the controlling procedural document.

Hiring/Training

• Fleet Managers & HR: Train staff to report Notices of Suspension immediately. The window to reschedule a hearing is now statutory and unforgiving.
• In-House Counsel: Retrain legal staff handling DFPS (Department of Family and Protective Services) matters. The ALJ’s decision is now final, not a proposal. You must prepare for the SOAH hearing as the final trial on the merits, not a preliminary step.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Proof of Submission: For ALR hearings, you must implement a system to capture and store verifiable proof of receipt (e-file stamp or fax confirmation) for continuance requests submitted prior to the 5-day cutoff. This record is your only defense if an ALJ attempts to deny a statutory right to reschedule.

Fees & Costs

• Litigation Costs: Expect front-loaded legal costs for DFPS cases. Since the ALJ decision is final, you cannot save your "best arguments" for an appeal to the Commissioner. Full resource deployment is required at the initial hearing stage.