New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 17 - TREASURY - GENERAL › Chapter 12 - DIVISION OF PURCHASE AND PROPERTY: PROCUREMENT BUREAU; CONTRACT COMPLIANCE AND AUDIT UNIT; AND DISTRIBUTION SUPPORT SERVICES UNIT › Subchapter 4 - COMPLAINT AND AUDIT PROCEDURES › Section 17:12-4.5 - Resolution of complaints

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) A
				CCAU-adjudicated complaint appealed to the Director shall be resolved by
				written decision on the basis of the Director's review of the written record
				including, but not limited to, the complaint and any attachments, the terms,
				conditions and requirements of the contract which includes the proposal
				submitted by the contractor, pertinent administrative rules, statutes and case
				law, and any associated documentation the Director deems appropriate. Such
				review of the written record shall, in and of itself, constitute an informal
				hearing.
(b) At the discretion of
				the Director, the complainant and/or respondent may be required to make an
				in-person presentation, which may include an opportunity to submit additional
				documentation relevant to the issues set forth in the original complaint.
				In-person presentations as convened under this subchapter are fact-finding for
				the benefit of the Director. At such in-person presentations, the State shall
				be represented by pertinent members of the Division and by the Office of the
				Attorney General, if required. The Director has the discretion to limit
				attendance at an in-person presentation to those parties likely to be affected
				by the outcome of the complaint process.
(c) The Director, or the Director's designee
				from within or outside the Division, may perform a review of the written record
				or conduct an in-person presentation directly. In the case of a review or
				in-person presentation being handled by a hearing officer designee from outside
				the Division, the determination of such designee shall be in the form of a
				report to the Director, which shall be advisory in nature and not binding on
				the Director. All parties shall receive a copy of the hearing officer's report
				and shall have 10 business days to provide written comments or exceptions to
				the Director. Subsequent to the 10-business-day period for comments/exceptions,
				the Director shall make a final written decision on the matter. In the case of
				a review or in-person presentation being handled by a designee from within the
				Division, the determination shall be issued by the Director, or the Director's
				designee, and such determination shall be a final agency decision, which shall
				be appealable to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court.
(d) Hearings arising under this subchapter
				are not contested cases subject to the requirements of the Administrative
				Procedure Act,
				52:14B-1 et seq., and the Uniform
				Administrative Procedure Rules, N.J.A.C. 1:1. The period during which a
				complaint is being handled administratively shall not toll the running of any
				limitations period in the New Jersey Contractual Liability Act,
				59:13-1 et seq.
(e) An initial decision by the CCAU pending
				on appeal before the Director or a final determination by the Director or
				Director's designee shall not prevent the State from exercising any other right
				or seeking any other remedy available at law or in equity.