N.J. Admin. Code § 19:31-25.14

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 9, May 6, 2024

Section 19:31-25.14 - Appeal process

(a) The Authority Board's action shall be effective 10 business days after the Governor's receipt of the minutes, provided neither an early approval nor veto has been issued.

(b) An applicant may appeal the Authority Board's action by submitting, in writing, to the Authority, within 20 calendar days from the effective date of the Authority Board's action, an explanation as to how the applicant has met the program criteria. Such appeals are not contested cases subject to the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 et seq., and 52:14F-1 et seq., or the Uniform Administrative Procedure Rules, N.J.A.C. 1:1.

(c) Appeals that are timely submitted shall be handled by the Authority as follows:

1. The Chief Executive Officer shall designate an employee of the Authority to serve as a hearing officer for the appeal and to make a recommendation on the merits of the appeal to the Authority Board. The hearing officer shall perform a review of the written record and may require an in-person hearing. The hearing officer has sole discretion to determine if an in-person hearing is necessary to reach an informed decision on the appeal. The Authority may consider new evidence or information that would demonstrate that the applicant meets all of the application criteria, provided that if the Authority decision was based on a competitive process, the Authority cannot consider any new evidence or information about the application other than evidence or information that would demonstrate that the applicant met all of the application criteria by the application deadline.

2. Following completion of the record review and/or in-person hearing, as applicable, the hearing officer shall issue a written report to the Authority Board containing the hearing officer's finding(s) and recommendation(s) on the merits of the appeal. The hearing officer's report shall be advisory in nature. After reviewing the report, the Chief Executive Officer of the Authority may also include a recommendation to the written report of the hearing officer. The applicant shall receive a copy of the written report of the hearing officer, which shall include the recommendation of the Chief Executive Officer, if any, and shall have the opportunity to file written comments and exceptions to the hearing officer's report within five business days from receipt of such report.

3. The Authority Board shall consider the hearing officer's report, the recommendation of the Chief Executive Officer, if any, and any written comments and exceptions timely submitted by the applicant. Based on that review, the Authority Board shall issue a final decision on the appeal.

4. Final decisions rendered by the Authority Board shall be appealable to the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, in accordance with the New Jersey Rules of Court.

N.J. Admin. Code § 19:31-25.14

Adopted by 54 N.J.R. 1185(a), effective 4/29/2022

Adopted by 55 N.J.R. 961(b), effective 5/1/2023