1. (a) (1) A party aggrieved by a final decision of a board or administrative law officer may, within 30 days of the decision, appeal that decision by filing a notice of appeal with the Director who shall assign the case to an appellate officer.

   1. (2) (A) The review shall be conducted on the basis of the record created before the board or administrative law officer.

      1. (B) In cases of alleged irregularities in procedure before the board or administrative law officer, not shown in the record, proof on that issue may be taken by the appellate officer.

2. (b) The appellate officer shall not substitute his or her judgment for that of the board or administrative law officer as to the weight of the evidence on questions of fact. The appellate officer may affirm the decision, or may reverse and remand the matter with recommendations if substantial rights of the appellant have been prejudiced because the board’s or administrative law officer’s finding, inferences, conclusions, or decisions are:

   1. (1) in violation of constitutional or statutory provisions;
   2. (2) in excess of the statutory authority of the board or administrative law officer;
   3. (3) made upon unlawful procedure;
   4. (4) affected by other error of law;
   5. (5) clearly erroneous in view of the evidence on the record as a whole;
   6. (6) arbitrary or capricious; or
   7. (7) characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion.
3. (c) A party aggrieved by a decision of the appellate officer may appeal to the Supreme Court, which shall review the matter on the basis of the records created before the board or administrative law officer and the appellate officer.

(Added 1993, No. 108 (Adj. Sess.), § 23, eff. Feb. 16, 1994; amended 2015, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 2017, No. 48, § 5.)