54-57 Office of Administrative Hearings

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CHAPTER 54-57OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS54-57-01.Office of administrative hearings - Agency defined - Administrativeagency defined.1.A state office of administrative hearings is created.2.The office is under the direction of a director of administrative hearings who must be free of any association that would impair the director's ability to function officially in a fair and objective manner. The director must be an attorney at law in good standing, admitted to the bar in this state, and currently licensed by the state board of law examiners.The director of administrative hearings must be appointed by thegovernor and confirmed by the senate and shall hold office for a term of six years, the term beginning July first of the year of appointment and ending June thirtieth of the sixth calendar year after appointment.3.The director of administrative hearings may preside as an administrative law judge at administrative hearings and may employ or appoint additional administrative law judges to serve in the office as necessary to fulfill the duties of office as described in section 54-57-04 and section 28-32-31 and to provide administrative law judges to preside at administrative hearings as requested by agencies.The director ofadministrative hearings may employ or appoint only such additional administrative law judges who are attorneys at law in good standing, admitted to the bar in the state, and currently licensed by the state board of law examiners. Administrative law judges employed by the director before August 1, 1995, need not be attorneys at law and may be designated by the director to preside at any administrative proceedings or adjudicative proceedings under section 54-57-03. The director may delegate to an employee the exercise of a specific statutory power or duty as deemed advisable, subject to the director's control, including the powers and duties of a deputy director. All administrative law judges must be classified employees, except that the director of administrative hearings must be an unclassified employee who only may be removed, during a term of office, for cause. Each administrative law judge must have a demonstrated knowledge of administrative practices and procedures and must be free of any association that would impair the person's ability to function officially in a fair and objective manner.4.The director of administrative hearings may employ the necessary support staff required by the office. Support staff must be classified employees.5.The director of administrative hearings shall develop categories of positions in the classified service under class titles for the appointment or employment of administrative law judges and support staff in consultation with and approved by the director of North Dakota human resource management services, including the salary to be paid for each position or category of position.6.The director shall file a report with the governor and the state advisory council for administrative hearings not later than the first day of December of each odd-numberedyear.Thereportmustprovideinformationregardingalladministrative hearings conducted by the office of administrative hearings during the previous biennium. The report must provide information regarding meeting case processing guidelines for each agency, the cost of hearings for each agency, the decisions issued for each agency, and the results of the office of administrative hearings' service survey.7.In this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires, "agency" means each board, bureau, commission, department, or other administrative unit ofPage No. 1the executive branch of state government whether headed by an appointed or elected official.8.In this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires, "administrative agency" means that term as defined in section 28-32-01.54-57-02.Temporary administrative law judges.When regularly appointedadministrative law judges are not available, the director of administrative hearings may contract on a temporary basis with qualified individuals to serve as administrative law judges for the office of administrative hearings. Temporary administrative law judges are not employees of the state.54-57-03. Hearings before administrative law judges.1.Notwithstanding the authority granted in chapter 28-32 allowing agency heads or other persons to preside in an administrative proceeding, all adjudicative proceedings of administrative agencies under chapter 28-32, except those of the public service commission, the industrial commission, the insurance commissioner, the state engineer, the department of transportation, job service North Dakota, and the labor commissioner, must be conducted by the office of administrative hearings in accordance with the adjudicative proceedings provisions of chapter 28-32 and any rules adopted pursuant to chapter 28-32. But, appeals hearings pursuant to section 61-03-22 and drainage appeals from water resource boards to the state engineer pursuant to chapter 61-32 must be conducted by the office of administrative hearings. Additionally, hearings of the department of corrections and rehabilitation for the parole board in accordance with chapter 12-59, regarding parole violations; job discipline and dismissal appeals to the board of higher education; Individuals With Disabilities Education Act and section 504 due process hearings of the superintendent of public instruction; and chapter 37-19.1 veterans' preferences hearings for any agency must be conducted by the office of administrative hearings in accordance with applicable laws.2.The agency head shall make a written request to the director requesting the designation of an administrative law judge to preside for each administrative proceeding or adjudicative proceeding to be held.3.Informal disposition of an administrative proceeding or adjudicative proceeding may be made by an agency at any time before or after the designation of an administrative law judge from the office of administrative hearings.4.If a party to an administrative proceeding or adjudicative proceeding is in default, the agency may issue a default order and a written notice of default, including a statement of the grounds for default, prior to the hearing.The agency shalldetermine all the issues involved. If issued, the default notice and order must be served upon all the parties and the administrative law judge, if one has been designated to preside. After service of the default notice and order, if a hearing is necessary to complete the administrative action with or without the participation of the party in default, an administrative law judge from the office of administrative hearings must preside.5.When designating administrative law judges to preside in an administrative proceeding or adjudicative proceeding, the director shall attempt to assign an administrative law judge having expertise in the subject matter to be dealt with.6.The director of administrative hearings may assign an administrative law judge to preside in an administrative proceeding or adjudicative proceeding, upon request, to any agency exempted from the provisions of this section, to any agency, or part of any agency, that is not an administrative agency subject to the provisions of chapter 28-32, to any unit of local government in this state, to any tribal government in this state, to the judicial branch, or to any agency to conduct a rulemaking hearing.Page No. 254-57-03.1. Hearings after judgment. The office of administrative hearings may nothold hearings on the same issue involving the same parties as the original hearing after a judgment has been rendered by a court concerning that issue unless authorized to or directed to by that court.54-57-04.Duties of administrative law judges. All administrative law judges shallcomply with the duties of hearing officers under section 28-32-31 for all hearings of administrative agencies under chapter 28-32, as well as for all hearings of administrative agencies not under chapter 28-32, in accordance with applicable laws.54-57-05. Uniform rules of administrative practice or procedure - Effective date -Administrative law judge rules.1.The director of administrative hearings shall adopt, in accordance with chapter 28-32, rules of administrative hearings practice or procedure which implement chapter 28-32 and which aid in the course and conduct of all administrative hearings and related proceedings conducted by administrative agencies under chapter 28-32. The uniform rules must be used by all administrative agencies subject to chapter 28-32 which do not have their own rules of administrative hearings practice or procedure governing the course and conduct of hearings.If an administrativeagency's rules are silent on any aspect of the agency's administrative hearings practice or procedure, the applicable uniform rule governs.2.The director of administrative hearings may adopt rules to further establish qualifications for administrative law judges; to establish procedures for requesting and designating administrative law judges; and to facilitate the performance of duties and responsibilities conferred by this chapter. Any rules adopted by the director of administrative hearings pursuant to this subsection must be adopted in accordance with chapter 28-32.54-57-06. Transfer and transition provisions. Repealed by S.L. 1995, ch. 313, </DIV></DIV></DIV> </DIV>  <DIV></DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV></DIV>  <DIV id=footer> <DIV class=container> Copyright © 2012-2022 Laws9.Com All rights reserved.  <A href="/contactus.html">Contact Us</A> | <A href="/aboutus.html">About Us</A> | <A href="/terms.html">Terms</A> | <A href="/privacy.html">Privacy</A> </DIV> </DIV> </BODY></HTML>

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54-57 Office of Administrative Hearings