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Committee advances bill extending Office of Administrative Law Proceedings jurisdiction over more agency hearings; Medicaid appeals remain with agency
Summary
House Bill 1466 moves adjudicative authority for multiple state agencies to the Office of Administrative Law Proceedings (OALP) for hearing-level matters while preserving federal-law-required exceptions for Medicaid eligibility appeals; committee approved amendments and passed the bill 10-0 after agency and stakeholder testimony.
Representative Meltzer presented House Bill 1466, which makes technical and substantive changes to administrative adjudication by expanding the Office of Administrative Law Proceedings’ role across several state agencies.
Meltzer said the bill updates statutory references, moves hearing authority for the Department of Natural Resources to OALP while preserving the natural resources commission’s rulemaking authority, codifies an existing memorandum of understanding between the secretary of state's dealer and manufacturers division and OALP, and transfers hearing and ultimate-authority language for several agencies to OALP where federal law allows. She listed the affected entities as DNR, Secretary of State dealer/manufacturers division, Professional Licensing Agency boards, Department of Child Services (DCS), Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA), grain buyers, Department of Homeland Security and OALP itself.
Michelle Allen, director of the Office of Administrative Law Proceedings, testified in support and said OALP processes a large volume of cases; she told the committee, “we process 27,000 appeals in OALP,” and that most non‑Medicaid cases will result in a final ALJ order under the revised structure. Allen said the bill aligns statutes with how OALP has functioned since its inception in 2019 and will centralize impartial adjudication and resources.
The committee heard questions about Medicaid-related appeals. Senators raised concerns about moving ultimate authority for certain appeals away from FSSA. Representative Meltzer and witnesses explained that federal regulation 42 CFR 431.1 requires Medicaid eligibility and beneficiary appeals to remain under agency final authority; the bill retains those exceptions so ALJ decisions in Medicaid-eligibility matters will be nonfinal and go back to FSSA for ultimate action, with judicial review remaining available.
Stakeholders including the State Bar Association, the Automobile Dealers Association of Indiana and an industry coalition representing vehicle manufacturers testified in support, describing the legislation as codifying existing practice and providing a consistent, centralized framework for administrative hearings.
The committee adopted Amendment 18, which made terminology and cross-reference fixes (for example, updating references to OALP and to consistent statutory phrasing) and advanced the bill on a 10-0 vote. Sponsors said some additional technical cleanup may continue before second reading.
