Current through Bulletin 2024-18, September 15, 2024
(1) A
request for agency action must be filed with the presiding officer of the
entity that has authority to provide relief to the petitioner. The presiding
officer may refuse acceptance of any request for agency action if there is
reason to believe:
(a) the request is
frivolous or brought in bad faith;
(b) the matter has already been acted upon
and further consideration is unnecessary;
(c) the relief sought is beyond the agency's
jurisdiction; or
(d) the request
fails to comply with the procedural requirements of this rule.
(2) At the time the request for
agency action is filed, the petitioner shall also file any motions, affidavits,
briefs, or memoranda in support of the request for agency action.
(3) The presiding officer shall review the
request for agency action.
(a) If the request
for agency action is made to the division, the person designated as the
presiding officer shall take action upon the request within a reasonable
time.
(b)
(i) If the request for agency action is made
to the Wildlife Board, and the request concerns a matter over which the
Wildlife Board has authority, the presiding officer may:
(A) have the request for agency action placed
on the Wildlife Board's agenda for action;
(B) submit the request for agency action to
the appropriate regional advisory council or councils, requesting the council
or councils to hold public hearings, take input, and make recommendations to
the Wildlife Board as provided in Section
23-14-2.6;
or
(C) deny the request and notify
the requesting party in writing of the denial and that the party may request a
hearing before the Wildlife Board to challenge the denial.
(ii) In determining when to schedule the
matter for hearing before the Wildlife Board, the presiding officer may
consider the following:
(A) If the matter is
general in nature, and the Wildlife Board's agenda allows, the matter may be
brought at the next regularly-scheduled Wildlife Board meeting;
(B) If the matter involves a serious or
irreparable harm to a person or entity that may be resolved by holding a
hearing before the next regularly-scheduled meeting, the Wildlife Board may
hold an emergency meeting; or
(C)
If the matter involves an issue that is part of an annual decision making
process, the matter may be scheduled at the next annual meeting where such
decisions are made, but no later than one year after the date the request is
received.
(4)
(a) The
presiding officer may schedule the request for agency action on the Wildlife
Board agenda for action without regional advisory council input if:
(i) the presiding officer determines that the
public interest in deciding the matter without seeking input from the regional
advisory councils outweighs the benefit of considering recommendations of the
regional advisory councils;
(ii)
the request for agency action seeks a remedy that affects only one person or a
small number of persons, thus making broad public input unnecessary;
or
(iii) the delay associated with
seeking regional advisory council input will result in serious or irreparable
harm to the petitioner or the respondent, provided the petitioner or respondent
has not been negligent in filing the request for agency action in a timely
fashion.
(b) Upon a
majority vote of the Wildlife Board, any request for agency action submitted to
it by the presiding officer that has not been considered by the regional
advisory councils may be referred to the regional advisory councils for the
purpose of gathering input prior to the Wildlife Board taking further
action.
(5) The
petitioner shall provide a copy of the request for agency action to any person
known by the petitioner to have a direct interest in the proceeding or who will
be directly affected by its outcome.