Bill Text: HI HB2625 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To Contested Cases.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-01-26 - Referred to JHA, referral sheet 3 [HB2625 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2024-HB2625-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
2625 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO CONTESTED CASES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that requiring agencies to hold multiple contested case hearings on matters that are identical or substantially similar and have been previously adjudicated impedes agencies from acting to address critical issues, may lead to conflicting decisions creating ambiguity, and is unduly burdensome on agency resources.
The purpose of this Act is to:
(1) Clarify that a contested case hearing is not required when an identical or substantially similar administrative matter has been finally adjudicated; and
(2) Include administrative contested case proceedings within the scope of the vexatious litigant statute.
SECTION 2. Section 91-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§91-9 Contested cases; notice; hearing; interactive
conference technology; records. (a) Subject to section 91-8.5, in any contested
case, all parties shall be afforded an opportunity for hearing after reasonable
notice.
(b)
The notice shall include a statement of:
(1) The
date, time, place, and nature of the hearing;
(2) The
legal authority under which the hearing is to be held;
(3) The
particular sections of the statutes and rules involved;
(4) An
explicit statement in plain language of the issues involved and the facts
alleged by the agency in support thereof; provided that if the agency is unable
to state the issues and facts in detail at the time the notice is served, the
initial notice may be limited to a statement of the issues involved, and
thereafter upon application a bill of particulars shall be furnished; and
(5) The
fact that any party may retain counsel if the party so desires and the fact
that an individual may appear on the individual's own behalf[, or];
a member of a partnership may represent the partnership[,]; or an
officer or authorized employee of a corporation [or], trust,
or association may represent the corporation, trust, or association.
(c)
The hearing may be held by interactive conference technology that allows
interaction by the agency, any party, and counsel if retained by the party, and
the notice identifies electronic contact information for each agency, party,
and counsel if retained by the party. A
contested case hearing held by interactive conference technology shall be
recessed for up to one hour when audio communication cannot be maintained;
provided that the hearing may reconvene when only audio communication is
reestablished. If audio-only
communication is reestablished, then each speaker shall state the speaker's
name [prior to] before making remarks.
(d) Opportunities shall be afforded to all parties to present evidence and argument on all issues involved; provided that, if the hearing is held by interactive conference technology, evidence may be submitted and exchanged by electronic means.
(e) Any procedure in a contested case may be modified or waived by stipulation of the parties and informal disposition may be made of any contested case by stipulation, agreed settlement, consent order, or default.
(f) For the purpose of agency decisions, the record shall include:
(1) All pleadings, motions, and intermediate rulings;
(2) Evidence received or considered, including oral testimony, exhibits, and a statement of matters officially noticed;
(3) Offers of proof and rulings thereon;
(4) Proposed findings and exceptions;
(5) Report of the officer who presided at the hearing; and
(6) Staff memoranda submitted to members of the agency in connection with their consideration of the case.
(g) It shall not be necessary to transcribe the record unless requested for purposes of rehearing or court review.
(h) No matters outside the record shall be considered by the agency in making its decision except as provided herein.
(i) A contested case hearing may be denied when a
requesting party alleges or raises a cause of action, claim, controversy,
issue, fact, or substantive law that is identical or substantially similar to
another administrative matter that has been finally adjudicated as follows:
(1) A final
decision or order has been issued after a contested case hearing in accordance
with chapter 91 and the decision or order has not been appealed from or the
time to seek review has lapsed; or
(2) A final
decision or judgment has been issued by a court of last resort reviewing a
decision or order from a contested case;
unless the proponent of the new contested case is
able to show newly discovered evidence that could not, with reasonable diligence,
have been discovered and offered at the prior contested case hearing and the evidence
changes the outcome of the case. A denial
issued pursuant to this subsection shall identify the previous administrative
matter and reference the previous cause of action, claim, controversy, issue,
fact, or substantive law and include findings that it was finally adjudicated.
[(i)] (j) For the purposes of this [subsection, "interactive]
section:
"Court of last resort" means
a Hawaii court of competent jurisdiction in which an appeal or further review
is not or no longer available.
"Interactive conference
technology" means any form of audio or audio and visual conference
technology, including teleconference, videoconference, and voice over internet
protocol, that facilitates interaction between the agency, any party, and
counsel if retained by the party."
SECTION 3. Section 634J-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"[[]§634J-1[]] Definitions. Unless otherwise clear from the context, as
used in this chapter:
"Court"
includes a tribunal in a contested case proceeding under chapter 91.
"Defendant"
means a person (including a corporation, association, partnership, firm, or
governmental entity) against whom litigation is brought or maintained, or
sought to be brought or maintained[.], including but not limited to a
respondent in a contested case proceeding initiated under chapter 91.
"In propria persona" means on the person's own behalf acting as plaintiff.
"Litigation"
means any civil action or contested case proceeding, commenced,
maintained, or pending in any state or federal court of record[.], or
pending before an agency under chapter 91.
"Plaintiff"
means the person, including an attorney at law acting on the attorney's own
behalf, who commences, institutes or maintains litigation or causes it to
be commenced, instituted, or maintained, [including an attorney at law
acting on the attorney's own behalf.] or the petitioner who commences, institutes,
or maintains a contested case proceeding or hearing or causes it to be
commenced, instituted, or maintained.
"Security"
means an undertaking to assure payment, to the party for whose benefit the
undertaking is required to be furnished, of the party's reasonable expenses,
including attorney's fees, and not limited to taxable costs incurred in or in
connection with a litigation instituted[, caused to be instituted,] or
maintained or caused to be instituted or maintained by a vexatious
litigant.
"Vexatious litigant" means a plaintiff who does any of the following:
(1) In the immediately preceding seven-year period,
has commenced, prosecuted, or maintained in propria persona at least five civil
actions other than in a small claims court [that have been:], or at
least five administrative contested case proceedings that have been:
(A) Finally determined adversely to the plaintiff; or
(B) Unjustifiably permitted to remain pending at least two years without having been brought to trial or hearing;
(2) After litigation has been finally resolved against the plaintiff, relitigates or attempts to relitigate in propria persona and in bad faith, either:
(A) The validity of the determination against the same defendant or defendants as to whom the litigation was finally determined; or
(B) The cause of action, claim, controversy, or any of the issues of fact or law, determined or concluded by the final determination against the same defendant or defendants as to whom the litigation was finally determined;
(3) In any litigation while acting in propria persona, files, in bad faith, unmeritorious motions, pleadings, or other papers, conducts unnecessary discovery, or engages in other tactics that are frivolous or solely intended to cause unnecessary delay; or
(4) Has previously been declared to be a vexatious litigant by any state or federal court of record, or by a tribunal in a contested case proceeding, in any action or proceeding based upon the same or substantially similar facts, transaction, or occurrence."
SECTION 4. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.
SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Administrative Procedure; Contested Cases; Vexatious Litigants
Description:
Clarifies that a contested case hearing is not required when an identical or substantially similar administrative matter has been finally adjudicated. Includes administrative contested case proceedings within the scope of the vexatious litigant statute.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
