NEW JERSEY ELECTION LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMISSION VS.
JOSEPH DIVINCENZO AND JORGE MARTINEZ
A-4131-15T3
The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) appeals from an initial decision by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) that it lacked jurisdiction to issue a complaint. The initial decision was deemed adopted pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:14B-10(c) at a time when the Commission lacked a sufficient number of members to act due to longstanding vacancies. The resulting question of first impression implicates the primacy of an administrative agency's decisional authority, the exclusive jurisdiction of this court to review agency action, and the interpretation of the deemed-adopted provision as applied to the circumstances here. An ALJ lacks any independent decisional authority and may not encroach upon the ultimate decisional authority of the agency. Interpreting the deemed-adopted provision under the circumstances here and in light of the constitutional mandate for appellate review of administrative agency action, we will not infer a legislative intent to foreclose review. Finally, we conclude that the common law quorum requirement applies to the Commission's issuance of a complaint and reverse the ALJ's decision.
