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<section article="gsg" article_name="State Government" number="10-205" title_number="10" title_name="Governmental Procedures" subtitle_number="2" subtitle_name="Administrative Procedure Act -- Contested Cases">
  <level label="a">
    <level label="1">
      <text>Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a board, commission, or agency head authorized to conduct a contested case hearing shall:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>conduct the hearing; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>delegate the authority to conduct the contested case hearing to:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>the Office; or</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>with the prior written approval of the Chief Administrative Law Judge, a person not employed by the Office.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>A hearing held in accordance with § 4-608(f) or § 5-610(f) of the Business Occupations and Professions Article may not be delegated to the Office.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>With the written approval of the Chief Administrative Law Judge, a class of contested case hearings may be delegated as provided in paragraph (1)(ii)2 of this subsection.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>This subsection is not intended to restrict the right of an individual, expressly authorized by a statute in effect on October 1, 1993, to conduct a contested case hearing.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <text>An agency may delegate to the Office the authority to issue:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>proposed or final findings of fact;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>proposed or final conclusions of law;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>proposed or final findings of fact and conclusions of law;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>proposed or final orders or orders under Title 20 of this article; or</text>
    </level>
    <level label="5">
      <text>the final administrative decision of an agency in a contested case.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <text>Promptly after receipt of a request for a contested case hearing, an agency shall:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>notify the parties that the authorized agency head, board, or commission shall conduct the hearing;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>transmit the request to the Office so that the Office shall conduct the hearing in accordance with the agency’s delegation; or</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>request written approval from the Chief Administrative Law Judge to appoint a person not employed by the Office to conduct the hearing.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <level label="1">
      <text>Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, an agency’s delegation and transmittal of all or part of a contested case to the Office is final.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>If an agency has adopted regulations specifying the criteria and procedures for the revocation of a delegation of a contested case, delegation of authority to hear all or part of a contested case may be revoked, by the agency head, board, or commission, in accordance with the agency’s regulations, at any time prior to the earlier of:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>the issuance of a ruling on a substantive issue; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>the taking of oral testimony from the first witness.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <level label="1">
      <text>The Office shall:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>conduct the hearing; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection or as otherwise required by law, within 90 days after the completion of the hearing, complete the procedure authorized in the agency’s delegation to the Office.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The time limit specified in paragraph (1)(ii) of this subsection may be extended with the written approval of the Chief Administrative Law Judge.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
</section>
