HB517 Alabama 2010 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Mike Ball

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2010

Title

Office of Administrative Hearings, established, State Advisory Council on Administrative Hearings, established, consolidation of Administrative Law Judge and hearing officers, appointment of Chief Administrative Law Judge and Administrative Law Judge, duties, appropriation

Summary

HB517 would create an independent Office of Administrative Hearings to take over Alabama's administrative hearings, establish a State Advisory Council, and set new staffing, rules, and funding for administrative law judges and hearing officers.

What This Bill Does

It would establish the Office of Administrative Hearings as an independent unit in the executive branch to handle administrative hearings that are currently handled by the Administrative Law Judge Division. It would create the State Advisory Council on Administrative Hearings to work with a chief administrative law judge to promulgate rules and oversee the office. It would transfer existing staff from the AGs Administrative Law Judge Division and related HR personnel to the new office, create a Merit System for appointments, designate a chief ALJ with a six year term, and fund the office through a dedicated fund with appropriations. It would apply open meetings laws, due process, and ethics to the ALJs, set hearing standards and timelines, and define final agency decision making with procedures for appeals, cost sharing, and possible staff reversion if funding is insufficient.

Who It Affects

• State agencies that employ or engage hearing officers or administrative law judges, as hearings for these agencies would be moved to the new Office of Administrative Hearings and would be subject to its rules and open meetings requirements (with some exemptions).
• Administrative law judges, hearing officers, and related staff currently working in the Administrative Law Judge Division of the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Human Resources, who would be transferred to the new Office, placed in the Merit System, and possibly redesignated (for example as senior administrative law judges) under the new structure.

Key Provisions

• Creates the Office of Administrative Hearings as an independent executive branch unit to conduct hearings formerly done by the AGs Administrative Law Judge Division.
• Establishes the State Advisory Council on Administrative Hearings, whose members include the Chief Justice, the Presiding Judge of the Court of Civil Appeals, the Presiding Circuit Judge of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, the President of the Alabama State Bar, and the Attorney General, and authorizes them to appoint the chief ALJ and promulgate rules.
• Transfers all applicable personnel from the AGs ALJ Division and related HR staff to the new Office on October 1, 2010, with duties preserved and Merit System participation for those appointed.
• Sets qualification requirements for the chief ALJ and administrative law judges, including Alabama Bar membership, years of practice, and experience in administrative procedures; requires full-time commitment for the chief ALJ.
• Authorizes the chief ALJ to supervise the Office, hire and remove staff, contract for outside attorneys, develop training, and establish model rules and procedures for hearings.
• Requires hearings to be subject to Alabama Open Meetings Act and due process, with Canons of Judicial Ethics applying to all ALJs; establishes timelines for hearings, including start, completion, and a recommended order timeframe.
• Provides for agency final decision making where designated, with procedures for rejecting or modifying conclusions of law and findings of fact, and requires justification tied to the record.
• Allows agencies to require parties to reimburse costs of providing an ALJ; permits cost sharing and prorating of costs among agencies.
• Creates an Office of Administrative Hearings Fund for dedicated funding, with appropriations allowed from state sources; funds carry over and are subject to general budget law.
• Excludes certain branches and agencies from full application, while applying the act to agencies that employ or engage one or more hearing officers or ALJs.
• Includes provisions for space, transfer of staff and equipment, and continued operation starting October 1, 2010; makes the act severable and establishes its effective date.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 25, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Administrative Hearings Office