Jurisdiction of the Administrative Law Court
Click here for Jurisdiction details (Updated February 2017).
The Court has jurisdiction over four types of matters:
Contested
cases. Administrative law
judges preside as the fact finder in contested cases involving departments of
the executive branch of state government in which a single hearing officer, or
an administrative law judge, is authorized or permitted by law or regulation to
hear and decide these cases, with certain exceptions. The Courts contested
case jurisdiction is outlined in S.C. Code Ann. 1-23-600(B).
Appeals. Administrative law judges hear all appeals
from final decisions of contested cases heard by state agencies pursuant to the
Administrative Procedures Act, Article I, Section 22 of the South Carolina
Constitution, or another law, except for appeals from final decisions of the
Public Service Commission, the State Ethics Commission, the Procurement Review
Panel, the Workers Compensation Commission, and the Employment Security
Commission. The Courts appellate
jurisdiction is defined in S.C. Code Ann. 1-23-600(D).
Regulation hearings. Administrative law
judges preside over public hearings held during the promulgation of regulations
by a department of state government for which the governing authority is a
single director. Upon the conclusion of
a regulation hearing, an administrative law judge issues a written report
including findings as to the need and reasonable ness of the proposed
regulation. If the report includes a
finding of a lack of need or reasonableness, the report may include suggested
modifications to the proposed regulation. For more information concerning regulation hearings, refer to S.C. Code
Ann. 1-23-111.
Requests for injunctive relief. The
Administrative Law Court has jurisdiction to hear
requests for injunctive or equitable relief filed by state agencies which are
authorized by law to seek such relief. The Court may review and enforce an administrative process issued by a
department of the executive branch of government, such as a subpoena or cease
and desist order. In addition, a party aggrieved by an administrative process issued by an
executive branch agency may apply to the Court for relief from the
process. Under the South Carolina
Administrative Procedures Act, administrative law judges have the power to
issue those remedial writs as are necessary to give effect to the Courts
jurisdiction. Further, administrative
law judges have the same power at chambers or in open court as do circuit court
judges, including the power of contempt.
Appellate Review
of ALC Decisions
All decisions of an administrative law judge, except
regulation hearing reports and interlocutory orders, are subject to appellate
review. Effective July 1, 2006, all
appeals from decisions of administrative law judges are heard by the Court of
Appeals, except for cases involving
DHEC
Ocean and Coastal
Resource Management and Environmental Quality Control permits which are pending
in the
Administrative Law Court as of July
1, 2006. For those cases only, the DHEC Board will hear the appeals in
accordance with former law.
The Courts hearings and proceedings are open to the public
unless confidentiality is allowed or required by law.