O.C.G.A.
O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 50-13-40 (2019)

Office created; chief state administrative law judge

✓ O.C.G.A. — 2019 edition (Public.Resource.Org Release 73)
Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.
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(a) There is created within the executive branch of state government the Office of State Administrative Hearings. The office shall be independent of state administrative agencies and shall be responsible for impartial administration of administrative hearings in accordance with this article. The office shall be assigned for administrative purposes only, as that term is defined in Code Section 50-4-3, to the Department of Administrative Services. (b) The head of the office shall be the chief state administrative law judge who shall be appointed by the Governor, shall serve a term of six years, shall be eligible for reappointment, and may be removed by the Governor for cause. The chief state administrative law judge shall have been admitted to the practice of law in this state for a period of at least five years. The chief state administrative law judge shall be in the unclassified service as defined by Code Section 45-20-2 and shall receive a salary to be determined by the Governor. All successors shall be appointed in the same manner as the original appointment and

vacancies in office shall be filled in the same manner for the remainder of the unexpired term. (c) The chief state administrative law judge shall promulgate rules and regulations and establish procedures to carry out the provisions of this article. (d) The chief state administrative law judge shall have the power to employ clerical personnel and court reporters necessary to assist in the performance of his or her duties. (e)(1) The chief state administrative law judge shall have the power to employ full-time assistant administrative law judges who shall exercise the powers conferred upon the chief state administrative law judge in all administrative cases assigned to them. Each assistant administrative law judge shall have been admitted to the practice of law in this state for a period of at least three years. The chief state administrative law judge may establish different levels of administrative law judge positions and the compensation for such positions shall be determined by the chief state administrative law judge. (2) The chief state administrative law judge may appoint a special assistant administrative law judge on a temporary or case basis as may be necessary for the proper performance of the duties of the office, pursuant to a fee schedule established in advance by the chief state administrative law judge. A special assistant administrative law judge shall have the same qualifications and authority as a full-time assistant administrative law judge. (3) The chief state administrative law judge may designate in writing a qualified full-time employee of an agency other than an agency directly connected with the proceeding to conduct a specified hearing, but such appointment shall only be with the prior consent of the employee’s agency. Such employee shall then serve as a special designated assistant administrative law judge for the purposes of the specific hearing and shall not be entitled to any additional pay for this service. (4) When the character of the hearing requires utilization of a hearing officer with special skill and technical expertise in the field, the chief state administrative law judge may so certify in writing and appoint as a special lay assistant administrative law judge a person who is not a member of the bar of this state or otherwise not qualified under this Code section. Such appointment shall specify in writing the reasons such special skill is required and the qualifications of the appointed individual. (5) The chief state administrative law judge may designate a class of hearings for which individuals with the necessary skill and

training need not meet the qualifications of paragraphs (1) through (4) of this subsection. These full-time associate administrative law judges shall exercise the powers conferred upon the chief state administrative judge in the class of administrative cases assigned to them. The chief state administrative law judge shall determine the compensation for such positions. (f ) The chief state administrative law judge and any administrative law judge employed on a full-time basis: (1) shall not otherwise engage in the practice of law; and (2) shall not, except in the performance of his or her duties in a contested case, render legal advice or assistance to any state board, bureau, commission, department, agency, or officer.

History

Code 1981, § 50-13-40, enacted by Ga. L. 1994, p. 1856, § 3; Ga. L. 2009, p. 745, § 1/SB 97; Ga. L. 2012, p. 446, § 2-106/HB 642.

Annotations

Editor’s notes. - Ga. L. 2012, p. 446, § 3-1/HB 642, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: ‘‘Personnel, equipment, and facilities that were assigned to the State Personnel Administration as of June 30, 2012, shall be trans-

ferred to the Department of Administrative Services on the effective date of this Act.’’ This Act became effective July 1, 2012. Ga. L. 2012, p. 446, § 3-2/HB 642, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: ‘‘Appropriations for functions which are transferred by this Act may be transferred as provided in Code Section 45-12-90.’’

JUDICIAL DECISIONS Cited in Longleaf Energy Assocs., LLC v. Friends of the Chattahoochee, Inc., 298 Ga. App. 753, 681 S.E.2d 203 (2009); Ctr. for a Sustainable Coast, Inc. v. Turner, 324

Ga. App. 762, 751 S.E.2d 555 (2013); Southern States-Bartow County, Inc. v. Riverwood Farm Prop. Owners Ass’n, Inc., 331 Ga. App. 878, 769 S.E.2d 823 (2015).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Current hearing officers utilized by Department of Transportation may

continue to hold hearings until April 1, 1995. 1994 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 94-21.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10 cases, 2004–2015 · leading case: Longleaf Energy Assocs., LLC v. Friends of the Chattahoochee, Inc., 681 S.E.2d 203 (Ga. Ct. App. 2009).
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Longleaf Energy Assocs., LLC v. Friends of the Chattahoochee, Inc., 681 S.E.2d 203 (Ga. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 8× “The Challengers filed a petition challenging issuance of the permit on numerous grounds and invoking the right to a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ) of the Office of State Administrative Hearings (OCGA § 50-13-40 et seq.) in accordance with the Georgia…”
Coastal Marshlands Prot. Comm. v. Ctr. for a Sustainable Coast, 649 S.E.2d 619 (Ga. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 4× “OCGA §§ 50-13-40 thru 50-13-44; Ga. Comp.”
Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Inc. v. Forsyth Cnty., 734 S.E.2d 242 (Ga. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “See OCGA § 12-2-2 (c) (2) (A) (“Any person who is aggrieved or adversely affected by any order or action of the director [of the EPD] shall, upon petition to the director within 30 days after the issuance of such order or the taking of such action, have a right to a hearing…”
S. States-Bartow Cnty., Inc. v. Riverwood Farm Prop. Owner's Ass'n, Inc., 769 S.E.2d 823 (Ga. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 4× “nder OCGA § 12-2-2 (c) (2) (A), which provides: Any person who is aggrieved or adversely affected by any order or action of the director shall, upon petition to the director within 30 days after the issuance of such order or the taking of such action, have a right to a hearing…”
Garvin v. Sec'y of State, 596 S.E.2d 166 (Ga. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 4× “OCGA § 50-13-40 et seq. Without conducting an evidentiary hearing, the ALJ rendered an initial decision granting the Commissioner's motion for a summary determination based on the pleadings and affidavits of record.”
Ctr. for a Sustainable Coast, Inc. v. Turner, 751 S.E.2d 555 (Ga. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 2× “And OCGA § 12-2-2 (c) (2) (A) provides: Any person who is aggrieved or adversely affected by any order or action of the director shall, upon petition to the director within 30 days after the issuance of such order or the taking of such action, have a right to a hearing before an…”
Coastal Marshlands Prot. Comm. v. Altamaha Riverkeeper, Inc., 726 S.E.2d 539 (Ga. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “OCGA§§ 50-13-40 (a) (creation of OSAH); 50-13-41 (a) (1) (contested cases heard by OSAH); Ga.”
James v. Davis, 629 S.E.2d 820 (Ga. 2006). · cites it 2× “See OCGA§§ 50-13-40 to 50-13-44. Lewis v. Winzenreid, 263 Ga.”
Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper v. Forsyth Cnty. (Ga. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “31 See OCGA § 12-2-2 (c) (2) (A) (“Any person who is aggrieved or adversely affected by any order or action of the director [of the EPD] shall, upon petition to the director within 30 days after the issuance of such order or the taking of such action, have a right to a hearing…”
Judson H. Turner v. Ctr. for a Sustainable Coast (Ga. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 2× “And OCGA § 12-2-2 (c) (2) (A) provides: Any person who is aggrieved or adversely affected by any order or action of the director shall, upon petition to the director within 30 days after the issuance of such order or the taking of such action, have a right to a hearing before an…”
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