New Jersey Assemblyman John Patrick Carroll (R-Morris County) notes that:
Currently, in contested cases an administrative law judge makes a recommended decision, and the agency head makes the final decision by either adopting, rejecting, or modifying the administrative law judge's decision.
Carroll finds the practice "wasteful and inefficient." Why?
Because the "opinions of trained administrative law judges can be disregarded by politically-appointed department heads; and, moreover, the existing process allows for any agency against which a complaint is filed to make the final determination as to the validity of that complaint."
To correct the practice, Carroll has introduced A-4069 which would allow the administrative law judge's decision to be final and subject only to review by the Appellate Division of the Superior Court.
The legislation would not apply to a contested case involving a rate making agency.
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Regarding A-4069: I am an environmental planning & engineering consultant with significant experience with cases that have been heard by Administrative Law Judges, including cases decided both for and against applicants, on which the NJDEP Commissioner has overruled the Judge's decision. While the process is sometimes frustrating, it works. I do not recommend the change proposed by A-4069.
ReplyDeleteHow can an agency representative legally be allowed to decide on complaints against the agency? Thank you New Jersey Assemblyman John Patrick Carroll for calling out this unethical practice.
ReplyDeleteAssemblyman Carroll has it totally backwards. The agency is in the best position to make decisions concerning its particular area of expertise, not some politically-appointed ALJ who almost certainly has no expertise and, more likely, very little knowledge in the subject matter. And as things are now, the agency's final decision can be appealled to the Appellate Division, so the opportunity for judicial review is present. There is nothing "unethical" about this practice whatsoever; indeed, it is the format for administrative law proceedings on the state and federal level thoughout the U.S. This bill would bog down an already too long process and waste time and money. It's ridiculous and unnecessary.
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