Definitions

(1) “Administrative Judge” means an agency member, agency employee or employee or official of the Office of the Secretary of State, licensed to practice law and authorized by law to conduct contested case proceedings pursuant to § 4-5-301. (2) “Administrative Procedures Division” or “APD” means the Administrative Procedures Division of the Office of the Secretary of State, 312 8th Floor, William R. Snodgrass Tower, Nashville, Tennessee 37243; Telephone (615) 741-7008. (3) “Burden of Proof” means the duty of a party to present evidence on and to show, by a preponderance of the evidence, that an allegation is true or that an issue should be resolved in favor of that party. A ‘‘preponderance of the evidence’’ means the greater weight of the evidence or that, according to the evidence, the conclusion sought by the party with the burden of proof is the more probable conclusion. The burden of proof is generally assigned to the party who seeks to change the present state of affairs with regard to any issue. The RULES OF PROCEDURE CHAPTER 0620-4-2 administrative judge makes all decisions regarding which party has the burden of proof on any issue. (4) “Inspector General” means the Inspector General of the Office of Inspector General, Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration. (5) “Filing” means actual receipt by the Inspector General and/or by the Administrative Procedures Division of the Tennessee Secretary of State. (6) “Notice of Charges and Opportunity for a Hearing” means notice of an action by the Office of Inspector General to seek sanctions against a natural person or business entity subject to the statutes, rules and orders of the Inspector General and notice of the right of the person(s) to contest or otherwise dispute the imposition of such sanctions. (7) “OIG” means the Office of Inspector General, Department of Finance and Administration. (8) “Petitioner” means the “moving” party or the party who has initiated the proceedings. The petitioner usually bears the ultimate burden of proof and will therefore present proof first at the hearing. In some cases, however, the party who initiated the proceedings will not be the party with the burden of proof on all issues. In such cases, the administrative judge will determine the order of proceedings, taking into account the interests of fairness, simplicity, and the speedy and inexpensive determination of the matter at hand. (9) “Pleadings” means written statements of facts and law which constitute a party’s position or point of view in a contested case and which, when taken together with the other party’s pleadings, will define the issues to be decided in the case. The form of pleadings shall be made as provided in these rules and/or in the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure and supplemented as required by the Inspector General and/or the Administrative Judge. (10) “Respondent” means the party who is responding to the charges or other action brought by the “petitioner.” (11) “UAPA” means the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, as amended, at Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 4-5-101, et seq.