Stating findings of the Legislature and authorizing the Legislative Council to appoint a committee to undertake and complete a study of potential approaches to mitigate the risk of bias in contested cases.

In the 2016, the Legislature authorized, and the Legislative Council, appointed the Administrative Hearing Officer Interim Committee to study ways to mitigate the risk of bias in administrative contested case proceedings. The committee made significant progress in this regard, but further work remains to be completed. This Concurrent Resolution would authorize the Legislative Council to reconstitute the Administrative Hearing Officer Interim Committee for the purpose of making recommendations regarding contested case reforms including, but not limited to (a) the potential of creating a central panel of hearing officers or administrative law judges; (b) where such a central panel would be located; (c) the types of agency contested cases that should be exempted from such a panel; and (d) appropriate amendments to the Administrative Procedures Act.