(1) Within ten days of the service of a final order, any party may file a petition for reconsideration, stating the specific grounds upon which relief is requested. The petition for reconsideration must be received by the officer who issued the order within ten days of his or her mailing. Any petition for reconsideration must also be postmarked as being mailed to the other parties within this ten-day period.

(2) A petition for reconsideration does not stay the effectiveness of the reviewing officer's final order.

(3) If a petition for reconsideration is timely filed, and the petitioner has complied with the procedural rules for reconsideration, the time for filing a petition for judicial review does not commence until the agency disposes of the petition for reconsideration. The agency is deemed to have denied the petition for reconsideration if, within twenty days from the date the petition is filed, the agency does not either:

(a) Dispose of the petition; or

(b) Serve the parties with a written notice specifying the date by which it will act on the petition.

(4) Unless the petition for reconsideration is deemed denied under subsection (3) of this section, the petition shall be disposed of by the same person or persons who entered the order, if reasonably available. The disposition shall be in the form of a written order denying the petition, granting the petition and dissolving or modifying the final order, or granting the petition and setting the matter for further hearing.

(5) The filing of a petition for reconsideration is not a prerequisite for seeking judicial review. An order denying reconsideration, or a notice provided for in subsection (3)(b) of this section, is not subject to judicial review.