§ 14.50 — Hearings Before Administrative Law Judge
Plain-Language Summary
Administrative law judges conduct hearings for agencies and prepare reports with findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendations. They preside over contested case hearings, rule hearings, and other proceedings. Judges must be fair and impartial, and they control the conduct of hearings.
14.50 HEARINGS BEFORE ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE.
All hearings of state agencies required to be conducted under this chapter shall be conducted by an administrative law judge assigned by the chief administrative law judge or by a workers’ compensation judge assigned by the chief administrative law judge as provided in section 14.48. All hearings required to be conducted under chapter 176 shall be conducted by a compensation judge assigned by the chief administrative law judge. In assigning administrative law judges or compensation judges to conduct hearings under this chapter, the chief administrative law judge shall attempt to utilize personnel having expertise in the subject to be dealt with in the hearing. It shall be the duty of the judge to: (1) advise an agency as to the location at which and time during which a hearing should be held so as to allow for participation by all affected interests; (2) conduct only hearings for which proper notice has been given; (3) see to it that all hearings are conducted in a fair and impartial manner. Except in the case of workers’ compensation hearings involving claims for compensation it shall also be the duty of the judge to make a report on each proposed agency action in which the administrative law judge functioned in an official capacity, stating findings of fact and conclusions and recommendations, taking notice of the degree to which the agency has (i) documented its statutory authority to take the proposed action, (ii) fulfilled all relevant procedural requirements of law or rule, and (iii) in rulemaking proceedings, demonstrated the need for and reasonableness of its proposed action with an affirmative presentation of facts.
History:
1975 c 380 s 16; 1977 c 443 s 9,10; 1980 c 509 s 2; 1980 c 615 s 26-33; 1981 c 346 s 2-6; 1Sp1981 c 4 art 4 s 40; 1982 c 424 s 130; 1984 c 640 s 32; 1986 c 444; 2000 c 355 s 2; 2005 c 16 s 2; 2011 c 89 s 4
**NOTE: **The Office of Administrative Hearings has been renamed the Court of Administrative Hearings. This terminology change will be implemented in the 2026 Statutes. Laws 2025, chapter 39, article 2, sections 17 and 68.
History: History: 1975 c 380 s 16; 1977 c 443 s 9,10; 1980 c 509 s 2; 1980 c 615 s 26-33; 1981 c 346 s 2-6; 1Sp1981 c 4 art 4 s 40; 1982 c 424 s 130; 1984 c 640 s 32; 1986 c 444; 2000 c 355 s 2; 2005 c 16 s 2; 2011 c 89 s 4