Brief(1)
S.B. 405 amends statutes dealing with administrative hearings for child support within the Office of Administrative Hearings in the Department of Administration and for administrative hearings within the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS) to change the title of administrative law judge to presiding officer. The bill also makes it permissive rather than mandatory that court reporters and other support personnel be hired within the Office of Administrative Hearings.
The Senate Committee amended the bill in regard to the Office of Administrative Hearings to permit persons directly supervised by an attorney to act as a presiding officer, to eliminate the requirement of adopting separate regulations apart from existing civil service regulations for selection and employment of presiding officers, to permit rather than require the adoption of rules and regulations regarding procedures for agencies to request the assignment of presiding officers, and to permit the Secretary of Administration to establish fees directly rather than by the adoption of rules and regulations for state agencies using presiding officers.
Background
The bill was recommended by the 1997 interim Special Committee on Child Support Enforcement Oversight. The bill was supported by the Department of Administration which suggested further amendment of the bill and which amendments the Senate Committee adopted. The amendments are similar to those contained in H.B. 2604, a recommendation of the 1997 Special Committee on Judiciary, which would transfer the administrative hearings function of all state agencies subject to the Kansas Administrative Procedure Act to the new Office of Administrative Hearings. Under current law, the administrative hearings function for SRS will be transferred to this new office on July 1, 1998.
1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supple-mental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/fulltext-bill.html.