4615 - Revocation, suspension or annulment of certificate of authority.

§   4615.  Revocation,  suspension  or  annulment  of  certificate  of  authority. 1. The council  may  revoke,  suspend,  limit  or  annul  the  certificate of authority of an operator upon proof that:    a.  The  operator  failed to continue to meet the requirements for the  authority originally granted;    b. The operator lacked one or  more  of  the  qualifications  for  the  certificate of authority as specified by this article;    c.  The  operator  made a material misstatement, misrepresentation, or  committed fraud  in  obtaining  the  certificate  of  authority,  or  in  attempting to obtain the same;    d. The operator lacked fitness or was untrustworthy;    e.  The  operator  engaged  in  fraudulent  or  dishonest practices of  management  in  the  conduct  of  business  under  the  certificate   of  authority;    f. The operator converted or withheld funds;    g.  The operator failed to comply with, or violated, any proper order,  rule or regulation of the council or  violated  any  provision  of  this  article;    h.  The unsound business practices of the operator renders its further  transactions in this state hazardous or injurious to the public;    i. The operator has refused to be examined or to produce its accounts,  records, and files for  examination,  or  its  officers,  employees,  or  controlling persons have refused to give information with respect to the  affairs  of the community or to perform any other legal obligation as to  such examination;    j. The superintendent of insurance has made a determination  that  the  operator  is  insolvent within the meaning of section one thousand three  hundred nine of the insurance law; or    k. The commissioner or the commissioner of social services  has  found  violations  of  applicable statutes, rules or regulations which threaten  to affect directly the health, safety, or welfare of  a  resident  of  a  continuing care retirement community.    2. No certificate of authority shall be revoked, suspended, limited or  annulled  without  a hearing, except that a certificate of authority may  be temporarily suspended or limited prior to a hearing for a period  not  in  excess of sixty days upon written notice to the operator following a  finding by the commissioner that the  public  health  or  safety  is  in  imminent  danger  or  there  exists  any  condition  or  practice  or  a  continuing pattern of conditions or  practices  that  pose  an  imminent  danger to the health or safety of any resident. Any delay in the hearing  process  occasioned  by  the  operator  shall  toll  the running of said  suspension or limitation and shall not abridge the full time provided in  this subdivision.    3. Any state agency which seeks to revoke, suspend, limit or annul the  certificate of authority or any other license or certificate required to  be obtained by an operator of a  continuing  care  retirement  community  pursuant  to  law,  shall  request  the  council  to  commence a hearing  pursuant to this section.    4. The council shall fix  a  time  and  place  for  the  hearing.  The  commissioner  shall cause to be served in person or mailed by registered  or certified mail to the operator at least  ten  days  before  the  date  fixed for the hearing a copy of the charges, together with the notice of  the  time  and  place  of  the hearing. The operator shall file with the  commissioner not less than three days prior to  the  hearing  a  written  answer  to  the charges. The agency which initiated the proceeding shall  be responsible for providing evidence in support of the charges  to  the  commissioner  in  order  to  prepare  a  statement  of charges and shall  provide evidence in support of the charges at the hearing.5. All orders hereunder shall be subject  to  review  as  provided  in  article  seventy-eight  of the civil practice law and rules. Application  for such review must be made within sixty days after service  in  person  or  by  registered  or  certified  mail  of a copy of the order upon the  operator.