Ch. 788                                       LAWS OF MARYLAND

Office of Administrative Hearings. Subject to the provisions of
§ 9-1605 subsection (b) of this section and §§ 9-1604 and 9-1605
of the State Government Article, such transfer shall occur the
incumbent of a transferred hearing officer position shall be
appointed as an administrative law judge, without loss of any
rights or benefits and the service of the person shall be deemed
to have been continuous. Pursuant to Section 7-209 (e) (2) (iv) of
the State Finance and Procurement Article, the Governor is
authorized to transfer appropriations from adjected agencies to
the Office of Administrative Hearings.

(b) If the Chief Administrative Law Judge should determine
that the incumbent of a hearing officer position transferred
under subsection (a) of this section fails to meet the
qualifications established under § 9-1604(a)(2) of the State
Government Article, the Chief Administrative Law Judge may
decline to appoint the healing officer as an Administrative Law
Judge. Such persons who fail to qualify may be retrained by
their agency in another capacity pursuant to Article 64A, § 35 of
the Code.

(b) (c) That after January 1, 1990, no agency subject to §
9-1601(b) of the State Government Article shall appoint or
authorize a person not employed by the Office of Administrative
Hearing to conduct a contested case hearing without prior written
approval of the Chief Hearing Officer Administrative Law Judge.
This subtitle shall not, however, prevent a board, commission, or
agency head authorized to conduct a contested case hearing from
doing so without the use of a hearing officer or administrative
law judge.

SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That any reference in
any law, regulation, or order to a hearing examiner or officer
appointed or transferred under this subtitle shall be deemed a
reference to an administrative law judge.

SECTION 4. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That by January 1,
1992, the State Advisory Council on Administrative Hearings shall
conduct a study of agencies which employ hearing officers to
adjudicate contested cases and shall recommend to the Governor
those agencies for which an exemption under § 9-1601(c) of the
State Government Article would be consistent with the purposes of
this subtitle.

SECTION 4 5. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the
Department of Personnel shall conduct a study of the salary and
classification of each position assigned to conduct
administrative hearings in order to eliminate pay discrepancies,
noncompetitive pay rates, and other salary or classification
problems, and shall implement the study by January 1, 1990.

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