Title 34 — Title 34 ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

(1) Unless otherwise provided by law: (a) Applications for rate changes and uncontested applications for licenses may, in the agency's discretion, be conducted as adjudicative proceedings; (b) applications for licenses that are contested by a person having standing to contest und…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, in the discretion of the agency head, the presiding officer in an administrative hearing shall be:(a) The agency head or one or more members of the agency head;(b) If the agency has statutory authority to do so, a person o…

(1) A party to an adjudicative proceeding may participate personally or, if the party is a corporation or other artificial person, by a duly authorized representative.(2) Whether or not participating in person, any party may be advised and represented at the party's own expense b…

(1) Agencies may hold prehearing or other conferences for the settlement or simplification of issues. Every agency shall by rule describe the conditions under which and the manner in which conferences are to be held.(2) In the discretion of the presiding officer, and where the ri…

(1) The agency or the office of administrative hearings shall set the time and place of the hearing and give not less than seven days advance written notice to all parties and to all persons who have filed written petitions to intervene in the matter.(2) The notice shall include:…

(1) The presiding officer, at appropriate stages of the proceedings, shall give all parties full opportunity to submit and respond to pleadings, motions, objections, and offers of settlement.(2) At appropriate stages of the proceedings, the presiding officer may give all parties …

(1) Failure of a party to file an application for an adjudicative proceeding within the time limit or limits established by statute or agency rule constitutes a default and results in the loss of that party's right to an adjudicative proceeding, and the agency may proceed to reso…

(1) The presiding officer may grant a petition for intervention at any time, upon determining that the petitioner qualifies as an intervenor under any provision of law and that the intervention sought is in the interests of justice and will not impair the orderly and prompt condu…

(1) The presiding officer may issue subpoenas and may enter protective orders. A subpoena may be issued with like effect by the agency or the attorney of record in whose behalf the witness is required to appear.(2) An agency may by rule determine whether or not discovery is to be…

(1) The presiding officer shall regulate the course of the proceedings, in conformity with applicable rules and the prehearing order, if any.(2) To the extent necessary for full disclosure of all relevant facts and issues, the presiding officer shall afford to all parties the opp…

(1) Evidence, including hearsay evidence, is admissible if in the judgment of the presiding officer it is the kind of evidence on which reasonably prudent persons are accustomed to rely in the conduct of their affairs. The presiding officer shall exclude evidence that is excludab…

(1) [(a)] A presiding officer may not communicate, directly or indirectly, regarding any issue in the proceeding other than communications necessary to procedural aspects of maintaining an orderly process, with any person employed by the agency without notice and opportunity for …

(1) A person who has served as investigator, prosecutor, or advocate in an adjudicative proceeding or in its preadjudicative stage, or one who is subject to the authority, direction, or discretion of such a person, may not serve as a presiding officer in the same proceeding.(2) A…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section:(a) If the presiding officer is the agency head or one or more members of the agency head, the presiding officer may enter an initial order if further review is available within the agency, or a final order if further revie…

(1) As authorized by law, an agency may by rule provide that initial orders in specified classes of cases may become final without further agency action unless, within a specified period, (a) the agency head upon its own motion determines that the initial order should be reviewed…

A party may submit to the presiding or reviewing officer, as is appropriate to the stage of the proceeding, a petition for stay of effectiveness of a final order within ten days of its service unless otherwise provided by statute or stated in the final order. Disposition of the p…

(1) Within ten days of the service of a final order, any party may file a petition for reconsideration, stating the specific grounds upon which relief is requested. The place of filing and other procedures, if any, shall be specified by agency rule.(2) No petition for reconsidera…

(1) Unless a later date is stated in an order or a stay is granted, an order is effective when entered, but:(a) A party may not be required to comply with a final order unless the party has been served with or has actual knowledge of the final order;(b) A nonparty may not be requ…

(1) An agency shall maintain an official record of each adjudicative proceeding under this chapter.(2) The agency record shall include:(a) Notices of all proceedings;(b) Any prehearing order;(c) Any motions, pleadings, briefs, petitions, requests, and intermediate rulings;(d) Evi…

(1) Unless otherwise provided by law, an agency may use emergency adjudicative proceedings in a situation involving an immediate danger to the public health, safety, or welfare requiring immediate agency action.(2) The agency may take only such action as is necessary to prevent o…

A petition brought pursuant to RCW 71.09.342(5) shall be heard under the provisions of RCW 34.05.479 except that the decision of the governor's designee shall be final and is not subject to judicial review.[ 2002 c 68 s 10.]Notes:Purpose—Severability—Effective date—2002 c 68: See…

(1) An agency may use brief adjudicative proceedings if:(a) The use of those proceedings in the circumstances does not violate any provision of law;(b) The protection of the public interest does not require the agency to give notice and an opportunity to participate to persons ot…

(1) If not specifically prohibited by law, the following persons may be designated as the presiding officer of a brief adjudicative proceeding:(a) The agency head;(b) One or more members of the agency head;(c) One or more administrative law judges; or(d) One or more other persons…

Unless prohibited by any provision of law, an agency, on its own motion, may conduct administrative review of an order resulting from brief adjudicative proceedings. An agency shall conduct this review upon the written or oral request of a party if the agency receives the request…

Unless otherwise provided by statute:(1) If the parties have not requested review, the agency may review an order resulting from a brief adjudicative proceeding on its own motion and without notice to the parties, but it may not take any action on review less favorable to any par…

(1) The agency record consists of any documents regarding the matter that were considered or prepared by the presiding officer for the brief adjudicative proceeding or by the reviewing officer for any review. The agency shall maintain these documents as its official record.(2) Un…

This chapter establishes the exclusive means of judicial review of agency action, except:(1) The provisions of this chapter for judicial review do not apply to litigation in which the sole issue is a claim for money damages or compensation and the agency whose action is at issue …

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) through (4) of this section, proceedings for review under this chapter shall be instituted by paying the fee required under RCW 36.18.020 and filing a petition in the superior court, at the petitioner's option, for (a) Thurston county, (b…

(1)(a) The final decision of an administrative agency in an adjudicative proceeding under this chapter may be directly reviewed by the court of appeals either: (i) Upon certification by the superior court pursuant to this subsection and subsections (2) and (3) of this section; or…

The court of appeals may refuse to accept direct review of a case pursuant to RCW 34.05.518 if it finds that the case does not meet the applicable standard in RCW 34.05.518. The refusal to accept such review is not subject to further appellate review, notwithstanding anything in …

An aggrieved party may secure appellate review of any final judgment of the superior court under this chapter by the supreme court or the court of appeals. The review shall be secured in the manner provided by law for review of superior court decisions in other civil cases.[ 1988…

A person has standing to obtain judicial review of agency action if that person is aggrieved or adversely affected by the agency action. A person is aggrieved or adversely affected within the meaning of this section only when all three of the following conditions are present:(1) …

A person may file a petition for judicial review under this chapter only after exhausting all administrative remedies available within the agency whose action is being challenged, or available within any other agency authorized to exercise administrative review, except:(1) A peti…

Subject to other requirements of this chapter or of another statute:(1) A petition for judicial review of a rule may be filed at any time, except as limited by RCW 34.05.375.(2) A petition for judicial review of an order shall be filed with the court and served on the agency, the…

A petition for review must set forth:(1) The name and mailing address of the petitioner;(2) The name and mailing address of the petitioner's attorney, if any;(3) The name and mailing address of the agency whose action is at issue;(4) Identification of the agency action at issue, …

(1) Unless precluded by law, the agency may grant a stay, in whole or in part, or other temporary remedy.(2) After a petition for judicial review has been filed, a party may file a motion in the reviewing court seeking a stay or other temporary remedy.(3) If judicial relief is so…

(1) Issues not raised before the agency may not be raised on appeal, except to the extent that:(a) The person did not know and was under no duty to discover or could not have reasonably discovered facts giving rise to the issue;(b) The agency action subject to judicial review is …

Judicial review of disputed issues of fact shall be conducted by the court without a jury and must be confined to the agency record for judicial review as defined by this chapter, supplemented by additional evidence taken pursuant to this chapter.[ 1988 c 288 s 513.]

(1) The court may receive evidence in addition to that contained in the agency record for judicial review, only if it relates to the validity of the agency action at the time it was taken and is needed to decide disputed issues regarding:(a) Improper constitution as a decision-ma…

(1) Within thirty days after service of the petition for judicial review, or within further time allowed by the court or by other provision of law, the agency shall transmit to the court the original or a certified copy of the agency record for judicial review of the agency actio…

(1) Generally. Except to the extent that this chapter or another statute provides otherwise:(a) The burden of demonstrating the invalidity of agency action is on the party asserting invalidity;(b) The validity of agency action shall be determined in accordance with the standards …

(1) In a review under RCW 34.05.570, the court may (a) affirm the agency action or (b) order an agency to take action required by law, order an agency to exercise discretion required by law, set aside agency action, enjoin or stay the agency action, remand the matter for further …

(1) In addition to other remedies provided by law, an agency may seek enforcement of its rule or order by filing a petition for civil enforcement in the superior court.(2) The petition must name as respondent each alleged person against whom the agency seeks to obtain civil enfor…

(1) Any person who would qualify under this chapter as having standing to obtain judicial review of an agency's failure to enforce an order directed to another person may file a petition for civil enforcement of that order, but the action may not be commenced:(a) Until at least s…

(1) Except as expressly provided in this section, a respondent may not assert as a defense in a proceeding for civil enforcement any fact or issue that the respondent had an opportunity to assert before the agency or a reviewing court and did not, or upon which the final determin…

(1) If a person fails to obey an agency subpoena issued in an adjudicative proceeding, or obeys the subpoena but refuses to testify or produce documents when requested concerning a matter under examination, the agency or attorney issuing the subpoena may petition the superior cou…

Proceedings for civil enforcement are governed by the following provisions of this chapter on judicial review, as modified where necessary to adapt them to those proceedings:(1) RCW 34.05.510(2) (ancillary procedural matters); and(2) RCW 34.05.566 (agency record for judicial revi…

Decisions on petitions for civil enforcement are reviewable as in other civil cases.[ 1988 c 288 s 522.]

The provisions of RCW 4.84.185 relating to civil actions that are frivolous and advanced without reasonable cause apply to petitions for judicial review under this chapter.[ 1988 c 288 s 607.]

(1) There is hereby created a joint administrative rules review committee which shall be a bipartisan committee consisting of four senators and four representatives from the state legislature. The senate members of the committee shall be appointed by the president of the senate, …