Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
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Introduction
An important component of administrative policy writing
occurs within the context of enforcement actions
initiated by state agencies.
After all, as part of the executive branch of the state
government, enforcing, or executing, the law is the primary
job of these agencies.
Today we are going to talk about the policies used by the
state to enforce the law and the kinds of written documents
produced.
You will not be tested on the details we cover, but I want
you to be generally familiar with the processes behind
written documents that deal with executing the law.
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
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Review
State agencies are charged with implementing or executing
a law or some provision of the state constitution.
They do this mainly by adopting rules and enforcing those
rules and statutes.
Sometimes state agencies are called the “Fourth Branch of
Government” because, in order to enforce the law, they
exercise some quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial powers.
Remember, quasi means “having some resemblance.”
Today we will see why the “quasi” part is important.
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
Review
 In order to enforce the law, state agencies have
 The power to issue permits or licenses (and power to revoke
them).
 The power to issue orders.
 The power to assess fines and penalties for violating the rules
and the underlying act.
 Making a decision to revoke a permit or assess a fine
against someone is a quasi-judicial action: like a court
rendering a verdict against you.
 But state agencies are not courts (remember separation of
powers). Thus, we call it “quasi.”
 Today, we are talking about these actions.
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
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How should the state decide?
The concern in these adjudications is how to make them fair and
consistent with our American value of due process.
Guaranteed by the 5th and 14th amendments to the U.S.
Constitution and Article 1 of the Texas Constitution.
Due process means that the government cannot arbitrarily take
actions that affect your rights without some avenue for you to
present your side.
And procedures to ensure a fair and rational decision is
rendered.
We take this for granted. Thus, it is hard to appreciate.
Begin today by asking: what would state action look like in the
absence of due process?
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
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Kingdom of Xanadu
In the hypothetical kingdom of Xanadu, the people are subjects
of an emperor.
The emperor has a staff of ministers who oversee the day-to-day
workings of government.
There are hundreds of ministers who regulate all the sorts of
fields one would expect in a modern, industrial society.
Doctors and teachers have to be licensed.
There are detailed regulations on handling toxic waste.
And so forth …
It is a very wealthy and sophisticated society. People are healthy.
The air is clean. But there is a certain lack of justice.
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
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Kingdom of Xanadu
The emperor is absolute in his rule. Subjects cannot challenge
his decisions.
Thus, when the minister of medicine thinks a doctor has violated
the rules on medical practice, he can take away the doctor’s
license.
He can do so by simply informing the doctor that his license has
been cancelled.
The decision is made behind closed doors. There are no public
hearings and no appeals.
Thus, the doctor has no recourse against a far-off government
minister who has just taken away his livelihood.
The minister is unaccountable in his actions and may penalize
doctors for good cause or no cause at all.
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
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Kingdom of Xanadu
This is a society ruled by the emperor and his ministers,
not laws.
And individuals have no security that their rights are at all
secure.
The kind of society the founders of this country (and this
state) wanted to avoid.
Thank goodness we don’t live in Xanadu?
But how do we order our own regulatory bodies to preserve
individual freedom?
And, at the same time, allow the state to enforce the law to
protect the public?
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
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Due Process
The law requires that state agencies follow set procedures for
many of their decisions that affect individual rights.
These are called “contested cases.”
They require a trial-like hearing in which the affected person
has the opportunity to appear and present their side.
And the decision-maker has to explain his or her conclusions.
Important: we are not talking about enforcement of criminal
laws handled by the criminal justice system. We are talking
about agency decisions that mainly regulate industries and
professions.
The state also enforces the criminal law in our criminal courts
where due process is also required. But this is not a class on
criminal justice.
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
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SOAH
Many of these agency hearings are held at the State Office
of Administrative Hearings here in Austin.
The State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) was
created in 1991 as an independent agency to manage and
conduct agency hearings for most licensing agencies and
other state agencies.
In other words, SOAH is like a court system for state
agencies where contested case hearings are treated like civil
trials: evidence, attorneys, and witnesses.
A hearing at SOAH is presided over by an Administrative
Law Judge (ALJ).
There is no jury.
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
SOAH
 The state agency is represented by their own attorneys
or by an Assistant Attorney General who works for the
Texas Attorney General.
 The individual whose license or other matter is at issue
is called the respondent. (They are not a defendant
because these are not trials in court. You’re only a
defendant in court.)
 Respondents are often represented by an attorney as
well. But often not. When individuals appear at a
hearing without an attorney, they are appearing pro se.
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
SOAH
 SOAH conducts hearings for approximately 60 state
agencies:
 Public Utility Commission
 Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
 Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission
 Texas Medical Board
 Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners
 Texas Board of Dental Examiners
 Others …
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
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SOAH
The state agency will initiate a case at SOAH.
The state agency files a complaint and sends a notice of
hearing to the respondent.
The complaint details the facts and rules or statutes it
believes the respondent violated.
The notice of hearing will notify the respondent of the date
and time the matter will be heard by the ALJ.
Many of these hearings are conducted in Austin at SOAH
headquarters. But some are done throughout the state.
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
SOAH
 On the day of the hearing, the attorney for the state
and the respondent and his or her attorney will be
present.
 Each side will have the opportunity to examine
witnesses and put on evidence for the ALJ to consider.
 After the hearing, the ALJ will make a written decision.
That decision is called a Proposal for Decision.
PFD
Respondent
Background
and findings
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
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SOAH
Why is it just a “proposal?”
Because the state agency, not the ALJ, ultimately decides
the case. Odd? (Remember, this is quasi-judicial.)
The proposal for decision is then sent to the agency where
the agency heads decide whether they agree with the ALJ’s
proposed conclusions.
They can adopt the ALJ’s findings or send it back to the ALJ
for reconsideration.
But they are limited in how much they can change the ALJ’s
findings.
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
Agency Order
 The state agency will either adopt modify the ALJ’s
decision in a documented called an agency order.
 An agency order is like a verdict. It is a decision that
affects a particular person or situation.
 An order may include a variety of actions:
 It may impose fines on the individual
 It may revoke or suspend a license
 It may censure the individual
 It may require the individual to perform certain action
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
Agency Order
 Example: An order issued by the TCEQ may require an
individual who has illegally dumped hazardous waste
to clean up the waste and impose a penalty.
 Example: An order issued by the Medical Board may
suspend a physician’s license.
The respondent is
the person who is
subject to this order
To ensure that
the order is
made on a
rational basis
and complies
with the law, it
must specify
Findings of Fact
and Conclusions
of Law
An order of the Texas
Commission on
Environmental
Quality
This
respondent is a
nurse accused
of violating
standards of
the Nursing
Board
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
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What happens after an order?
In our discussion of state agencies, we talked about the
checks and balances imposed on their decisions.
In Texas, the judicial branch acts as a check on agency
(executive branch) adjudications.
In other words, the courts review the decisions made
at SOAH.
Thus, the SOAH hearing is not the final word on the
matter.
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
What happens after an order?
 Texas courts decide whether agency decisions were
rational, based upon evidence, and within the agency’s
authority.
 And whether they violated individual rights.
 If the respondent thinks that the agency violated his or
her rights, acted outside its authority, or ignored the
evidence presented at SOAH, that person can appeal
the decision in state court.
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
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What happens after an order?
At this point, the matter becomes a civil lawsuit.
Appealable all the way up to the Texas Supreme Court
or U.S. Supreme Court.
The respondent at SOAH is now the plaintiff in court.
The agency is represented by the Texas Attorney
General and is now the defendant in court.
The plaintiff may represent him or herself or have an
attorney.
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
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What happens after an order?
The other side of the coin:
If the respondent fails to perform what an agency
order requires, the state can also go to court to enforce
the order.
The agency must go to court because only a judge can
force someone to comply with the law.
Separation of powers: the executive branch cannot act
like a judge who renders legally binding verdicts.
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
What happens after an order?
 Example: An environmental matter:
 Suppose an individual has dumped 100 tons of medical
waste in an empty lot they own without the proper permits
required by environmental laws.
 After a contested case at SOAH, the TCEQ issues an order
that requires the person to clean up the waste.
 If that person fails to clean up the waste, the TCEQ can
request the Attorney General to file a lawsuit to enforce the
order.
 After a trial, that person will be subject to a court order to
clean up the waste.
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
What happens after an order?
 Example: A professional matter:
 Suppose a physician has refused to treat patients who have
come to him needing urgent medical care in violation of the
Medical Board’s rules.
 After a contested case hearing at SOAH, the Medical Board
issues an order suspending the physician’s license for six
months.
 If that physician does not appeal that order and fails to stop
practicing, the Medical Board can request the Attorney
General to file a lawsuit to enforce that order.
 After trial, the physician will be subject to a court order to
cease practicing medicine until the suspension is over.
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
What about the federal government?
 Thus far, we have been talking about how Texas agencies enforce the laws.
 The federal government has a similar process in place.
 When a federal agency wants to take some (non-criminal) action against someone
that affects their rights, it has a similar administrative hearing process.
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
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What about the federal government?
If you have ever heard people talk about a “social security
judge” or “immigration judge,” these are federal ALJs.
When the government seeks to take away someone’s social
security benefits or deport someone, it is an agency
decision made by a federal ALJ.
These agency decisions can be appealed in federal courts.
Unlike Texas, there is no centralized hearing system.
Federal agencies have their own hearings with their own
ALJs.
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
Administrative Policy Writing
Spring 2011
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What is a SOAH hearing like?
A SOAH hearing is a primary way to see the executive
branch of our state government in action.
These hearings feel like a trial, but are usually less formal.
You will see an ALJ in the front of the room. The state’s
attorney and the respondent will sit facing the ALJ.
Like trials, SOAH hearings are open to the public.
Extra Credit! Attend a SOAH hearing and write a response
paper on what you observed. See the assignment sheet at
the course web site.