SURVEY ON STATE ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

 

Name _________________________________    State___________________


___ Academician ___ Administrative Adjudicator ___ Government Attorney


___ Judicial Branch Judge ___ House Counsel ___ Private Practitioner

  

___ Other - Please specify _____________________________________________


I would be willing to work with the chair of a sub-committee on: (Please check)

___ Adjudication                                            ___ Legislation

___ Central Hearing Agencies                       ___ Rules

___ Other _______________________________________________________________

                                    Please specify


Our State Bar has a Section on Administrative Law ___ Yes, ___ No,


Best Website address _______________________ for administrative law activities in my State

 

Chair __________________________________      e-mail address_____________________

 

Chair-elect ______________________________      e-mail address_____________________



Between October 1 and December 15, 2005, the State Administrative Law Committee of the Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section and the National Conference of Administrative Law Judges of the Judicial Division of the American Bar Association, and the National Association of Administrative Law Judges are conducting a national survey on administrative adjudication. We seek input from members of the Committee, various state bar association administrative law sections, committees on public law, government lawyers, academicians, and private practitioner. Would you please take a few minutes of your valuable time to complete this survey? The results of this national survey will be compiled, analyzed, and a report will be sent to all who respond.


 

On behalf of ___section, ___committee, ___self _______________________________


Address: ______________________________________________________________


Phone Number: ________________ Fax Number _________________________


E-mail address: ______________ Web site for your section or committee _________________



1. What are the five most serious problems facing the administrative judiciary in your state? Please rank order       5=most 0=least use blank lines for other problems or to explain your problem in more detail. If so, use same number on line below.

___      Budgetary

___      Low salaries

___      Interference with Judicial independence

___      Training needs

___      Trust & Respect from agencies, bar and/or public

___      Different administrative procedures

___      Caseload - timeliness pressures

___ _______________________________________________________

___ _______________________________________________________


2. What are the five most noteworthy accomplishments in administrative adjudication in your state in the last five years? Please rank order                                            5=greatest 0= least

___      Increased productivity / more efficient and effective use of resources

___      Establishment or expansion of central hearing agency

___      Use of technology

___      Staffing improvements

___      Improving rules of procedure

___      Salary improvements

___      Improvements to facilities

___      Implementation of mediation

___      Cross training

___      Better decisions

___      Quality of Administrative Law Judges

___ _______________________________________________

___ ________________________________________________________


3. Improvements or projects our state bar is presently working on in administrative. Please rank order in importance.                                                                                    5=most 0=least

___      Computerized case management

___      Expansion of other technology, video, telephone hearings and/or website

___      Improve low salaries

___      Improve Training

___      Expand central hearing agency jurisdiction

___      Adopt central hearing agency

___      Developing Public Trust & Confidence

___      Joint efforts ALJs & bar association to improve administrative law

___      Case management

___ ________________________________________________________

___ ________________________________________________________

___ ________________________________________________________________


4. If yours is not a central panel state, are there formal or informal efforts

underway now to adopt the central panel approach to administrative hearings in

your state? ________ If so, would you please describe the type of efforts and

the status of the efforts to create or enhance the central panel approach:

 _______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________


5. What training opportunities are available to Administrative Law Judges in

your state?

________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________


6. How can the Administrative Law Section, NCALJ and NAALJ help you or your state as you work to improve Administrative Law?         Please rank order again 5 most 1 least.

___      Provide more training

___      Provide publication/ information on activities in other states

___      Carry our message to the judicial, legislature, executive & the public

___      Provide help on improving salaries for ALJs

___      Assist in establishing a central hearing agency

___      Encourage Highest standards possible

___      Provide help in developing model forms, etc.

___      Promote excellence in due process adjudications

___      Support budgetary increases or realistic caseloads

___ _________________________________________________________

___      _________________________________________________________


7. Suppose an agency in your state wishes to issue an interpretive ruling that applies an ambiguous statute to hypothetical facts. Is the agency required to adopt the ruling by first conducting notice and comment proceedings under the APA? ___ Yes ___ No. If so, do agencies try to circumvent this requirement? ___ Yes ___ No. How do they do it?

 _______________________________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________________________

 ______________________________________________________________________

 

8. Please attach a bibliography or articles written about Administrative Adjudication in your state. If you have a newsletter or annual report, please send an electronic copy or hard copy.


9. Are you aware of the ABA's Administrative Procedure Database? (on the World Wide Web at http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/admin/ and it has data from the states about administrative law and procedure.)                             ___ Yes ___ No


If you are aware of this website, have you ever used it? (If so, for what purposes?)

__________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________


You can find the actual documents or links to the documents referred to in the cover letter of the accomplishments and projects to improve administrative adjudication.


Do you have any suggestions for making the web site more useful?

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________


10. Are you aware of the Symposium issue of the Administrative Law Review devoted to State Administrative Law that was published by the ABA-Administrative Law Section Spring 2001. It is available on-line ____ Yes ___ No

 

11. Are you aware of the Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judges ? ____ Yes ___ No