House Bill 1223 – Administrative Law Judges
Authored by Rep. Greg Steuerwald (R-Danville)
Establishes the office of administrative law proceedings within the state personnel department to hear certain administrative proceedings that result in a finding of fact determining the legal rights, duties or privileges of a party after an opportunity for an evidentiary hearing. Specifies the administrative proceedings over which the office has jurisdiction. Provides a list of agencies over whose administrative proceedings the administrative law judges from the office do not preside. Provides that the office shall have a director who is responsible for administering the office, hiring administrative law judges, and assigning administrative law judges to administrative law judges. Makes conforming amendments.
The Latest: The bill was passed unanimously by the Senate Judiciary Committee this week.
Chamber Position: Support
Chamber Action/Commentary: In committee, the Chamber led in the endorsement of this bill, which now enjoys broad support. But initially, before it was first heard in the House, we and others were concerned as to how this new state office of administrative judges would function and to which bodies its jurisdiction would apply. We engaged with the author and after several consultations, the bill has evolved into one we embrace as a positive step in enhancing the quality and objectivity of many administrative proceedings. The author agreed that certain exemptions were warranted based on the subject matter expertise and independence of administrative law judges employed by some state entities. The Chamber much appreciates the willingness of the author to listen to our reservations and work with us in determining which agencies and entities should appropriately be subject to the new office and which should not.
Resource: Bill Waltz at (317) 264-6887 or email: bwaltz@indianachamber.com
