Title 15 . Revenue

Chapter 125 . (Repealed)

Section 118. Administrative review of notice and finding of financial responsibility

15 AAC 125.118. Administrative review of notice and finding of financial responsibility

(a) A person served with a notice and finding of financial responsibility or with a copy of a notice and finding of financial responsibility setting a support obligation may request an administrative review of the notice and finding. The person making the request shall make it in writing, and shall send the request to the agency by certified mail, return receipt requested. The request must be postmarked or received by the agency within 30 days after service of the notice and finding of financial responsibility. The request must state the specific reasons for the request for administrative review and be accompanied by the documentation upon which the person requesting the administrative review intends to rely. When a request for administrative review does not fully comply with the requirements of this subsection, the agency will, in its discretion, accept a request for administrative review that substantially complies with the requirements of this subsection.

(b) Upon receipt of a written request for administrative review, the agency will promptly notify the nonrequesting party of the request and provide the nonrequesting party a copy of the request. The nonrequesting party may respond to the reasons asserted by the requesting party, and shall respond in writing within 15 days after notice of the request for administrative review is mailed to the nonrequesting party.

(c) An agency employee, referred to as the review officer, shall conduct the administrative review by correspondence. During an administrative review, the review officer may relax the requirements of the Alaska Rules of Evidence. The review officer may accept any relevant evidence that appears to be reasonably accurate. Upon request, the review officer will make available to either party to an administrative review the relevant, non-privileged portion of the agency's file relating to the support obligation for which review has been sought. The review officer may

(1) request additional information from either party, to the extent the review officer considers the information necessary to the review; and

(2) conduct additional investigation using the agency's administrative subpoena power or other investigative action, to the extent the review officer considers the information to be obtained from the additional investigation to be necessary to the review.

(d) In an administrative review under this section, the burden of proof is on the person requesting the administrative review to establish:

(1) that a valid court order already exists that covers the support obligation in question;

(2) that a duty of support is not owed; or

(3) that the amount of support determined by the agency in its notice and finding of financial responsibility is incorrect because the financial circumstances of the obligor or of the custodial parent are not as the agency has determined.

(e) After considering the facts, information, and arguments presented by the parties, the review officer shall promptly render a written decision. The review officer's decision must make the specific written findings required by 15 AAC 125.090. If the review officer believes that an adjustment of the agency's action is appropriate, in the written decision the review officer will direct the agency to make the adjustment, and the agency will make the adjustment that is directed to be made in the written decision.

(f) The decision of the review officer made under (e) of this section is final for purposes of appeal to a formal hearing but is not a final administrative determination for purposes of appeal to the superior court. The provisions of 15 AAC 05.010 and 15 AAC 05.025 - 15 AAC 05.040 regarding formal hearings apply to appeals under this subsection.

(g) If, under (f) of this section, a person requests a formal hearing from an administrative review decision, enforcement of the administrative review decision may not be stayed unless the obligor posts security or a bond in an amount sufficient to secure payment of support owed as of the date of the administrative review decision, conditioned upon final determination of the formal hearing. The collection and disbursement of the ongoing support obligation that is stated in the administrative review decision will continue regardless of posting of a bond or security under this section.

(h) In this section,

(1) "nonrequesting party" means the person who, under (b) of this section, may respond to a request for administrative review of the agency's notice and finding of financial responsibility;

(2) "requesting party" means the person who, having been served with a notice and finding of financial responsibility, requests an administrative review of the person's support obligation as set out in the notice and finding of financial responsibility.

History: Eff. 10/1/98, Register 147

Authority: AS 25.27.020

AS 25.27.160

AS 25.27.170