As used in this part:

1. (1) “Administrative adjudication” means the process for the formulation of an order;
2. (2) “APA” means Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, Arkansas Code § 25-15-201 et seq.;

3. (3) “Appellant” means the party:

   1. (A) Applying for Department of Human Services services; or
   2. (B) Appealing Department of Human Services adverse action;

4. (4)

   1. (A) “Burden of proof” means the responsibility to establish a proposition by sufficient evidence.
   2. (B) An appellant seeking to establish eligibility for Department of Human Services benefits or services has the burden of proving his or her eligibility.
   3. (C) If the appeal challenges Department of Human Services adverse action, the Department of Human Services has the burden of proving the facts necessary to support the adverse action;

5. (5)

   1. (A) “Conflict of interest” means a situation where, with respect to the claim or controversy before the hearing official, the official:

      1. (i) Has been a party or acted as an advocate for a party; or
      2. (ii) Has a direct or indirect financial interest.
   2. (B) A financial interest is indirect if it exists though the hearing official's spouse, child, parent, sibling, or grandparent, or through the hearing official's ownership or management interest in any entity having a financial interest;
6. (6) “DHS” means the Department of Human Services;
7. (7) “Financial interest” means more than a remote possibility of a gain or loss resulting from the outcome of the claim or controversy;
8. (8) “Good cause” means substantial reason that which a reasonably prudent and intelligent person would find justifiable;
9. (9) “Hearing official” means an administrative law judge or hearing officer employed by the Office of Appeals and Hearings;

10. (10)

    1. (A) “Impartiality” means the absence of bias or prejudice or the appearance of bias or prejudice in the hearing official's application of the agency's special knowledge and expertise to the issues under consideration.
    2. (B) An appearance of bias or prejudice exists if any party has reasonable cause to question the hearing official's impartiality;
11. (11) “OAH” means the Office of Appeals and Hearings of the Department of Human Services;
12. (12) “Order” means a final agency determination that may be appealed to a circuit court under the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, Arkansas Code § 25-15-201 et seq.;
13. (13) “Party” means the person asking for the administrative adjudication, and the Department of Human Services division or office, acting through its employees, which made the decision or took the action being appealed;

14. (14) “Process procedures” means procedures assuring that appellants have notice of the denial or other action, notice of the administrative adjudication proceedings, and an opportunity during those proceedings to:

    1. (A) Appear;
    2. (B) Be represented;
    3. (C) Be heard;
    4. (D) Offer evidence and arguments; and
    5. (E) Call and cross-examine witnesses;
15. (15) “Reasonable cause” means circumstances sufficiently strong to warrant a cautious person's belief that an allegation is true;
16. (16) “Recusal” means an order disqualifying the hearing official from hearing the appeal;
17. (17) “Relevant evidence” means evidence tending to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the administrative adjudication more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence; and

18. (18)

    1. (A) “Representative” means a person selected by a party to present that party's statements, arguments, and evidence during the administrative adjudication process.
    2. (B) A corporation or association cannot be a representative.