Session of 2000
Effective: July 1, 2000

SENATE Substitute for HOUSE BILL No. 2082 An Act concerning administrative hearings; relating to the office of administrative hearings;
     amending K.S.A. 75-37,121 and repealing the existing section.


Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:

      Section  1. K.S.A. 75-37,121 is hereby amended to read as follows:
75-37,121. On and after July 1, 1998: (a) There is created the office of
administrative hearings within the department of administration, to be
headed by a director appointed by the secretary of administration.

      (b) The office shall employ administrative law judges, court reporters
and other support personnel as necessary to conduct proceedings re-
quired by the Kansas administrative procedure act for adjudicative pro-
ceedings of the department of social and rehabilitation services. The of-
fice shall conduct adjudicative proceedings of the department of social
and rehabilitation services which are not under the Kansas administrative
procedure act when requested by such agency. Only a person admitted
to practice law in this state may be employed as an administrative law
judge. The office may employ regular part-time personnel. Persons em-
ployed by the office shall be under the classified civil service.

      (c) If the office cannot furnish one of its administrative law judges in
response to the department of social and rehabilitation services request,
the director shall designate in writing a full-time employee of an agency
other than the department of social and rehabilitation services to serve
as administrative law judge for the proceeding, but only with the consent
of the employing agency. The designee must possess the same qualifi-
cations required of administrative law judges employed by the office.

      (d) The director may furnish administrative law judges on a contract
basis to any governmental entity to conduct any proceeding not subject
to the Kansas administrative procedure act or not listed in K.S.A. 77-551
and amendments thereto other than a proceeding as provided in subsec-
tion (b).

      (e) On or before January 1, 1999, the department of administration
shall adopt rules and regulations:

      (1) To establish further qualifications for administrative law judges,
procedures by which candidates will be considered for employment, and
the manner in which public notice of vacancies in the staff of the office
will be given;

      (2) to establish procedures for agencies to request and for the director
to assign administrative law judges. The department of social and reha-
bilitation services may neither select nor reject any individual administra-
tive law judge for any proceeding except in accordance with the Kansas
administrative procedure act;

      (3) to establish procedures and adopt forms, consistent with the Kan-
sas administrative procedure act, the model rules of procedure, and other
provisions of law, to govern administrative law judges;

      (4) to establish standards and procedures for the evaluation, training,
promotion and discipline of administrative law judges; and

      (5) to facilitate the performance of the responsibilities conferred
upon the office by the Kansas administrative procedure act.

      (f) The director may:

      (1) Maintain a staff of reporters and other personnel; and

      (2) implement the provisions of this section and rules and regulations
adopted under its authority.

      (g) The department of administration may adopt rules and regula-
tions to establish fees to charge a state agency for the cost of using an
administrative law judge.

      (h) Effective July 1, 1998, personnel in the administrative hearings
section of the department of social and rehabilitation services and support
personnel for such administrative law judges, shall be transferred to the
office of administrative hearings. Such personnel shall retain all rights
under the state personnel system and retirement benefits under the laws
of this state, and such person's services shall be deemed to have been
continuous. This act shall not affect any matter pending before an ad-
ministrative hearing officer at the time of the effective date of the transfer,
and such matter shall proceed as though no transfer of employment had
occurred. 
     Sec.  2. K.S.A. 75-37,121 is hereby repealed.
     Sec.  3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.