If the enabling statute specifies a hearing on the record, what does SAPA demand?

If the enabling statute specifies a hearing on the record, what does SAPA demand?

• A. An adjudicatory proceeding and all of the procedures of Article 3 are mandatory upon the agency.
• B. A simple informal hearing only.
• C. A press conference.
• D. A court trial.

Answer: (A)

Hearing on the record triggers the formal adjudicatory process under SAPA Article 3. When the enabling statute requires a hearing on the record, the agency must follow the Article 3 procedures, making an adjudicatory proceeding mandatory. This means the agency conducts a formal hearing with an evidentiary record, including notice and an opportunity to be heard, the right to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses, a transcript, and a decision grounded in findings of fact and conclusions of law. The other options don’t meet that standard: a simple informal hearing lacks the formal record and safeguards; a press conference isn’t an adjudicatory hearing; a court trial is a different forum outside the SAPA administrative process.

Hearing on the record triggers the formal adjudicatory process under SAPA Article 3. When the enabling statute requires a hearing on the record, the agency must follow the Article 3 procedures, making an adjudicatory proceeding mandatory. This means the agency conducts a formal hearing with an evidentiary record, including notice and an opportunity to be heard, the right to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses, a transcript, and a decision grounded in findings of fact and conclusions of law. The other options don’t meet that standard: a simple informal hearing lacks the formal record and safeguards; a press conference isn’t an adjudicatory hearing; a court trial is a different forum outside the SAPA administrative process.