Administrative Law Flashcards

A Utah agency revokes a professional license without giving the licensee notice or any opportunity to be heard. The strongest constitutional objection is a violation of:

Answer: Procedural due process, because a license is a protected property interest

A professional license is a property interest, so revocation requires notice and an opportunity to be heard under procedural due process.

During a contested formal proceeding, a Utah agency wants to rely on a policy position never adopted through rulemaking. A party objects that the agency is required to use rulemaking. Under Utah law, an agency generally MUST use rulemaking when it:

Answer: Adopts a standard of general applicability that implements or interprets a statute and affects the rights of the public

Under the Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, agency positions of general applicability that implement or interpret law and affect public rights must be adopted as rules.

A default order is entered against a respondent in a Utah formal adjudicative proceeding after she fails to appear. Her best immediate remedy is to:

Answer: File a motion with the agency to set aside the default for good cause

UAPA allows the agency to set aside a default order upon a motion showing good cause, which must be pursued before seeking judicial relief.

A Utah agency order becomes final. The losing party files a petition for reconsideration. Regarding the deadline for judicial review, filing the reconsideration request:

Answer: Is optional and, when denied or deemed denied, review must still be sought within the statutory 30-day window from the operative order

Under UAPA, reconsideration is not a prerequisite to judicial review, and the petition for review must be filed within 30 days of the applicable final order or deemed denial.

Which of the following Utah agency actions is exempt from UAPA's adjudicative procedures?

Answer: The agency's adoption of an administrative rule through rulemaking

Rulemaking is governed by the Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, not UAPA's adjudicative procedures, which apply to determinations of specific parties' legal rights.

A statute authorizes a Utah agency to set 'reasonable safety standards' for amusement rides. A challenger argues this is an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power. Under Utah's nondelegation doctrine, the delegation is valid if:

Answer: The statute provides sufficient standards or safeguards to guide the agency's discretion

Delegations survive nondelegation challenges when the statute supplies adequate standards or procedural safeguards to channel agency discretion.

A journalist requests investigation records from a Utah agency, which denies the request as protected. The journalist's administrative appeal path under GRAMA runs to:

Answer: The agency head, and then the State Records Committee or district court

GRAMA denials are appealed first to the agency head and then either to the State Records Committee or to district court.