10-1 - COMMUNICATIONS - DISTRICT AND CENTER RESPONSIBILITIES

10-1-1 - Regulatory Actions that Require Center Concurrence

When a decision is made by the District that initiation of a regulatory action is appropriate, the District should notify the appropriate Center compliance unit regarding its intent to submit a recommendation.   The Center will notify the District as soon as a case (compliance) officer has been assigned.   This early communication will create opportunities to discuss the case, including the overall strategy, as well as the history, violations, rationale, charging scheme, regulatory and policy considerations, local knowledge, and national/program issues.

If, after its initial review of a District's recommendation, the Center compliance unit is inclined not to concur with the District's recommendation, the Center will promptly notify the District and provide the District with an oral explanation for its preliminary decision not to concur with the recommendation.   If the District does not agree with the basis for the potential disapproval, it should provide the Center with additional justification for proceeding with the recommended action within three business days.   The additional justification should be limited to information currently available to the District, not a commitment to gather additional information to support the recommendation.   The Center will consider this additional justification before making a final disposition on the District's recommendation, apprise the District of its decision, and prepare the final memo.   The Center's final disposition on the recommendation (approved or disapproved) will normally not be delayed if it is determined that an inspection will be necessary to collect additional supporting evidence.   The involved compliance officer and the DCB should participate in discussions with the Center that occur during the process described in this paragraph.   If the official action proposed was not the subject of a formal recommendation from the District (e.g., BIMO, foreign inspection), the same communication principles should apply between involved Center and District staff.

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10-1-2 - Regulatory Actions prepared by a Center for District Issuance and/or Follow-up

When a decision is made by a Center that District issuance, involvement and/or follow-up is an appropriate course of action, the Center should notify the appropriate District compliance unit(s) regarding its intent to prepare a regulatory action, and provide the District(s) with an opportunity to collaborate on the compliance strategy and the substance of the action.

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