State agencies: adjudications: presiding officers.

Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, provides for the conduct of administrative adjudication proceedings of state agencies. Existing law provides for the disqualification of a presiding officer for bias, prejudice, or interest in the proceeding. Existing law authorizes an agency that conducts an adjudicative proceeding to provide by regulation for peremptory challenge of the presiding officer. This bill would require that certain agencies that conduct an adjudicative proceeding provide by regulation for peremptory challenge of the presiding officer in cases where the presiding officer is an administrative law judge, and authorize those agencies to provide by regulation for peremptory challenge of a presiding officer who is not an administrative law judge.