Hearings shall be conducted pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, except that:
(a) Hearings shall be conducted by administrative law judges for purposes of Sections 11512 and 11517, chosen under Section 11502 or appointed by the commissioner.
(b) Hearings are commenced by a filing of a notice in lieu of Sections 11503 and 11504.
(c) The commissioner shall adopt, amend, or reject a decision only under Section 11518.5 and subdivisions (b), (c), and (e) of Section 11517 and solely on the basis of the record as provided in Section 11425.50 of the Government Code.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 11501, Section 11430.30 and subdivision (b) of Section 11430.70 shall not apply in these hearings.
(e) Discovery shall be liberally construed and disputes determined by the administrative law judge as provided in Section 11507.7 of the Government Code.
(Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 390, Sec. 10. Effective August 19, 1996. Operative July 1, 1997, by Sec. 11 of Ch. 390. Note: This section was added on Nov. 8, 1988, by initiative Prop. 103.)