(a) All hearings
shall be conducted by the board or a duly appointed hearings officer.
(b) Hearings shall be open to the public,
except for hearings under chapter
396, HRS, unless otherwise provided
by this chapter, or order, for good cause, by the board. Unless otherwise
provided by law, any hearing may be conducted by remote access, as determined
by and at the discretion of the board.
(c) Unless otherwise provided by law, the
board, in conducting a hearing, shall have the powers, without limitation, to:
(1) Hold hearings and issue
notices;
(2) Administer oaths and
affirmations;
(3) Consolidate
hearings or several proceedings, provided that those actions shall be conducive
to effectuating the ends of justice and shall not unduly delay the proceedings
or hinder, harass, or prejudice any party;
(4) Subpoena and examine witnesses;
(5) Issue subpoenas;
(6) Rule upon offers of proof, to receive
relevant evidence, and to exclude evidence which is irrelevant, immaterial,
privileged, or unduly repetitious, and accordingly may restrict lines of
questioning or testimony;
(7)
Regulate the scheduling, course, manner, and conduct of the hearing, and the
continuance of any proceeding or hearing;
(8) Regulate the manner of any examination so
as to prevent needless and unreasonable harassment, intimidation, or
embarrassment of any witness or party at the hearing;
(9) Regulate the amount of time for
presentation of opening statements, closing statements, and oral
arguments;
(10) Remove and hold in
contempt disruptive individuals including any party, legal counsel,
representative, witness, or observer;
(11) Hold conferences before or during the
hearing, for the settlement or simplification of issues;
(12) Rule on motions and dispose of
procedural matters;
(13) Issue oral
and minute rulings and orders to dispose of procedural or substantive matters,
the basis for which will be incorporated or addressed in a final decision or
order;
(14) Examine, after notice
to all parties, any site or tangible evidence relevant to the case;
and
(15) Dispose of any other
matter that normally and properly arises during the proceedings and to take any
action authorized by this chapter, chapters
89,
377, or
396, HRS, or any other related
laws.
(d) Unless
requested for purposes of rehearing or court review or otherwise required by
law, the board is not required to transcribe the record of any proceeding.
However, the parties may agree to have the proceedings transcribed at their own
cost and to stipulate that the transcript be deemed the official record of the
proceeding.
(1) Anytime a party references a
portion of a transcript not deemed the official record during the proceedings,
including but not limited to at the hearing, or in a post-hearing brief or
other filed document, the party is required to file with the board a copy of
the entire transcript to which the reference is made simultaneously or before
the reference being made.
(2)
Anytime a party makes reference to an audio or videotape, including but not
limited to during the hearing, or in the party's post-hearing argument or brief
or other filed document, the party shall cite the date of the recording and the
counter number or time at which the cited material is located on the audio or
videotape.
