MS HB526

Creates the Office of Independent State Hearing Officers to conduct hearings and render decisions on matters before state agencies, headed by a director appointed by the Governor for four-year terms and removable only for cause.

Director must contract with at least five hearing officers with experience in administrative hearings for governmental entities; hearing officers are assigned on a rotating basis rather than regularly assigned to particular agencies.

Persons or entities with issues before state agencies may elect to have an independent hearing officer hear their case as an alternative to the agency's own hearing officer.

Decisions from independent hearing officers may be appealed to a panel of three uninvolved hearing officers for de novo review, with both parties bound by the panel's decision unless further judicial review is pursued.

Judicial review of appeals panel decisions is limited to Circuit Court of Hinds County's First Judicial District, restricted to determining if the action was unsupported by substantial evidence, arbitrary and capricious, or violated statutory or constitutional rights; office is housed at the Department of Finance and Administration effective July 1, 2023.