An administrative appeal process means a process established by a state agency or department which allows a nonprofit human service agency to seek review and resolution of some complaint about a specific action or inaction of a state agency.
The hearings held pursuant to this division shall be conducted using current procedures presently established by the office.
If the dispute is brought pursuant to subdivisions (d) through (g) of Section 38061 and it involves a sum of money more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), the appeal authority, taking into account the cash flow problems of the parties, may require the party holding the disputed funds to place the amount under dispute in a special deposit fund to earn and be paid interest with such earnings to be distributed to the party who succeeds upon appeal. If the amount is less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), it may be placed in such a special deposit fund with the approval of both parties.
The appeal process shall include flexibility to modify procedures to accommodate the particular needs of a given case.
The state’s portion of the cost of the appeal process shall be borne by the state agency or department which shall not include internal operating expenses of the Office of Administrative Hearings.