May an administrative agency reopen a public hearing on its own initiative, and in what window between the hearing and its disposition?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In practice material of this kind, we read the record of the original public hearing to fix when it was concluded, the disposition decision that followed, and any paper in which the agency sets out the new circumstances it says it has found.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the power as the agency's own: after a public hearing has closed and up to the point when it makes a disposition, the administrative agency may hold the hearing again where it has discovered new circumstances and recognises a need to do so, without any party needing to apply.
Another reading stresses how narrow the window is: the power exists only between the close of the hearing and the disposition, so once the disposition is made there is no room left for reconvening, and the provision does not say what a 'new circumstance' must be or who may contest the agency's finding that one exists.
Your judgment
How should the practice file show that the agency found a genuinely new circumstance rather than simply reconsidering the same facts it heard before?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to give a party a right to apply for reconvening or to set notice requirements for the reconvened hearing, or if a decision defines what counts as a new circumstance.