§6712 Discrimination Proceedings

Summary

If the Secretary finds that a city or county discriminated, or learns of a court or agency holding that says so, the Secretary must send a written notice of noncompliance within 10 days. The notice must say why. The local government then has 30 days from getting the notice to give informal evidence. That evidence can only be about whether people were denied benefits or excluded, whether the program broke the rules in section 6711(b), and whether any part of the program was paid for with money from this chapter. By the end of that 30-day window, the Secretary must decide if the local government failed to follow section 6711(a) or (b), unless the government has already signed a compliance agreement under section 6714. If the Secretary finds noncompliance, payments are suspended unless, within 10 days of the decision, the government signs a compliance agreement or asks for a hearing. A requested hearing must start within 30 days and an administrative law judge must issue a preliminary decision within 30 days of the start about the government’s chances. The judge can stop payments if the government did not comply, or lift the suspension if it did. If there already is a holding of discrimination about the program, the only question in the hearing is whether chapter funds paid for any part of the program; that holding is final unless an appellate court reverses it.