Human Services Board chair urges statutory review, outlines hearing process

Michael Donahue, chair of the Human Services Board, told the House Committee on Human Services at a committee hearing on H‑9 B‑2 that the board supports a review of its enabling statute and described how the board conducts fair‑hearing proceedings.

Donahue said the board asks hearing officers to provide written recommendations after de novo hearings and that the board “ask[s] them to give us a recommendation, which we consider.” He described the board’s option to accept a hearing officer’s recommendation, to overturn it, or to remand the matter back to the hearing officer or the agency for additional fact‑finding or legal clarification.

The nut graf: the committee is considering short‑form legislation to update the Human Services Board’s authorizing language after constituent complaints and because federal program changes could affect state implementation and recipients of Agency of Human Services programs.

Donahue gave a synopsis of current practice: petitioners…