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Office of Administrative Hearings seeks new case‑management system as budget edges up

Transportation and the Environment Subcommittee · February 12, 2026

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Summary

The Office of Administrative Hearings told the subcommittee it plans to procure a modern case‑management system after DLS noted a $1.7 million increase in the FY27 allowance; vendor proposals are due in March 2026 and OAH anticipates a one‑year implementation after a notice to proceed.

The Office of Administrative Hearings presented its FY27 operating analysis, telling the Transportation and the Environment Subcommittee the agency seeks to replace a legacy case‑management system created in 2003.

DLS analyst Scott Benson said the FY27 allowance for OAH is $21.7 million — an increase of about $1.7 million (8.4%) — and that 83% of the allowance supports salaries and fringes for roughly 114 regular positions. The proposed budget includes $150,000 for development of a new case‑management system; OAH has begun procurement and expects vendor proposals in March 2026.

Chief Administrative Law Judge Chung Park told the committee OAH remains committed to timely, impartial hearings and said the integration requirements in the RFP emphasize two critical interfaces: integration with the Maryland Electronic Courts system for appeals and with the national criminal background check system to transmit required data to state partners. An OAH IT representative said reporting and extraction of data for agencies that refer cases to OAH are central to the RFP specifications.

OAH reported disposing of about 34,484 cases in FY25 and described a rise in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) use — 45% of cases resolved with ADR in FY25, up nearly 8 percentage points from the year before. The agency said average processing times increased for tracked case types and cited postponements and requests for counsel as drivers of the delays.

Ending: OAH recommended concurrence with the governor's allowance; the committee asked technical questions about integrations and reporting capability and received assurances the RFP includes required interfaces and reporting features.