Hessel v. Department of Corrections

380 P.3d 1048, 280 Or. App. 16, 2016 Ore. App. LEXIS 966
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedAugust 3, 2016
DocketA148471
StatusPublished

This text of 380 P.3d 1048 (Hessel v. Department of Corrections) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hessel v. Department of Corrections, 380 P.3d 1048, 280 Or. App. 16, 2016 Ore. App. LEXIS 966 (Or. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

ARMSTRONG, P. J.

In this rule challenge under ORS 183.400, petitioners, inmates at a Department of Corrections facility, seek review of three rules promulgated by the department: OAR 291-105-0005(3)(d), OAR 291-105-0010(29), and OAR 291-lOS-OOlSCéXn).1 Specifically, petitioners contend that (1) the department exceeded its authority in adopting OAR 291-105-0005(3)(d), which provides for the retroactive application of a separate rule, because the department lacks authority to “adopt a rule that is applied retroactively”; (2) OAR 291-105-0010(29), which defines “order” for purposes of department rules governing inmate discipline, exceeds the department’s rulemaking authority and is “void for vagueness”; and (3) the department’s interpretation of OAR 291-105-0015(4)(n) is “overly broad and unconstitutionally vague, and exceeds its authority.” We conclude, for the reasons expressed below, that the rules are valid.

We may declare a rule invalid only if we determine that, in adopting it, the agency violated the constitution, exceeded the agency’s statutory authority, or did not comply with applicable rulemaking procedures. ORS 183.400(4).2 Our consideration is limited to an examination of the rule itself, the statutory provisions authorizing the rule, and documents necessary to ascertain compliance with rulemak-ing procedures. ORS 183.400(3); Wolf v. Oregon Lottery Commission, 344 Or 345, 355, 182 P3d 180 (2008). In determining whether a challenged rule exceeds the agency’s statutory authority, we “consider whether the agency’s adoption of the rule exceeded the authority granted by statute and, further, whether the agency ‘departed from a legal standard expressed or implied in the particular law being administered, or contravened some other applicable statute.’” Assn. of Acupuncture v. Bd. of Chiropractic Examiners, 260 Or App 676, 678, 320 P3d 575, 576 (2014) (quoting Planned [19]*19Parenthood Assn. v. Dept. of Human Res., 297 Or 562, 565, 687 P2d 785 (1984)).

The first rule that petitioners challenge is OAR 291-105-0005(3)(d), which provides:

“The Department intends that the authorization in OAR 291-105-0100 to withdraw an order and direct the disciplinary hearing to be reopened applies retroactively to disciplinary orders issued on, before, or after the effective date of the rule.”

OAR 291-105-0100, in turn, provides:

“The Inspector General, Assistant Director for Operations or the Institutions Administrator may, in the interest of justice, vacate all or part of a final disciplinary order or withdraw the order and direct that a disciplinary hearing be reopened for consideration of new evidence.”

Drawing on federal case law, petitioners assert that, because the legislature has not explicitly authorized the department to adopt rules that apply retroactively, the department exceeded its authority in adopting OAR 291-105-0005(3)(d), and, therefore, the rule is invalid. The department responds that federal law does not govern; that OAR 291-105-0005(3)(d) is consistent with state law because it clearly states the department’s intention to apply OAR 291-105-0100 retroactively; and that, because OAR 291-105-0005(3)(d) is a procedural rule, it is valid even under federal administrative law principles.

We conclude that the rule is not invalid for the reason advanced by petitioners — viz., that a retroactive rule necessarily exceeds an agency’s rulemaking authority unless the legislature has expressly authorized the agency to promulgate retroactive rules.

As noted, petitioners urge us to adopt federal case law, in particular, Bowen v. Georgetown University Hospital, 488 US 204, 109 S Ct 468, 102 L Ed 2d 493 (1988), to hold that an Oregon agency may not adopt retroactive rules absent express legislative authorization. In Bowen, the Supreme Court stated:

“Retroactivity is not favored in the law. Thus, congressional enactments and administrative rules will not be [20]*20construed to have retroactive effect unless their language requires this result. By the same principle, a statutory grant of legislative rulemaking authority will not, as a general matter, be understood to encompass the power to promulgate retroactive rules unless that power is conveyed by Congress in express terms. Even where some substantial justification for retroactive rulemaking is presented, courts should be reluctant to find such authority absent an express statutory grant.”

488 US at 208-09 (internal citations omitted; emphasis added). Petitioners, however, do not explain why that principle should be applied here, beyond arguing that, in an earlier case — Gooderham v. AFSD, 64 Or App 104, 667 P2d 551 (1983) — we had looked to other authorities, including federal case law, for guidance in determining whether a rule’s retroactivity clause was valid, “presumably because the Oregon Administrative Procedures Act parallels and is based on the federal [Administrative Procedure Act].”3 To be clear, petitioners do not urge us to apply the analysis that we applied in Gooderham — that is, they do not contend that the retroactive rule here is “unreasonable” under Gooderham — rather, petitioners contend that we should look to more recent federal case law than that on which we relied in Gooderham — specifically, Bowen — and hold that the retroactive rule at issue here is invalid because the legislature has not expressly given the department the authority to promulgate retroactive rules.

We decline that invitation. Among other things, Gooderham is still valid precedent, notwithstanding that federal administrative law principles may have evolved since Gooderham was decided. In addition, the Oregon Supreme Court has held that administrative rules may be applied retroactively, without referring to the need for express authorization from the legislature to adopt such rules. For example, in Delehant v. Board on Police Standards, 317 Or 273, 855 P2d 1088 (1993), the board denied the petitioner’s application for police certification, relying specifically on a rule [21]*21that had been adopted while the petitioner’s case was pending. The petitioner argued that the board erred in applying the “new” rule retroactively to his case. The Supreme Court disagreed, holding that “[r]etroactive application of a rule is not automatically impermissible,” but depends on the “intent of the promulgating agency or legislature,” and it was clear from the procedural history of the case that the board had intended the pertinent rule to apply retroactively. Id. at 278. Although the Supreme Court in Delehant was not directly confronted with the precise question whether the agency needed explicit statutory authority to adopt a rule that applied retroactively — necessarily implicit in its decision is that the agency did not.4 See also U.S. Bancorp v. Dept. of Rev., 337 Or 625, 637, 103 P3d 85 (2004), cert den,

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Bluebook (online)
380 P.3d 1048, 280 Or. App. 16, 2016 Ore. App. LEXIS 966, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hessel-v-department-of-corrections-orctapp-2016.