OAALJ ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES
November 18, 2000
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. at the Phoenix Inn, in Wilsonville, Oregon by President Charlotte Rutherford. The following Board Members were also in attendance: Abigail Herman, Lynne Wehrlie, Daina Upite, Steve Rissberger, Bruce Black, and Erika Hadlock. A quorum of more than ten members was present to conduct business. During the meeting the following topics/issues were discussed/decided.
1. Guest speaker: Tom Ewing, Chief Hearings Officer of the Central Panel, spoke in some detail to the membership. He began by indicating he wanted to foster a close working relationship between the OAALJ and the Central Panel. He then briefly provided an overview of the panel structure. The remainder, and majority of his speech, was focused on the future plans of the Central Panel in the areas of training, the need for an ethics code, development of new performance indicators/standards, and review of the proposed model rules for contested cases.
2. Secretary's Report: Minutes from the November 12, 1998 annual meeting were submitted by Board member Herman. There was a motion and a second to accept the minutes without correction. The motion passed.
3. Treasurer's Report: The treasurer's report was submitted by Board member Upite. She reported an ending balance of $10,578.35. Copy of the report is attached. There was a motion and a second to accept the report without correction. The motion passed.
4. President's Report: The following areas were addressed by President Rutherford:
(a) She indicated OAALJ members David Marcus and Bruce Black had presented comments to the November 15, 1999 legislative rulemaking hearing which addressed the Department of Justice proposed model rules for contested cases.
(b) The present (paid) membership stands at 37. Approximately 33 members had yet to renew their membership.
(c) Erika Hadlock was announced as the new editor of "Off the Record." The former editor, Bill Young, was presented with a plaque for his substantial contributions on behalf of the organization.
(d) President Rutherford attended the National Association of Administrative Law Judges' annual conference held at Asheville, North Carolina from September 10 to 16, 1999, on behalf of the membership. She briefly summarized conference highlights for the membership.
(e) Goals for the coming year were identified as increasing membership, enhancing ties to the NAALJ, and organizing an educational activity for members. With respect to the NAALJ, she proposed a "scholarship" to facilitate one of the members attending a NAALJ conference in the future. As for an educational activity, President Rutherford urged the organization, in partnership with either Willamette Law School or the NAALJ, to sponsor a CLE that would have broad appeal to the membership, as well as meet the training needs of the Central Panel.
5. Ethic Committee Report: Board member Rissberger, as committee chair, submitted for review and consideration the proposed Code of Conduct for Oregon Administrative Law Judges. Copies of the code were made available to the membership. This document was prepared by committee members Steve Rissberger, Alan Scott, Claudia Burton, Claudette McWilliams, and Lynne Wehrlie The code was based on the work of the committee using as source material the Workers' Compensation Board's Code of Conduct and the Model Judicial Code.
The motion was made for the membership to submit any changes or modifications of the code to the Board within 30 days of the annual meeting. Thereafter, during its December 1999 meeting, the Board consider any filed recommendations and adopt a final code on behalf of the membership. The motion was seconded and passed.
6. Elections of New Board Members: There were three openings on the seven member Board. The following incumbent Board members were nominated and seconded: Charlotte Rutherford, Steve Rissberger, and Diana Upite. There being no other nominations from the floor, the vote was taken and unanimously approved by the membership.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Abigail Herman