37 Miss. Code. R. § 1-7501-09002-1800

An applicant/owner shall have the right to an administrative review from an adverse decision made by the Department under this Rule according to the following Rules:

1. Jurisdiction - An administrative review may only be taken from decisions involving the following:

a. the denial of a permit to erect a sign;

b. the denial of a vegetation removal permit; or

c. the revocation of a permit; or

d. the imposition of any penalty applied under section 1306 above; or

e. the denial of a request to modify a sign.

2. Timing - From the date of the correspondence advising him of the adverse decision from which the administrative review is to be taken, the applicant/owner shall have thirty (30) days from said date to request an administrative review by sending a notice of request for administrative review to the State Maintenance Engineer. Said notice of administrative review shall contain the following:

a. a description of the decision being appealed and the pertinent facts related thereto. Said notice must be adequate to inform the Department of the specific adverse decision being reviewed;

b. a short listing of the factual and/or legal errors that the applicant/owner contends warrant a reversal of said adverse decision; and

c. an estimate of the number of witnesses and exhibits which he will present in the administrative review along with the estimated time which will be required to conduct said hearing.

3. Costs - Upon receipt of the notice of administrative review in conformance with the above, the State Maintenance Engineer shall transmit said notice of administrative review to the Office of the Attorney General. The Office of the Attorney General will appoint an Administrative Law Judge, hereinafter ALJ, to preside over the administrative review within thirty (30) working days of the receipt of the notice of administrative review. Within said thirty (30) working day period, the Office of the Attorney General will also make an estimate of the costs of the ALJ and the court reporter and will transmit it to the applicant/owner. The applicant/owner shall deposit with the Office of the Attorney General within 30 days of his receipt of said estimate, a cash bond or surety bond on a form to be provided by the Department, Form MND-855, Outdoor Advertising Appeals Bond, in the amount of said estimate which shall insure payment to the Department of the costs of said hearing if the decision being reviewed is upheld.

4. Hearing - The administrative review herein shall be a hearing before the appointed ALJ on the Record. Said hearing shall be conducted under the following rules of procedure:

a. Procedure shall be controlled by the Mississippi Rules of Civil procedure subject to the following:

i. Discovery shall be limited to obtaining names of witnesses and pertinent documents and deposing the parties only. The ALJ shall set a scheduling order within sixty (60) days after official appointment which shall set out the deadline for discovery, deadlines for motions and the date of the hearing.

ii. There shall be no joinder of parties, intervention of parties or third party practice involved in said administrative review.

iii. In all proceedings the Department shall be the Respondent and the Applicant/Owner shall be the Petitioner. It is intended by this language that the Petitioner shall have the burden of proving to a preponderance that it is entitled to the relief requested.

iv. All pleadings shall be filed with the Office of the Secretary to the Mississippi Transportation Commission.

b. Introduction of evidence shall be controlled by the Mississippi Rules of Evidence subject to the following:

i. the rules prohibiting hearsay shall be construed liberally by the ALJ.

ii. the presentation of evidence shall be conducted in a less formal manner than an actual trial.

c. With regard to illegal vegetation removal, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the owner of the sign, the owner of the affected property or both benefiting from said illegal vegetation removal caused said vegetation to be removed.

d. On conclusion of the presentation of all evidence, the ALJ shall make a written finding of fact and conclusions of law and shall present these to the parties.

e. If the ALJ upholds the decision of the Department, the Office of the Attorney General shall, within thirty (30) days, send an actual bill to the applicant/owner for payment. Failure to pay said bill within ten (10) working days from the receipt thereof shall result in the forfeiture of the cost bond posted by the applicant/owner. The forfeiture of said bond shall not extinguish the right of the Department to recover the remainder of the actual costs, if any.

f. If the ALJ overturns the decision being approved the bond shall be returned to the appellant.

g. If the ALJ overturns the decision, the Department shall have the right to appeal the decision of the ALJ to the county in which the sign or proposed sign is located.

h. If the ALJ upholds the decision of the Department, the applicant/owner shall have the right to appeal the decision of the ALJ to the county court in which the sign or proposed sign is located within thirty (30) days from an order by the Commission confirming the decision of the ALJ.

Notes

37 Miss. Code. R. § 1-7501-09002-1800

Amended 5/27/2021