Section 170 IAC 1-1.1-18 - Hearing procedureAuthority: IC 8-1-1-3; IC 8-1-2-47
Affected: IC 8-1-1-5; IC 8-1-1.1-5.1; IC 8-1-3-8
Sec. 18.
(a) Hearings must be conducted by a commissioner or administrative law judge.(b) The presiding officer may make rulings with respect to pleadings and other matters not ruled upon.(c) The presiding officer conducting the hearing must enter upon the record appearances, with a notation on whose behalf the appearance is made.(d) In hearings upon complaints or petitions, the complainant, petitioner, or other party having the burden of proof must open and close the presentation of evidence and arguments. In hearings on investigations and in proceedings that have been consolidated for hearing, the presiding officer may direct who shall open and close the record. In proceedings where the evidence is particularly within the knowledge or control of another party, the presiding officer may vary the order of presentation. The presiding officer may, at any time during the hearing, limit repetitive or redundant:(4) objections. If the commission initiated the proceeding, the proceeding may be opened by presentation of a report prepared at the direction of the commission under IC 8-1-1-5.
(e) When objections to the admission or exclusion of evidence before the commission or the presiding officer are made, the objecting party must briefly state the grounds relied upon.(f) The presiding officer may, at his or her discretion, permit a party to furnish designated exhibits after the close of the hearing with copies to the parties of record. The presiding officer must specifically describe and assign an identifying exhibit number at the time of hearing and may admit it into the record of the proceeding with physical production at a later time, provided a party does not object, or if a party objects, the presiding officer shall direct the mode of admissibility, including granting the objecting party reasonable opportunity to question the sponsor of the exhibit regarding its contents. However, this subsection does not make evidence admissible that would otherwise be inadmissible.(g) The direct testimony of a witness for a party may be presented in written question and answer form and must have related exhibits attached unless the presiding officer prescribes another format. Unless otherwise provided by the presiding officer, prepared testimony and exhibits must be filed with the commission in accordance with section 3 of this rule and served on the parties to the proceeding within the deadline established by the preliminary hearing order or docket entry of the presiding officer. However, nothing in this section requires the prefiling of testimony without the specific order of a presiding officer or the commission.(h) Unless otherwise approved by the presiding officer, exhibits that are offered as evidence in a hearing must be: (1) clean copies with no writing on the copy, unless the writing is integral to the exhibit; and(2) hard copies that are: (B) fastened together with: (iii) other non-permanent bindings, and with no more than three (3) holes, along the longest edge; and(C) only if confidential, printed on green paper and provided in a sealed envelope; or electronic copies stored on a medium that is accessible by commission staff, and, only if confidential, marked confidential on the medium, filename, and within the exhibit, if possible.(i) Unless otherwise directed by the commission, prefiled testimony, when properly authenticated by the witness under oath or affirmation, may be offered as an exhibit. The written testimony shall be subject to the same rules of admissibility and cross-examination of the sponsoring witness as if the testimony were being presented orally.(j) A party to a proceeding may move in writing for an extension of time in which to prefile testimony. The motion shall be filed prior to the time set for the filing of the testimony unless a supporting affidavit establishes that the facts, which are the basis of the motion, did not then exist or were not then known to the moving party. For good cause shown, the presiding officer may reschedule a hearing to a later date, if necessary, and fix the extension of time in which to prefile the testimony to avoid undue delay and provide reasonable opportunity for the parties to properly prepare their cases. Parties shall be given an opportunity to object to a motion for extension of time.(k) With the approval of the presiding officer, corrections or changes in the stenographic record may be made upon the written agreement of the parties of record filed with the commission within ten (10) days after parties have been notified that the stenographic record has been completely transcribed. Other corrections or changes may be made only upon order of the commission.(l) Parties may obtain copies of the stenographic record from the official reporter upon payment of the reasonable cost fixed by general administrative order of the commission as per IC 8-1-3-8.(m) Following due legal notice of the initial evidentiary hearing on the merits, having been given and published as required by law, notice of further hearings or other matters agreed upon or ordered by the presiding officer at the hearing or in a docket entry do not need to be published. It is the obligation of counsel and parties to a formally docketed cause to keep themselves informed of actions taken in a proceeding before the commission.(n) After being duly notified, a party who fails to be represented at a scheduled conference or hearing in a proceeding is deemed to have waived the opportunity to participate in the conference or hearing, and is deemed to have consented to, and may not be permitted thereafter to reopen, a matter resolved or accomplished at the conference or hearing, and may not be permitted to recall for further examination witnesses who were excused unless the presiding officer determines that the failure to be represented was unavoidable or that the interests of the other parties and of the public would not be unduly prejudiced by permitting the reopening for further examination. If a witness is recalled for further examination, then the recalling party must pay the expert fees, costs, and expenses.(o) Parties to a proceeding may not offer comments at public field hearings associated with the proceeding.Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 1-1.1-18; filed Oct 30, 2000, 2:10 p.m.: 24 IR 662; readopted filed Apr 6, 2006, 11:00 a.m.: 29 IR 2670; filed May 21, 2008, 9:29 a.m.: 20080618-IR-170070514FRA; readopted filed Jun 14, 2012, 3:04 p.m.: 20120711-IR-170120199RFAReadopted filed 4/12/2018, 11:21 a.m.: 20180509-IR-170180113RFAFiled 6/10/2020, 7:38 a.m.: 20200708-IR-170190378FRA