Committee recommends pass of administrative-hearings bill renaming OAH and adding remand authority; motion passes by voice vote

Senate File 2236, an agency bill for the Office of Administrative Hearings, was recommended to pass by the Minnesota Senate State and Local Government Committee and re-referred to the Senate Elections Committee following a voice vote Thursday.

Sponsor Senator Gustafson told the committee the bill would change OAHs name to the Court of Administrative Hearings to reflect the offices growth and align its naming with other executive-branch courts such as the Tax Court and the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals. The bill also adds a remand process allowing agencies to request a return to OAH within 45 days in specified circumstances (for example, following a commissioners rejection of summary disposition, participation requests from a procedurally defaulted party, or when clerical or mathematical errors are identified). An "as justice requires" provision would allow the chief administrative law judge to grant remand when appropriate.

Abigail Rankin, associate general counsel for the Office of Administrative Hearings, said the remand provision was developed collaboratively with agency counsel and is intended to protect due process. Rankin also said the bill repeals claims of action that federal courts identified as unconstitutional, a cleanup intended to make the available claims clearer to citizens.

There was no recorded opposition in committee. After a short period for questions and no further comments, the committee recommended the bill to pass and re-referred it to the Elections Committee. The motion passed by voice vote; the transcript records the committee voice vote but does not list individual roll-call tallies.