House File 62 - Introduced



                                       HOUSE FILE       
                                       BY  TYMESON


    Passed House,  Date               Passed Senate, Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act to make a decision by an administrative law judge final
  2    agency action for the purposes of judicial review.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  4 TLSB 1283YH 83
  5 jr/rj/5

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 10A.801, subsection 10, Code 2009, is
  1  2 amended by striking the subsection and inserting in lieu
  1  3 thereof the following:
  1  4    10.  As provided by section 17A.15, decisions of
  1  5 administrative law judges employed by the division constitute
  1  6 final agency action for purposes of judicial review, except to
  1  7 the extent specified otherwise by statute.
  1  8    Sec. 2.  Section 17A.15, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2009,
  1  9 are amended to read as follows:
  1 10    1.  When Except as otherwise provided by statute, when the
  1 11 agency or an administrative law judge presides at the
  1 12 reception of the evidence in a contested case, the decision of
  1 13 the agency is a final decision.
  1 14    2.  When Except as otherwise provided by statute, when the
  1 15 agency or an administrative law judge did not preside at the
  1 16 reception of the evidence in a contested case, the presiding
  1 17 officer shall make a proposed decision.  Findings of fact
  1 18 shall be prepared by the officer presiding at the reception of
  1 19 the evidence in a contested case unless the officer becomes
  1 20 unavailable to the agency.  If the officer is unavailable, the
  1 21 findings of fact may be prepared by another person qualified
  1 22 to be a presiding officer who has read the record, unless
  1 23 demeanor of witnesses is a substantial factor.  If demeanor is
  1 24 a substantial factor and the presiding officer is unavailable,
  1 25 the portions of the hearing involving demeanor shall be heard
  1 26 again or the case shall be dismissed.
  1 27                           EXPLANATION
  1 28    Many administrative agencies have the authority to conduct
  1 29 trial=type hearings, called contested cases, and issue binding
  1 30 decisions.  Those decisions may then be appealed to district
  1 31 court.  Under current law, the head of the agency, whether a
  1 32 board, commission, or agency director, is entitled to make the
  1 33 final decision in these cases.  In many cases the agency head
  1 34 does not actually preside at the hearing itself.  In those
  1 35 situations the presiding officer at the hearing, often an
  2  1 administrative law judge, renders a proposed decision which
  2  2 can later be upheld, reversed, or modified by the head of the
  2  3 agency.
  2  4    This bill provides that when an administrative law judge
  2  5 presides at a contested case hearing, the resulting decision
  2  6 is final agency action, and the agency head cannot reverse or
  2  7 modify the decision.  Several administrative agencies have a
  2  8 procedure established in their own enabling statutes, and for
  2  9 this reason, the bill has an exception for these statutory
  2 10 provisions.
  2 11 LSB 1283YH 83
  2 12 jr/rj/5