Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024
1. Documentary and Real Evidence
A. All documents, materials and objects
offered and accepted as evidence shall be numbered or otherwise identified and
included in the record. Documentary evidence may be received in the form of
copies or excerpts if the original is not readily available. The presiding
officer may require any person offering documents or photographs as exhibits to
submit a specified number of copies unless the document or photograph is
determined to be unsuitable for reproduction.
B. All written testimony and documents,
materials and objects submitted into evidence shall be made available during
the course of the hearing for public examination.
C. The agency record shall be submitted as
documentary evidence in the hearing record.
2. Objections
All objections to rulings of the presiding officer concerning
evidence or procedure and the grounds therefore shall be timely stated during
the course of the hearing. During the course of the hearing or after the close
of the hearing, the Commissioner may determine that the ruling of the presiding
officer was in error and order the hearing reopened or take any other action
appropriate to correct the error.
3. Offer of Proof
An offer may be made in connection with an objection to a
ruling of the presiding officer excluding any testimony or question on
cross-examination. Such offer of proof shall consist of a statement of the
substance of the proffered evidence.
4. Public Participation
Any person may participate in a hearing by offering
testimony, and may submit questions to the parties through the presiding
officer, within such limits and upon such terms and conditions as may be fixed
by the presiding officer.
5.
Testimony at Hearings
A. Order of
Presentation. Unless varied by the presiding officer, hearing testimony shall
be offered in the following order:
(1) Direct
evidence by applicant and applicant's witnesses in support of the
application.
(2) Testimony by
Department staff and consultants.
(3) Testimony by members of federal, state
and local agencies.
(4) Direct
evidence by intervenors supporting the application.
(5) Direct evidence by intervenors opposing
the application.
(6) Testimony by
members of the public.
B.
Questions. At the conclusion of their testimony each witness may be questioned
in the order described below. The presiding officer may require that
questioning of witnesses be conducted only after the conclusion of testimony by
an entire category of witnesses for the purposes of efficiency or clarity of
record.
(1) The presiding officer, Department
legal counsel and Department staff may question witnesses at any
time.
(2) The applicant.
(3) Federal, state and local agency
representatives.
(4)
Intervenors.
(5) At the discretion
of the hearing officer, all other members of the public may have the
opportunity to question witnesses directly or by oral or written questions
through the presiding officer.
6. Conclusion of Hearing
A. At the conclusion of the hearing the
record shall be closed and no other evidence or testimony will be allowed into
the record, except by stipulation of the parties or as specified by the
presiding officer.
B. The
Commissioner may re-open the hearing record after it has been closed to take
additional evidence on specific issues where the Commissioner is not satisfied
that they have all the information necessary to make a decision.
