SOAH Office Closures for the Upcoming Holidays
In observance of the Christmas holiday, the agency will be closed Tuesday, December 24th, 2024 through Thursday, December 26, 2024 and will reopen on Friday, December 27th, 2024. In observance of the New Year holiday, the agency will be closed on Tuesday, December 31, 2024 and Wednesday, January 1, 2025 and will reopen on Thursday, January 2, 2025.
September 16, 2024
The Chief Administrative Law Judge has issued a revised General Order Relating to the Prehearing Submission of Exhibits that affects all general docket hearings. The order supersedes the prior General Order of April 20, 2022, and any current orders that may require the use of MOVEit for exhibits after October 31, 2024.
The order applies to general docket case hearings only and does not affect procedures for the submission of exhibits in administrative driver’s license revocation cases.
SOAH To Phase Out Use of MOVEit for Case Exhibits and File Sharing
September 16, 2024 – SOAH will discontinue use of the MOVEit Cloud Managed File Transfer platform for the pre-hearing submission of exhibits by October 31, 2024.
Rules of Procedure for Administrative License Suspension Hearings
August 5, 2024 - SOAH recently adopted changes to the rules at Title 1, Chapter 159 of the Texas Administrative Code relating to the Rules of Procedure for Administrative License Suspension Hearings. The new rules became effective as of August 4 and apply to all ALR proceedings at SOAH.
Notice of the final rule adoption was published in the August 2, 2024, issue of the Texas Register.
The new Rules of Procedure for ALR Hearings are published in the Texas Administrative Code.
Announcements
General Order Relating to Submission of Exhibits
September 16, 2024 -- The Chief Administrative Law Judge has issued a revised General Order Relating to the Prehearing Submission of Exhibits that affects all general docket hearings. The order supersedes the prior General Order of April 20, 2022, and any current orders that may require the use of MOVEit for exhibits after October 31, 2024.
Use of MOVEit for Case Exhibits and File Sharing to be Discontinued by October 31
September 16, 2024 – SOAH will discontinue use of the MOVEit Cloud Managed File Transfer platform for the pre-hearing submission of exhibits by October 31, 2024.
MOVEit will eventually be replaced with a new exhibit submission portal (SOAH Kiteworks Secure Upload) that is accessible through SOAH’s public website without the need for parties to receive an invitation or create an account to upload exhibits prior to a scheduled hearing. Visit E-Services for more information.
Rules of Procedure for Administrative License Suspension Hearings
August 5, 2024 - SOAH recently adopted changes to the rules at Title 1, Chapter 159 of the Texas Administrative Code relating to the Rules of Procedure for Administrative License Suspension Hearings. The new rules became effective as of August 4 and apply to all ALR proceedings at SOAH.
Notice of the final rule adoption was published in the August 2, 2024, issue of the Texas Register.
The new Rules of Procedure for ALR Hearings are published in the Texas Administrative Code.
General Hearing Date Assignments are set by the ALJ
This practice recognizes the ALJ’s authority over hearing and prehearing matters and makes the scheduling of cases more similar to district court. The change is necessary to promote efficiency, assure the fair and equal treatment of parties, and minimize disruptions associated with ALJs having to reschedule cases after the initial docketing of a case.
This is a change from the prior practice where hearing dates were often confirmed by the SOAH Chief Clerk’s Office during the initial referral of a case, regardless of whether an ALJ was actually available on the date requested by the referring agency.