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SSA

RIN: 0960-AE97

Publication ID: Fall 2000

Title: OASDI and SSI; Expansion of the Use of Video Teleconference Technology in Hearings Before Administrative Law Judges of the Social Security Administration (737P)
Abstract: We propose to amend our regulations to permit us to conduct hearings before an administrative law judge (ALJ) by video teleconference (VTC). We also propose to add new sections to the regulations that will state the conditions for an ALJ to find good cause to change the time and place of a hearing if we schedule a VTC hearing, and the individual tells us he/she does not want a VTC hearing.
Agency: Social Security Administration(SSA)	Priority: Other Significant
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda	Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Proposed Rule Stage
Major: No	Unfunded Mandates: No
CFR Citation: 20 CFR 404.929 20 CFR 404.936(b) 20 CFR 404.936(c) 20 CFR 404.936(d)(8)(New) 20 CFR 404.938 20 CFR 416.1429 20 CFR 416.1436(b) 20 CFR 416.1436(c) 20 CFR 416.1436(d)(8)(New) 20 CFR 416.1438
Legal Authority: 42 USC 205(a) 42 USC 205(b) 42 USC 902(a)(5) 42 USC 1383

Legal Deadline: None

Statement of Need: Our regulations provide for a hearing in person before an ALJ. Traditionally, this has meant that the individual requesting a hearing and the ALJ were present in the same room. The proposed changes will allow us to schedule a VTC hearing without requiring prior written consent, and set out the right to decline such a hearing. We believe that conducting hearings by VTC will improve our efficiency and allow us to serve our customers better. Providing VTC hearings is one initiative of the Hearings Process Improvement Plan we issued in August 1999. We expect that the plan, when fully implemented, will reduce the average processing time for hearings from 314 days in Fiscal Year 1999 to less than 200 days in Fiscal Year 2002, and allow us to issue hearing decisions to 30 percent of requestors within 120 days from the date of the request for hearing. The VTC provision would aid in this reduction by eliminating much of the time some ALJ's must spend to travel to remote sites to conduct hearings face-to-face.

Summary of the Legal Basis: None.

Alternatives: Require participation in a scheduled VTC hearing, i.e., no right to decline a VTC hearing.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits: Improved customer service by providing faster access to a hearing.

Risks: None.

Timetable:

Action	Date	FR Cite
NPRM	10/00/2000
Final Action	04/00/2001

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No	Government Levels Affected: None
Small Entities Affected: No	Federalism: No
Included in the Regulatory Plan: Yes
Related RINs: Previously reported as 0960-AA05
Agency Contact: Lawrence V. Dudar Social Insurance Specialist Social Security Administration Office of Process and Innovation Management, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401 Phone:410 966-5995