Texas Real Estate Commission training reviews limits and risks of changing ALJ's Proposal for Decision

The Texas Real Estate Commission held an executive committee training on administrative contested-case practice that focused on when and how the agency may change an administrative law judge's Proposal for Decision (PFD).

The session explained why a PFD matters: "a PFD is a recommendation by the ALJ to [the] commission," Presenter, a staff member, told attendees, and the commission's ability to alter that recommendation is constrained by statute and precedent.

Commissioners and staff heard that PFDs typically contain three core parts: findings of fact, conclusions of law and recommended sanctions. The presenter distinguished among those categories and described how the agency's authority to change each differs. Basic facts (the who, what, when and where) are generally considered the ALJ's province; ultimate facts and conclusions of law can be altered only in limited circumstances; and agencies have the most discretion to adjust recommended sanctions.

Under the Texas Administrative Procedure Act, the presenter said, an agency may change…