65- 407 C.M.R. ch. 110, § 10
Public hearings will be held whenever required by law or requested by a party entitled to a hearing, and otherwise as may determined by the Commission or presiding officer.
The presiding officer will open the hearing and may make a concise statement of its scope and purposes. Appearances shall be entered on the record. The presiding officer at the initial hearing or at the prehearing conference, if any, shall inform the public of the manner in which an appeal of any decision resulting from the proceeding may be taken.
Unless limited by stipulation, by order under section 8(B) 4 or unless otherwise limited by the Commission or presiding officer to prevent repetition or unreasonable delay in proceedings, every party shall have the right to present evidence and arguments on all issues, to call and examine witnesses at hearings and to make oral cross-examination of any person present and testifying.
All witnesses shall swear that their testimony is wholly truthful or shall make a solemn affirmation to that effect in lieu thereof.
The Maine Rules of Evidence shall be followed in Commission adjudicatory proceedings except as provided below.
If, during the course of the hearing, the Commission, presiding officer or advisory staff member makes an oral data request of any witness, the response to the data request shall be made part of the record 10 days following receipt by the Commission, unless an objection to introduction of the response is filed or made orally at the time of the request. The presiding officer shall rule on any such objection within 10 days following filing of the objection.
The Commission or the presiding officer may take official notice of any facts of which judicial notice could be taken and, in addition, may take official notice of general, technical and scientific matters within their specialized knowledge, and of statutes, regulations and non-confidential agency records. Parties shall he notified of the material proposed to be so noticed, and they shall be afforded an opportunity to contest the substance or materiality of the facts noticed. Facts officially noticed shall be included and indicated as such in the record.
The presiding officer may issue protective orders as provided for in 35-A M.R.S.A. §§1311-A and 1311-B.
Unless the presiding officer specifies that testimony will be taken orally, the direct and rebuttal cases of all parties shall be presented in accordance with this subpart.
Unless the presiding officer orders another date, the petitioner shall file the direct testimony and exhibits of each witness which it proposes to present in support of its direct case no later than 14 days prior to the first hearing. A utility filing a general rate case shall include the testimony and exhibits at the time of filing its case.
Prefiled testimony shall be in writing, double spaced with each line numbered on each page and indicate the sponsoring witness. If the prefiled testimony standing alone does not satisfy the party's evidentiary burden, that party's case may be dismissed upon motion of a party. Prefiled written testimony shall be double spaced and shall include the line number of each line, in the left-hand margin, except as otherwise permitted by the presiding officer. If the testimony is greater than 20 pages in length, a Table of Contents specifying each issue in the testimony shall be included. Each party may file with its prefiled testimony and exhibits an opening statement containing a narrative summary of the testimony and exhibits.
Testimony of the parties other than the petitioners and any rebuttal testimony shall be filed pursuant to the schedule established by the Presiding Officer.
A witness must correct errors in his or her prefiled testimony and exhibits and, with consent of the presiding officer, may supplement prefiled testimony if further facts become available following the original filing, by filing amendments thereto through corrective or supplemental prefiled testimony as soon as possible after the receipt of correct or additional information. Copies of corrected or supplemental prefiled testimony shall be filed with the Commission and served on other parties in the same manner as original testimony. With the consent of the presiding officer, and if it is impractical to file corrective prefiled testimony, a witness may be permitted to make minor corrections to prefiled testimony on the witness stand. The prefiled testimony, sponsored by the witness under oath and subject to cross-examination, may be offered as an exhibit with the same effect as if such testimony had been given orally. Redirect examination will be conducted orally and will be limited to matters raised during cross-examination. Testimony and exhibits may be offered either following the witness's adoption of the prefiled testimony or identification of exhibit or at close of examination of the witness. Objection to prefiled testimony or exhibits may be made at the time the testimony or exhibits are offered or prior thereto.
Whenever prefiled written testimony appears unnecessary or impracticable, the presiding officer may order that direct testimony or supplementation of prefiled direct testimony will be received orally at the time set for hearing.
65- 407 C.M.R. ch. 110, § 10