New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 22 - COURTS
Chapter 600 - ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS OFFICE
Part 1 - GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING RULES AND PROCEDURES
Section 22.600.1.21 - CLOSED/PUBLIC HEARING, SEALED RECORDS, AND DELIBERATIVE NOTES OF HEARING OFFICER

A. Except for hearings occurring pursuant to the Implied Consent Act, upon request of the party challenging the state action, or unless otherwise provided in an applicable statute or regulation pertinent to the hearing at issue, all hearings are closed to the public. The party challenging the state action may submit a written request to open the hearing to the public, which shall be granted if authorized by statute or regulation.

B. If the hearing is open to the public either under the Implied Consent Act, upon request of the party challenging the state action, or other applicable statute or regulation, members of the public and the media may attend the hearing so long as they do not interrupt, interfere, or impede the orderly, fair, and efficient hearing process. With prior consent of the chief hearing officer and the assigned hearing officer, media members may record the proceeding at a fixed location in the hearing room. The hearing officer may direct any member of the public, including attending media members, to leave the proceeding if they engage in any conduct that interferes with the hearing officer's ability to maintain order, develop the record, and provide a fair and efficient hearing process.

C. Upon request of either party, and upon a showing of good cause, the hearing officer may seal a particular exhibit, document, or portions of a witness' testimony from public disclosure if such items contain statutorily-protected confidential information, privileged information, or otherwise contain private identification information of a party or third party that is immaterial to a substantive issue in the proceeding or if its materiality is substantially outweighed by the prejudice of public release of the information. Upon issuance of an order sealing such documents or exhibits, these records will remain under seal throughout the proceeding and shall be returned to the submitting party at the conclusion of the appeal period or the appeal. The opposing party shall be entitled to promptly review these documents in preparing for the hearing, and may rely on those documents during the hearing as necessary to ensure a fair hearing process, but shall not maintain its own copy of the sealed document after conclusion of the hearing nor reveal, discuss, or disclose the contents of these sealed documents to any other party outside of the hearing process.

D. The hearing officer's notes taken during the course of the hearing, any written discussions with another hearing officer related to the deliberative, decision-making process, and any draft orders or draft decisions are confidential as part of the deliberative process and are not subject to public disclosure.