February 7, 2001 Meeting
University Club, Lansing

Chair Diane Royal called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

Present

Diane Royal
Karl Benghauser
Sharon Feldman
Marya Nelson-Davis
Peter Lark
Jackie Doig
Bruce Maughan
Richard McLellan, car commissioner liaison

Excused

Bill Fulkerson
Tom Sparks
Kay Hansen
Erick Williams

Unexcused

John Pirich
Kay Hansen

Chair Diane Royal announced the presence of a quorum.

A motion to adopt the agenda proposed by the chair was made by Sharon Feldman, seconded by Bruce Maughan, and passed unanimously.

A motion to adopt the minutes of the December 2000 meeting as circulated by the Secretary, Jackie Doig, was made by Sharon Feldman, seconded by Karl Benghauser, and passed unanimously.

Treasurer's Report

Treasurer Tom Sparks was absent. Chair Diane Royal reported that Tom had not received a report from the State Bar and thus a report was not available for review by the council.

Committee Reports

1. Bylaw Revision Committee

Chair Diane Royal relayed Bill Fulkerson's report that he has made a cursory review of other sections' bylaws and will be contacting the State Bar regarding any standard language that they require. He expects to call a subcommittee meeting sometime soon.

2. Bar Journal Theme Issue Committee

Sharon Feldman reported that there are approximately 7 articles lined up for the issue and it appears that there will be enough to fill the issue. The committee will be sending information on style/format and deadlines to the authors within the next week. It is estimated that the issue will be published in the Fall/Winter of 2000 or early in 2002. Fred Baker is the State Bar theme issue editor.

Old Business

1. Quarterly

Sharon Feldman relayed Erick Williams' report that he expects the articles for the next issue to be arriving shortly.

Peter Lark also reported that he spoke with Dean Don LeDuc regarding an article for the Quarterly based on his comments at the administrative law seminar. Unfortunately, Dean LeDuc is in the process of preparing much of that information for publication in a book. Dean Le Duc also expressed interest in perhaps having Cooley Law School take over publication of the Administrative Law Quarterly or enter into some kind of a partnership with the Section for publication of the quarterly.

It was agreed that the possibility of partnering with Cooley Law School or another law school on publication of the Quarterly should be placed on the agenda for the April 4, 2001, meeting, so that Council members will have an opportunity to consider the possibility of partnering, including questions about the commitment of time and financial resources to the Quarterly.

New Business

1. Committee to Address Changes to Administrative Rules on Administrative Proceedings

Diane Royal reported that Mike Zimmer said the proposed rules are not yet ready for review and comment by the Section. It was agreed that Diane would speak with Mike Zimmer regarding the need for public input at a meaningful point in the process and the need to make drafts available. It was further agreed that the chair would submit a formal FOIA request if drafts are not provided in response to her telephone call, since the drafts apparently have been widely circulated among ALJ staff and others.

Sharon Feldman reported that the proposed procedural rules for the Department of Environmental Quality are posted on the ORR website and may provide some insight into the direction of procedure and process in other agencies.

2. Annual Meeting Speaker Suggestions/Partnering with Others Sections

Diane Royal will check on which other sections will be meeting at the same time as our section and will also check regarding promotion and publication of information about speakers.

Karl will solicit input on this topic on the Section's website.

3. Seminar for Fall 2001 or Spring 2002

The Council discussed the possibility of a Spring 2002 seminar in Lansing, but noted the possibility that there will be construction on I-496 that would hamper access.

Possible topics discussed include E-Law and Ad Law, with a focus on the practical impacts on consumers/clients/individuals and on practitioners, such as privacy, document integrity, identification issues.

4. Other Ideas

There was a discussion of possibly creating a listserv for section members. Further discussion at the next meeting was recommended.

Richard McLellan reported that he is the chair of the Greater Lansing Area Access to Justice Committee, and is interested in exploring the possibility of promoting pro bono work by state government-employed attorneys such as attorney general staff and administrative law judges.

He also reported that the Law Revision Commission is looking at a proposed Government Ethics Act, and there is a report and proposed bill on the Law Revision website.

5. Motion to Excuse

On a motion by Jackie Doig, seconded by Peter Lark, the council excused the absences of Erick Williams, Tom Sparks, Kay Hansen, and Bill Fulkerson.

Motion to Adjourn

On a motion by Karl Benghauser, seconded by Diane Royal, the meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m.