ESTABLISH ORDER
CS 372P Administrative Hearings
Statutory Authority
Utah Code Annotated 63G-4-203. Procedures
for informal adjudicative proceedings states as follows:
“(1) If an agency enacts rules
designating one or more categories of adjudicative proceedings as informal
adjudicative proceedings, the agency shall, by rule, prescribe procedures for
informal adjudicative proceedings that include the following:
(a) Unless the agency by rule
provides for and requires a response, no answer or other pleading responsive to
the allegations contained in the notice of agency action or the request for
agency action need be filed.
(b) The agency shall hold a
hearing if a hearing is required by statute or rule, or if a hearing is
permitted by rule and is requested by a party within the time prescribed by
rule.
(c) In any hearing, the parties
named in the notice of agency action or in the request for agency action shall
be permitted to testify, present evidence, and comment on the issues.
(d) Hearings will be held only
after timely notice to all parties.
(e) Discovery is prohibited, but
the agency may issue subpoenas or other orders to compel production of
necessary evidence.
(f) All parties shall have access
to information contained in the agency's files and to all materials and
information gathered in any investigation, to the extent permitted by law.
(g) Intervention is prohibited,
except that the agency may enact rules permitting intervention where a federal
statute or rule requires that a state permit intervention.
(h) All hearings shall be open to
all parties.
(i)
Within a reasonable time after the close of an informal adjudicative
proceeding, the presiding officer shall issue a signed order in writing that
states the following:
(i) the
decision;
(ii) the reasons for the decision;
(iii) a notice of any right of
administrative or judicial review available to the parties; and
(iv) the time limits for filing an
appeal or requesting a review.
(j) The presiding officer's order
shall be based on the facts appearing in the agency's files and on the facts
presented in evidence at any hearings.
(k) A copy of the presiding
officer's order shall be promptly mailed to each of the parties.
(2) (a) The agency may record any
hearing.
(b) Any party, at the party's own
expense, may have a reporter approved by the agency prepare a transcript from
the agency's record of the hearing.
(3) Nothing in this section
restricts or precludes any investigative right or power given to an agency by
another statute.”
The Office of
Administrative Hearings (OAH) conducts hearings on a referral basis in
adjudicative proceedings initiated by the Office of Recovery Services/ Child
Support Services (ORS/CSS). All
administrative hearing request packets, including all required documentation,
must be sent to OAH. By forwarding a Request for Hearing to the OAH, CSS
transfers responsibility to the OAH to appoint an Administrative Hearing
Officer (AHO) or an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) to act as Presiding Officer
at an administrative hearing and CSS employees return to an advocate role. Once a hearing request has been forwarded to
OAH, it is no longer appropriate for the agent or senior agent/former Presiding
Officer to finalize a stipulation with the respondents. If the respondents wish to stipulate after
the OAH request, the Presiding Officer appointed by OAH must approve any
stipulations either by telephone with all parties participating prior to the
hearing, or at the time of the hearing.
An “Administrative Hearing Checklist” with appropriate
accompanying documents must be attached to the hearing request that is sent to
OAH (see CS 371P Case Preparation for Hearing for further information).
During the hearing, the AHO or ALJ will generally only address the
disputed items from the NAA. Therefore,
the CSS agent presenting evidence at the hearing must ask the AHO or ALJ to
include all provisions listed in the NAA in the final order issued by OAH. Everything requested in the NAA should be
included in the OAH order, even if it was not disputed.
Once the final order is received from OAH, enter the order
information on the Utah State Case Registry, which is ORSIS. Also send a copy to your regional docket unit
as you would an administrative order issued by CSS. Refer to CS 381P Registration of
Administrative Orders with the State Case Registry and Docketing of
Administrative Orders for more information.
Paternity Cases
CSS does not refer cases to the OAH for a hearing when paternity
is an issue, even if something other than paternity is in dispute. Do not forward a hearing request to OAH when
paternity has not yet been established.
Instead, dismiss the Notice of Agency Action (NAA) and proceed
judicially on the case by referring the case to the Attorney General’s Office
(AGO). The AGO will ask the court to
address paternity, child support, and other issues.
Refer to CS 370P Administrative Hearing Request and Preliminary
Conference for more information about administrative hearings for declarant
fathers.